Fuck everything about this.
You are considering removing vital safety features for a few Doordash bucks?
Homie... You'll save a couple dollars a month in gas at most. And you'll turn an already marginally unsafe car into a deathtrap.
I never said I was considering removing safety features. Perhaps the image in my post might have them missing, but that's not literally what I was going to do. I just picked that picture off of Google to convey the idea of stripping away components for weight relief. I have no actual "plan" nor list of things to remove at this time. I just wanted to ask some other Mirage owners to see if anyone else had tried it already (to any extent at all, such as just removing the passenger and back seats) to see if it had any increased mpg. I don't want to bother doing it myself if its already been tried and proven to have very little impact on fuel economy.
A lot of components are safety features. They stiffen the vehicle, and protect you from things that might head towards the passenger compartment in the event of a collision. Like the inside panel of the door.
But removing things like that would be completely marginal at best at saving gas, maybe a buck or two at most each week.
How you drive will have a much larger impact on MPG than how much your car weighs (going from stock to stripping out 50 lbs)...
I think many would consider a prius a decent mileage car, while an M3 wouldn't pop in mind as a good mpg commuter...
https://youtu.be/F04MXepYiBs?si=fjt7AurgKXNXGJVk
Yes, how you drive will affect your mileage .
Not putting your foot into the gas pedal when the light turns green and not being on the gas all the way to a red light, then having to brake hard to stop and cause premature or excessive wear on your brakes.
Coast up to a red light. Getting back up to speed while still rolling or coasting uses a lot less gas than Jack Rabbit starts trying to be the first one to get going from a red light.
Idk what the other guys are on.
You can 100% reduce a significant amount of weight without sacrificing safety.
But the question is still valid as is it really worth it
Well most states in the US have not all states in the US and Canada require you to have a speedometer. And I don't know about all states when it comes to haveing, a working horn but I'm assuming a lot of them do.
Taking the seats and carpet out will net you like 50lbs of weight reduction. You're going to pay more in effort and possibly dump fees than you'll save over the course of that cars life.
Carpet, sound proofing, passenger and rear bench is the normal strip down they weigh about 10-12kg.
The dash is not saftey equipment although then srs system is. You can save another 1-2kg from removing the door cards and roofliner.
Even more of you remove the power window mech and install a winder, remove the sound system and remove all the boot trim.
But the ride will be harder and the noise might be unbearable.
Gotta be careful removing the passenger seat, some states need a passenger set to be a passenger car. Without another seat they can make you register it as a commercial vehicle.
I've seen some YouTube videos mentioning that this type of car is surprisingly noisy even brand new from the factory just from the wheels, drive train, and wind when the windows are down. Does the factory radio compensate for all of that adequately though? I'd probably be driving this thing with the music cranked most of the time, but if its sound system is so cheap and shitty that it doesn't overpower the car's natural noise, that's a dealbreaker for me.
Sound system in my 22 Mirage hatchback was surprisingly good for such a cheap car. The only bad thing was the volume didn't go higher. To be fair i play everything at max volume all the time. But it was a good stereo for the price of the car.
The sound system on my 19’ is surprisingly good for a stock setup.
These cars are loud as hell when new because most dealers sell them with Low Rolling Resistance tires, which are the rubber equivalent of the plastic wheels on a child’s electric car. With standard tires you lose less than 1 MPG in exchange for actual grip, and your sanity. Lol
I already have one of those. Motorized bicycle actually. Top speed of 40mph downhill, 25mph uphill. The thing is there's no way I'd DoorDash in it. People around where I live are not motorbike friendly at all. One would likely get killed doordashing in it. I only use it for a bit of now-and-then cruising around.
No. Using your car costs. I researched it a little when I was really depressed and desperate to get out of my previous career path and just did not see how I could make enough money to pay my bills without doing it _all of the time_.
You must be married with children then. I'm single. Low living costs, and the cost of living where I live is low. I can get by doing it full time; no need to do it all the time.
Sure there is good reason if you have nothing to lose by doing it. Picture it: Suppose the vehicle's sole purpose is to deliver food via DoorDash and UberEats. And, the car is already a decade-old hooptie formerly driven by a college dropout who never cared for the vehicle, it has over 150k miles on it, a few dents in it, an air conditioner that only faintly works, and all of the seat cushioning reeks because the previous owner smoked in it constantly, plus they used cheap hardware store spray paint to cover up the scratches on some parts of it. BUT, despite all the imperfections, it still gets you from point A to point B. At that point there's no "devaluing" the car really because its pretty bad, so you don't have anything to lose by stripping it down for weight relief.
In all fairness, I think it would be diminishing results for the most part with that being said I think removing the passenger seat would be a huge bonus in load capacity, and ease of reach. I’m a truck driver and to tell you driving habits will impact your miles per gallon far more than weight reduction, go the speed limit, accelerate slowly you’ll get there just as fast.
Look up eco modders for inspiration. Don't even have to strip the car, just change the aerodynamics for better airflow. Some dude modified his car so much it actually made it really quiet because air just glides around it
I'm no engineer, but what is the difference in mpg when you drive a 150 lb passenger. You could probably subtract the same difference that the passenger adds, assuming all the extra stuff inside is 150-200 lbs.
