2009 rx8 feedback--oil useage etc
 

ok enough people have these now to give us some feedback? oil useage, temps, drivability, etc etc---comeon fess up!
olddragger

2006 vs 2009
 

I had a 2006 Shinka 6spd and now I have a 2009 GT 6 spd.

My 2006 Shinka only burned about one quart of oil every 2500 miles. My new 2009 has burned one quart in the first 1200 miles. The new dipstick locations is awesome and the engine cover cutout is a very big improvement considering how oil this thing burns.

The 2009 is much quieter than the 2006. It also seems to have a little more grunt at low RPM but runs about 4k RPM at 73-74 mph vs 80 mph in the 06. As a result, fuel economy is not as good. With mixed driving and shifting around 4k RPM, I am getting 19 mpg.

Steering feels different in the 09...I actually feel a little more detached from the car...but it is easier to manuever when driving slowly.

In the 2006 I would get a burst of acceleration around 5400 RPM which was fun. In the 2009 it appears to be more linear with no burst. The end result, it doesn't feel as fast.

The new Bose sounds system is a huge improvement over the old one. In the 2006 everything sounded muddy. In the 2009, I am quite satisfied with the sound and probably won't make any alterations. The bluetooth handsfree system is pretty nice but people complain that they cannot hear me very well. The auxilary port for an IPOD is the bomb.

Overall, I like the styling of the 2006 better than the 2009. But the 2009 feels much more refined...hard to explain till you drive one.

The new 6 speed is much better...very crisp and seems to be an even shorter throw than in the 2006. Also the clutch uptake is very short making for very quick shifts. This is a huge improvement over the 2006, especially when starting on a hill. I am suffering from Reverse training issues...2006 was right and down, 2009 is left and up. I spend a lot of time trying to backup in 6th gear ;)

Automatice climate control is a nice addition and seems to be very consistent. I thought the rain sensitive windshield wipers would be a gimic...but used them for the first time today...not sure how I ever lived without this feature...very nice.

Hope this helps

sure does---appreciate the feedback.It was almost exactly the things i was wondering about!
any others?
od

yeah that sucks about the gas mileage not being any better but it depends on the gear ratio if it makes it FEEL more powerful at low end it would prob b worth it

the 09 has different gearing - thats why u feel it different.

other stuff, yeah , those are improvements.

when my tranny die, I will drop a 09+ version tranny into my car. Just for the improvements they've made to it its worth the price.

Nice, blur-e-eyed. Really good information.

yeah i knew the tranny had different gearing but idk if i would like that to keep "decent" gas mileage it's 70mph tops.....not that i really care now because i'm always running over 4k haha but it would b nice to have at lease a feel of more power from the butt dyno

not going to be that easy. just a guess..

but an interesting idea!

beers :beer:

6th gear cruising is the same. my bet is it new car being broken in..

beers :beer:

it has been confirmed by Paul. Unless he is wrong LOL !

the ppf does not interfere with the exhaust and bolts to the diff in the same way..

wow,

that stuff is going to be expensive for a long time. ;)

might be better to buy the new car!! btw, anything ever happen with the hoses?

have a new toy to put in soon.

beers :beer:

i knowwhatit is!
OD

what hose ? u talking about the Billion hose that I have ?

yep.

beers :beer:

wow - double the useage . Keep us posted on what happens for the second 1000 miles

Since getting the latest flash, my 2006 has used about 1 qt per 1500 miles or the last 6000 miles. Of course a lot depends on how you drive it so such a comparison is virtually meaningless but I do have a fair amount of miles on the new flash.

My understanding is that the gearing change was in the differential, not the tranny itself. The goal was to achieve better accelleration, and it appears that it worked. The tranny change was just a relocation of the reverse position.

Would be nice to hear from a reliable source- was the tranny gearing changed, the diff., or both?

they both changed..

the info is here..

https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...9+transmission

beers :beer:

Thanks, swoope.

Not just a gear ratio change, it's an entirely different piece of machinery. The Mazda marketing info is therefore kind of misleading. An MX-5 transmission! Whether this is was a good move remains to be seen. Will it be worth it just to be a little perkier off the line?

I smell a trade-off in the name of manufacturing ecconomics.

Quoted:

"The 'strengthened' transmission, is acutally the MX-5 transmission. I saw a new RX-8 version of it when I was in the Mazda Tech center in Irvine last month. This is 100% confirmed. Completely different transmission, with slightly different ratios than the current Aisin box.

Provided the ratios don't change from the MX-5 transmission, the following should be a very accurate gear chart showing the differences between an '04-'08 car and the '09 R3. I omitted 1st gear from this, but first is significantly shorter, so it will run out sooner."

Anyone else notice a reduction in steering feel or effort on the '09's? Is there a design change that explains this?

A couple of answers to some of the questions in this thread...and some new comments from a picky owner ;)

The steering is different than that of the 2004-2008 models. I can't recall where I read that but I noticed it even before I read it.

Oil consumption might be slowing down. The second thousand miles resulted in a 1/2 quart of oil. The second thousand miles were driven a little more spirited than the first thousand. ;)

Rear-end ratio changed to a 4.77. This results in a substantial increase in RPM at highway speeds in 6th gear.

