rx8convert22

Well everyone I am part of the club now!!! I bought her a few weeks ago, and am going on a fairly long road trip starting this Sunday. I will be sure to try to take pictures of my baby in front of all the stops!

I ended up getting a Black Sport with the Performance Package added. I got it out the door for 26k and got KBB private seller price from the stealership on my trade in. All in all I feel it was a good deal.

I love the car, but have not red lined her yet. That is for the first road I hit on my road trip. Here is a picture of my baby. I have already added the rotary accent package.

Love this car. It is my third rotary in my fleet or 3!

rx8convert22

Well just wanted to let you know the road trip was great. I put almost 2500 miles on the car and it is a real treat. I really opened her up a few times.

I live in Maryland and first stopped to the Greenbrier in WV to see the Congressional bunker. It was a cool tour and the roads and scenery of WV was really awesome. I also got to test how smooth the car is even at high speeds on some of the desolate highways.

Next stop was the corvette assembly line in KY. I attached a pic with the plant in the background. It was the first time I saw an assembly line and really was amazed by it. One car takes 33 hours from start to stop. Would love to know if Mazda has such tours in Japan for RX-8s. The corvette museum was also very impressive. KY also was just an amazing place to drive.

A quick stop to Tunica, MS for some gambling, and after that was Graceland which if you are at all an Elvis fan is worth a stop. Seeing Elvis's car collection was a big highlight.

Then was Jack Daniel's distillery. It was a really cool tour especially when you get to take in the fumes of 140 proof Jack! I could taste it all day just from smelling it. There is a picture of that parking lot as well.

Then came the true highlight. I hit route 129 aka Tail of the Dragon. I took it all in second gear and it was probably the most fun I have ever had driving on the street. I saw a ton of Miatas since they were having a meet of some sort. If you ever get the chance drive this road!!! I attached a picture of my stop at Deal's Gap right after I ran the dragon. Route 129 is in the background.

The final stop was the Biltmore Estate in NC. It is by far the most impressive house I have ever seen. Wish I had gotten a picture of my baby with the Estate in the background.

I also attached a picture I took while stopping at a scenic outlook stop in NC I believe.

As far as gas mileage I did my best to record it. The average was about 21mpg per tank. The best tank was 23.3 mpg (no AC being run for much of that tank). The worst was around 15mpg (yes that was route 129).

All in all was a great trip and will say the RX8 is truly the perfect mix of fun, comfort, and practicality. Thank you Mazda for making the perfect daily driver.

Any other great roads people recommend to drive on?

RX26b

Nice pics of the trip, 8Convert. I'm always amazed at the size of the auto plants when passing by- seems like it would take an hour and a half to walk from one end to the other, that is, if you had security access.

How many days did it take you to rack up those 2500 miles, and how much oil did your renesis use? (I'll guess and say no more than 1/2 a quart.)

OfficeNinja

Glad you enjoyed the trip. Good pics, and great decision on your car.

Welcome to the club!

Jethro Tull

iTrader: (6)

Were all the cars (other than yours) pretty smashed-up in the JD parking lot?

rx8convert22

I left on a Sunday night and got back Friday night.

I believe I ended up using a whole quart if I am not mistaken.


What happens in Lynchburg TN stays in Lynchburg, TN... Actually it is a dry county which is quite surprising.

rx8convert22

Also a trip like this reminded me how rare our cars really are. In 2500 miles I saw 2 other RX8s! One was in the parking lot of a casino in Tunica and another was on the road an hour or so away from the Dragon in TN.

stealth-x8

welcome to the club..nice road trip coverage..i ahve always wanted to take such a trip and havent...yet. Quick question thou..did you get a cel at all during your trip?

rx8convert22

Nope not one CEL all trip! I did recently post about my first CEL though which was rear rotor misfires, but it was due to one of my spark plug wires being completely off!

jones75254

iTrader: (2)

...I rarely take my 8 any further than 20-30 miles one way. Any time I do, and im on a freeway most of the time, something trips, whether it be cell, cell blinking i usually get something that comes on after the trip.

Congrats on your new ride. Brand new, a thing of beauty....it looks so fresh and clean, just begging to be modded.

rx8convert22

Perhaps I was just lucky, but she loved the trip, and gave me no problems at all.

No mods though until warranty is out

SilverEIGHT

Famous last words! I said the same thing to my 19 year old son who I didn't want to mod his car.

Yea, right! We'll see.

It's like a drug:
Clear corners first... no problem as this is not really anything to worry about, Maybe a "Green filter".... well that really didn't do much... wonder if I should get a RB Intake? OK, that sounds/fees great. maybe a RB exhaust now, Ummmm that's sweet. I better stop now. Hummm wonder if I should get different wheels...

Stavesacre21

sounds like you had a great time, and welcome to the club!

however, if my memery serves me right...your not supposed to sit at one constant speed when intial break-in is going on. Were you able to adhear to that?

rx8convert22

I must admit as far as mods go I did already add the rotary accent package myself and do plan on buying 40th anniversary badges if they are available for a dealer Like you said those are harmless

And actually I had my break in miles done before the trip. My first 9000k rpm came on the first road of the trip! It was the best.

Stavesacre21

good deal! and the rotary accents have to be one of the easiest mods there is, considering how much nicer i believe it looks with it.