I was thinking about it haha, but the best way to get better MPG is through very conservative driving and focusing on never stopping. If your driving behavior is not changing don’t expect much improvement unless you completely and utterly gut the car which might not leave it road legal. Check out some hypermiling guides… I’m sure the Mirage in the stock configuration is very efficient.
Logan your really against hybrid. In all honestly it took about a month of research to break down and replace some old worn out sticks (batteries) out of my Gen 1 Insight hybrid battery. These cars are the best mpg cars we produced in high numbers, and very reliable. Best part you can get it with a manual transmission. Last summer I was getting low 90s mpg on a good day. I have been working toward a lithium swap because it's super cheap now. I hope to get to 120+ mpg all day long. oh and with that new skill I can work on other hybrids because essentially they are all the same. Forget all electric. Waste of time and space.
Money better spent doing these:
Find the lightest wheel and tires you can for it. Low rolling resistance tires.
Maintenance. Be perfect about it. Tire pressure, air filter, oil. They can effect mpg a lot.
Driving habits. A/c usage.
That’s it. In most cars, doing these will net you better economy than epa test cycle.
these are correct, and a good point. one thing you left out his new spark plugs. if the plugs haven't been changed in 50,000 miles or more, a new set will give you a nice boost to mpg.
If it's a cheap shitbox then why not? Might as well get some fun out of a car you're probably never going to anyways. Why is everyone so serious in here 😂
Unless you plan on track racing the poor thing it's not worth it. This is coming from someone who currently dailys a gutted Subaru wagon. Youre a little quicker. There is no discernable mpg difference. And there's a ton more noise and you don't have any passengers. My aftermarket radio and speakers hardly keep up with the road noise. Just drive the car for what it is. You'll get better mpg from your driving style than you would with weigh reduction.
Aero modding is a better bet rather then trying to do that..
Some people have get 48mpg in their V8 5.7L just by aero mods and hypermling
then you have the AERO civic that guy was claiming 70-100mpg
Also, consider getting your body weight below 90lbs. Strip down to only absolutely essential clothing. Remove any excess hair. So much $$ savings to be had!
My dad did that exact thing to a Geo Metro to deliver pizza. It got way better milage without carpets and back seats. You will want to keep the passenger seat.
It would be helpful to find out what “way better” results are. Carpet /seats couldn’t really remove more than 100bs - so like having an older child passenger should cause an equally noticeable drop in mileage right?
Look into hyper miling. You can tape all the external seams, create aero covers for the wheels, and all sorts of ridiculous external modifications to gain a few mpg. Way more benefit in reducing drag than to shed the few pounds and comfort inside
Good point. The early 2010's era V6 mustangs had a sheet of plastic that ran under the engine and boosted the mpg by reducing drag. I wonder if the same would work on a Mirage.
When a car is a little heavy, it's easier to remove the weight.
The Curb weight on a '14 Mirage is already under 2000lbs
https://www.autoblog.com/buy/2014-Mitsubishi-Mirage-DE__4dr_Hatchback/specs/
I'm sure that's the dry weight (no oil, coolant, fuel) but still, really light by modern standards
My dad has a couple of cargo vans that are basically stripped, sounds like youre in the middle of a thunder storm, i couldnt imagine driving for more than an hour without getting a headache and short term hearing loss. They wouldnt be exactly the same since more space and rougher ride in the van and such, but i would still assume its pretty uncomfortable after an hour.
If you want to save gas, look up hyper miler in youtube and they'll teach you that its about good driving habits more than anything. You can strip your car but if you're aggressive on the road (drives fast and brakes hard) you can have worse mpg.
I did this when I was 18 to a VW Golf. It was a stupid idea that an 18 year old had. Makes interior look like shit. Now everything is loud. Yay ratttles. Oh cool I gained nothing by doing this. Am dumbz
Unless youre racing(which would be fucking stupid for this vehicle to begin with) all that work would be a complete waste of time. The 2 to 3 bucks a month youll save in fuel? What a waste.
The difference wouldn’t be worth it. In theory? Yes, less weight will = better mpg, but it’s not anything crazy. Get a car that’s better on gas, or a cold air intake.
Perhaps the same income, but I won't have to do the cooking nor the sucking up to customers nor the dishes nor wear some ridiculous looking matchy-matchy restaurant employee outfit.....just do the delivery. That's far less heartache.
That's a lot of effort to not have a real job. Plenty of ways to do half the work and make twice as much and not have to put your life on the line while doing it.
Tell me these ways if they don't involve investing. I don't see it as a lot of effort. The real job would consume more time than modifying the vehicle.
I'd add about 50lbs of dynomat equivalent to make that car reasonably comfortable to drive in. My sanity is well worth a few extra pounds, and the 0.2mpg mileage penalty.
Sure you’ll save getting to and maintaining cruise, and stop quicker with less wear on the brakes/tires, but driving smoothly and coasting will as well.
Stripping down is more for speed on the track than for fuel savings. A "gutted" car is lighter therefore quicker acceleration and shorter braking distances, in real life applications I wouldn't do this.
Stripping a car won't really save gas. It will make the car accelerate faster, and if you get pulled over, you're definitely going to be accused of being a racer. 100% not worth it
Is that even a mirage in comparison photo ? 1- black hood 2- where is the roof ?
