Pololo_RX8

Thinking on selling the RX8 due to ridiculous gas prices?

Don't take me wrong I LOVE my 8, indeed I have a commuter so the 8 stays home with a car cover, for weekends only... but inevitably at one point the beater will die and will need to get the 8 and become my daily commuter(Maxima ~26MPG).... and with a ~60 commute miles daily it quickly adds up...

Let's face it, for the MPG I get (~16 MPG) and for the level of power, the RX8 is NOT the best choice! yes yes yes .. balance, uniqueness and all that... but still it's an underpowered beauty that gets HORRIBLE mileage yet doesn't have the performance numbers to justify keeping it. I can't and I will NOT drive it like a grandma.. This is not how the car is meant to be driven!

I am even looking at a Mini Cooper S (~29 MPG!) but the thought of FWD is really making me think hard about this choice.

I will see what happens but I guess if I can sell it, I will.

Enough said.
Carlos

Raptor2k

Sure, go ahead. I like having few 8s on the road.

snizzle

Valid concerns. It's a weekend car right now so you're much better off right now than many. I'd say stick with it.... but then again, i'm biased.

prescriptionmazda

me too, but if you are not going to drive it easily (like a grandma) then don't expect to get good gas mileage, I believe this goes with other cars as well, I am almost certain a 4 cyl. will not get as many miles out of a tank(compared to normal driving) if you redline it everytime you take it out.

tpschar

I traded mine for an '06 MX-5 (Miata). Great mileage, RWD, top-down and every bit as much fun - maybe more so. Of course I have no back seats now, but I can live with that.

PhotoMunkey

What mileage are you getting in freeway use in the MX-5? That car's on my short list of "possibles" for a 2nd, long-trip work car (I travel to photo shoot locations for car magazine articles). I like the price and features, but would have to lower it IMMEDIATELY from the 4x4 position. When did these new bumper height regulations take effect?

NgoRX8

iTrader: (1)

i'm willing to live with the gas mileage. gotta pay to play.

tpschar

Yeah, I'm going to lower mine this summer with the Mazdaspeed suspension. I get 27-29 mpg no matter what kind of driving I do. I suppose I'd do a little better if I left the top up on the highway

skwidd

27-29? Really? My 1992 Miata gets 20 in the city, and 25-30 on the highway (it can go as low as 18 on the highway, but that is at high speeds).

Since the RX8 only gets 2 less in the city, I drive whichever strikes me when I walk out in the morning. Although I'd probably prefer the RX for the highway since I can travel longer distances before filling up.

hehehe...a Miata 4x4. I did notice the new ones were a little bit higher. They look goofy at that height.

Glyphon

if its not that great of a performer, why does it beat out more the powerful competition time and time again in review/comparison? also, remember the 2005 auto-x national results? 8 of the top 10 in b-stock were RX-8s, with 1st and 2nd being rx-8s. if you think this car doesn't have to performance to back it up, you are measuring with the wrong yard-stick (probably the 0-60 one).

tpschar

Yeah, I get 27 on the same (no highway) commute that I used to get 15 with my RX-8...

Well, at least I kept it in the family...

Pololo_RX8

Funny...
I sold my 1990 Turbo Miata to get the RX8 as my weekend car, AX and track car... please please I am not the 0-60 type of guy.. remember drag racing is for fast cars, road racing is for fast drivers...

I needed 2 extra seats fro my kids so the 8 was the right choice.

I am involved in AX and road racing so the 8 was the best choice and still being a Mazda is what sold me.

I know rotaries don't have much torque and I knew what I was getting into but this car fuel consumption is even worse than the FC!

Even with the Miata set at 12 psi, I was getting 20 MPG but common this was 210 RWHP in a 2250 lbs car!

I guess bottom line is for daily commute this is not the best car... for track day and AX RX8 is hard to beat.... and the thing is that I want to drive the 8 everyday!!! you only live once right??

Carlos

PhotoMunkey

Where I live, in the desert, the top would never be down! A/C on full cold all summer long! If I get the MX-5, the MS springs would go on the car before it could even leave the lot! Even then that might not be low enough to satisfy me. I just got my 06 MX-5 brochure in the mail, and all of those cars look suspiciously lower than "20mm lower than stock", which is what the MS springs are supposed to be, right?

Do you have the front lip spoiler or rear winglet? I wonder if aero aids would help the mileage nudge a little closer to 30 MPG?

I might even have my wife talked into the MX-5 because she picked up the brochure last night and said, "Oh I like the saddle-tan interior!". LOL Of course, she picked the most expensive model! She has excellent taste!

Glyphon

its my every daily commuter, and i regularly get in the 19s for mpg in the summer, and 17s in the winter, with a few low to mid 20s in there for trips, which brings my average for the 13months of ownership to right around 18.5mpg. not the greatest, but i'm happy with the fuel economy.

Glyphon

side note...pololo, got a larger version of your avatar?

Mugatu

iTrader: (1)

bye carlos. we wont miss you. yet another friggin person who didnt do their homework before buying the car, and then blames his want to sell it on mileage. please.

tpschar

Two words: JIC coilovers.

Two more: Available now!

Those oughtta get you as low as you can stand taking it. No, I don't have any spoilers, skirts, dams, etc.

Zaknel'il

I have a business associate that just got an 06 mx-5 about 2 months ago- He has the saddle tan leather, it is very sweet...

bbtheory

You know, every time I see a soccer mom driving a Suburban or Expedition by themselves I realize the RX-8 is really not that unreasonable. And I am a lot less likely to kill someone with my oversized vehicle too.

Revolver

No, you're not the only one who starts a milage thread - worse luck.

Romancer

I agree

skwidd

I haven't driven a new Miata yet, and really didn't look into the new ones, although I do like the lines.

I did find that taking it a little easy with the accelerator and skipping gears helps to keep gas mileage in check. But, and to correct my typo earlier, the 3 MPG difference doens't mean much. I checked my second tank on the 8 and I'm getting 17. I figured I'd just keep a log for *****-n-giggles.

Man, you are going to love the Miata. I haven't driven mine since I got the 8, but that's more due to some asshat cut the roof to steal my stereo.

Pololo_RX8

Wow... Some people are indeed RUDE here...

I don't care what some of you guys have to say. I was just making a comment on how the RX8 is not the best commuter IMO.

I use it on weekends only but I want to drive it everyday w/o having to pay $3.56/gallon! This is NOT a mileage thread.!!!

And.. yes I did my homework thus the reason on getting the 8 which I have upgraded it to a complete MS suspension for the level of fun I expect out of this car... Heck on the street I can't even drive it at 7/10 but on the track the car is soooo sweet to drive it even at 9/10 or 10/10

Anyways... at this point I am still keeping the car but not driving it as much as I'd like to.

Carlos

dmorales

I drive mine as a daily commuter, and yes it is EXPENSIVe! But so would be any car as a commuter.

I drive about 60 miles a day. Gas is very expensive, but Let's say I traded in and got a car with 20% better gas mileage. I wouldn't save peanuts in $$. It wouldn't be worth the trade.

Really think about the money you will save and ask is it worth it?

Currenlty I get ~20mpg mostly highway w/normal daily traffic also.

It sucks when your gas bill is getting close to the car payment!
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prescriptionmazda

Then how come your first post talks about you selling it for a car that gets better gas mileage?