Same here. I rarely go above 3,000 RPM when I'm in eco mode, which is 99% of the time .

 

babying the car will result in a dead car, i suggest when simple driving, shift @ 4000 rpm.

when "cleaning the engine", redline

when highway cruising, "try" to keep it below 3.7k rpm

the RX-8 uses variable intake port opening at different rpms, the redline not only clean the engine, but also work those valves that need to open and close the intake ports (i had a friend with a stuck valve)

almost forgot.

Start car, wait for needle to dip below 1.5k rpm before moving the car

Limit to below 4000 rpm before the temperature needle hit the C area.

limit to below 5000 rpm before the temperature hits about 1/4

limit to below 7,000 before the needle hits 1/2

after about 5 minutes or so of the needle at 1/2 way, all range unleashed.

 

Not new to a stick by any means, but new to the RX8, great advice on shift points but I wonder, in city cruising say 40-75khp is it ok to hover around 4k? so you can let off and cruise slower 3k ish when needed and still have snap to speed up when you can? I guess what I'm asking is how long would you recommend hovering at 4k in 3rd? I've done this with other performance standards though obviously not for extended periods of time...light to light it's usually like 15-35 seconds.