mmmdowning

Yes I have missed this thread also and I'm going to try it, won't hurt to play.

realdeal

I doubt it will do much for gas mileage, but at this point I'll try anything.

DemonRX-8

As this thread was resurrected from back in late September, has anyone been doing this test since then and what are the results? Let’s have some long-term updates.

I just started turning the DSC/TCS system off after learning how to do it this afternoon and reading another thread regarding potential benefits. I noticed a marked improvement in shifting and drivability from my initial impressions on a couple of short trips of 10-15 miles. I turned it back on in between the two trips just as a test and it seems that the improvement is really there with the system off.

I still don’t have enough data to determine the impact on gas mileage, but I’ll be keeping a close eye on it. I have now some 735 miles on the car, so it would seem that the car is well within the initial ECU controlled break-in period of running rich. I went 645 miles on the first three tanks with fill ups of 13.9, 15, and 14.5 gallons each, which puts the current mileage at just under 15 mpg with only short trip driving - no trips over 20-30 miles and predominantly much less. I would think that in actuality, it is slightly higher because I’m sure the dealer didn’t top off the tank completely as I do on every fill up. This also includes the 30 miles that were on it when I picked the car up on Jan 28 . . . I still shudder to think of what my baby went through on those first 25 miles (about 5 miles was my test drive)!

brothervoodoo

Actually, you haven't missed anything its just another speculative thread that has not delivered, just let the rumor die, it's BS..

JD32

Since brothervoodoo says it's BS, I'm sure he has tried this and must know from the wealth of statistics in his BS reply/claim. :D :D

brothervoodoo

I've tracked every fill-up and now have close to 11k miles. I've had DSC fully off for a quite a few fill-ups and it has made no difference in mileage.

side note:
If you notice the thread author has not posted since September has had less then 30 posts total, of which most of his posts dwell on mileage issues. It seems this person was very eager to find a magic bullet to improve mileage, I don't think this is it.

The only time you will see a nice jump in MPG is when you are cruising the freeway.

6speed8

What I (and some others as well) have found, is this: Don't let the Renesis idle and longer than neccessary - it makes a considerable difference in the MPG. This includes (unfortunately) stop lights, stop Signs and warming-up the car.

VikingDJ

I agree. I put this little theory to the test, and I got absolutely no improvement in gas mileage. Looks like my 8 is gonna be getting around 20=22mpg highway, no matter what speed I drive at, or whether I have traction control on or not. he was looking for magic bullet, and he's either dreaming, hallucinating, or in denial. One or other, because you will not improve fuel economy by turning off traction control.

TM45

I used my G-Timer today to test acceleration with DSC and TCS enabled/disabled. The car felt more lively with the system disabled, but I wanted to test it.

I measured 0-60 without revving the engine prior to launch and allowing no wheel spin at any time. The 0-60 times were slow as the engine really bogged off the line, but I was consistent in all four runs--two in each mode.

Enabled: 7.38
7.40

Disabled: 6.95
7.07


The car also seemed to coast better with the system disabled, so I tried another test. I have a big hill as approach my neighborhood and I usually coast down. I come over the crest about 30 and I usually hit a max of exactly 53 right before the hill levels out at the bottom. Same every day within a mile/hr. or two. With the system disabled the coasting speed was exactly 53--same as always.

It appears to me there is a measurable difference, though not in drag but in engine response. Four runs is not definitive, though there was consistency in the times within each mode. I will test again.

Just to keep the controversy alive.

my-t-im

all this horsepower and milage thing is giving me a headache. I love this car . I have 3400 miles on mine and the mpg is a big flat 11.9. What can I do? the dealer keep telling me that the mpg is something that have to live with. Some friend of mine told me about something called a tornado that he claim help his mpg in his Big *** truck suv. he said that i need one. What is a tornado have anybody used it before on their Rx8.





_______________________________
2004 Rx8 Titanium Grey, GT, Strakes, Exhaust Finishers, Spoiler, Spare,

Neep

I know what a tornado is. It's a little finned peice of metal that you place in your air intake. It's designed to help optimise the mixing of air and fuel by spinning the air as it enters your engine.

As to how it works on the RX-8, I don't know. I too am interested to know if it makes any difference or not. I'd imagine it wouldn't make any difference since all the quotes I've seen for impressive MPG and HP gains posted on their website (www.myauto.tv) are for relatively old cars (the newest is a 95) I'd imagine that the engineers of new cars would acount for the uses of this "tornado" effect and engineer it into the car. However if anyone has one of these gizmos, I'd like to know if it works too.

Raevik

my t-i-m....How are you driving your car??

11 MPG?!

I just got mine, and my first tank of gas put me at 18.4 mpg, with 90% city driving. Remember, that was my first tank of gas. That means I shifted out of every gear around 4000 rpm or so, and didn't race. I gunned it a couple times for fun, but I didn't drive around like that regularly.

18.4, and you got 11.

Your dealer said to just "live with it"? I'd be on the phone with Mazda corporate right now if I were you. That's a HUGE differential and strongly suggests that there is something wrong with your car. I most certainly would not just "live with it".

