this is ridiculous, I've been driving my car completely normally and changing gears at what the book has it noted as.
1- 0
2-14
3 -22
4- 30
5- 36
6- 42

and I'm only getting 14 mpg, is this bad?

i get about 17, just forget about it and drive

thats not normal u should get it checked out

this is ridiculous, I've been driving my car completely normally and changing gears at what the book has it noted as.
1- 0
2-14
3 -22
4- 30
5- 36
6- 42

and I'm only getting 14 mpg, is this bad?

How long have you had the car, and do you redline it regularly and check the oil regularly?

Normal.

I got it....I know the problem....
you are driving a sports car equipped with a rotary engine known for crappy MPG...
should have bought a civic.

Even if its MPG sucks ass, it shouldn't be that low. 14mpg compared to other's 19-24mpg is bad...

Did you change your coils?

If he's only driven it at low RPMs since he's gotten it and not checked the oil etc, then it could just be all carboned up..

Don't look at the Speedometer. Look at the Tachometer.. Keep it above 3000 rpm and shift about 5000 and you should get 16-17 mpg. Rev that thing up.
And why don't you come to any AZ meets?

how long is each trip? because i get around 13~15mpg will all city driving and up to 18 with combined city and highway. if it's all highway ive gotten 22mpg before. :eyetwitch

what kind of oil do you use?

that could be normal, but also i would check your coils.. if thats what your getting highway then thts not normal, i got 25.8 mpg at75-80mpg just last month from my trip to texas and back, and thts no cobb access port either.

People he's not asking what your MPG is so stop posting it. He want sto know if his car is running correctly

Op answer some of the questions about how long your avg drive is.

also how you derive your 14 MPG?

How long have you had the car and how long have you been checking your mileage?

Is this an avg over time or is this new?

Ever done a whole tank nothing but highway?

OP, don't know if this helps but I have been getting down around there so it's probably normal. Welcome to driving the 8 in the winter :(

Try these shift points and see if it helps, I used to consistently get 12.5mpg using these:

1-0
2-40
3 -60
4- 85
5- 120
6- dont need

Try these shift points and see if it helps, I used to consistently get 12.5mpg using these:

1-0
2-40
3 -60
4- 85
5- 120
6- dont need

Hes getting 14mpg at the moment with his shifting and he wants to improve that so dont think 12.5mpg is what hes looking for

yeah what kind of driving is it. not when do you shift, but highway/city and how long at a time.

i've gotten as high as 24.3 mpg all highway. consistently get over 21 all highway. but in the city it's upper teens.

HOWEVER, if you're making quick short trips, the 8 will seem like it's leaking gas. still check the things people mentioned, but the length of time your car is on makes a huge difference. a quick trip to the store (w/in a mile or two) and back uses about the same as a 10 mile trip to my gf's apt and back. it's weird...but i swear, if you're doing super short short trips, turning the car off and on, you will get horrible horrible mileage. i've got 13-15mpg consistently when i lived 2 miles from work. ha ha, moving close to work did NOT save me on gas like it would a "normal" car...

so anyway, get stuff checked out (coils, oil, etc.) but like zoom suggested, take it on a long drive, preferably highway, and if you're still not gettin over 17mpg or so, there's gotta be a problem. but getting low teens with all city and constant on/off is normal in my experience.

Hes getting 14mpg at the moment with his shifting and he wants to improve that so dont think 12.5mpg is what hes looking for

lol I don't think you read his post :lol:

14 mpg is pretty normal for city driving with a lot of stops...at idle, the Renesis sucks even more gas.

Also, do rev the car and etc. If you're getting 14 mpg on the highway, there's a problem for sure.

There is so much variance in these engines that I think the person in charge of quality control for the Renesis must be named 'bong hit'.

Yes, 13-14 in heavy city traffic is normal for me. It is the nature of the beast. If I don't hit the highway at all on a particular tank of gas, I won't get 200 miles out of it. I haven't yet burned a tank with 100% highway miles so I don't know the upper end of the spectrum yet. I plan to find out this summer.
14 mpg is pretty normal for city driving with a lot of stops...at idle, the Renesis sucks even more gas.
Yeah it's an eye opener to drive a car that burn gas faster when it's not moving. :Eyecrazy:

When I had my 8, all of my driving was done in the city and that was normal. I got 16 mpg one time and I was stunned. My shifting patterns could not really change it, so I just drove it like I stole it and didn't care about the mpg.

I get about 13-15mpg in city driving. Normal.

i used to get around 14 15 but after i checked my tire pressure and filled up a little im getting around 18 mpg

Is it me, or is it normal to be in 6th gear at such low speed? In order to accelerate, you'll be pushing the gas down more, pushing more fuel into the engine, right?

Is it me, or is it normal to be in 6th gear at such low speed? In order to accelerate, you'll be pushing the gas down more, pushing more fuel into the engine, right?

