How bad is the gas mileage?
 

I'm sorry if this has been talked about too much...
but i'm just wondering how bad is the gas mileage?
Is it a LOT OF difference? So much, that you can tell it's got bad mileage when you drive it??
Or is it only minor, that if you don't calculate the mpg, you won't even notice?
Just trying to see, if i will be able to live with the bad mpg...
don't want to regret anything... 30 grand is a lotta of money to me...thanks

Evey vehicle is a compromise. So there's always room for regret if you look back. Just my opinion.

My milage is around 13 in the city and some have posted as low as 10. i would describe it as low enough to remind you that the RX-8 is a sports car. As such, it's not supposed to get good milage. ;) but certinaly below the EPA ratings.

The gas mileage is very noticeable...you will spend a lot of time at your local gas station. It seems that every 1/4 tank is between 50 - 60 miles. If gas money is a major factor in your next car you may want to look at something else.

Not bad at all. If you want good gas mileage get the new Toyota hybrid car. If you want fun fun fun while driving a car the looks great great great, get the 8 :p

Not TOO bad....
 

I get better than 19 mpg (US) usually. A lot of highway, but plenty of 'jackrabbit' starts, and don't warm it at idle, just start and go, taking it easy till warm.

The gas mileage SEEMS worse because of the small tank/frequent fills.

S

Syntrix is the one who said he may be getting 10 mpg but he openly admits he drives it like he stole it. I don't think you can place too much weight on the guys getting 10-13 mpg or the guys getting 31 mpg.

If you're judging a figure skating contest you'd throw out the high and the low score so if you throw out 31 mpg and 10 mpg, the median and mean are probably around 16-17 mpg.

I get about 17-19 but that's just based on 2 fill ups so far and I drive pretty conservatively.

The cost of ownership for the 8 is by no means a drop in the bucket. The 8 has 18-inch tires that are gonna cost you almost $1000 dollars to replace every 15k-20k, for the average driver that is once a year. Add that to the fuel cost, maintenance costs, and insurance cost and you're looking at a vehicle that will cost you at minimum of about $5,000 a year.

$2500 fuel based on 20K miles @ 16 mpg @ $2/gal.
$1000 tires
$1000 insurance
$500 est maintenance

All cars need fuel, tires, insurance, and maintenance. For the average car you can probably get by with an annual cost of ownership of about $2500-$3000. For most of the 8 owners, the additional $2000 per year is not a big deal.

It's like getting a Great Dane for a pet and complaining that the dog eats a lot...get the Chihuahua instead.

Mazda RX-8 = Chihuahua w/ the appetite of a Great Dane :p

I average the same as i3man, and I drive the car pretty hard- my mpg has gotten progressively worse the longer I've had the car because I don't baby it so much anymore.

I've been driving a supercharged Miata all week. It has the bypass on the supercharger broken so the supercharger is always boosting, even at partial throttle.

The car as it is, still gets 20mpg in Atlanta city traffic even with me playing with the supercharger and showing off.

Now THAT is a sports car.

:D

If you are getting 18-19 in the city, just driving normally (not driving with one eye on the fuel gauge all the time), you are doing good, I'd say.

Oh, i'm sorry. I meant how bad is the mileage compare to cars like. S2000, 350z... is there a noticeable difference?

How often do you guys fill up the gas each week? I'm filling up my Accord v6 once a week. I can live with that.. i can live with filling up gas 3 times every 2 weeks.

Then, you'll be fine with the 8!

YIKES!!! That's a bit extreme. For me, I'm looking at:

$850 fuel - 10k miles @ 19 mpg @ 1.60/gal
$300 tires ($600 every 2 years)
$850 insurance
$0 maintenance - free scheduled maintenance

I can live with $2000/year.

auto mpg
 

anyone know the auto's average mpg.

The RX8 gets around 17-18 MPG from a poll on this board. From the the other car boards, I think the owners of the S2K get around 24 MPG, the 350Z around 22 MPG, the EVO around 22 MPG and the STI around 20 MPG.

