2014 Mitsubishi Mirage

[alex16]

Cliff notes:

I am looking for the best I can put on my little car, factory it came with 0w20 full synthetic oil and a Mitsubishi MZ690072 oil filter.

Long story:

I am OCD about my car and over kill so please forgive me I do drive it hard sometimes and I don't mind spending a little extra to take care of it tiny bit better. I do severe oil changes @3500 during the super cold central PA winter months and during the summer I stretch to 5k (7500 recommended normal OCI). I put about 1300 miles a month on my car so my longest time between changes is 4 months.

Current oil has been synthetic from Mitsubishi corp Thailand, changed @ 492 miles with Mobil 1 ow20 economy synthetic & Napa gold FIL1356, then dealer changes (free) 3400 and 6800 miles w/ MZ690072 & dealership Castrol Edge full synthetic 0w20.

Currrent filter choices?

Wix: 51356 - full Wix warranty (better flow rate) - 95% @ 20 microns, 50% @ 6 microns
NAPA Gold: FIL 1356 - looks like Wix warranties this - 95% @ 20 microns, 50% @ 6 microns
Mobil1: M1-110 - Warranty - full synthetic, expensive, intended for extended drain
NAPA Silver: SFL 31356 - looks like Wix warranties this, nitrile ADBV, ~80% @ 20 microns
O'Reilly's MicroGard MGL51356 - comes with O'Reilly's standard 1yr warranty, nitrile ADBV, made in Mexico, same as NAPA Silver
NAPA Proselect SFI 21356 - looks like Wix warranties this, nitrile ADBV
Donaldson: P502007 - Warranty - 50% @ 20 microns, Made in Indonesia
Baldwin: B1402 - Baldwin's warranty - "99+% @ 45 microns and 50% @ 23 microns" (HC), nitrile ADBV?, made in USA
Hastings: - LF240 - Hasting's warranty - Same as Baldwin (HC), nitrile ADBV?
Fram: TG7317 ToughGuard or XG7317 Ultra Synthetic - unknown warranty details (slowest flow rate?)

I read somewhere the Baldwin were amazing filters, then I found a Mitsubishi Evo thread that said AMSOIL filters were the best...

I found this on the amsoil website EA15K13
http://www.amsoil.com/mygarage/vehiclelookuppage.aspx?url2=2014+MITSUBISHI+MIRAGE+J

 

[slacktide_bitog]

For short OCI's even the cheapest oil filters will work fine. I'd use one of the cheaper Wixes (Napa Silver/PS, Microgard, etc)

Baldwin and Hastings are good, if you can find them.

They high-end synthetic filters are only worth it if you push to 10k and beyond.

Sometimes Kmart has the Purolator Synthetic on sale.

Fram's warrnty is
5k for the OCOD
10k for the TG
15k for the Ultra

 

[Ethan1]

There's no way to convey the earnest respect and goodwill that I have for you through text, so this is going to sound harsh on some level. This is a throwaway car. Don't bother with expensive oils because oil cannot overcome poor engineering. Even 0W-16 unicorn blood will not help if there's a weak spot in your block's casting. Even a minor accident will total this car. Take that money and put it away for a down payment on a solid car that can actually benefit from responsible maintenance.

 

[JHZR2]

Id run Mobil 1 Extended Performance 0w20 in there with whichever of those filters you can get cheapest (some of which you may be able to get from time to time with the oil on a parts dealer sale, so Id consider that), do a used oil analysis at 1 year/10k miles, see if all is well, then take it out or leave it at that.

I agree with the above that this is a car that given depreciation and poor market acceptance will be totaled with an accident and whatnot, but that's not a reason to avoid taking good care of it. I agree to put the best in but don't do overkill when there's no good reason.

Good on you to want to do whats best for your vehicle.

 

[hansj3]

Ya know people would say that about my '12 soul, but still its a 13k investment for the fact I won't have to **** with it for 100k. That's a lot of $

I really don't think there is a throwaway class of cars anymore. Even the cheapest new cars come with an electronics suite that was reserved for high end luxury cars a decade ago. Add that to the fact that safety standards have climbed a bunch in the last 10 years' I'd bet that mitsu is as safe as a Taurus or Malibu of a decade ago. Even more so comparing an 05 mid size to that thing new.... metal fatigue and rust don't you know

Its commendable to try and keep it in the best shape, but your oci are short so just about anything would work. If you still worry get the highest tier brand of filter you prefer and a name brand you like of oil.

Now if you'd like to stretch your oci to OEM recommendations or beyond then start to worry. Most manufacturers don't have any oil based engine damage until 250k or more. Oil just got better and so did tolerances

 

[SwampSurvivor]

I don't think there are any "bad" 0w-20s out there. I would extend it to at least 7500 in the summer.


Originally Posted By: Ethan1
There's no way to convey the earnest respect and goodwill that I have for you through text, so this is going to sound harsh on some level. This is a throwaway car. Don't bother with expensive oils because oil cannot overcome poor engineering. Even 0W-16 unicorn blood will not help if there's a weak spot in your block's casting. Even a minor accident will total this car. Take that money and put it away for a down payment on a solid car that can actually benefit from responsible maintenance.


Yes, OP would have been much better off buying a 10 year old Benz full of electrical gremlins, that got 1/2 the gas mileage.

 

[NHGUY]

3 cylinder gas vehicle.....and people are paying their eye teeth for 50 mpg 3 cylinder Geo Metro XFIs...so its the revival for the Metro,only with the 3 diamonds instead of that short lived "globe" symbol.They will always have their fans.Nothing wrong with that.