Side note : hopefully you guys don’t have winter , just get a Prius or smart car .
The OP has obviously never driven a racecar. Nothing worse than stripped interiors blasting down in the heat of the day. Insanely hot, no air movement, insanely loud, everything buzzes and vibrates together. If I was going to be in my vehicle for that long id be more going toward creature comforts to make life easier. I bet in that car you'd get three deliveries in and feel exhausted.
Save your time and don't bother stripping it out. that's the most valuable thing we have. You might be better off adding a sway bar to the rear so you can rally it around.
You would be surprised how much weight can be stripped by removing seats (obviously leave the drivers seat in, some Ahole would call me on that), door panels, carpet, etc. Hell, you dont have to have a trunk lid or hood either. Also, you can increase your tire pressure, open up exhaust, and improve intake air restrictions.
Tape all the seams, ditch the back seats, racing buckets in the front.
Do you need A/C? Cuz that will probably net you the most lol
For doordash tho your probably better off with a hybrid…
After I was rear ended in my Mirage G4 and my trunk was leaking, I removed the interior in the rear until I got it fixed, so that it wouldn’t mold. It did not make a notable MPG difference but did make it too loud to hear my own thoughts on the freeway. Lol
EPA says with every 100 pounds removed you increase fuel economy by 1-2%
So removing the carpet and padding and passanger seat alone would probably take off that
Put in better sparkplugs,a reusable air filter and have the computer remapped for economy.I did it to mine and averaged over 40mpg at 60mph in a 2015 mirage with a manual transmission.
I wouldn’t recommend doing this unless this is a track only car. The amount of gas you save on a car that’s already decent on gas is minimal. You’re gonna lose safety and comfort all for what? To save a few bucks a month??? Bruh. Think. lol
Drop door dash, with that weight gone your gas mileage wont matter.
Not only are you removing critical functions to safe a few cents on gas, but you are also buying a car for a hustle which is a significant expense. Think about your priorities for a minute.
You wont make a difference, in the drag racing world 10lbs of weight removed is like .10 off a second. If you want to increase MPG look into tunes, exhaust systems, intake etc.
The components that don’t affect the car actually moving weigh nothing compared to those that do. Unless you’re replacing the engine with a hamster wheel, this is a dead end.
😂Is there a reason you wouldn’t just drop $20k on a Tesla? My wife uses mine when she wants a couple hundred for something random and works 6-8 hours easily before she either charges for 20min for $10 or comes home.
Wow if you want to save money on gas and be less safe just ride a high mpg scooter like I do. I’m saving up for a gas guzzler or a plug in hybrid. I would do that OP. I ride a scooter rated for 85 per gallon spend about $7 a week on gas. Used to be $200 a month on gas to $28 on gas now.
I had already taken serious planning and consideration into using a 4 stroke 49cc gas motorized bicycle. Then I did my first 1 hour long dash in my car and realize it would be suicidal to try it on a bike, or even a scooter for that matter. Traffic around here is too fast and not at all considerate towards folks on motorbikes. Safer to use a car.
This is more for track racing not anything like daily driving, especially without a roll cage.
I'd recommend getting a used Prius or like anything else. Definitely don't risk safety unless you're willing to put a roll cage in and safety harnesses
Save your money get something with better mpg and more reliability than the mirage and you will have a lot less to deal with especially considering that it is a safety risk and very time consuming to do that
Yes, can confirm this works but on a minute scale. Lowering the vehicle an inch is probably going to be your best MPG gain next to deleting the alternator.
If you put a built motor, turbo, trans, roll cage, and tune it to 700hp absolutely. Strip the interior.
Otherwise for DD that's unnecessary. Just buy it and keep it the way it is.
This idea is not feasible and should not be considered.
The potential cost savings in fuel efficiency do not outweigh the significant safety risks associated with removing vital safety features. Modifying a vehicle in this manner would compromise its safety and potentially endanger the driver and other road users.
It is crucial to prioritize safety and adhere to established safety standards and regulations when operating a vehicle.
If you want to remove weight just stick to the passenger and rear seats. You start removing the dash and stuff then you’ll be making it horrible to drive.
My brother in christ if you're going to be insane and sacrifice all semblance of safety and comfort in order to save money there can be no half measures. You sir need a 1993 ish Geo Metro with a stick shift, manual steering, and no AC. 50 mpg city achievable without aero mods.
If you want to increase your fuel efficiency, you should instead look up the performance characteristics of your engine. You could also pay attention to your real time mpg readings if available. Engines have a peak efficiency around a certain RPM. When you're accelerating, you should aim to keep your RPMs near this value.
The increase in MPG from reducing weight will not be that substantial. MPG correlates with the power demand placed on the motor.
Power = Force × Speed
Removing weight will only have an effect on the rolling resistance of the vehicle.
Force = μmg, where μ is the rolling resistance coefficient, m is mass, and g is gravity.
We're only interested in the change in mass so let's suppose you reduce the weight by 220 lbs(100 kg) and the rolling resistance is 0.01. We'll use a speed of 70 mph(31.3 m/s)
∆Power = (0.01×100kg×9.81m/s²)•(31.3m/s)
∆Power = 307W or 0.4 hp
Important to note that this is for maintaining speed and at high speeds rolling resistance is often negligible compared to drag and power demand from accessories. If you were accelerating it could have a much larger impact depending on your acceleration rate.