I was originally getting about 13 mpg....now I get 15 mpg and it seems to be getting slightly better. 2200 miles on the car and I have an automatic. I was filling up 2 to 3 times a week.....now just twice a week. It's a small tank so....... I hear it will get better as the engine ages too. I bet the average on this board is about 16-17 mpg city. The car is way cool and fun so it's your call!

ouch. WHY!!!! WHY!!! why must it get such bad mileage!? WHY?!?!?! i love this car ever so. and this horrible mileage may be my deciding factor. (cuz being a college student, gas money is a huge factor) oh well. at least it narrows down my choices to the g35 and the s2k. :)

Being a college student, a $30K+ car is not a very practical solution to your driving needs. But if you can afford a $30K+ car, more power to you. That being the case MPG should be the least of your worries.

19-20MPG, pretty much independent of my driving style. This is true of the last dozen tankfuls, at least.

If you're looking cost, you have to look at MPG. If you're looking at how many times you need to fill up, you need to look at tank range. Edmunds places the following ranges city/highway.

S2000 264/330
350Z 400/520
RX-8 286/381

Our tank is 15.9 gallons. So use your own MPG figure to get a good range as I think these are based on EPA numbers. My 13 MPG was strickly city. I don't drive highway. I gas up every two or three days. But I am in no way complaining. I knew what to expect thanks to this board before I bought. Besides, it just gives me more oppertunity for conversations at the gas pump on how great the "8" is!

I get about 16mpg no matter how I drive, what gas I use, and just about any other trick listed on this board.

different people. different lifestyles. i see where you're coming from and your advice was appreciated. :)

I own a 88 10th AE RX7 and a new Honda S2000. The RX 7 averages 20 mpg in city and suburban driving and almost 25 mphg on the highway. The Honda averages over 28 in the city and 31 on the highway-no matter what speed I am driving. Both autos always get premium fuel!

Being a previous rotary owner, (73 RX-3), I'm used to the mileage. But in comparison, the 8 does actually get better mpg than did my 3. The technology has definitely gotten better, with the hp the 8 is capable of, again compared to the older arrangements. If anyone here had a car in high school that had as much horsepower under the hood as the 8...what kind of mileage did that big, 340 CID, triple carb, four-on-the-floor, with the posi-trac axle... you know the one, it could lay rubber for fifty yards off the line, and scratch the same bald tires in every gear?
Of course, THAT car handled the curves, pretty much the same way that bricks fly.
Every driver of one of these monsters was just as concerned about gas mileage, right?
Thought so.
I will admit that I'd like to get a little better mpg, but I know that once I go to my doctor to have this bad case of "lead-foot" taken care of, maybe it'll improve.
Then again, maybe it won't. :D
Enjoy the car, and as was told to me a long time ago, "If you're going to have a pig, be prepared to feed it."
-Doc :cool:

Hey Rotarypower:

You are absolutely right in your reasoning. We had a 6spd "250HP" GT for 2 months and 6,000 km (4,000 mi) before we got all our money back through the "wrong HP" buyback program. We consistently got 12-14 (US) MPG no matter how hard or soft we drove the car in the city or on the highway.

Despite numerous returns to the dealer and conversations with Mazda Canada they claimed the MPG was normal. This was the only reason we returned the car! I'm not normally a "what-if" type of guy BUT if the price of gas doubles next year, or gas shortages re-occur (Iraq war for example) I don't need a car that can't pass a gas station, no matter how great it performs!

Out of principle a light, nimble sports car like the RX8 should get better mileage than a V10 Viper or a 3 ton Bentley, but it seems to be worse. Like you we loved the car and can afford the gas (90 cents/liter ot $2.73 USD/gal) but could not put up with the mileage or the range of the car. I prefer not to spend most of my free time pumping gas. Ours could not make it 300 km (180 mi) between gas stations.

I am amazed that some owners continue to dismiss the lousy mileage (because it's a sports car) while complaining about the small gas tank. C'mon people the tank is 60 liters (15gal). That's a large tank for a sports car. These cars are getting much, much less MPG than they were designed to get. It's just common sense to design a decent cruising range into a new car, so stop making excuses for Mazda and start complaining. Then they might fix this glaring problem in an otherwise outstanding car.

