2nd big trip in the RX8
10-17-2004, 10:26 PM
#1
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2nd big trip in the RX8
Last year my wife and I drove from Adelaide to Wagga Wagga to Sydney to Coffs to Byron Bay, and on the way back to West Wyalong and then Adelaide.
It's been a little under a year now, and we have just come back from the second big trip. This time it was Adelaide -> Dubbo -> Byron Bay on the way east, and then Byron Bay to Griffith to Adelaide on the way back.
This time round the tyres were balder (on the minus side), but on the plus side the oil temperature light problem has been fixed, the new stainless cat back has been added, and the latest PCM upgrade has been installed.
Apart from the usual succession of near fatal accidents (B doubles cutting corners, wallabies on the side of the road, elderly drivers doing half the speed limit, tired drivers drifting across the road seconds after you overtake them (in a slower car, I would have been a feast for crows) - the main difference was the dramatic increase in fuel economy. I'm not sure if this was due to the engine being properly run in, the PCM upgrade, the exhaust, or all of the above, but the car was consistently getting 100 km a tank more than the last journey. This was a major increase in fuel economy which pleases me greatly, and pretty much offsets the latest increases in fuel prices.
The journey from Byron to Griffith was 1330 odd kilometres and took just over 13 hours of non stop driving, with a swap of drivers on each fuel tank top-up. No lunch, just grazing on junk food and powered by red-bull. The car didn't miss a beat, it was quite happy to travel at 110+ kph for an entire day.
What else? Oh yeah, is there anyone on this list with a grey RX8 with (i think, but it could have been a trick of the light) a gold mazda symbol on the bonnet? On the 2nd of October , in the afternoon, we were travelling on the very very cool and picturesque (and recently resurfaced) road from Glen Innis to Grafton. We were somewhere at the top of the range in the world heritage area when I came on a bit of traffic. There was a toyota echo behind another vehicle. It decided to overtake up a hill, but because it was an echo, when it swung out and started to accelerate, not much happened. It was just in the other lane sitting side by side with the other vehicle, moving up the hill approaching a blind corner.
Myself and the other car behind me could see tragedy unfolding and dropped right back.
The echo finally managed to complete the overtake, and pulled back onto its side of the road, well past the double white lines.
About 3 or 4 seconds later, the grey RX8 came down from the opposite direction moving quite quickly through the bends.
If it was 3 or 4 seconds earlier it would have had a massive head on with the echo. So, if you are on this list, grey RX8 driver, you are very very lucky to be alive.
It's been a little under a year now, and we have just come back from the second big trip. This time it was Adelaide -> Dubbo -> Byron Bay on the way east, and then Byron Bay to Griffith to Adelaide on the way back.
This time round the tyres were balder (on the minus side), but on the plus side the oil temperature light problem has been fixed, the new stainless cat back has been added, and the latest PCM upgrade has been installed.
Apart from the usual succession of near fatal accidents (B doubles cutting corners, wallabies on the side of the road, elderly drivers doing half the speed limit, tired drivers drifting across the road seconds after you overtake them (in a slower car, I would have been a feast for crows) - the main difference was the dramatic increase in fuel economy. I'm not sure if this was due to the engine being properly run in, the PCM upgrade, the exhaust, or all of the above, but the car was consistently getting 100 km a tank more than the last journey. This was a major increase in fuel economy which pleases me greatly, and pretty much offsets the latest increases in fuel prices.
The journey from Byron to Griffith was 1330 odd kilometres and took just over 13 hours of non stop driving, with a swap of drivers on each fuel tank top-up. No lunch, just grazing on junk food and powered by red-bull. The car didn't miss a beat, it was quite happy to travel at 110+ kph for an entire day.
What else? Oh yeah, is there anyone on this list with a grey RX8 with (i think, but it could have been a trick of the light) a gold mazda symbol on the bonnet? On the 2nd of October , in the afternoon, we were travelling on the very very cool and picturesque (and recently resurfaced) road from Glen Innis to Grafton. We were somewhere at the top of the range in the world heritage area when I came on a bit of traffic. There was a toyota echo behind another vehicle. It decided to overtake up a hill, but because it was an echo, when it swung out and started to accelerate, not much happened. It was just in the other lane sitting side by side with the other vehicle, moving up the hill approaching a blind corner.
Myself and the other car behind me could see tragedy unfolding and dropped right back.
The echo finally managed to complete the overtake, and pulled back onto its side of the road, well past the double white lines.
About 3 or 4 seconds later, the grey RX8 came down from the opposite direction moving quite quickly through the bends.
If it was 3 or 4 seconds earlier it would have had a massive head on with the echo. So, if you are on this list, grey RX8 driver, you are very very lucky to be alive.
10-18-2004, 04:11 AM
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Well it's safe to say, after all the long distance travelling you've been doing, that your 8 is well run in. 
Good to see your fuel economy is improving....... I've got something to hope for at least.
Good to see your fuel economy is improving....... I've got something to hope for at least.
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