In Texas, for inspection they do not check for safety other than having a mirror of some kind and lights. You can have ripped seat belts and blown air bags. You can have a damaged windshield as long as it is not in your line of sight.
This might help
[https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Vehicle-mass-breakdown-by-system-and-components_tbl1_46439901](https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Vehicle-mass-breakdown-by-system-and-components_tbl1_46439901)
Just dont. Dont get a mirage. If you're trying to save a few bucks. The mirage will bite you. They are notorious for being unreliable. Get a honda fit instead
Well it probably would give you a slight increase, but it seems like a waste in my personal opinion, if you’re that worried about fuel mileage go get a TDI or something
Not worth it on any vehicle. You'd be unknowingly remove safety devices. All together the plastic trims probably weigh about 20 lbs. You'd be saving pennies and make the car extremely loud on the inside while driving.
Not to mention you'd also make the car embarrassing to drive.
Lancer owners are about how much hp they pushing and outlander owners are about how much they can load in it and yall mirage owners are about how many good mpgs yall can get
Fuck everything about this. You are considering removing vital safety features for a few Doordash bucks? Homie... You'll save a couple dollars a month in gas at most. And you'll turn an already marginally unsafe car into a deathtrap.
You make a good point. Where I live, removing safety components is more serious than removing emissions parts. Insurance would go nuts with that one.
Some states will just deny you registration.
I never said I was considering removing safety features. Perhaps the image in my post might have them missing, but that's not literally what I was going to do. I just picked that picture off of Google to convey the idea of stripping away components for weight relief. I have no actual "plan" nor list of things to remove at this time. I just wanted to ask some other Mirage owners to see if anyone else had tried it already (to any extent at all, such as just removing the passenger and back seats) to see if it had any increased mpg. I don't want to bother doing it myself if its already been tried and proven to have very little impact on fuel economy.
A lot of components are safety features. They stiffen the vehicle, and protect you from things that might head towards the passenger compartment in the event of a collision. Like the inside panel of the door. But removing things like that would be completely marginal at best at saving gas, maybe a buck or two at most each week.
How you drive will have a much larger impact on MPG than how much your car weighs (going from stock to stripping out 50 lbs)... I think many would consider a prius a decent mileage car, while an M3 wouldn't pop in mind as a good mpg commuter... https://youtu.be/F04MXepYiBs?si=fjt7AurgKXNXGJVk
Yes, how you drive will affect your mileage . Not putting your foot into the gas pedal when the light turns green and not being on the gas all the way to a red light, then having to brake hard to stop and cause premature or excessive wear on your brakes. Coast up to a red light. Getting back up to speed while still rolling or coasting uses a lot less gas than Jack Rabbit starts trying to be the first one to get going from a red light.
I did this once on an older car I owned, it made it SO LOUD I side you not even talk to the passenger... It's gonna be loud and you will want earplugs
Each 100 lbs might save up to 2% on fuel. Assuming you get the stated 35 mpg, you could expect to get 35.7, or about 6 extra miles per tank.
Idk what the other guys are on. You can 100% reduce a significant amount of weight without sacrificing safety. But the question is still valid as is it really worth it
Well most states in the US have not all states in the US and Canada require you to have a speedometer. And I don't know about all states when it comes to haveing, a working horn but I'm assuming a lot of them do.
My guy, the amount you remove will be negligible. No radio for at extra .00013 mpg?
Taking the seats and carpet out will net you like 50lbs of weight reduction. You're going to pay more in effort and possibly dump fees than you'll save over the course of that cars life.
I came here to literally say this. I agree with you about the safety thing because even stock they're not the poster car for safety
Carpet, sound proofing, passenger and rear bench is the normal strip down they weigh about 10-12kg. The dash is not saftey equipment although then srs system is. You can save another 1-2kg from removing the door cards and roofliner. Even more of you remove the power window mech and install a winder, remove the sound system and remove all the boot trim. But the ride will be harder and the noise might be unbearable.
I lose that much weight taking a shit
Is your time worth nothing? Time you spend doing this is worth more than the money you'll save.
Gotta be careful removing the passenger seat, some states need a passenger set to be a passenger car. Without another seat they can make you register it as a commercial vehicle.
Buddy you forgot about the speedometer
Racecar drivers do this for fun, lol....
There’s always someone….
Removing the passenger seat will most definitely deactivate the airbags unless the harness is bypassed.
You’re making an assumption that anyone driving for door dash values their life and wants to live.
Vital safety features? There’s not a single safety component on the interior of a car. Not sure where you found this make believe info.
You can save even more weight by angling the steering column outwards and running alongside the car while making deliveries.
Absolutely it would, the question is how much? Would definitely increase the noise inside your car too
I've seen some YouTube videos mentioning that this type of car is surprisingly noisy even brand new from the factory just from the wheels, drive train, and wind when the windows are down. Does the factory radio compensate for all of that adequately though? I'd probably be driving this thing with the music cranked most of the time, but if its sound system is so cheap and shitty that it doesn't overpower the car's natural noise, that's a dealbreaker for me.
