Hey all.
Over the past several months, I have kept track of my mileage since I do long highway commutes for work. I have consistantly gotten 21.08 miles per gallon wich I think is very good compared to some I have heard, especially since I am an aggressive driver. BUT mileage is not the only issue. I have also waited warily to join the "flooded" club, but have yet to have my RX8 flood. And there have been MANY instances where I dont warm my car up fully before shutting it off. There has been times when it has been started and shut back off immediately due to me leaving my car at my job site prior to going offshore, and it being moved in and out of the warehouse at the begginning and end of the day while I am gone. It never occurred to me to tell the guys to warm her up first, and I am sure they dont. And another issue is oil consumption. The first 6 months of my ownership, I checked my oil level regularly at fill up intevals. It never needed topping off. I have since declined in checking my oil levels two every other fill up, and now about every month, and yet, I still have noted no great loss of oil that would warrent adding oil.
And finally, although I have no slips to verify, nor dyno results, my car doesnt feel as slow as some make their 8 out to be. I have come from a 96 Trans Am WS6 and an 03 Dodge ram Hemi, and although they are two different beasts from the RX8, I feel no lack of speed when driving the 8.
I'll add to this thread by saying my latest flash was an "L" I believe, performed at Jay Marks in Houston.
Am I just lucky, or are there others here who have had absolutely NO problems in their ownership of their 8?

(Now that I have said all this, maybe my 8 will flood in the morning..... , because that is my normal luck in everything else.)

 

I have had the same experience. I would say that overall, this is the norm.

 

Flooding seems to be more of a cold weather issue. I see you live in Texas, that's probably why it hasn't been an issue for you. That aside, I think most issues just get exerated here because most people come here when they encounter one. Not many people post about their oil not buring out or their average gas mileage, so we mostly seeing the problems.

 

I think that you are the norm. Since owning the 8, not a problem (mileage could be better but whatever). Only thing was my seatbelt cover thing broke off but no big deal.

 

Aggressive driver. Give me a break. If you were aggressive you would be getting 16 mpg.

It's been know to get 8 mpg or less on the track. ZOOM ZOOM!

 

I dont take it to 9 often, but while on the highways of Houston, taking it to 7 and 8 is normal for me. To me, that is aggressive. I dont often speed by much, but I accelerate to all hell.

 

I average 21-22 mpg on the highway as well. I do have to add oil regularly though.

 

And as for me being normal, that is good, and I am glad to hear most are as lucky as I. I was just getting curious because I have heard so many issues from the gas, to flooding, to all kinds of other little things, but have had absolutely no issues in the 16 months and 15k miles of ownership.

 

No problems here.

Consistently get 18-21 mpg's, and have never flooded.

 

the whole flooding issue is overexaggerated

count another 8 owner w/ flawless service so far :D

 

ugh you guys make me sick.

no complaints here except
mileage - 16 mpg mixed but mostly city. though i did go to san diego recently and got like 19.5 mpg with like 80% freeway. If I got 19-20 mixed driving relatively aggressively... :D It just sucks having to pay 35 bucks a fill up and having to fill up every 200 miles or so.

air conditioner - it's only cold on the coldest setting. it's like the settings are very cold (lowest 2 ticks), slightly cold (next two ticks), pretty warm (halfway into the blue), hot (the rest of it). I had them look in on it and they "fixed" something but it still happens. oh well, as long as it's cold enough on the coldest setting it's cool.

i haven't flooded yet either but NOW i'm making sure i'm warming the car up. but let me tell you that i stalled it plenty of times cold and it started right up immediately... except once which took me a many cranks (and this was at an intersection... lucky for me it was late at night and no one was around and i was about to turn and not in the intersection).

 

Knock on wood...

Zero problems, nada, ziltch, nothing wrong, rattle free, never flooded and running strong. 100% happy with the car, which celebrates its 1 year BD this month. It's a March '04 build, bought in May '04.

 

When it was colder here, my car was rattling like crazy. Now that it warmed up a little, it seems to be okay - unless I got used to it
As for gas mileage - I haven't counted. I don't even want to know. Ignorance is bliss right? Sometimes I'll think, wow that was pretty good, and others I'll wonder who stole my car and drove it while I was sleeping and didn't fill the tank up after they were done.
Hopefully I'll stay lucky

 

Not really any problems here either (knock on wood). I average about 18mpg mix of city/highway - mostly city though. Only have to add a little oil every once and a while... not a big deal and no flooding.

 

I usually get 16-18 mpg, but aside from that no problems here. I think I probably have the L flash, as my car was sitting on the dealer's lot during M flash time and I doubt they did it.

 

You have to remember that you're judging whether your car is normal or not through the perspective of this forum. Forums, by their very nature, give a wider voice to those who would otherwise have a narrow audience, and people are more likely to complain about something than they are to praise it. That's why those with few or no problems feel like they're in the minority. Actually, you're just one small part of the larger silent majority.
I get 17 mpg in semi-spirited city driving, and have had some TSB related repairs. If I had to give it a grade, I'd rate my ownership experience an A-. Pretty darn good in my book.
Last night, on my way home from a Board meeting, I went WOT in second from 15 mph to 63 mph. I've never owned a car that could do that. What a rush! OK, I'm changing that ownership experience thing to an A+.

 

• 21-22 MPG for aggressive highway driving is probably about average.
• Most 8's never flood. But you should still either warm up the engine or rev to 3k RPM for 10 sec if you need to shut it off without letting it warm up
• I no longer check my oil every other fill-up, but rather every 4 or 5. I add a quart every 2000 miles, so your oil consumption may be below average.

 

Well again I appreciate everyone's input on this. And Again I am happy that there are so many of us enjoying the hell out of our 8's consitantly. Gonna see if I can get another trouble free year ouit of it. :p

 

Mine's the same way. I've never been able to get less than 14 mpg, and that was trying VERY hard- usually, it's between 18-20. Never flooded in 32k miles(knock on wood), only issues have been with the dealership not knowing which way is up on the car to fix TSBs. I love it, and can't wait to get it back (with new tires!!) tomorrow.

 

I'm another trouble-free owner. The only problem was my parking break cover breaking when it was freeeeezing here in the winter. No flooding, 1 qt between oil changes (3k miles), and that's it. 18 mpg is about average for me, mixed driving, mostly hwy. I'm at 9k miles now.

-arattle

 

My hand's up...no trouble here. I routinely get over 21 MPG, no flooding, and she runs like a banshee. I just add oil when needed and check often. :D

 

Let me say that from all that I've read at this site I've seen the following difference:

Fuel Economy

High: 19.7mpg (all city but with long periods of no stops)
Low: 18.7mpg (reving high alot)
Avg: 19.2+mpg (mainly city driving 75/25)

Oil Consumption

1980 miles (3 months of driving) driving less than one quart consumed (about 90% of it)

Flooding

NEVER, not even when I stalled it once or when I moved it while warm not at the half way point (THANK GOD)

Lack of power

Felt sluggish a few times but 2-3rd gear is a lovely kick in the pants

Quality

Headliner will probably get replaced and it had (yes this is strange) swirl marks on the paint from the dealership but everything else is great

Opps....I'm rambling....OK, I"m done...

 

i almost never really have to add oil my oil light never comes on and when i check it if i'm reading it right its not low at all unless i've been checking it wrong all this time.

 

That bloody dipstick is pretty hard to read...

 

It's a bit late to add oil when the light comes on. You don't want it to be on, is what I'm trying to say...check regularly and don't let it come to that.

-arattle