Mirage owner here reporting for posting.

[Fummins]

Welcome!

I've been noticing a lot more older Mirages lately. Heading home the other day not even a block from work another black 14-15 was right behind me then met another one closer to home.
When I bought my white one I spotted another Mirage parked just down the street from the sellers house. Shortly after I brought it home I noticed a 17+ one around the corner from my house. The people who bought my white one are in the next town over so hopefully I'll spot it again.

[Top_Fuel]

I've seen forums killed off by FB.

I have never had a Facebook account or anything that resembles social media. Automotive forums are about as close to social media as I will ever get.

[Fummins]

Admittedly I did at one time have the facecrack. There's way too much stupid on there. I'd rather see and talk to people around a campfire than look at pictures of what someone I don't know is eating for dinner, then more pics of what it looks like coming out the other end.
I looked at one of the Mirage facecrack pages once. It's not for me, looked like too many hoopleheads.

[Dirk Diggler]

You get your drums replaced yet? Good thing your mechanically inclined. I had my drums replaced at 50k miles, which shocked me because I've always thought the one redeeming factor of drums is that they last 100k miles. Not so on the Mirage apparently unless the previous owner was just hell on his brakes? The shop owner said the brake shoes were worn thin. He also honored his original quote to replace both drums for $300, thinking the aftermarket parts he ordered would fit, they didn't. He ended up going to a Mitsu dealership to get OEM drums at $300 a piece, so he lost money working on my car. I did just check and see an OEM full drum setup went down to $250 so I guess they are are selling more Mirages to justify to drop in price? Open question to all. I refuse to buy another pair of drums for this car at 100k miles. If I just stayed on top of front pads and rotors every 30 to 40k miles and rarely use my parking brake, would that be sufficient to keep my braking power decent?

[Fummins]

I noticed a lot, if not all the 2015's I've seen pick up rocks and crap in the rear drums more than the 2017 and newer ones.

I haven't seen drums "worn thin" but lots of grooves(2015) and I've had to replace a couple when the front shoes wore down to the metal effering the drum while the rear one was still at least 60% left.

[Dirk Diggler]

I noticed a lot, if not all the 2015's I've seen pick up rocks and crap in the rear drums more than the 2017 and newer ones.

I haven't seen drums "worn thin" but lots of grooves(2015) and I've had to replace a couple when the front shoes wore down to the metal effering the drum while the rear one was still at least 60% left.

But my idea of just staying on top of front pads and rotor replacement and saying to hell with the drums if they fail after 50k miles again, what are the repercussions I'm facing hypothetically if I do that? What's your professional opinion on how much those back drums contribute to braking power besides the e-brake?

[Top_Fuel]

Your new drums should last the life of your car. Just inspect them once every couple of years (or 40K miles or so) and don't wait until you hear them grinding. You'll be fine.

The one thing a bit unique about the factory brake shoes on a Mirage is that they have the thinnest amount of friction material (the part that wears down) of any brake shoes I've ever seen. If you have never seen Mirage drum brakes before, the shoes almost look 50% worn when they're brand new. That's what I thought when I took this picture of my 2015 rear brakes when my car was new...



This is the smallest car I've ever owned so maybe this is typical for tiny car drum brakes?!?

[Dirk Diggler]

Thank you top Fuel. What % of braking power do the fronts do vs the rears?

[Top_Fuel]

I think a rough breakdown is about 75% front brakes and 25% rear brakes.

You still need properly functioning rear brakes...so don't just ignore them. The good thing is that if some day you do need drums again, the parts are much easier to find now...and they're cheaper.

[Dirk Diggler]

I think a rough breakdown is about 75% front brakes and 25% rear brakes.

You still need properly functioning rear brakes...so don't just ignore them. The good thing is that if some day you do need drums again, the parts are much easier to find now...and they're cheaper.

Even for 2014 and 2015s?