The Post-Autocross life of my Mirage

[Loren]

I bought this silly car with the intent of autocrossing it, as is my wont. It's the epitome of "slow car fast", and ended up being a ton of fun! You can read all about that in the Secrets of the Mirage thread.

From August 2017 through July 2019 it competed in nearly 60 autocross events, many of those with 2 or more drivers. 469 runs on 12 tires, mostly Dunlop ZIII. 195/50-15 initially, but bumped to 205's in the front for the last 8 months.

It got modified, but really nothing beyond bolt-on stuff. Mind you, I had to CREATE some of the bolt-on stuff!

At its peak, it had
Wheels & Tires (195/50 & 205/50 on 15x7)
Suspension (coilover kit, rear swaybar, custom front suspension bits)
Exhaust
Kinda sorta tuner (not a real flash tuner, did advance timing and improve throttle curve)
Lighweight Crankshaft Pulley
Lightened Flywheel
Updated to 2017 spec engine (CVT version with dual roller cams)
Rear Seat Removed

Since it's been "retired", the rear swaybar was removed, the "tuner" was removed (because it kept draining the battery), suspension was raised about an inch, 15x7 wheels replaced with 15x6.5's with REALLY narrow (155/60-15) tires, trick lower control arms and bump steer correction tie-rod ends removed, back seat reinstalled.

I've not really been driving it. It's become my "run errands" car, so it maybe gets driven 2-3x per week, never more than 10 miles. I've decided to replace it with a short-range EV, but that's another story. But, I've bought the replacement, so I'm prepping to sell this one!

Even with the super-skinny tires, the car is a hoot to drive! It handles great! You do have to be cognizant of the fact that there is a LIMIT to how much grip is available, unlike when I was on 205 autocross rubber. But, that's never a problem on the street. Plenty of grip to hang a corner as long as you're smooth about it.

[Loren]

So, in the not-too-distant future, I'll probably have Carl swap the tires onto the stock wheels. But, I sold the stock wheels a long time ago?

Tangent:
When my Mom passed away, she had a 2018 Mirage that nobody else wanted, so I arranged to take it and resell it to my son. He's in KS, so I arranged to drive it out to him. The tires LOOKED okay at a glance, so I didn't think anything about it. But, 2 days before my trip, I was doing a "road trip" inspection, and found that the tires were NOT okay. One had been curbed, one had been replaced, the fronts were worn unevenly, etc. Sooo... the 15x6.5 Konig's with the Toyo's that I'd bought for this car got swapped onto THAT car. Now I have stock wheels with shitty tires... and I couldn't fit them on MY Mirage... because of my modified lower control arms. So, I bought ANOTHER set of Konig's ($88 each shipped) and put those super-narrow 155's on them just to experiment.

I have a full set of stock wheels with wheel covers and TPMS in my attic! I'm gonna put those on the car before I sell it. That'll get the TPMS light to turn off on the car (after some programming, I guess). And give me a set of nice Konig's to maybe put on my other car.

I MIIIIGHT lower the car a half-inch and put some 1/4" wheel spacers on it to give it a sort of cool look. Curb appeal, you know?

I do need to remove some camber from the front, as well.

That and a good cleaning, she'll be ready to sell.

Anybody wanna buy a cheap fun-to-drive econobox???

[Loren]

Sold it today! $6k, exactly as it sat. The guy who bought it is a "Mirage enthusiast" who loved everything about it!

[Native]

Congrats.
The Circle of Life, right?