I was trying to save gas by turning off DCS AND TCS (that little car skidding)..... woops :eek:

Is there truly ANY way possible to get freakin more than 16.5 mpg?

sooo much money lost from that incident.....

Have some pride, man. Take those pix down. But as long as they're there, was there any damage? And how did you skid out on that straightaway?

Is there truly ANY way possible to get freakin more than 16.5 mpg? the dcs/tcs turn off doesn't save you any significant amount of gas IMHO, how the hell did you skid..... from the pictrues in front and behind of you is a perfectly straight road....

Screw the gas, drive safe, have fun, and keep ur car intact.


ps. I never averaged lower than 20mpg, city and highway, redlining, driving hard. It must vary by car in my opinion.

how the hell did you skid.....

Whatever happened, probably an incident of not knowing that RWD cars tend to OVERSTEER before understeer... Most people tend to neglect that.

NOT A STRAIGHT AWAY, onramp to freeway, right turn , stopped car in blind zone of road, tried to avoid and slid into grass and over curb

front app pkg torn off

plastic gaurds under tranny and radiator ripped off

right - rear rim damaged

got new rim for $150(thank god) and other damage not severe, car still drivable and no one was injured and no damage other than my 8

did all you guys with high mpg have recalls perfomed on your 8? im going in for that shiz tomorrow

I've got the base M/T, and I've never had DSC / TSC and NEVER slid out of control before for any reason. This is my second RWD car, the first being a Mazda B Series truck (which I did slide almost out of control in on at least one occasion that I remember). You just need to know how to handle a RWD car. They are quirky in a world of FWD cars.

The ECU fuel maps, if you would do a search, are the primary cause of the poor fuel milage. No recall will produce substantial increase in MPG. I know. I've had most of the updates done.

when i got my car and was breaking it in, i got 19 mpg in the city.

my car now has 5500 miles on it, and i drive it like a bat out of hell. I get about 16 mpg.

unless you're one of the very rare people who has a car that gets 13 mpg no matter how you drive it, easing up on the gas at stop lights, and shifting at low rpms will save you gas.

Another Mpg thread?

Well, I have the base 6 speed (no DTC, 03/2004 production), with 4000 miles. Average mpg since day one is 16.1, mostly city driving with the AC always on.
The best mpg was 17.5, worst 14.2.

The M flash didn't have any effect on the mpg (based on 3 tanks driven after the flash).

I think my car is exceptional or something. Because I get an average of 20 mpg no matter how hard I drive

haha, man, forget saving gas, get some driving lessons. i like how your wheels are pointed quite far in exactly the wrong direction for the very slow (and obviously very saveable) skid you entered, considering that grassy soft shoulder kept you from piling half your car around the tree.

i'm sorry i'm so unsympathetic, but why would you arse around in your car, on the street if you have no talent in the first place??

glad to hear you are ok...it sucks you can't be perfect like some other forum members. :rolleyes:

Sorry to see that Dan. My guess is you lifted mid-corner, once the other car popped into view. It's a common mistake for new drivers of RWD cars - most people (who drive their cars hard) do this at least once. I know I did with my Miata when it was new. Same situation as you - lifted when I shouldn't have and spun into the grass.

It's hard for us to say what would have happened if the stability control would have been engaged. It probably would have arrested the spin, but then you may have just rear-ended that car (unless there was spece to stop). That would have been worse!

Anyway, there's no substitute for a performance driver's school, and no substitute for being able to see that the lane is clear before you commit. ;)

Good luck and look where you want to put the car, as opposed to where you fear it will end up!

George

well Im pretty lucky I get 22mpg saw 24 once.. woot 312miles on a tank.. 13gallons I fill up everytime right at 13 gallons. 280-310miles

glad to hear you are ok...it sucks you can't be perfect like some other forum members. :rolleyes:

what he said

so the other 3 rims survived this, totally undamaged? have you checked?:confused:

It's not really the case of having DSC/TCS off. I think it's how you pushed the car that put you in that incident. Glad you're ok though, it could have been worse.

This car is a very forgiving RWD car. For someone who has never driven a RWD before, I have been very fortunate with my maneuvers in this car without DSC/TCS installed. That's worse that turning it off, mine doesn't have it at all. I really believe it when people say "This is the easiest car to drive fast." I've had my backend swing a couple of times but as soon as I let off the pedal, it starts going straight without effort.

Do you have your DSC disabled at all times or was this the first day? If it's ON most of the time, maybe you got used to driving in a way that wouldn't work if it was OFF.

Good luck and look where you want to put the car, as opposed to where you fear it will end up!

... That's more than a practical tip right there, it really works! I have always read that tip here and heard it from people who are veterans in RWD cars. I would say that tip really saved me and my car from ending up in the ditches.

Don't be lulled into a false sense of security about lifting always arresting a spin. In many cases it will, but there are situations where the opposite will happen. This is true enen with AWD and FWD vehicle. Yes, the RX-8 is forgiving, but it can't change the laws of physics. If you've got serious rotation going on, or if you are really abrupt with closing the throttle, the car can and will spin.

Really, your comment above concerns me a bit. I'm not trying to be rude or condescending. You can't always rely on a lift to correct a tail-out situation. It's better to learn how to catch the car and then correct using the steering wheel, without lifting much or at all.

Is there truly ANY way possible to get freakin more than 16.5 mpg?

Hey! That's almost 1 mpg more than me!

I'm shifting around 4000rpm. But then again I'm a newbie on stick and still in the break in period. I really really hope I wind up being one of those who get 20mpg eventually. *crosses fingers*

Some people have said they get better mileage with the lower octane gas though. I would search for the thread if you're interested.

Here's my thread om Mazdaspeed Flywheel and milage.

http://www.rx8club.com/showthread.php?t=39700

It's better to learn how to catch the car and then correct using the steering wheel, without lifting much or at all.Or just drive within your limits. :)

I think our Forum Mythbusters had already proved that DCS/TCS had little or no impact at all on fuel consumption. Driving style and Geological location has the biggest impact.

Like I said many times before, don't Risk your life or your car to save chump change !!! Leave your DCS on, invest in some good Winter tires, etc etc and drive safe !!!

yea, my 8 is back up to speed now, and ive learned my lesson, ive noticed a small boost in power witch DSC and TCS turned off but i am sure to keep the elctrics on for at least a while now. One thing that is still bothering me is the horrible mpg i get. I am vet stick driver and hardly red line the thing, so i dont understand my bad mpg.

One concern is that my 8 is a demo car from a dealership in my area, so i got my 8 cheap and with borla cat back's already installed, i bought the thing with 7500 miles on it and im thinking that previous demo drivers might have ruined my tranny before i jumped in.

tell me what you guys think and any tips on saving some gas in an urban area.

Dude,

No one buys a car like the "8" with the expectation they will get good gas mileage. Rotaries are notoriusly bad on fuel economy.... there just too fun to drive to boot.

I have noticed that I get better mileage on the highway so I started skipping gears on urban roads. Helps a little bit... about 1mpg. But life is too short to worry about that too much.

Think about it... your up to speed easily in 2nd gear... once there all thats needed to maintain your speed is a few rpm's. Fewer rpm's less gas.
:)