alnielsen

iTrader: (4)

Coasting in neutral, the engine needs gas to keep it running. Coasting in gear, the engine is kept turning by the momentum of the car. Gas isn't required and the injectors are turned off.

DinSum

iTrader: (7)

LOL, no i'm not stupid, are you?

Most of my driving is on a 90km/h road with many sets of lights all the way to work and back home everyday

Anyways people can listen to who they want, i just wanted to throw my two cents in there.

RIWWP

iTrader: (2)

There are different times to use different methods of car control, and safety will always trump gas mileage. You aren't going to just engine decel in 6th when someone ahead of you panic-brakes (extreme example).

Din, all they are saying is that in-gear engine decel is always less gas consumption than neutral. Always. Greater than zero will always be...greater than zero.

All you are saying is that sometimes the overall net better mileage might not be staying in gear.

Neither argument invalidates the other, because safety will always overrule efficiency.

DinSum

iTrader: (7)

Thanks RIWWP

You are one of the few people on these forums that doesn't bash somebody when he disagree's, we need a lot more people here like you man seriously, i like all you have done for the rx8 community your awesome bro thanks

ahardy25

during city driving i shift at the notch before 3 rpm and i try to keep the car rolling. and on the high way i drive around 65-70mph. i do see better gas milleage around 21-22 mpg but i reach my destination slower lol

Wolfe

iTrader: (1)

I find that the best gas mileage is obtained from not driving the car as much as possible. That way, when you do drive the car, you get to drive it as it was meant to drive. But for "engine health" I shift around 3.5k and then when the car is warm, around 4k. My mileage does not do so well.

CRO8TIA

Drive it like you stole it, it's meant to be driven hard, not to sound like an a**, but if you want good fuel economy, buy a diesel .

1.3_LittersOfFurry

iTrader: (4)

It's very simple, really...
Buy a second car, preferably a econo **** box, for daily driving.


Driving a rotary in "econo" mode (low rpms, coasting, ect..) is not only boring as hell and defeating the purpose of having a rotary. It's also not very healthy for it in the long run.

The more you mod it, the more your mpgs will decrease, but the bigger your smile will be.
Which is worth every dollar at the pump.

ruthlessfc69

the rx8 is a great car but not for a daily. it wasn't made to be eco friendly. so if u want a better mpg get another car.


Posted from Rx8club.com App for Android

Silverdollar

Exactly my thoughts! The bottom line is this car needs to be "run hard". By that I mean when you shouldn't be shifting out of 1st until around 3200, and take 2nd up to 6000, run 3rd at 5300 and let it just rock up to 8000 if you want. The engine will perform if it is pushed. It redlines way up there for a reason!

vanslam

Its all in perspective, my daily driving RX8 gets way better mileage than my weekend Bentley GT, which is 10mpg in the city and 16mpg on the highway and 12 mpg average.

smedly

If I want high mpg I drive my 98 civic . If I want to get high mpg and grin like I do driving my RX8 I ride my Hayabusa . I knew what I was getting into BEFORE I bought my RX8

04Green

iTrader: (1)

One we missed is actually knowing the mileage you are getting. An UltraGauge, or like device, Ultra Gauge is just cheaper, did wonders for showing me what I was doing real time, as opposed to only when I fill up the tank. Like all of these you need to calibrate the MPG, but that is basically just putting in how much gas you really used per tank for the first several tanks. I am sitting at 22 right now, up from 20.5 before I tuned it up. Seems I skipped a year on coils... Oops. MPG popped up pretty darn fast after the new coils.

Finding out that 76mph on the highway gets 2 MPG less then 74 was quite interesting. And, closed loop seems to do a bit better than open loop. Also, I can actually watch the tires warm up on the MPG.

dricampbell

My plan to improve mpg was simple - Get a motorcyle/scooter for short inner-city trips (150mpg and reasonable fun).......

And let the rx8 loose on the highway commute to work.

Simples.

PS - if put off by low MPG this is the wrong car for you.

ken-x8

Brilliant! My approach to fuel economy was the discovery that I could get away with telecommuting one or two days a week, instead of driving into the office. Immediate 20% to 40% boost.

Ken

04Green

iTrader: (1)

++ Ken, add a car pool day and even more savings...

Kenshi

You're absolutely right, the extra distance will more than make up for the tiny amount of fuel you're using. Plus it causes less wear on your engine (although as long as you leave it in a high gear, there won't be that much wear). However, you have to coast a hell of a long way to take advantage of this. I don't think many people have the patience to coast for half a mile, certainly not me. If you do, then I hope I never get stuck behind you.

ken-x8

But I'd have to shell out for swimming lessons for the 8...

Ken

khaira93

I get like 300KM per tank if I drive normally, less if I drive like it's truly meant to be driven.

Rough life.. but tis fun!

dag

Wow - strong debate.

I've owned my 8 now for 10.75 years. I've driven at times with a lot of highway driving, at times with mixed driving. I generally make a mental calculation of mpg with each fill up. With the light on, a fill up is close to 14 gal. A tank of gas for me has ranged from 225 mi and grows to 250 mi + if I do pure highway driving. So best case scenario, I can save around $5/mo by taking measures to save gas. I know everyone has their own situation, but for me, I'll take my red line beep and spirited driving. I bought the RX-8 to have a sports car experience. If gas mileage was important, the 8 would never have been on my list of cars to buy over 10 years ago. A Civic would have been my choice. I cringe every time I hand over my credit card to the gas man, that changes the moment I put my foot on the gas pedal.

dag

04Green

iTrader: (1)

Like ^^^

I track gas mileage for engine health. It is the first thing to suffer.

dag

It's been tough for me to determine if my gas mileage is down because of whatever the reason or because my driving habits have changed (last 3 years I pretty much have short drives to a train station). I recently tuned up the 8 and cleaned the MAF, and that didn't really improve gas mileage, but I'm OK with that. If my engine goes, well I can only sit back and say it's been a good run I mean how many other cars would I expect 11 years or more out of it?

And for those that think my above statement may be trolling, it's not really my intention. I think what I'm trying to relay is drive the car the way it's meant to be driven. I don't think there's anyone out there that would ever say the 8 was meant to get good gas mileage. It's not like the HP blunder Mazda made when it first came out. If a mistake was made in your choice, whether financially or performance expectations, well you have to figure out for yourself. If someone is able to make a legit thread that can say I can enjoy my 8 and get better mileage by doing X, I'm listening, but if the thread is providing tips on how to drive the 8 like a Geo Metro, well that's just a waste of server storage space.

Vader76

When I first got my car in 2005 I'd get around 340 KMs per tank. That dropped to 290KMs when my engine was dying. After the engine was replaced and I installed BHR coils and wires, I get around 400KMs per tank.

colinshark

I used to hypermile my NA RX-7, and could do 24mpg. It's even harder with the RX-8. Best is about 19 mpg.

I just run it like it's supposed to be, and I'm happy with 16mpg. Just accept that you have a fun car, and spend some more on gas.

I can't let go of that notion. Driving an RX-8 slowly and gradually, all over town is just really, really sad.

RIWWP

iTrader: (2)

If that 19mpg is an in-town best, then it's good.

If that 19mpg is a highway best, then you would gain quite a bit by fixing what's wrong.