That's why I drop from 6th to 3rd to accelerate. Well, that and it's hella fun. 6th is for cruising.

That's normal. Our cars get horrible MPG.

What kind of driving are you doing?
What oil are you using?
Are your plugs and coils old?
These all atribute to gas mileage.

FYI, I get 14-15 consistently, I do very little highway driving at all.

What kind of driving are you doing?
What oil are you using?
Are your plugs and coils old?
These all atribute to gas mileage.

FYI, I get 14-15 consistently, I do very little highway driving at all.

oh alright thanks for the feedback from everyone, I have about an 11 mile commute to school and back, if I go the speedlimit of 45 I can make every stoplight in green. and after school I have a 4 mile commute to work which is pretty close, I am using 5W-20 regular motor oil. The cars relevently new, a 2007 so I don't believe the coils or plugs can be that old either, my dad picked up the car begginning of january 08 brand new, and the way it has been driven hasn't changed. I was before getting 17-18, and going about 240 miles per fill up, on my last fill up my car said I only drove 177.6 miles :/ :Eyecrazy:

your using the synthetic oil that is recommended with the car? hmmmmm

your using the synthetic oil that is recommended with the car? hmmmmm


wow, I'm retarded, sorry. I'm using 5W-20 regular motor oil

That still seems low...even for our cars. Since you are under warranty, take it over to the dealer and have your plugs and coils checked out. Best first step.

Better question than how old are they, how many miles are on the odometer?
How cold does it get where you live? Do you warm up the engine before you drive or do you just start it and go? I think it may have something to do with all the short trips your making. Not 100% sure though.

I'm 20. I have 13k on the odometer, I live in Arizona, It's ridiculously hot here. I warm up my engine. and I've been driving the same route for atleast a year and a half.

I know about rotarys, I had an 88 rx7 when I was 16. Lasted me nicely til some punk totaled it, so I know a good handful about them

Right on, have you changed/cleaned your air filter recently. Could be dirty? I'm really not sure. May want to check the plugs and coils for good measure. Have you had it into the dealer recently, they have a new reflash that could help.:dunno: may be worth a shot if all else fails your still under warranty.

I warm up my engine.

Do you mean you turn the engine on and let it sit running a few minutes before you drive it?

yupp

This is a little off-topic, but I would worry about using 5w-20 oil in Arizona, no matter what the manual says (not trying to start another oil war, just bringing it up, search and there's lots of info on this).

This is a little off-topic, but I would worry about using 5w-20 oil in Arizona, no matter what the manual says (not trying to start another oil war, just bringing it up, search and there's lots of info on this).

oh wow, I'm kind of curious about this. Why should I not?

yupp

That is part of your problem. You are using quite a bit of gas idling, combined with a fairly short trip.

That is part of your problem. You are using quite a bit of gas idling, combined with a fairly short trip.

It doesn't take my car any longer then 2-3 minutes to warm up, and from that break in between school and work my car is already nicely warmed up, and after my work shifts my car is already 1/2 warmed which takes half the time. and on days I'm in a hurry I just drive it out of my garage and let it warm up on the way there.

I think 14mpg is very realistic ***if** it's purely city driving with short trips. If you are trying to say that 14mpg is an average of city AND highway driving then something is defintely wrong. If you drive your Rx8 calmly for first few minutes, there's no need to warm it up beforehand, just wait until it's warm before you hit the redline ceiling. This is particularly if you live in a warmer environment. If it makes you feel any better I used to get close to 14mpg in city driving when I owned an Rx8. The fact that the worst I now get is 22mpg, average 28mpg and best of 39mpg in my MX5 NC is another story.........

I'm 20. I have 13k on the odometer, I live in Arizona, It's ridiculously hot here. I warm up my engine. and I've been driving the same route for atleast a year and a half.

I know about rotarys, I had an 88 rx7 when I was 16. Lasted me nicely til some punk totaled it, so I know a good handful about them

Is this about the same MPG you got on your "88 rx7"?

Is this about the same MPG you got on your "88 rx7"?

Couldn't tell. haha, the car didn't have a trip meter. But I have buddies rx-8s with strictly city driving who are getting their 17-18 mpg

oh wow, I'm kind of curious about this. Why should I not?
here is the recommended oil weights from the Aussie Manual

http://www.rx8club.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=129691&stc=1&d=1228037529

i probably would sport 20w50 most of the time in southern AZ from Havesu across through Phoenix etc maybe a 10w30 in Flagstaff

My last few fill ups I have only got 12.5 MPG

this is ridiculous, I've been driving my car completely normally and changing gears at what the book has it noted as.
1- 0
2-14
3 -22
4- 30
5- 36
6- 42

and I'm only getting 14 mpg, is this bad?