Hell, that means your car's range is under 150 miles! How can that be acceptable in anyone's mind?!

310Guy

Man, you got 18 in the city? Wow.

I think I'm probably only getting about 13-15 with mixed driving.

Omicron

Worst I've ever gotten was 14.9 MPG, and that was with some serious racing around... I had to give a dozen or so people rides in my car at our last club mini-meet so they could all experience the CanZoomer Stage 1 + Borla + Rotary Extreme SRI firsthand. But on average, I get ~17MPG in the city and have not had the car on the highway yet.

As for the "Tornado" gadget - it is complete and utter BS. Don't waste your money! It's been discussed in detail in the tech and aftermarket performance forums, in case you want to go searching.

Basically there is no "magic bullet" for improving the '8s fuel economy, unless it's driving style. As an experiment this week, I am reeeeeally trying to keep my shift points below 3500 RPM, as the secondary injectors kick in at 3750 RPM. It'll be interesting to see how much of a difference this makes.

And finally, the DSC/TCS disable thing... dunno. If BV and other credible sources have tracked it and found no difference, then it's most likely just wishful thinking. I too will be playing with it, but not until next week after I finish my current experiment on improving the mileage. But I'm not expecting disabling the TCS to improve my mileage - I'm more interested in the potential performance improvements. :D

Xlorn

If 14.9 was my worst I wouldn't be trying to improve my mileage. 14.1 is my best and 12.3-13.1 is pretty normal no matter how I drive, or the octane I use. Omicron do you think the hotter spark plugs might help me? The more I read on the issue the more I'm not sure what to do...

my-t-im

yes I'm getting 11.9 -- 12.0 mpg I drive my car on the hiway and street. I shift gears @ 4000 to 4500 rpm for each gear. this mpg is not acceptable for me. I took my car to the dealer today and the shop supervisor. told me to run 5 fill ups and note the milage, gas amount, bring back the information. then they would look at my engine to determine if anything is wrong with my rx8.. I have been using 93 octane at every fill up. 150- 158 miles per fill up.

jdwk

I think he has found a "magic bullet" for his car and his car alone. Everyone believes in factory flukes, why is not possible for his car to have DSC applying the brakes unnecessarily?

There is such a wide range in the reported MPG, it is hard to get an accurate average. For the most part, I think all this DSC, TCS, MPG, and BHP is in our heads.

The performance range in the four RX-8s I test drove were ridiculous. There was definitely a difference between them, but sometimes it is easier to buy and love it for the good and the bad than to worry about performance and MPG. Both of which affect each other greatly. So pick one, you apparantly can't have both.

I'll pick something in between.

RenesisPower

That would be a great deal if you could gain perfromance by disabling DSC/TCS. It just does not make any sense though.

I tried it yesterday after I read the first note and did not feel any difference in high and medium accelaration runs(not measured, just seat of the pants).

I think I will chalk this up as the "placebo" effect. Cover your instrument panel so you don't see the DSC/TCS lights, have someone enable or disable for you without your knowledge and see if you can tell a difference.

brothervoodoo

If you are hammering your car (high, high-medium acceleration runs) disabling DSC/TCS will help. But with normal day to day driving there's no difference (unless you hammer your car all the time!). If you go into turns aggressively (and before going past the envelope) there's a noticeable difference between having DSC-TCS on and off. But getting back to mileage, turning off your traction control does not improve mileage in my experience.

RX8MN

This is a very interesting thread! I've had my RX-8 for 2k miles and have averaged 14-18 mpg depending on the city/hwy mix. I've always had the impression that the brakes are dragging just a little bit and I'm going to try the TCS/DSC diable to see if there is a difference. It seems reasonable that the DSC on some cars could cause brake drag. I'll do some testing and report in a few days.

Interestingly, my BMW with a V8 and auto trans. is quicker than than the RX and averages 21 mpg!

crazy4h20

2nd revival of this thread...

Hoax or real... what was the final consensus?

Also, can anyone comment on CZ Stage 1 w/TCS/DSC vs. w/o?

w2aew

TCS/DSC = no real change in mpg.

Lots of idling eats a lot of gas = poor mpg.

Driving it like you stole it = poor mpg.

Driving it reasonably (don't WOT/beep every shift, etc.) = good mpg.

I drive mine fairly reasonably, but do have some "fun" too, and typically get 19 mpg in suburban/semi-rural driving.

310Guy

I forgot about this.

I'm gonna give it a try. I'll be filling up tomorrow (along with my K&N intake install). I'll see how it goes...

MEGAREDS

As do I (see my mileage log in the sig). Disappointing, but I've learned to live with it.

Ophitoxaemia

i havent noticed a big difference between TC and DSC off and not. freeway = 21-22 mph, city = 17-18 mpg. ***** foot regular driving = 19ish.

btw- the dsc is pretty damn nice. i race a powerful RWD car and the DSC in the 8 is very good, not too obtrusive.

james