Seriously, this car does not feel as fast as the speedometer tells me i'm going...i hit 89mph on the expressway thinking i was still only going 50mph! can it possibly be off? has anyone been able to verify how accurate the speedo is?

 

I don't know how accurate it is, but we're having the same problem. You honestly don't realize how fast the car is going. It sneaks up on you very quickly.

 

All speedometers have some error, i don't think it's off, what did you drive before this?

 

yes i know! and that's dangerous...with my past cars when you reach a certain speed you begin to feel like you're going too fast for the size of the road you're on...with the 8 i always feel like i'm either going to slow or i need to speed up - and no matter what speed i'm at so far (i've reached 100mph now) i still don't feel the least bit unsafe, as if i'm only going 2/3 the speed it's telling my i'm going...


i drove a 3000GT so it was still a sports car and not a passenger car which makes it seem like you're going faster than you actually are...and it doesn't feel like a few mph off, but a lot...like i said, i hit 89 without even knowing it, thinking i was only going about 50...and the fact that i'm still not used to the digital speedo adds to my concern...i still have to look for it when i look down


PS - i'm not bitching about anything...if the speedometer is accurate then those engineers get my gratitude for creating such comfortable ride that you cannot feel your true speed...if it's wrong, then it's still a good deal as i'll prolly end up driving slower which would equal fewer tickets

 

I don't think it's off, at least not on mine, but yes the car seems like it is going slower than it is.

There is this fairly sharp highway to highway merger that I use to take in my tiburon at 100Km/h it was scary, you would feel like you were going to slip out and hit the gard rail.

With the RX8 I took it at 120Km/h and it just felt like a straight road!

 

My bet is there is no problem with it.

The digital is one of my few complaints about your cars.

 

Several of us have already checked the speedo against GPS and police radar. See this thread.

 

You feel the car is slower, cuz it is too quiet.

 

Still waiting for my car, but I have a digital readout in a Benz and I'm told that it is accurate since it's entirely electrical versus electrical to analog/mechanical which loses a few mph in the translation. And from what I've read elsewhere, the digital speedo on the RX-8 is as accurate as speedos get.