New feature I did not mention before is the TAC. It adjust redline based on engine operating temperature. When you first start the car in the morning, the redline is around 7k rpm. It increases in stages until it reaches full operating temperature. This may be a gimic but it does keep me from over reving my engine before I should.

The 09 has a different leather steering wheel than previous models. It is extremely smooth and soft. Unfortunately, it is also very grabby and it drags on my pants when I get in and out of the car...this is already resulting in wear. I like the older more durable leather wheel on my 06...never had any problems.

This RX-8 has substantially fewer rattles than my previous model. Not that it is rattle free. I only have two rattles. They are rather minor door rattles that I will fix this weekend with some foam tape. Same rattle on both sides of the car. In my 06 I wouldn't have notice these rattles over the other louder rattles that I had to deal with.

Front-end paint seems more durable than on my 06 or I have been extremelly lucky...not chips yet and I drive a rock hauler freeway here in TX.

New wheel design is a pain to clean...

With bluetooth integration...there no longer is a mute button on the steering wheel for the radio. I find that I miss this button greatly.

Lastly, they still haven't fixed the heated cup holders. By the time I get to work in the morning...my soda is nice and warm. When I put my hand in the center console it must be 110 degrees.

That's about it for now.

This doesn't sound good. The previous Rx8 used to rev highly as it was in 6th in highway mode. Makes you wonder how much extra fuel the car uses on the highway at same speeds as the old car? If it is somewhat up in this region, we may start hearing about real-life experiences somewhat worse than the already increased fuel economy!?

In the 09 I am currently getting aroun 19 Mpg in mixed driving...about 30 miles each way to work...60% highway. I usually drive in the 70-75 mph range on the highway. I got around 20 Mpg in my 06 on the same trip. So, not a huge difference. I expect the Mpg will improve with age...I've only got 2k miles on it at this point.

the diff ratio changed, but so did the 6th gear ratio.

the rpm in 6th gear is the same as the previous cars.

this link has the info. https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.ph...9+transmission

beers :beer:

the ECU may be injecting more oil during break in as the motor builds compression.

Swoope...maybe the 6th gear ratio did change as well and will not contest this piece of information as I do not know. However, I assure you the RPM vs MPH in 6th gear is substantially different. I drive the 09 every day and drove the 06 every day for 3 years.

06 = 4000 RPM = roughly 80 MPH
09 = 4000 RPM = roughly 73-74 MPH

That'll definitely suck for fuel mileage. :icon_no2:

http://www.auto123.com/en/mazda/rx-8...tid=99804&pg=2

This says the steering is very precise though heavily assisted. Sounds like what is being described as a change from the '04-'08 feel.

The calculated 6th gear speed per rpm is about the same for the '09 as for the '06 and yet we have someone here claiming that it is substantially different. Something doesn't add up; either the published specs are wrong or something weirder is happening...

yep,

to op.

my 04 does 3750 at 75mph.

i should get to drive a r3 in a couple of weeks. will look at it.. unless they change the tire dia they should be the same..


beers :beer:

An R3 has 19 inch wheels and a GT has 18 inch wheels. My 06 Shinka had 18 inch wheels...tire size is also the same at 225/45/18s. I cannot believe that this...but I will take a picture on the way to work today at 4k rpm in 6th gear and post it. Just to satisfy the non-believers...I will say I was slightly off...it is 75 MPH at 4k RPM.

Picture of TAC at 4k RPM
 

I have attached a picture at 4k RPM at 75 Mph. Specs on car: 2009 RX-8 GT, 6 Speed, 18 Inch wheels, 225/45/18 tires.

the link about does say that ~ 100 rpm difference between the two.. it is not tire size.

would need a scan tool and a gps to figure this out..

the rpm gauge is off on the 04 to 08. maybe they fixed that?

thanks for the photo!

beers :beer:

You could be right there Swoope ...
easy way to test that would be to take it to the rev limiter and see what the rpm gauge reads .
Mine is 9400-9500 on guage when it is actually 9000 at the crank.

after reading a little bit. i find that the r3 tires are~ 26.1 in dia. all the other 09 manuals are ~25.9.

best guess is the speedo would be dead on for the r 3 and the gt and lower is off a bit..

but gps and scan gauge would tell the story.

beers :beer:

I've never driven the 04-08 except for some test drives so I don't know what to compare the driving to. But after the first 500 miles, I got 18.9 mpg and have used about a 1/2 quart of oil. Dunno what speed I get in 6th at 4k but I'll test it out. I've got an 09 GT AT though so probably will be different from the MT and R3.

Non performance wise, I will also say the leather on the chair seems different - less slick and more of a matte type. They did get rid of the ribbed leather on the sides of the seat. I'll be going to the Dublin meet and will compare with the other 8's there.

My 2009 numbers
 

Oil consumption - I've used 1.8 quarts in 1,500 miles. It is using oil at close to 2x the rate of my 2004. But I like it - keep that rotor nice and lubed As others have said, "red line a day keeps the engine replacement at bay". I'm not cruising at 7k rpm more like 4k, but as my license plates says (RXCELR8). I "touch" the 9k mark at least once a day - or as the mood moves me :)

2009 RX-8 "fully loaded". Maybe it's the nav that's using more oil? Never know! It could be a function of the retroencabulator (you tube/google it - hee hee).

Steve