New Silver ES

[Top_Fuel]

I'm sure there's a thread that someone started about adding a second dome light over the rear seats.

This seems like a good idea that was always on my Mirage wish-list that I will never get to...

Installing a rear dome light

[Christopher_B]

A/C
auto climate controls
ABS
stability control/traction control
intermittent wipers
tachometer gauge
power steering
power window
power locks
remote entry
cruise control
rear wiper
TPMS
forward collision mitigation
HSA (hill start assist)
backup camera
6-way adjustable driver's seat
air bags
radio/speakers/antenna
4-doors
No darn cupholders!
& whatever I may have forgotten.

I felt driving a 1990 Ford Festiva L (63 hp) with 12" steel wheels was being a "minimalists" for 14 years, because it didn't come with any the above standard features found on a base level Mirage in 2022.

I miss base level cars, because they don't really exist any more. I am not knocking those who love features, however. I just wish car were simpler/cheaper. In my opinion, screens on vehicle dashes should be illegal, but I understand emergency braking might have that covered?

I am pretty sure most or all of those things can actually be removed fairly easily.

[Christopher_B]

I agree the headlight switch is very simple. A quick glance will tell you if you have them on or not. It's more reliable than a green light symbol on the dash. As far as driving with parking lights on -

As a driving instructor, I would never recommend driving with parking lights on, because they are parking lights (not driving lights). In some cases, it may even be illegal.

"Parking lights are located at the front and back of your vehicles; they are white or amber in the front and red on the back. All of them must be visible for 500 ft. It is never legal to drive with your parking lights on; they are only to be used during parking."

https://driversed.com/driving-inform...ehicle/lights/

It may not be illegal to drive with parking lights on in some states, but it's not a practice I would recommend to my student drivers.

If you feel the need for lights, turn on your headlights!

I realize we live in a world that wants automatic everything, but one should be somewhat engaged with their world & surroundings while driving. If turning on headlights is truly an issue, our society is in real trouble. My biggest pet peeve are those who are to lazy to use turn signals. How hard is it to flick a switch. I even catch my driving students quoting me on that one when we drive!

I agree the Mirage would benefit from a dome light in the center of the roof, but it's not a big deal. I find the light located in the rear hatch area to be very helpful.

Interesting it would be illegal to have any light on as you drive as long as it was an factory light. Are "parking lights" the same as "side marker lights" because at that point it is just different verbiage for the same thing. It would seem to only make things safer.
My buddy bought a brand new 2003 Z06. It ran the turn signal bulb I think for the DRL. I am sure due to the pop up headlight system. This is obviously 50 state legal.

[Christopher_B]

Thanks Cobra, now to just find them in chrome.

Problem with lug nuts that look nice is: they are either chrome and rust or they have stainless caps that swell or fall off over time.
I am not sure why they couldn't make a completely stainless steel lug nut.

[Christopher_B]

Mitsu offers at least one kind of DRL kit, It is LED. They may have more offerings.

[Christopher_B]

Oh! And welcome to the forum Little Magician! Which part of the state are you from?

[7milesout]

I am not sure why they couldn't make a completely stainless steel lug nut.

All about the Benjamins. $$$$

[Christopher_B]

But one would think the aftermarket would make them? Strength issue? Liability concern? seizing to the studs? - I would think not��*♂️

[7milesout]

Quality stainless studs would be the way to go. Stainless is more difficult to machine though. Machine work is expensive. I don't know if stainless lugnuts are cold-headed commonly. But at the size of lug nuts, I have my doubts cold-heading stainless nuts is done. At least not frequently. And even if, there would be a secondary operation needed to finish the threads. Cold heading is where a big mean hot n stanky machines takes a slug of material (like a rod of stainless steel) and whomps the holy hell out of the blunt end of the rod, so hard, so fast, so hot that momentarily the metal goes almost liquid and takes on the shape what is whomping it. Like ... the exact opposite shape of a bolt's hex head. This is fast, accurate and results in an extremely durable finished shape due to the molecular restructuring and (I guess) annealing of the formed shape. This is how high volume screws/bolts are made these days. Then the rod is cut off, and the unwhomped end (the shank) of the rod is "rolled" at high speed and extreme pressure between two dies that form the threads on that unwhomped end of the rod. This sounds like, and happens faster than you can say, "blam-blam-blam-blam-blam" all day long, every damn day, especially for fasteners for automotive. This is an inexpensive way to form screws/bolts. No secondary really. But a nut, well, you gotta machine finish the thread "up inside." Can't just rollem on.

I will admit, this is not my specialty, maybe there is a snazzy way to cold-head a nut that I'm not familiar with. But generally things like this are the way they are due to costs and profit margin (and it must be this way or out of bidness a company goes). For example, if a set of 20 stainless nuts to produce cost $0.25 total (all 20 nuts), but in order to make decent money a manufacturer has to make 100,000 of them and sell them to the market at $X per set. Another manufacturer is going to come and undercut them in short order to win the bidness. The next 15 manufacturers do the same. Then its a race to the bottom. And the only way to make money is to use the least expensive material and 2 year old Chinese kid slave labor. That's just good bidness (facetious), but that's the way it goes on something like lug nuts.

[Top_Fuel]

The OEMs have used some of the absolute worst lugnuts possible. Those 2-piece lugnuts with the cap pressed on are the absolute worst things ever invented...




At least the Mirage uses 1-piece low quality lugnuts.


I've had these lugnuts on my car for 6 years and they still look like new...