I've been poking around about how to best save gas in my(soon) RX-8. Whenever I read a thread about ways to save gas or *gasp "Hypermiling" all I end up reading is people telling the OP(and others) to basically shut-up and buy a ______ if you wanted to save gas. What's the point of trying to save gas and things of that ilk. I don't understand this concept. Our cars take premium, our cars get bad gas mileage, these two items makes things expensive. One poster said they spend up to $800 a month in gas. The post date was some time ago so gas may have been in the 3s or 4s, but still. $800 isn't what most would call cheap. Why the pushback? People come asking for advice or general thoughts on a thing and then they get **** on? Yes, in between my spirited sessions and underhood work I would like to spend as little money as possible. Is that so wrong

 

If you drive like a Grandma you will save some gas.
But basically you won't save enough to make it worth driving like that 😎

You also will cause more carbon buildup driving like that...so the car will get gunked up

So rotary = shifty mileage and a big smile

 

It's a forum with hundreds of people. Thousands if you consider everyone who has ever posted. Some of them are going to have opinions, and some of those opinions are going to suck. There isn't a grand design to anything that happens here, so your question has no answer

 

*Vitriol

Sorry, had to.

 

ilamir, no big. Thanks for that. Don't want to f that up when writing a real paper. Good to know the team is reasonable. I've seen some folk get real hot under the collar. Wew. Anyways, I keep posting and reading until I break the 10 post rule. I get to pick it the 8 on Thursday, I cannot wait. I have to give away my Prelude to get it though. :/

 

I'd love to see who said they spent $800 a week on gas for the RX8. At $3 a gallon (high for around here) and 8 MPG (The lowest of the low), that is over 2,000 miles a week. Anyone who is driving that much in an RX8 is out of their mind and will accrue maintenance costs that will likely be equal or more than the amount they're spending in gas anyway.

I drive my car as hard as possible, it's the only vehicle that I use. I've seen anywhere from 8-12 mpg and spend about $50-100 on gas per week. This thing has bad gas mileage, but it's nothing THAT bad. At $800 a month I think I could buy enough hydrogen peroxide to drive a rocket car for a DD.

 

It kinda makes sense why people get mad, really.

It is a sports car, after all. It's about smiles per gallon, not miles per gallon. There are simply better choices for gas mileage if that's what you are after. I can drive the crap out of my old Corolla and get a lot more gas mileage than a hypermiling RX-8, but obviously, it's not nearly as fun.

You are just missing out tons of fun if you try to hyper mile unless you really enjoying doing it for some reason. Rotary is all about BRAP BRAP and high revs; it doesn't have a lot of low-end power and will feel very sluggish there.

Besides, drive the RX-8 like a grandma and you will clog the engine with carbon. It needs to be driven hard at least once in a while. Is all that money you saved in gas more than a new engine? Probably not.

Obviously, don't intentionally waste gas, but I also don't spend time worrying about it. Just follow your typical gas-saving tips(no traffic light Grand Prix, etc.), make sure everything is in good shape, and be happy.

 

i think this is the trade off that you need to make. I use the word 'trade off' lightly, which would indicate substitute one for one.

But I think its a no brainer. You must not concern yourself with the poor mileage. If you try to coast in N or Keep the revs low all the time, you might get better mileage, but in the long term you will be doing yourself a disfavour and incurring potentially more costs in the way of rebuilds, etc.

The other reason why I say don't concern yourself with the mileage is that you should avoid shutting off the vehicle when it hasn't reached a warm temp.
Shutting off whilst cold will encourage carbon build up + Cat Conv wont work efficiently + increase likelihood of flooding. For this reason your probably better off driving around the block for the sake of increasing the temperature - (not fuel efficient to drive around aimlessly)

 

Wait, people aren't competing for the traffic light grand prix championship anymore? I guess that's why I always win.

 

Hyper-miling an RX-8 is harmful to its engine. It is also no fun, since there is no torque down low. That makes it a pointless endeavor, IMHO. If you are buying an RX-8 for the coolness factor and intend to granny-drive it, you are buying it for the wrong reasons. Buy something sporty with a piston engine instead. You, and the car, will be happier in the long run.

