Hey guys, just traded in my MSP for an RX8...

Was curious as to the first things I should upgrade...Any flaws I can fix easy, or components that may fail first? It is an 05 with 16k on it.

Lemme know what you think.

welcome aboard... i havent had any problems so far.. just remember to keep checking that oil every other fil up

Yeah, that is a new one...gonna have to remember..

Drive and enjoy for a while, then decide what you'd like to change the most. And welcome to the family! :)

Welcome to the family I have had mine for 1 1/2 years now and I still enjoy driving her as much as the day I got her.

get some clear corner and led's first...check to make sure all the TSB's have been done, keep a quart of oil in your hood all the time and just remember to have fun! :wiggle:

Here is the list of service bulletins...

http://www.finishlineperformance.com/rx8/bulletins_index.html

Save your money for the the gas bills. This thing eats gas quicker them a Hummer.

Save your money for the the gas bills. This thing eats gas quicker them a Hummer.
That's a very misleading statement. The fuel mileage for this car is respectable, particularly considering it is a sportscar. As is well known, fuel mileage is greatly dependent on driving conditions, driving style and engine tune. Those who have taken the time and effort to document their fuel mileage and to make it available on the forum are averaging around 20 mpg.

For the original poster: see the attached spreadsheet for an example.

There are many "poor mileage" threads and claims on the forum, and I don't doubt that some owners are experiencing poor mileage, but I have yet to see any credible documentation for long-term mileage statistics to support those claims of very low mileages.

BTW, fuel consumption is less in my RX-8 than in my 4 Runner.

Don't get clear corners.

There are many "poor mileage" threads and claims on the forum, and I don't doubt that some owners are experiencing poor mileage, but I have yet to see any credible documentation for long-term mileage statistics to support those claims of very low mileages.

You'll have to take my word for it, as I have no proof (other than the fact that I can show a picture of my odometer and gas receipt), but I regularly and consistently average 15 to 16.5 MPG per fillup on 93 octane.

But I drive it rather hard (like I stole it) usually shifting at about 7K RPM and in stop-and go traffic both ways.

There are many "poor mileage" threads and claims on the forum, and I don't doubt that some owners are experiencing poor mileage, but I have yet to see any credible documentation for long-term mileage statistics to support those claims of very low mileages.

BTW, fuel consumption is less in my RX-8 than in my 4 Runner.


11.5 to 12 mpg at 100% city driving. I have documented every mile and the Mazda dealer said this is normal. I drive the car hard maybe 40% of the time. Has it occurred to you that if you see so many threads there is quit possibly a reason for this.........count yourself lucky for your mileage.

I read all the treads about this car not being so bad on gas and figured it would be around 15 mpg, WRONG! I really love this car but the gas mileage is killing me. Perspective owners need to know about this.

That's a very misleading statement. The fuel mileage for this car is respectable, particularly considering it is a sportscar. As is well known, fuel mileage is greatly dependent on driving conditions, driving style and engine tune. Those who have taken the time and effort to document their fuel mileage and to make it available on the forum are averaging around 20 mpg.

For the original poster: see the attached spreadsheet for an example.



The attached chart dose not show percentage of highway vs. city. I'm 100% city at 11.5 mpg. If you break out city the average reported on this board it is 15 mpg.

Hey guys, just traded in my MSP for an RX8...

Was curious as to the first things I should upgrade...Any flaws I can fix easy, or components that may fail first? It is an 05 with 16k on it.

Lemme know what you think.

Invest in oil cooler and A/C Condenser screen if you haven't already

Invest in oil cooler and A/C Condenser screen if you haven't already

I've heard misleading things about the oil coolers how it prevents some air from being let throught and how it could heat up faster than you think and that there is no way of knowing because our temp guage measure water and not the oil, correct me if I am wrong.