BTW, we took our Mazda money and went out and bought a G35 coupe which is heavier, more powerful and gets twice the gas mileage at 25 MPG city/highway combined. Even though it is a more expensive car with a better resale value, it is much cheaper to run and has longer lasting tires. I am saving $180/month in fuel alone!

Good luck with your decision, we were very lucky that the buyback program was available to us. I wouldn't buy one now unless I could make sure the MPG on that particular car is OK first. I don't trust Mazda on this issue anymore.

insurance over the 350Z saves me $1500/yr. that buys A LOT of gas. thats for a 39 yr old with a clean record. i suspect an S2000 would also be pricey.

my mileage has gotten much better since i crossed 4K miles.

i got over 21mpg cruising at 80 mph and a stint to 110mph on a freeway trip recently. and that included some serious crawling in LA traffic.

around town i get more like 18mpg. this car is so awesome, its worth it.

james

RX-7 average 20 mpg ? I'm sorry.. not trying to bash...but isn't the renesis design to have better gas mileage than the rx-7? Maybe after, putting some mileage. We will see a better MPG??
So many things are still in doubt for the RX-8. Hope everything turns out good. Hate to see the rotary get called "old technology". I faith in the Rx-8 though. =)

To add some more weight to the RX-7 mileage issue, I had a 1987 and did 75% highway driving and consistently got around 25 MPG. The funny part is that if I drove conservative (55-65MPH) I'd get the same mileage as when I drove it much faster (70-80MPH) which I guess is just a rotary thing.

I drive mine everyday to work..like maybe 5 miles roundtrip tops. So my car spends a lot more time than usual warming up at idle. I am getting like 14mpg. I hope when the warmer weather comes it'll spend less time warming up. I know it's ok and best to just get in and drive, but if I did that by the time I got to work it hasn't reached anywhere near full operating temp. Also, I'd rather run out quick and start it, get back inside, eat breakfast, and by the time I take off the interior is somewhat warm. Next winter I will have a dedicated beater so I won't have to bother with messing my ride.

I get 15 mpg around town. This equates to around 50 miles per quarter tank. Note that this is for short distance, stop and go, basically worst-case driving. Changing gas, driving style and DCS/TCS has made little difference in my situation.

I took a run to Virginia Beach two days ago and got 21.8 mpg, the best I have gotten in 4,000+ miles. This was 275 miles at 70-75mph, 6th gear, cruise control, flat terrain, light traffic and minimal stops.

lol thanks for understanding where I'M coming from. i'm totally with you. i hate bad mileage.

but all the things that the rx8's offer keep me coming back to it, trying to give me any/every reason to rationalize my purchase of this car. yeah, i totally agree with your point about the v10 viper getting better mileage than the rx8. that's pretty hard to understand. rotary or not, the mileage stin... is sub par. not hating/flaming. just my opinion(this should be taken for granted now :)).

the g35 is my next best choice as well. what color did you get? :D i'm looking at white :D :D

I get about 15-16MPG on my commute to work, and about 21-22MPG roadtripping.

Hope it gets better with age... we will see.

some people have gotten 13 or lower mpg while others have gotten in the low 20s. It reminds you it's a sportscar but a gas guzzling one at that. Worse than others that are faster and more expensive.

My 94 has 350 rwhp and is ported. On this engine and my previous rx7 engine I get between 17-19 in city driving and I get 23-25 on the highway. If I really gun it alot and drive it hard my mileage will drop to 16 in the city.

Why is the FD's gas mileage better? IMHO is because of the turbo. At 3000 RPM I am at 80 MPH in 5th gear. Infact, on the highway I crusie at 2500 most of the time. I would guess that lower RPM=better gas mileage. With my Rx8 in 6th gear at 60 MPH its just over 3000 RPM. In otherwords Im sure that most of us are driving in the higher rpm stages in the RX8. At the same RPM I would guess the renesis gets better mileage.

OH yea...and Im so happy with my Rx-8, 15 MPG or 20....whatever.

My first few tanks I averaged 19 MPG city/highway while driving civilly. My last tank averaged 15 MPG while abusing the car, redlining often!