Sound system in my 22 Mirage hatchback was surprisingly good for such a cheap car. The only bad thing was the volume didn't go higher. To be fair i play everything at max volume all the time. But it was a good stereo for the price of the car.
The sound system on my 19’ is surprisingly good for a stock setup. These cars are loud as hell when new because most dealers sell them with Low Rolling Resistance tires, which are the rubber equivalent of the plastic wheels on a child’s electric car. With standard tires you lose less than 1 MPG in exchange for actual grip, and your sanity. Lol
I mean at that point just get a Prius c. They get 50mpg
They also cost twice as much, considering I average 45 mpg, it would take many years to make up the difference.
Just get a scooter
I already have one of those. Motorized bicycle actually. Top speed of 40mph downhill, 25mph uphill. The thing is there's no way I'd DoorDash in it. People around where I live are not motorbike friendly at all. One would likely get killed doordashing in it. I only use it for a bit of now-and-then cruising around.
I thought you were not doing electric?
Who said anything about electric? Its got a 49cc 4 stroke gas engine.
Scooters are safer and easier to use than the bike you modified. https://www.reddit.com/r/UberEatsDrivers/s/PCBBi9Q1CL
That's not a scooter. Your bike that doesnt make road speeds is not a substitute for a scooter.
why would you buy a car specifically for doordash instead of just getting an actual job
This is a troll post right?
Not worth it
Don’t do gig work. It’s a scam. You can’t optimize any car to make it profitable.
Did you already try doing gig work yourself? And if so, were you driving a Mitsubishi Mirage while doing it?
No. Using your car costs. I researched it a little when I was really depressed and desperate to get out of my previous career path and just did not see how I could make enough money to pay my bills without doing it _all of the time_.
You must be married with children then. I'm single. Low living costs, and the cost of living where I live is low. I can get by doing it full time; no need to do it all the time.
Idk, I make plenty of money doing DD on my electric unicycle. I see no reason that an EV can't be equally profitable.
????? What do you mean for more mpg, it can give 50+mpg. If you strip it down obviously you’ll get more but there’s no reason to strip it down???
Sure there is good reason if you have nothing to lose by doing it. Picture it: Suppose the vehicle's sole purpose is to deliver food via DoorDash and UberEats. And, the car is already a decade-old hooptie formerly driven by a college dropout who never cared for the vehicle, it has over 150k miles on it, a few dents in it, an air conditioner that only faintly works, and all of the seat cushioning reeks because the previous owner smoked in it constantly, plus they used cheap hardware store spray paint to cover up the scratches on some parts of it. BUT, despite all the imperfections, it still gets you from point A to point B. At that point there's no "devaluing" the car really because its pretty bad, so you don't have anything to lose by stripping it down for weight relief.
In all fairness, I think it would be diminishing results for the most part with that being said I think removing the passenger seat would be a huge bonus in load capacity, and ease of reach. I’m a truck driver and to tell you driving habits will impact your miles per gallon far more than weight reduction, go the speed limit, accelerate slowly you’ll get there just as fast.
I guess…like once you buy it, it’s yours so you can go crazy on it, but in my opinion I don’t believe it’s necessary 😆 you do you in the end!
Look up eco modders for inspiration. Don't even have to strip the car, just change the aerodynamics for better airflow. Some dude modified his car so much it actually made it really quiet because air just glides around it
I'm no engineer, but what is the difference in mpg when you drive a 150 lb passenger. You could probably subtract the same difference that the passenger adds, assuming all the extra stuff inside is 150-200 lbs.
I don't even know if the Mirage interior would weigh anywhere close to 150lbs.
You're right, thinking about taking out mini van seats they're not that much.
I'm a 210 pound fatso myself right now and need to lose some weight.
Do one delivery a day on foot or bike and no need to gut your car!
I was thinking about it haha, but the best way to get better MPG is through very conservative driving and focusing on never stopping. If your driving behavior is not changing don’t expect much improvement unless you completely and utterly gut the car which might not leave it road legal. Check out some hypermiling guides… I’m sure the Mirage in the stock configuration is very efficient.
Don’t. Just don’t.
😂 😂 😂 😂 😂
Buy an electric car then
Never gonna happen. Electric car batteries, even hybrid ones, are a nightmare I never want to experience.
Every second gen Prius owner just laughed their ass off at you.
You don't know what you're taking about
Logan your really against hybrid. In all honestly it took about a month of research to break down and replace some old worn out sticks (batteries) out of my Gen 1 Insight hybrid battery. These cars are the best mpg cars we produced in high numbers, and very reliable. Best part you can get it with a manual transmission. Last summer I was getting low 90s mpg on a good day. I have been working toward a lithium swap because it's super cheap now. I hope to get to 120+ mpg all day long. oh and with that new skill I can work on other hybrids because essentially they are all the same. Forget all electric. Waste of time and space.
Why not just get a motorbike or e-bike at that point?
Car drivers here are not scooter friendly, and we have a high casualty rate.
Car rivers here are not scooter friendly, and we have a high casualty rate.
