New owner of a 2004 RX-8 with 63,000 miles, will try to post pictures later. I've done a lot of reading, hopefully am doing things the "right" way to keep it healthy!

I know we don't want to lug these engines, keep rpm up and push toward redline on a regular basis. My question is in around town driving, local streets in traffic, where do we want to keep rpm? So far I'm running 3,000 and up for the most part, 3rd gear in the 30's, 4th gear in the 40's, give or take. Is 3,000 enough of a floor to not be considered lugging on the rotary? I'm pushing much more when accelerating and driving open roads, just wasn't sure where to choose gears when tame driving is needed in town.

Really having a blast with this so far, barely a week in!

 

3-5k is a good range. I find in 5th and 6th it feels better/smoother above 3500. You'll develop a feel for the right shift points with time.

 

I'm usually cruising at 4500, spend most of time in 3rd gear around town.

 

Me too, 3rd a lot of the time. I also have been surprised how much time I never get out of 2nd on busy city streets.

 

It's ok to bring the engine to redline, but theres no need to do it frequently. Doing so can cause the engine to wear prematurely and we all know that these engines don't need any more premature wear introduced.

As stated above, you will get a feel for the shift points. I like to shift my 8's about 4k rpm, but I'll run the engine higher or lower if need be. Traffic and road conditions will dictate a lot of how you drive. The 8 is a great cruising car that you will find yourself looking for reasons to drive the car.

 

I head more toward redline, find a spot where I can wind it up hard in 2nd or 3rd above 7,000, I don't just keep winding for the sake of hitting 9,000.

Yes, I'm already looking for reasons to drive it! I hadn't planned to drive it much this winter but couldn't resist, plus we've had dry weather so no issues there.

 

I actually tried drive at around 2500~3000 RPM on my S2. For cruising on flat ground, it's not lugging the engine at all. At 3000+RPM I had no trouble climbing up slopes. Under 2500 RPM the engine feels like it's struggling a little.

If you need power, just downshift. I don't see the point of dragging the engine RPM too high.

Cruising at 4k RPM gets very loud and annoying. That's just my opinion when I go at about 120 km/h (75 mph) in my S2 in 6th.

 

When I said cruising I meant around town, so doing like 35-50 MPH. If I'm on the highway doing 75 MPH I'm definitely in 6th.

 

The highest speed limit here is 50 MPH and I rarely do that. Most the time I cruise between 30 to 40 MPH. I usually upshift every 10 MPH. So 30 MPH 3rd, 40 MPH 4th, 50 MPH+ish 5th or 6th if it's the mini highway here.

Generally happy with the sound under 3k RPM because I run a decat exhaust system. I find it drones a bit over 3500 RPM so I tend to stay under that amount.

 

While the highway 75 mph sound is definitely there at over 4K, it's not as bad as some other vehicles I've had that had more drone to them. I don't mind it at all around town, the 4k sound and responsiveness is part of why I'm driving it in the first place!

 

I mean, if you are comparing the 8 to a 1999 Corolla, then yes, it is quieter on highway at 75+ MPH. Most other cars won't really be at 4000+ RPM at that speed since they aren't geared as aggressively and they likely also better sound insulation or have some sort of noise cancellation, so they will be quieter for sure. It was never a huge issue for me since I rarely was able to drive at that speed due to speed limits, but just saying.

Otherwise I still think 4k+ RPM is quite high for cruising. In the 3k range you should be just fine in the city. If I am very steadily cruising I will even dip below 3k RPM. If you need more power, just downshift. With a car with little torque you really need to know how to shift anyway, unlike a turbocharged 4-pot or V8.

 

I think you are saying 2 different things, I agree 4k is high for steady cruising, but around the city in variable traffic I find it fine at times.

Today I was on a trip of about 40 miles each way, 45-55 mph for most of it with some areas of 35. For steady cruising over 50 in 5th at 3k or a bit above seemed a good fit, some areas dropped to 4th and a few more rpm. I'm really enjoying how this car cruises!

I'm somewhat answering my original question just by gaining time behind the wheel, there is definitely a pattern that feels "right".

 

Time behind the wheel is really what will help answer your question. We could all keep giving you suggestions on what we think is best and suggestions on how we drive but honestly time behind the wheel is a great training tool.

 

I rather enjoy the cabin sound at "near" 75 mph. Never had a problem using my S2 for car trips (Cincinnati to DGRR; Boston to Appalachian roads; Fall Colors in NH).

 

I went from Concord to Hanover on 89 last week. Couldn't agree more, the sound was not a problem and my daughter was with me on the way back and thought it was a very comfortable ride.

I wish they squeezed just a few more gallons capacity in the tank. I don't care about the mileage, just would have liked another 30-40 miles of range.

 

4k is where I shift during normal acceleration. If the traffic is a bit busier, I personally still think 3000~3750 RPM is enough.

But yeah, to each of their own. I have my fun but I also don't tend to keep the revs high when I just need to keep the car at a steady speed.

I more enjoy the noise when the car accelerates, like when I do a 2nd or 3rd gear pull and when I am at an Autocross event. When I showed some videos of some pulls and laps I did to my friends on my phone(recorded by GoPro), I start to miss the car.

On the highway, the noise gets pretty old for me, though. It's like what Regular Car Reviews said, feels like someone is holding down the C sharp note constantly. It's not as annoying as a buzzing 4-pot IMO, but at the same time, most mid-size family cars with 4-pot tend to have some kind of noise cancellation measure.

If Mazda ever makes another rotary car, I do wish they have that thing they have on some modern sports cars, where you can control the noise level as you please. Aggressive when I need it to be, but quiet when I am just commuting.