my favorite thing about it...
 

is the tach. pictures do it no justice, it has depth. the numbers are deeper in than the notches and then the needle on top.

I love it too. But it looked a bit strange at first, like it was an optical illusion or something. The needle just seems to float in space above the lettering. It was like you can put your hand out and pass it behind the guage. Quite unique.

I love the lighting for the instrument cluster.

In the garage, early morning, I approach the car and open the door. The cabin lighting glowed invitingly, and I slid behind the wheel after placing my computer bag behind the front seat. The soft blue glow gently illuminated the three pods of the cluster, creating the impression that the car was sleeping.

But turning the key in the ignition brought the car to life. The backlighting of the cluster gradually brightens to the desired luminosity. Not too slow, but not too fast.

And then, its time to drive.

-ss

Agreed. About the best looking guages I've ever seen (inc. the optitronic guages in the LS430, GS430, SC430 etc which are as clear as the RX-8 but not as pretty or '3D'-like). Perfect - except for the speedo (which I will eventually get used to). This is an area where the RX-8 is light years ahead of the G35 with it's dull orange-lit dials.

Shoe - you should write romance novels.

That sounded highly erotic. Some subliminals there. I got pretty excited there for a second. ;)

Do the lights under the side-view mirrors illuminate when you unlock the car/open the door? Someone in another thread indicated they hadn't been able to get those lights to come on.

That was me, and on closer inspection it appears that these lights may be an optional accessory, or at least part of the Touring of GT package, because the Sport appears to have plastic blanking plugs on the underside of the side mirrors where I presume the lights would go.

I put up a few pics of the tach in all 3 modes:

http://www.mybrainhurts.com/pictures.../rx8/2nd%5fday

Whilst I like the idea of the console being illuminated full time it does worry me that this will attract unpleasant attention from chancer thieves. Can the lighting be disabled if one requires it?

I don't understand? Why? Is there something I'm not quite grasping?

The console shouldn't be illuminated if the ignition is turned off.

Ignition off = not illuminated, door locked - I don't see it being an attraction to theives.

Iginition on = console illuminated - you better be in the car or very, very close by. I would be.

When my GT arrived at the dealer last night on the truck, I confirmed there are no lights installed.

Looks like the US does not get that feature.

Please clarify, also Lensman question;

1) no light when locked
2) Blue dim light once door is opened
3) backlight on once engine started
4) What happens when lights are put on?

rael

Oh, hold on, I missed the point about the lights coming on when the car is unlocked. I though you meant they were always on regardless.

What the freak? I'm waving the BS flag on this one. The press kit went on and on about this feature. I wonder if the wiring is all in place so we can add the lights after the fact...

The subtle blue illumination turns on when the door is opened. Maybe when the car is unlocked via remote -- I'll check later.

The backlight for the instrument cluster illuminates when the ignition is in the "on" position (maybe acc, I'll check on that, too).

Turning on the headlights/parking lights does not change the illumination of the instrument panel from the standard backlight.

I've had no problems viewing the guages or the clock/stereo status bar at any times of day -- even when driving away from the sunset with the sun directly illuminating the dash pods.

Pelucidor -- I'm working on writing fantasy novels -- just not that kind of fantasy.

that would be terrible if the lights came on at all times...the battery would be dead by the time you wake up in the morning...

and the bright white light of the guage is really nice...i didn't know you could adjust it from white to orange like that...

If the illumination doesn't change when you turn the lights on, then you must have the dimmer control cranked all the way up past the click, which switches the guage illumination from nighttime red to daytime white. I believe this is intended for folks who want/need to run with their lights on during the day, because the red illumination would be hard to read in daylight.

When you first get in, and turn the car on, before the Time and Temp along with radio and CD info comes up, for about 5 second it displays MAZDA RX8, then all the other info comes up. A lot of little things let you know somebody stayed up at nights to make sure we were impressed.