 

I am buying the car to enjoy it. I didn't ask for your car buying advice, nor do I need to be told that I should "buy something sporty with a piston engine instead"(should you have the trolling nets out, I'll take this post in jest). I am buying an RX-8 to drive it. However it is a car, and as such it uses consumables. I would like to, from time to time, reduce the rate of said consumables. Saving money and having enjoyment are not mutually exclusive. Keeping the engine healthy doesn't mean tossing flames out of the exhaust everywhere I go. I believe in a wholesome driving experience, and part of that is driving to save a bit of cash sometimes.

Living in Houston doesn't give me much to work with as far as letting it rip, so late night on ramps are pretty much all I have until trips to Austin and the Rio G valley pop up. Traffic is ****, the city is crowded at weird times, and people drive like they have asses tied to their faces. All of this is to say, "just want a bit more paper in pockets. Feel me?"

 

It helps to state what gas mileage you are expecting for this car. What is reasonable to you? I get 15ish MPG and I am okay with that.

I don't see any trolling here. In fact, if someone wants to troll you in this thread, they would tell you what you probably want to hear.

Like Steve mentioned, Renesis engines stay in low RPM all the time are known to have lots of build-up carbon and fail, so it really comes down to these 2 options:

Option 1: drive the car for what it is, enjoy it, rev the heck out of it once in a while, and get around 15-16 MPG with mostly city driving.

Option 2: drive the car like a granny, keep it below 3k RPM at all times, get 20 MPG in the city and then use all the money you saved on gas plus some to get a new engine.

Again, no one is saying you should waste gas. Keep your tire pressure up, remove unnecessary weight, look far and lift off the throttle early, and keep the ignition system healthy all can contribute to better gas mileage. Just don't hyper mile it.

Sorry if I sound harsh, you can probably find a balance point.

 

As far as numbers are concerned...20-22 hwy and 17-18 city. The car I have now gets about 22-24 in the city so it'd be nice not to fall off too far. Hypermiling in short bursts and things like that was the kind of thing that I speak of. I am still new to rotary life, so always, thanks for the advice. I don't know the how hypermiling is looked at here. In a piston car dabbling with a bit of hypermiling is okay but their engines aren't blowing up or tossing seals either. I will granny drive some days, and others, well those will be good days. It'll end up averaging out; can't drive like a granny everyday, got a heavy right foot.

Not salty at Steve, just I'm always looking for efficiency when I first get a car regardless of how inefficient it is. I like to know if there is a way to improve something. Not, just "get another thing".

Hopefully I can become a decent member in the forum. All the cats that show up and answer my posts usually have solid answers.

You wonderful folk have a swell (insert time of day/night).

 

Screw hypermiling.

A tuner (canzoomer) told me that there was a `plateau`of efficiency, just above 4500rpm, where the third injectors cut in - so I had a LOT of fun driving everywhere above 4.5k, for one tankful!

....but no better gas mileage.

 

so you mean 4.5-9k is all same fuel efficiency?
I would agree with that tbh

 

Your instantaneous fuel efficiency has very little to do with what RPM you're at, and everything to do with how hard you're on the throttle. I've done this several times, switching from 5th, to 4th, to 3rd at highway speeds while watching my AP. If you're gentle with the gas, they're all generally within 3-4 mpg of each other. As soon as I get on the throttle at higher RPM's it will instantly drop from 21mpg to 8-10 mpg.

 

Do I detect a bit of "vitrol" for people, who might have a different perspective?

 

I assumed Vitrol was a new infomercial product

 

I would day in heavy traffic, there is probably no way of improving milage, dont tell us you bought an Auto either

 

Newsflash. I finally drove it last night just to see. I don't think I'll ever be able drive it like an old lady. It's just so smooth. Like the softest butter at slightly below room temperature. Like J Smoove himself. Like a dashing Bill C(either one). I'm in love. Now, I have to make sure that nothing weird has happened to it. Time to go poke around and see what other folk are about.

 

Personally, I thought it was a fuel additive when I saw the title.

 

i think riwwp got like 26mpg once on one of his cc trips. mpg and rotary should never be used in the same sentence



oh yhea this thread is ******

 

I'm pretty sure Vitrol is a vitamin for osteoporosis or something.

.