Hey Rotarypower:

The white looked very nice in the pictures. We got the medium grey (can't remember what they call it) which is what they had available. Had the same colour on the RX8 but I liked the black/tan leather interior better than the plain black of the G35. One of our dumber friends thought we hadn't changed the car until she was riding in it for a few minutes, because they were the same colour!!

lol.

not sure how people can rationalize the mpg by classifying it a sports car. other sports cars in its class get much better gas mileage and have equal or better performance. that's the point.

I can rationalize by saying I bought a rotary. Anyone who buys this car and is told it has a different engine in it should research. Bottom line a rotary gets less gas mileage than a piston engine, its a fact. its also far smoother and revs higher.

17 MPG is fine for me, when I look at the fit and finish, feel the car drive, hear the engine, drool over how beautiful it is, 17 MPG is not bad. And you can put 87 in it for crying out loud.

its NEVER going to have as good gas mileage, so if you like it enough to deal with it keep the Rx8 and get 15-17 MPG. If you cant deal with it, get a S2000 and get 18-20 City MPG.

i've read posts from ppl on the s2k, wrx, and 350z forums report mpg of up to 30 mpg for each of those cars. the highest i've seen people here report is 22 for mostly highway. so the difference is a lot greater than 2 mpg like you're trying to illustrate.

Seems that the consensus is that the RX-8 blows when it comes to fuel mileage. What can we learn from this as perspective buyers? Take it or leave it. Deal with it or Don't! It's that simple. I have very little experience with rotary motors. But that don't have a fuel return correct? If so, That is probably the big reason for such consumption. But whatever. FYI. Have any of ya'll seen a minin coopers gas mileage? As tiny as it is, with or without a blower, it gets horrible mileage. And it cost is in the mid to high 20k's.

I was refering to city driving. my 3rd gen rx7 gets 24-25 on the highway during a trip and I will expect the same from a properly drivin renesis.

Since this is a common topic, I've posted before but I get around 17 or 18 around town and 20 or so on the road. It will never cease to amaze me how one can pay $30K for a car and lament $500 per year in extra gasoline costs (or whatever the number is). It's not a significant amount of cash.....

Bottom line:
You're not buying the car for gas mileage at all.

OMG... i never started the thread because, i want high gas mileage... in fact, i know rotarys get bad gas mileage, i just wanted to know if it's as bad as ppl say they are. 2 more fill ups a year doesn't seem too bad for me.
Obviousely rotary engine wasn't build for gas mileage. RX-8 has a lot of other good features to look into, that even with bad gas mileage. You'll still crave for the rev.
just my 2 cent.

you're all completely missing the point. if you can afford a $30k car then you can afford to pay for the extra gas. but if you don't HAVE to because every other competitor in the car's class gets much better gas mileage then it IS a factor.

Rented a "economy" car on vacation in Florida. About 80 miles into the drive I tell my wife "gas gauge must be broken it only moved a hair since TPA." She said you are use to your RX-8 this car gets 35mpg! I seem to spend a lot of time at the gas pump-but
the trade off is worth it. I get between 15 and 17 driving easy, but only around 10 when I am in the mountains ripping up the curves.

do you think the gas mileage is bad enough that alot of owners will sell the cars? Will the used car market be flooded in a few months as the thrill of the new car experience wears off?

I don't think "a lot", but I bet that there will be some.

Re: How bad is the gas mileage?
 

15-18 in the city.

No, I don't think this will happen. RX8 is one of the best cars for the price, bar none.

I get 19-21 consistently with most of the miles coming on a looooong daily commute. Lots of highway time, but lots of stop and go traffic too. For comparison, my previous car was an Audi TT 180, and it got around 24-25 doing the same trip with a very well broken in engine.

The 8 is subpar in the milage department, but life is full of tradeoffs, and to me, the car is worth the extra 3 or 4 MPG I'd get from one of it's competitors. The 8 definitely seems to hate short trips, so if you're concerned about milage, think about your intended use for the car. Long commutes or extended highway driving will probably result in 19+ MPG. Brief commutes or lots of short hops around town will probably bring you closer to 14-15.