The attached chart dose not show percentage of highway vs. city. I'm 100% city at 11.5 mpg. If you break out city the average reported on this board it is 15 mpg.
My averages are:
City - 17
Highway - 23
Track - 11
I've heard misleading things about the oil coolers how it prevents some air from being let throught and how it could heat up faster than you think and that there is no way of knowing because our temp guage measure water and not the oil, correct me if I am wrong.
The oil cooler screens prevent damage to your oil coolers. You'd be surprised how quickly small pebbles will bend the vanes on your coolers. The screens theorectically cut down air flow, but I doubt it's significant I've had the screens on over a year, through several Autox's and two track weekends, and no problems. If you're truly curious, get an oil temperature gauge.

this car gets crappy gas milage, even for a sports car. my buddy's corvette gets better gas milage than me. the s2000, g35, 350z are all sports cars and get way better gas milage. i even get decent gas milage compared to most on this board. i get 20mpg mixed driving. i just learned to accept the fact that this car's milage sucks. i just hate it when people say "it's a sports car of course it's gas milage is gonna suck", which is WRONG. mazda just hasn't perfected the rotary yet. shit my explorer gets the same gas milage.

Get the Hymee grille to protect your condensors and like one of the other guys said, drive it for a while (and keep checking that oil). It's a pretty good bit of kit straight out of the box and plenty of people find no need to change things.

Personally, I don't think the stock exhaust suits the car's personality and found the catback I fitted to be well worth it (it won't give you much in the way of additional power but it significantly increases the grin factor :ylsuper: ). I also think a good set of sways is a great investment if you wish to lessen body roll.

Be warned though, once you start modding it's hard to stop... :mdrmed:

I've heard misleading things about the oil coolers how it prevents some air from being let throught and how it could heat up faster than you think and that there is no way of knowing because our temp guage measure water and not the oil, correct me if I am wrong.

I have single oil cooler, I did a DIY screen with rhombus pattern spacing about 1cm diagonal wise. The weather is max 35 celcius, no overheat issue so far. Saved me a lot of trouble.

this car gets crappy gas milage, even for a sports car. my buddy's corvette gets better gas milage than me. the s2000, g35, 350z are all sports cars and get way better gas milage. i even get decent gas milage compared to most on this board. i get 20mpg mixed driving. i just learned to accept the fact that this car's milage sucks. i just hate it when people say "it's a sports car of course it's gas milage is gonna suck", which is WRONG. mazda just hasn't perfected the rotary yet. shit my explorer gets the same gas milage.

I could not have said it better, you are right on the money with this post.

this car gets crappy gas milage, even for a sports car. my buddy's corvette gets better gas milage than me. the s2000, g35, 350z are all sports cars and get way better gas milage. i even get decent gas milage compared to most on this board. i get 20mpg mixed driving. i just learned to accept the fact that this car's milage sucks. i just hate it when people say "it's a sports car of course it's gas milage is gonna suck", which is WRONG. mazda just hasn't perfected the rotary yet. shit my explorer gets the same gas milage.


Blah blah blah - go buy something else. :boring:

I'm so BORED with bad milage posts and threads. :banghead:

It is what it is - if you don't like it, STFU and buy a 350Z or something.

this car gets crappy gas milage, even for a sports car. my buddy's corvette gets better gas milage than me. the s2000, g35, 350z are all sports cars and get way better gas milage. i even get decent gas milage compared to most on this board. i get 20mpg mixed driving. i just learned to accept the fact that this car's milage sucks. i just hate it when people say "it's a sports car of course it's gas milage is gonna suck", which is WRONG. mazda just hasn't perfected the rotary yet. shit my explorer gets the same gas milage.
It's a sports car, of course its gas mileage is gonna suck.

It's a sports car, of course its gas mileage is gonna suck.