 

[wemay]

Originally Posted By: NHGUY
3 cylinder gas vehicle.....and people are paying their eye teeth for 50 mpg 3 cylinder Geo Metro XFIs...so its the revival for the Metro,only with the 3 diamonds instead of that short lived "globe" symbol.They will always have their fans.Nothing wrong with that.


Very well said.

 

[alex16]

I absolutely adore my Mirage, I've driven tons of cars over the years ranging from Excursions to CRX's. I plan on keeping my Mirage until I total it 50k or 500k miles later. The mpg in my car is about 49 tank average, ownership average 42.4mpg with cold central pa winters and mountains. I want to run Eneos 0W20 oil for the rest of its life that is sold a few blocks away at napa for $35 1 gallon jug.

I always wanted a XFI with all the modern car features and the mirage answered my prayers. To some people this might be a throw away car but my 13k mirage is the last car I want to own, unless they come out with a xfi style package with a 1.0L like in europe, at that time I will likely just purchase a used 1.0 and swap it into my mirage when the original 1.2 gives out. I already upgraded my manual transmission fluid to redline. I will try this amsoil filter out and see how it works since everyone wants to tell me my car isn't worth it. I run T6s rotella and wix filters on my $100 Jeep as well and full snythetic Mobil 1 in all my aircooled engines.

 

[alex16]

So far there are tons of cars out there with engine issues, the spark has a lot of owners with oil consumption problems as well as other major auto makers. The Mirage has had only one engine failure that I can find online so far since its introduction in 2012. Just because a car is cheap doesn't mean the engine is going to fail at 150k miles.

 

[simple_gifts]

No need to defend your purchase. No one here knows your $ situation or what you view as important.

Sometimes the simplest of vehicles end up being gems.

Look @ my sig and see if my $13.2K "disposable vehicle" warrants the same ridicule I received from my coworkers the day I bought it.

 

[alex16]

The echo is a excellent car as is the yaris! Was for sure my choice if I went second hand.

Maybe I'll get lucky and get to 300K+ with my little car as well!

I want to dyno test my oil Mobil 1 vs eneos like I've seen on youtube to see if it makes any noticeable difference. When I was at a dyno day I saw them prove royal purple and ams oil made a difference vs new Mobil 1 but there are tons of variables on a dyno.

 

[robo339]

Email baldwin for correct specs for my application they have way better efficiency 90% @12 micron

 

[tomcat27]

I, too, treat my Echo as if it is a prized possession. My goal is to put 300-400k miles on it. anyway, from my previous research (and certainly things change all the time) I rank filters as follows:

best: Amsoil, Royal Purple
very very good: Mobil 1
very good: Hastings, Baldwin, Fram ultra

 

[wemay]

 

[Vuflanovsky]

Personally, I think Ladas and Trabants are "throwaway cars" and there ain't too many that fit that category sold in the U.S. these days.

If you're looking for the closest thing to an updated Geo Metro then you couldn't have done better. It was either Edmunds or Car and Driver that drove one from LA to San Francisco and they were waxing on about how it wasn't as bad as they expected. What I really enjoy is seeing a car like that get a parking space on the street right away and then see some goof in a lift kit truck circling the block for 20 minutes because he doesn't fit anywhere. I'm sure that guy in the truck would be the first to call your car a "throwaway" but then again you've saved twenty minutes of aggravation.

 

[Ethan1]

Originally Posted By: hansj3
I really don't think there is a throwaway class of cars anymore.


Maybe not, but Mitsubishi is treating their customers as throwaway people. IIHS gave the Mirage the lowest possible overall safety rating, partly due to tests were the airbags couldn't stop the driver's head from hitting the dash! So NO, it's not REMOTELY as safe as an older Taurus or Malibu.

 

[ronp]

Op, I have a few cars and my newest is a Mazda 2. I love the little guy. I've herd the same stuff from guys at work. In my field we drive a god awful lot. Put over 60000 last year. We get paid well for mileage and my mileage pay easily bought my car in a year and covered enough for maintenance and in with untaxable money to spare on top of regular pay. I leave the truck parked at home until I need it for what its made for.I just shake my head at my friends at work because they spend thousands in fuel alone driving their big trucks back and forth to work. I have a 94 Yukon with over 300k that runs great. I keep liability insurance on it and pay chump change for gas in my Mazda 2. It can go over 100 miles and hour and I can pass slow pokes just like any other car can
what more do you need.

Drive that little car till it dies and enjoy all the Xtra cash your not giving to the pumps.

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: simple_gifts
No need to defend your purchase. No one here knows your $ situation or what you view as important.

Sometimes the simplest of vehicles end up being gems.

Look @ my sig and see if my $13.2K "disposable vehicle" warrants the same ridicule I received from my coworkers the day I bought it.


I agree. I grew up with these cars in the family... Plymouth champ, dodge colt vista wagon, then a dodge colt 2dr. All mirages afaik, all had a Mitsubishi key despite the domestic badges.

The car won't be worth much if it gets hit. But it's not hit, and so the best approach is to do what's best for it without spoiling the economy that the car has as its intent of existence.

 

[alex16]

Currrent filter choices?

Wix: 51356 - 6.88 shipped
NAPA Gold: FIL 1356 -$7 napa
Mobil1: M1-110 - 12.72 shipped
Baldwin: B1402 - 8.50 shipped
Hastings: - LF240 - 8.00 shipped
Fram: XG7317 Ultra Synthetic -$9 walmart
AMSOIL Ea15K- 20 shipped



(Will edit post after computer restart)