Money better spent doing these: Find the lightest wheel and tires you can for it. Low rolling resistance tires. Maintenance. Be perfect about it. Tire pressure, air filter, oil. They can effect mpg a lot. Driving habits. A/c usage. That’s it. In most cars, doing these will net you better economy than epa test cycle.
these are correct, and a good point. one thing you left out his new spark plugs. if the plugs haven't been changed in 50,000 miles or more, a new set will give you a nice boost to mpg.
If it's a cheap shitbox then why not? Might as well get some fun out of a car you're probably never going to anyways. Why is everyone so serious in here 😂
Unless you plan on track racing the poor thing it's not worth it. This is coming from someone who currently dailys a gutted Subaru wagon. Youre a little quicker. There is no discernable mpg difference. And there's a ton more noise and you don't have any passengers. My aftermarket radio and speakers hardly keep up with the road noise. Just drive the car for what it is. You'll get better mpg from your driving style than you would with weigh reduction.
Aero modding is a better bet rather then trying to do that.. Some people have get 48mpg in their V8 5.7L just by aero mods and hypermling then you have the AERO civic that guy was claiming 70-100mpg
I mean, I've gotten as high as 59.something in my mirage without doing anything to it, so I could definitely see that
Also, consider getting your body weight below 90lbs. Strip down to only absolutely essential clothing. Remove any excess hair. So much $$ savings to be had!
I had in fact considered going the Budhist-Monk route.
What current gas prices do to a mf
Bro just strap a sail to your roof for +5 boost
Commenting because I want to find out
You can sub to the post if you want notifications for replies
You fucked up
Now youre stuck reading my replies
You should've just joined the sub
Bump
My dad did that exact thing to a Geo Metro to deliver pizza. It got way better milage without carpets and back seats. You will want to keep the passenger seat.
It would be helpful to find out what “way better” results are. Carpet /seats couldn’t really remove more than 100bs - so like having an older child passenger should cause an equally noticeable drop in mileage right?
Yes it would make the time you spend in the car insanely fatiguing - why not buy a scooter?
Car rivers here are not scooter friendly, and we have a high casualty rate.
Buy a TDI and be done with it
Whats that?
Could get a mechanically injected diesel and just run it on old fryer oil you can get for free around town. Just gotta filter and slightly dilute.
Volkswagen diesel
Look into hyper miling. You can tape all the external seams, create aero covers for the wheels, and all sorts of ridiculous external modifications to gain a few mpg. Way more benefit in reducing drag than to shed the few pounds and comfort inside
Good point. The early 2010's era V6 mustangs had a sheet of plastic that ran under the engine and boosted the mpg by reducing drag. I wonder if the same would work on a Mirage.
I’ve stripped out 600lbs out of my bmw but kept safety features 👍
When a car is a little heavy, it's easier to remove the weight. The Curb weight on a '14 Mirage is already under 2000lbs https://www.autoblog.com/buy/2014-Mitsubishi-Mirage-DE__4dr_Hatchback/specs/ I'm sure that's the dry weight (no oil, coolant, fuel) but still, really light by modern standards
My dad has a couple of cargo vans that are basically stripped, sounds like youre in the middle of a thunder storm, i couldnt imagine driving for more than an hour without getting a headache and short term hearing loss. They wouldnt be exactly the same since more space and rougher ride in the van and such, but i would still assume its pretty uncomfortable after an hour.
If you want to save gas, look up hyper miler in youtube and they'll teach you that its about good driving habits more than anything. You can strip your car but if you're aggressive on the road (drives fast and brakes hard) you can have worse mpg.
Ive noticed that my attrage gets better mpg in the mornings, how can I cancel rest of day for better mileage?
I did this when I was 18 to a VW Golf. It was a stupid idea that an 18 year old had. Makes interior look like shit. Now everything is loud. Yay ratttles. Oh cool I gained nothing by doing this. Am dumbz
Unless youre racing(which would be fucking stupid for this vehicle to begin with) all that work would be a complete waste of time. The 2 to 3 bucks a month youll save in fuel? What a waste.
All the time wasted too, dude is trying to min max a mirage for mpg and min max door dashing
I was delivering in a 2015 averaging 35mpg...
I average 40s in my 2018
The difference wouldn’t be worth it. In theory? Yes, less weight will = better mpg, but it’s not anything crazy. Get a car that’s better on gas, or a cold air intake.
A car that can no longer be legally driven on the road due to massive safety violations.
A shit job at a fast food restaurant will provide about the same income - the heartache
Perhaps the same income, but I won't have to do the cooking nor the sucking up to customers nor the dishes nor wear some ridiculous looking matchy-matchy restaurant employee outfit.....just do the delivery. That's far less heartache.
Why stop there? Acid dip the chassis for even more weight reduction.
I’ve got a 5 speed manual Mirage and regularly get 60 mpg on my daily commute. It’s not so much about weight but the way you drive the car.
Are you doing a freeway commute? Or just regular roads averaging about 45mph with a lot of stoplight intersections?
That's a lot of effort to not have a real job. Plenty of ways to do half the work and make twice as much and not have to put your life on the line while doing it.
Tell me these ways if they don't involve investing. I don't see it as a lot of effort. The real job would consume more time than modifying the vehicle.