I could not have said it better, you are right on the money with this post.


heh heh heh :mdrmed:

bullshit, this car does not compare to other sports cars with gas milage. it compares better to suv's. also i am not complaining about my gas milage as i have accepted the fact that it does suck. i just hate it when people make excuses for their cars saying it's a sports car. and the inconsistence of the milages are pathetic. some people get 10mpg some get 20mpg. that's crap. Krankor and Revolver name some sports cars that get 15mpg. once again i love my car, i just don't like excuses for poor engineering. it's like a ricer that says he lost the race because he misshifted, had an extra passenger, wasn't flooring it all the way, etc etc etc..........f@ck the excuses, the car was just slower.
i can think of 2 sports cars that get around the same gas milage.
V10 dodge viper with 400+hp
04 mustang cobra/ supercharged with around 400 hp

sport cars with better gas milage:
s2000, g35, 350z, mustang gt's, miatas, audi's, lotus elise, m3's, ummmm just about any other sport car out there. to top it off we have the smallest liter motors.

bullshit, this car does not compare to other sports cars with gas milage. it compares better to suv's. ...

sport cars with better gas milage:
s2000, g35, 350z, mustang gt's, miatas, audi's, lotus elise, m3's, ummmm just about any other sport car out there. to top it off we have the smallest liter motors.
Your perception is skewed for some reason. Most of those you mentioned are within 2 mpg of the RX-8; some lower, some higher. The last 2 on this list are considerably lighter.

Now, how many of them have a 50-50 weight distribution? How many had a 5-star rollover rating? How many in stock trim feel smooth on the street and kick ass at Autox/track?

Car - city - highway
Viper - 12 - 20
M3 - 16 - 24
Mustang GT - 17 - 25
RX-8 - 18 - 25
G35 - 18 - 25
350Z - 19 - 25
Audi TT - 19/21 - 25/29
S2000 - 20 - 26
Elise - 23 - 27
Miata - 25 - 30

bullshit, this car does not compare to other sports cars with gas milage. it compares better to suv's. also i am not complaining about my gas milage as i have accepted the fact that it does suck. i just hate it when people make excuses for their cars saying it's a sports car. and the inconsistence of the milages are pathetic. some people get 10mpg some get 20mpg. that's crap. Krankor and Revolver name some sports cars that get 15mpg. once again i love my car, i just don't like excuses for poor engineering. it's like a ricer that says he lost the race because he misshifted, had an extra passenger, wasn't flooring it all the way, etc etc etc..........f@ck the excuses, the car was just slower.
i can think of 2 sports cars that get around the same gas milage.
V10 dodge viper with 400+hp
04 mustang cobra/ supercharged with around 400 hp

sport cars with better gas milage:
s2000, g35, 350z, mustang gt's, miatas, audi's, lotus elise, m3's, ummmm just about any other sport car out there. to top it off we have the smallest liter motors.
It's a sports car, of course it's gas mileage is gonna suck.

This car loves and I mean LOVES to throw CEL's.

Your perception is skewed for some reason. Most of those you mentioned are within 2 mpg of the RX-8; some lower, some higher. The last 2 on this list are considerably lighter.

Now, how many of them have a 50-50 weight distribution? How many had a 5-star rollover rating? How many in stock trim feel smooth on the street and kick ass at Autox/track?

Car - city - highway
Viper - 12 - 20
M3 - 16 - 24
Mustang GT - 17 - 25
RX-8 - 18 - 25
G35 - 18 - 25
350Z - 19 - 25
Audi TT - 19/21 - 25/29
S2000 - 20 - 26
Elise - 23 - 27
Miata - 25 - 30

first, the number you have is the estimated number mazda put out, i have yet to hear of someone on this board putting out 18mpg in the city (shit people barely get that on the highway. i am going by everyone's average. which is about 15 city and about 19 highway. which is still lower than most. our car is on par with the viper's gas milage. there are plenty of people on this board that get 12mpg.
secondly, we are not talking about the 50/50 weight ratio or anything else. i love my rx8 and i know it is badass, i am merely pointing out that our gas milage doesn't just suck because it's a sports car, it sucks because mazda hasn't perfected the rotary yet.

