Secrets of the Mirage

Postby **Loren** » Tue Jul 31, 2018 11:17 am

I'm running 93 octane.

Glad you were able to perceive the difference, Steve!

Postby **Loren** » Tue Aug 28, 2018 1:19 am

Hmmm... might have a line on a lightweight crankshaft pulley.

I'm also trying to find a salvage flywheel and clutch assembly and a waterpump pulley so that I can look at lightening those. I haven't been able to find an aluminum flywheel for this car yet.

Lightness is good.

Postby **Loren** » Tue Aug 28, 2018 2:44 am

Aaand, damn those internet forums.

The rear seat, including the package tray, not including the seatbelts weighs 48.8 pounds and it all comes out with a 14mm wrench in 20 minutes. It's almost too easy to NOT do!

But, even just running without the package tray in place, the car gets loud. So, if I pull the back seat, I need to have a heavy removable sound-deadening blanket or carpet to toss in there to cover up the floor and block some noise. I'll have to think about that some.

CaptainSquirts · Postby **CaptainSquirts** » Tue Aug 28, 2018 7:56 am

One event I took out the rear seats and there was this thinish heavy padding/blanket that sat under the seats. Not really knowing what it was I took it off. The day of driving to the event, holy crap it was like driving in a race car. I heard e v e r y s i n g l e t h i n g! It was kinda cool but annoying as well. I did eak out ahead of Ron by 0.059 seconds. I tend to believe it was due to removing everything in the trunk and rear

.

Postby **Loren** » Tue Aug 28, 2018 9:02 am

50 pounds in the Mirage is 2.5% of the weight of the car!

CaptainSquirts · Postby **CaptainSquirts** » Tue Aug 28, 2018 9:27 am

Hearing it now, the Mirage is FTD'ing at the next classic.

Postby **Loren** » Tue Aug 28, 2018 1:29 pm

Not likely, but I'd like to get into the top 10. I'm not even consistently in the top 20 yet.

Postby **Loren** » Tue Sep 18, 2018 12:42 am

Loren wrote:Hmmm... might have a line on a lightweight crankshaft pulley.

Pulley arrived from Malaysia today! Stock pulley is rumored to weigh 2.80 pounds, this one weighs 1.02 pounds. I'll accept that!

Price wasn't too bad for a limited availability aluminum crank pulley. It was about $115 shipped.

Looks like a well-made part. Actually says it's made in USA by "Works Engineering"... dunno why I had to order it through some outfit in Malaysia. But, whatever.

I'm going to try to do some baseline acceleration testing (which I've been meaning to do, anyway... now that the ECU has time to adapt to the changes that my "OBD tuner" made) this week, maybe tomorrow. Then I can install it and see what kind of difference it makes. I wonder if it's enough to even be measured? We shall see.

CaptainSquirts · Postby **CaptainSquirts** » Tue Sep 18, 2018 10:47 am

Does your stock one have a harmonic balancer on it?

Postby **Loren** » Tue Sep 18, 2018 11:33 am

Most likely, yes. Doing away with that in the name of a lightweight pulley is always a debate. I've considered it. Gonna give it a go, anyway.

CaptainSquirts · Postby **CaptainSquirts** » Tue Sep 18, 2018 12:10 pm

Well it's only 3 cylinders, how bad could it be

.

Postby **Loren** » Tue Sep 18, 2018 12:44 pm

3 cylinders are inherently imbalanced. It will probably make the engine feel a little rougher. I don't expect it to be bad, though. I did research as best I could on lightweight flywheels toward the same end. Found some folks who had done it one 3-cylinder 1.0 Metro engines without issue.

Worst case, these cars are common and very reliable. So, demand for used engines is low, and supply is high. I can get a used engine for a few hundred bucks.

twistedwankel · Postby **twistedwankel** » Tue Sep 18, 2018 1:17 pm

Loren wrote:I can get a used engine for a few hundred bucks.

Something tells me you want it to self destruct so you can put a leaf blower on it or maybe do(o)med pistons

Postby **Loren** » Tue Sep 18, 2018 1:36 pm

I don't want it to blow up, but it's possible I could put a small supercharger on it in a couple years. I'm not done playing in M4 yet! And, just like the Festiva... forced induction bumps it up to M2! I'd like to stay in M4 as long as I can.

CaptainSquirts · Postby **CaptainSquirts** » Tue Sep 18, 2018 2:18 pm

I agree with what Doug says

. Trying to blow it up for a LS swap.

yamaha731 · Postby **yamaha731** » Tue Sep 18, 2018 2:36 pm

A FWD ls1 swap would be sick

Postby **Loren** » Tue Sep 18, 2018 3:15 pm

Y'all are getting way off-topic. This car might, maybe, possibly see a small supercharger someday. That's it.

If it were to get into custom engine swap territory, a) I'd definitely start a new project thread, because it would be an entirely new project; and b) while I like the idea of the FWD-packaged LS... if I was going to all the trouble of fitting it into a car like this, it would go in the rear.

AScoda · Postby **AScoda** » Tue Sep 18, 2018 3:27 pm

Loren wrote:it would go in the rear.

That's what she....

WRX 4wd swap!!

I wonder if Loren will just get a good car to start with one day. Must tinker, I guess.

twistedwankel · Postby **twistedwankel** » Tue Sep 18, 2018 4:58 pm

Loren wrote: I'd like to stay dominate in M4 as long as I can.

There fixed that typo for you.

Postby **Loren** » Tue Sep 18, 2018 5:02 pm

I do have fun making improper cars do things they aren't supposed to do.

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