Releasing the parking brake helps quite a lot. This also improves 0 to 60 time tremendously.

Every time an MPG thread comes up, it reminds me of an age-old story about one of the first Volkswagen Beetles to show up in the US. The proud new owner constantly bragged to his neighbors about the fantastic gas mileage he was getting with his shiny new VW. Finally, one of his very annoyed neighbors started adding a little bit of gas to the VW's tank every week. The owner was estatic at the MPG. Then the neighbor upped the ante by adding even more gas each week. Now the VW owner is out of his mind and brags incessantly about the fantastic MPG.

Then one day, the neighbor starts syphoning a little gas out of the VW's tank each week. For some reason, all the bragging stopped. :)

-1.3L

I ALWAYS do short trips in my 8. I take it out for the occasional drive now and then, but my week consists of driving to and from work, maybe to the store afterwards. I do NOT let my car warm up, and I do redline it at least once a day. I usually sport 15-16 MPG avg. Why not try NOT warming it up fully before leaving, just for the 10 seconds like the manual states, and drive it around on that just for one or two tanks. See if your mileage has changed at all.

I do Mixed Hiway and City driving and get 18-21 MPG...

yup, seems most are consistent

20+ pure highway
16-19 mostly city
sub 15 mpg pure city AND SHORT TRIPS

if i drive 100% city, stop and go, i will STILL get mid to upper teens, but for whatever reason the short trips (turning car on, drive 2 miles, turn off...back on, drive 1 mile, off...etc) is really what puts me sub 15 mpg. once i realized that, i changed my habits; i will idle my car (ie drive thru bank instead of go in, etc) or combine trips and i haven't gotten sub 15 in a long time. the short trips is what really kills it, not necessarily just the "city" driving...

I was thinking of upgrading my '04 to an '09 r3, but frankly it is the mpg that is holding up my decision. I don't know if I can handle 15-20 mpg anymore. Hopefully they figure things out with the 16x because this kind of mileage is no longer acceptable. I wouldn't be surprised if the gas guzzler tax would be slapped on the car if there is no improvement. I know I was looking at GTOs before I got my 8 and there was a gas guzzler tax on that vehicle and if I remember correctly the sticker mpg on that was damn close to the 8.

Short trips and low mpg is less costly compared with long trips and high mpg. You can have one or the other. I choose short trips and low mpg.

2 miles at 14 mpg vs. 15 miles at 19 mpg for example.

With a little common sense and mathematics, anyone can see that low mpg is the way to go.

It is really not about looking at your trip meter at the fillup, and seeing whether you broke 180 mi or 200 mi or 210 mi. That's just a sham.

It's really about how many days you last before you must fillup. For example, 180 miles per tank but filling up every 9 days vs 210 miles per tank but filling up every 3 days.

Once you see through these fake numbers, and once we factor in all our circumstances, the entire rx8 community will realize that all our engines are identical in gas consumption
in each scenario. Then we can stop worrying if there's anything wrong with our engines. I know what 19 mpg is, and I know how long you must commute to reach that,
and I know how often you have to fillup if you're getting 19 mpg.

Don't let all these "mpg" lie to you. This is rx8. There is no mpg.

7mpg on track driving XD
finish a whole tank for 95 miles..

Short trips and low mpg is less costly compared with long trips and high mpg. You can have one or the other. I choose short trips and low mpg.

2 miles at 14 mpg vs. 15 miles at 19 mpg for example.

With a little common sense and mathematics, anyone can see that low mpg is the way to go.


i get what you're saying, it's a good point i guess, but, it's kinda weird. like, of course higher mpg won't matter if you're driving more miles, but you can't really compare low mileage to high mileage. if i drive 20 miles at 13 mpg or 20 miles at 19 mpg, i'm going to choose 19mpg...your comparison isn't apples to apples. OF COURSE 2 miles at 14mpg is less $$ than 15 miles at 19mpg, b/c you're literally burning less fuel, but no one is saying 'hey, to get your "mpg" up, go drive needlessly on the highway'...the point is to avoid the short drives and the on/off when possible, to combine the necessary miles of your day into 1 longer trip of 20 miles, instead of a 2 mile trip, then a 4 mile trip, then a .5 mile trip, etc.

I've been down this same road and have come to the conclusion that this is unfortunately normal for the 8. In city driving stop and go the MPG fall like a brick. Winter gas is also a killer. The way you drive can account for 1 or 2 MPG. I drive almost all stop and go in Chicago and in summer I can hit a high of 14 but 13 is more normal, in winter that drops to 11 to 12 MPG. If I'm on the Highway that goes from 18 to 22 MPG depending on how aggressive I drive it.

I can also say that all the BS about tire pressure, oil, air filters ect.. mean nothing to the MPG. It is strictly how often you are stopping and idling and how aggressive you drive.