RX8Club.com - Dynos and mileage

I'm only bring this up because this forum, early on, devoted lots of stuff on rear wheel HP and gas mileage achieved by the 8.

While I'm not a great fan of Motor Trend (I get C&D, R&T, Automobile, Sports Car, etc.), there are two very good articles in the current new issue. One addresses the difficulties in getting proper HP/torque readings for newer cars on a dyno. The article draws heavily on Mustang Dynos and their owners. They use as an example, a Dinan BMW M5, which depending on airflow, ambient temp, etc. can vary as much as 100+ hp at the rear wheels. And one wonders why the 8 got low readings ; and why Mazda said you really can't get a good number on a dyno???

The other article deals with EPA mileage figures (checking the Hybrids...Prius, Insight, et al). It is a very informative article and shows just what one should expect given the archaic standard the EPA uses to determine city/hwy mileage estimates. In short, the driving cycles in no way represent how people really drive today. I found it interesting that some 8 owners bitched about getting 15-16 mpg in urban/suburban driving...about 2 mpg less than EPA estimates; and that owners of the Prius, rated at 60 mpg in the city are bitching because they are only getting 50 mpg, 10 mpg less than rated!

So, unless you just feel the need to carp about the car, know that your 8 does pretty damn good on mileage and that your horsepower is more than sufficient to get you a "gone" license...or worse.

Oh, the 8 did beat BMW et al last week in GT races out west. It will be on Speed tomorrow.:D