Basic Questions from a new RA owner
 

Thanks to all in advance for any help. I just bought a 2010 RA. This is my first nice/new/kickass car, and I want to take care of her properly but also had a few questions, as I am new to owning a turbo charged car, and have never had anything with 2 clutches in it before.

1.) What RPMs should I be shifting at for the best fuel economy? When I am in automatic (normal) mode, the car seems to shift at around 3000 for 2nd, and 3rd gear. Is this normal? At times I also notice that it will rev even higher on 2nd gear, one time at 4000 (not sure if this depends on how I am accelerating, but at the time I was going slowly) Sometimes I hit the paddles while in automatic mode to shift from 2nd to 3rd at around 2500 RPM bc I thought it would put less strain on the engine and save gas. Also is it ok to be using the paddles when in automatic mode? I know it allows you to, but didnt know if it had any damaging effects.

2.) Does anyone know a way to change the color of the lights for the radio and temperature controls? The red is ok but I was kind of hoping to change them to blue as to match the exterior of the car.

3.) The radio unit seems to be an award setup that doesn't look to friendly for modification, has anyone attempted to install an aftermarket GPS/DVD display in their RA?

4.) What basic tips does anyone have for extending the life of the turbo and engine besides regular dealer maintenance.

Thanks again to all who take the time to respond, it is much appreciated

Question 1. Just let the car shift itself in auto mode with very little go pedal to see best results
Question 3. I'm sure there is a trim piece available from crutchfield that will alow you to use an after market deck unit.
Question 4. With regular maintenance you will have a car that will last you longer that you are willing to keep. (chances are)
Question 2. Not sure??

i change gears at 2k rpm when i feel like saving gas...i get around 20mpg in the city that way

The only way to change the lights in the dash is to change every red bulb to a blue one. It would be very time consuming, but shouldn't cost you more than $100.

To get the best fuel economy get the GST tune, and keep the rpms below 2700. With a tune, I can get 27mpg+ on the highway.

Question 3: Yes, they make a conversion kit (single and double din) that runs around $60. It's kind of a pain to swap out but I've had the dash apart 4 times now and haven't lost a single white clip! :) There are a lot of videos on you tube about how to do it without breaking anything. Just look for any Lancer video 09+ and it's basically the same as the RA.

There is a Scosch dash kit for like $30. You can get it free with a head unit at crutchfield.

1. I generally just drive in manual mode all the time. Personally, I feel that auto mode is too eager to put you into 6th to save fuel. While this is nice and all if traffic is flowing, in stop and go, it results in HUNDREDS of shifts an hour when I can probably get by with 1/4th of that by hand. I generally shift ~2500-3000. Sometimes I'll hold it till 3500 if I think I'm gonna need to downshift again soon. I normally get ~18-20mpg in city. Since switching over to castrol edge, my highway 65-70 cruising avg has gone from 25-26 to 27-28mpg (i was shocked too). With a tune, I might even be able to get near 30.

2. You're stuck with red unless you wanna change all the bulbs like someone else said.

3. Crutchfield has it.

4. Besides regular maintainence, even if you do mostly highway, I'd change the oil at ~4000 mi (if it's like 25% city 75% highway) with a premium synthetic. My new favorite oil's castrol edge. Make sure if you take it somewhere they put 5w30 in there. I've noticed my dealer putting 10w even though I specifically say 5w. It's not as good in the winter but it won't kill it. The other thing to do is to let the car properly warm up and cool down. I usually give it 20 sec or so before I turn the car off. If I've been spooling the turbo up (anywhere >3000), I'll give it a 60-90 seconds depending on the ambient temp, to let it cool before I turn it off.

Get some rallyarmor mud flaps to protect your paint, it's very thin.

If your really worried about fuel economy and want a little more oomph, get a Cobb AP and switch to the Fuel Economy map. It keeps the computer from using a certain psi of boost and keeps the car in high gear when cruising, that being said, any tune will give you better MPGs

As far as mudflaps you have other options guys. There is a company I have been talking to that has developed 3m paint protection pieces specifically for one area of our cars, the area that gets scratched and chipped the most. It covers the tail end of the side skirt and then goes up the front of the rear wheel well about halfway to the door handle. They are selling them for only $62 and it comes with a full warranty, etc. If you guys are interested let me know and maybe we could get a bunch together and get a little discount. The owner is very very knowledgable about this stuff and cars in general and is also very helpful. I am kind of eating my words here because I have another pretty large group buy that I have been heading up for lowering springs, but most of the hard work with that is done kinda, so if anyone else is interested I would be happy to arrange another. This would be for the guys that dont like the Rallyarmor flaps look, which I personally, do not. If your one of them, PM me

That is something I am interested in, would you happen to know if it is noticeable when its on the car? PM information on how to order it please. I have had my car for 3 weeks and I found 2 chips already and I was pissed.

FYI, got that from the dealership (full front up to the fenders, and the rear door and fender).

You still get rock chips in front of the 3m and there is a small gap, by design, between the leading edge of the quarter panel and where the 3M begins on the rear fender. Otherwise it's mostly saved my rear doors (I don't run flaps) but basically anywhere you live that sands and gravels the roads in wintertime, your paint will get destroyed, but I would say if it's cheap, I'd recommend these 3M pieces.

For everyone who says our paint is thin, my friend's 09 WRX265's paint is thinner. His 3m covered the hood only (not even the front bumper!) and the sides of his car look like crap...and I put in literally 33% more km's a year he does (his 09 still has less than 9k kms on it, purchased the same time my 09 ralliart that now has like 15k kms was!)

how do i take the mistubishi emblem off on my car bc i wanna paint it

Im just wondering but what is the proper way to clean the interior seats