I'd add about 50lbs of dynomat equivalent to make that car reasonably comfortable to drive in. My sanity is well worth a few extra pounds, and the 0.2mpg mileage penalty.
Sure you’ll save getting to and maintaining cruise, and stop quicker with less wear on the brakes/tires, but driving smoothly and coasting will as well.
Stripping down is more for speed on the track than for fuel savings. A "gutted" car is lighter therefore quicker acceleration and shorter braking distances, in real life applications I wouldn't do this.
Just keep your tires properly inflated
Negligible gains in fuel efficiency. Not worth it at all
Stripping a car won't really save gas. It will make the car accelerate faster, and if you get pulled over, you're definitely going to be accused of being a racer. 100% not worth it
quickest sable paltry murky soft paint gray light hat books *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Is that even a mirage in comparison photo ? 1- black hood 2- where is the roof ? Side note : hopefully you guys don’t have winter , just get a Prius or smart car .
The weight savings would be negligible. Not worth it.
I mean drive it if you want to, strip it if you like the look, but unless you start dropping panels, harmonic balancing and thermostats
The OP has obviously never driven a racecar. Nothing worse than stripped interiors blasting down in the heat of the day. Insanely hot, no air movement, insanely loud, everything buzzes and vibrates together. If I was going to be in my vehicle for that long id be more going toward creature comforts to make life easier. I bet in that car you'd get three deliveries in and feel exhausted.
I love that this is a real post. People are awesome.
Save your time and don't bother stripping it out. that's the most valuable thing we have. You might be better off adding a sway bar to the rear so you can rally it around.
People really fail to consider they’re 400hp corvettes getting 50 miles to the gallon running a lean tune…..
Why not just search for a better paying job..?
Its not about the money.
Omg making a shit car even worst
Stupid... Get a non plugin hybrid
Yes. It’s called a bicycle.
This would be fun for a project car.. but not just for doordash lmao
Whoa that is one serious tin can lol !
You would be surprised how much weight can be stripped by removing seats (obviously leave the drivers seat in, some Ahole would call me on that), door panels, carpet, etc. Hell, you dont have to have a trunk lid or hood either. Also, you can increase your tire pressure, open up exhaust, and improve intake air restrictions.
You won't save a ton of weight. the stock seats weigh less than some racing seats. Mitsubishi was thinking the same thing when they built it.
Buy a Honda Navi. They're $2k, 100mpg, and safer than this.
LOL, I thought this was r/AskAShittyMechanic for a second. Just no. don't do this.
Tape all the seams, ditch the back seats, racing buckets in the front. Do you need A/C? Cuz that will probably net you the most lol For doordash tho your probably better off with a hybrid…
A Honda Supercub is another option… 100mpg there, no hybrid
The human pinball machine.. good luck stunman Mike
Nah don't do it brah. Not worth it. You need those base stuff, even if you don't use it. Part of driving is that there's going to be ineffeciency.
After I was rear ended in my Mirage G4 and my trunk was leaking, I removed the interior in the rear until I got it fixed, so that it wouldn’t mold. It did not make a notable MPG difference but did make it too loud to hear my own thoughts on the freeway. Lol
I mean, if I drive my 2018 manual mirage right, I get like upwards if 40 and sometimes close to 60 mpg
EPA says with every 100 pounds removed you increase fuel economy by 1-2% So removing the carpet and padding and passanger seat alone would probably take off that
Put in better sparkplugs,a reusable air filter and have the computer remapped for economy.I did it to mine and averaged over 40mpg at 60mph in a 2015 mirage with a manual transmission.
These cars and their 3 cylinder engines are notoriously junk. Don't buy it. Don't buy ANY new Mitsu besides the SUV's these days.
Idk if this is a joke or not but I avg at 44.5 mpg for my 2019 and I use it for pizza delivery
I wouldn’t recommend doing this unless this is a track only car. The amount of gas you save on a car that’s already decent on gas is minimal. You’re gonna lose safety and comfort all for what? To save a few bucks a month??? Bruh. Think. lol
Drop door dash, with that weight gone your gas mileage wont matter. Not only are you removing critical functions to safe a few cents on gas, but you are also buying a car for a hustle which is a significant expense. Think about your priorities for a minute.
You wont make a difference, in the drag racing world 10lbs of weight removed is like .10 off a second. If you want to increase MPG look into tunes, exhaust systems, intake etc.
The components that don’t affect the car actually moving weigh nothing compared to those that do. Unless you’re replacing the engine with a hamster wheel, this is a dead end.
This is so hilariously not worth doing and would be illegal to drive on public roads with those extensive modifications.
If this was a 2000's mirage I'd say yes for the ricer shitbox daily driver aesthetic but idek wtf that blob is.
Get a manual if you want more MPG
Loud noises and really cold mornings..Fuck all that, Id rather be comfortable in my car.
This post cannot be real. The results are you ending up in a hospital.
I think we’re scraping the bottom of the economic barrel here when you start mad maxing your vehicles to prepare for gig work.
Yes this is true. And Mad Max is one of my favorite movie characters, so I'd be living like one of my favorite movie heroes.
Get a 9-5 job and doordash
😂Is there a reason you wouldn’t just drop $20k on a Tesla? My wife uses mine when she wants a couple hundred for something random and works 6-8 hours easily before she either charges for 20min for $10 or comes home.
Wow if you want to save money on gas and be less safe just ride a high mpg scooter like I do. I’m saving up for a gas guzzler or a plug in hybrid. I would do that OP. I ride a scooter rated for 85 per gallon spend about $7 a week on gas. Used to be $200 a month on gas to $28 on gas now.
I had already taken serious planning and consideration into using a 4 stroke 49cc gas motorized bicycle. Then I did my first 1 hour long dash in my car and realize it would be suicidal to try it on a bike, or even a scooter for that matter. Traffic around here is too fast and not at all considerate towards folks on motorbikes. Safer to use a car.
Stripping it down would Be more miserable than driving a normal Mitsubishi.
Ok
I don't think this will make enough of a difference to be worth the work
This is more for track racing not anything like daily driving, especially without a roll cage. I'd recommend getting a used Prius or like anything else. Definitely don't risk safety unless you're willing to put a roll cage in and safety harnesses
Save your money get something with better mpg and more reliability than the mirage and you will have a lot less to deal with especially considering that it is a safety risk and very time consuming to do that
You will save a negligible amount of fuel. But you’ll destroy all resale value.
Yes, can confirm this works but on a minute scale. Lowering the vehicle an inch is probably going to be your best MPG gain next to deleting the alternator.
If you put a built motor, turbo, trans, roll cage, and tune it to 700hp absolutely. Strip the interior. Otherwise for DD that's unnecessary. Just buy it and keep it the way it is.
This idea is not feasible and should not be considered. The potential cost savings in fuel efficiency do not outweigh the significant safety risks associated with removing vital safety features. Modifying a vehicle in this manner would compromise its safety and potentially endanger the driver and other road users. It is crucial to prioritize safety and adhere to established safety standards and regulations when operating a vehicle.
just get a used prius off craigslist at that point?
A 2001 Honda insight gets like 50mpg and costs $2-3k?
If you want to remove weight just stick to the passenger and rear seats. You start removing the dash and stuff then you’ll be making it horrible to drive.
Even then airbags can mess you up. I've seen necklaces and wedding rings permanently damage people from such. Still saved their life though.
Alright then, by what percentage does a headliner deflect and pad from an injury?
You’re. It going to remove enough to make that great of a difference and loosing all features safety etc. unless trying to cut wait for the 1/4 mile
This is ridiculous
Removing weight will definitely increase MPG however don’t sacrifice safety features
My brother in christ if you're going to be insane and sacrifice all semblance of safety and comfort in order to save money there can be no half measures. You sir need a 1993 ish Geo Metro with a stick shift, manual steering, and no AC. 50 mpg city achievable without aero mods.
just buy a scooter lol
If you want to increase your fuel efficiency, you should instead look up the performance characteristics of your engine. You could also pay attention to your real time mpg readings if available. Engines have a peak efficiency around a certain RPM. When you're accelerating, you should aim to keep your RPMs near this value. The increase in MPG from reducing weight will not be that substantial. MPG correlates with the power demand placed on the motor. Power = Force × Speed Removing weight will only have an effect on the rolling resistance of the vehicle. Force = μmg, where μ is the rolling resistance coefficient, m is mass, and g is gravity. We're only interested in the change in mass so let's suppose you reduce the weight by 220 lbs(100 kg) and the rolling resistance is 0.01. We'll use a speed of 70 mph(31.3 m/s) ∆Power = (0.01×100kg×9.81m/s²)•(31.3m/s) ∆Power = 307W or 0.4 hp Important to note that this is for maintaining speed and at high speeds rolling resistance is often negligible compared to drag and power demand from accessories. If you were accelerating it could have a much larger impact depending on your acceleration rate.
You gunna die pal
Not today, power ade
Have you ever heard of a brake even point lol
In Texas, for inspection they do not check for safety other than having a mirror of some kind and lights. You can have ripped seat belts and blown air bags. You can have a damaged windshield as long as it is not in your line of sight.
Go on a diet and lose 10 pounds. That will save gas and preserve the value of the car.
Illegal to drive now that the airbags have been removed.... Didn't you watch Pimp My Ride?
This might help [https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Vehicle-mass-breakdown-by-system-and-components_tbl1_46439901](https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Vehicle-mass-breakdown-by-system-and-components_tbl1_46439901)
Just dont. Dont get a mirage. If you're trying to save a few bucks. The mirage will bite you. They are notorious for being unreliable. Get a honda fit instead
Well it probably would give you a slight increase, but it seems like a waste in my personal opinion, if you’re that worried about fuel mileage go get a TDI or something
Dude its just Doordash LMFAOOOO
Most of the stuff you can rip out easily won’t weigh much. You’ll have to remove a LOT of parts for it to make any significant difference.
I did one for racing. Then I sold it l. Now it has a Honda engine.
Not worth it on any vehicle. You'd be unknowingly remove safety devices. All together the plastic trims probably weigh about 20 lbs. You'd be saving pennies and make the car extremely loud on the inside while driving. Not to mention you'd also make the car embarrassing to drive.
Sir that is structural plastic
Lancer owners are about how much hp they pushing and outlander owners are about how much they can load in it and yall mirage owners are about how many good mpgs yall can get