RX-8 - 18 - 25
Miata - 25 - 30

Hi kids! Just bought a used 2004 MT, Black/Gray cloth, 18K miles. I haven't had it 24 hours yet. Burned through 1/2 tank last night, but I was having a bit of fun driving around time. Next fill up, I'll keep track of gas mileage.

Also, Miata numbers are not correct. I have a 92NA with 116K miles on it. MPG for miata is as follows:

city: 20mpg (pretty darn consistent)
highway:
under 85mph: 23-27mpg
about 100mph: 17.4mpg (from my last roadtrip when I was busting butt to get home before the baby went to sleep after not seeing him for 40 days)

first, the number you have is the estimated number mazda put out, i have yet to hear of someone on this board putting out 18mpg in the city (shit people barely get that on the highway. i am going by everyone's average. which is about 15 city and about 19 highway. which is still lower than most. our car is on par with the viper's gas milage. there are plenty of people on this board that get 12mpg.
No, the numbers I quoted are EPA estimates, based on EPA's testing. Of course, almost nobody gets the EPA estimates regardless of the car they drive (10% lower is common). I think you're listening to the complainers and assuming they are a representative sample - they're not. After all, how many of the people with good mileage join in those bitch & moan sessions? The only actual poll I've seen on this site showed people getting about 19 mpg. Unfortunately it wasn't broken out by city/highway.

secondly, we are not talking about the 50/50 weight ratio or anything else. i love my rx8 and i know it is badass, i am merely pointing out that our gas milage doesn't just suck because it's a sports car, it sucks because mazda hasn't perfected the rotary yet.
That would imply that the other sports cars I listed also haven't perfected their engines yet. And Ford has been making pistons a lot longer than Mazda has been making rotors.

BTW, my numbers are ~17-18 city, and 23 hwy (averaging 75 mph).

Please tell me you’re not foolish enough to listen to EPA estimates, please. Look up real world tests of the RX-8 and you'll see it is one of the worst if not the worst sports cars for gas mileage out side of some exotics.

The car has very good dynamics that was never in question. We are talking about poor mpg here and some that get horrendous mileage like mine (11.5mpg). I could live with 15mpg but only a fool would sit quit while getting 11.5mpg.

Some dim wit saying (in a low IQ hillbilly voice) "Well it's a sports car ya know, it an't spo-ta get good gas mileage....ahe, ahe, ahe" shows nothing but ignorance of the car and sports cars in general.


Your perception is skewed for some reason. Most of those you mentioned are within 2 mpg of the RX-8; some lower, some higher. The last 2 on this list are considerably lighter.

Now, how many of them have a 50-50 weight distribution? How many had a 5-star rollover rating? How many in stock trim feel smooth on the street and kick ass at Autox/track?

Car - city - highway
Viper - 12 - 20
M3 - 16 - 24
Mustang GT - 17 - 25
RX-8 - 18 - 25
G35 - 18 - 25
350Z - 19 - 25
Audi TT - 19/21 - 25/29
S2000 - 20 - 26
Elise - 23 - 27
Miata - 25 - 30

This car loves and I mean LOVES to throw CEL's.

It's a sports car of course it's going to throw CEL's.

Um, wickedninja and raptor75, pardon me for interrupting your boring rants but I think it incumbent upon me to point out that you:

1. Have no sense of humour.

2. Have no appreciation of irony or sarcasm.

3. Fail to read previous posts (including your own), from which both Krankor and I quoted to make plain how boring and repetitious this milage nonsense is.

4. Have hijacked a thread so you can beat your little drum about milage, despite the topic being done ad nauseum since the car's release.

As I said before - go tell someone who cares or post this stuff in one of previous said milage threads so your own little bitching subset of RX8 owners can all moan together and not bother the rest of us who have accepted reality and enjoy our cars for what they are.

It's a sports car of course we're suppose to bitch and hijack threads :Eyecrazy:

OK now go eat a vegemite sandwich :yumyum: , I'd hate to be responsible for your continued boredom, your obviously a very exciting and dynamic type of guy. :fruit: