Bigbacon

iTrader: (4)

what is with the "It sucks oil" stuff? Does the 09+ really use that much more oil than the 03-08s?

I mean, I barely ever have to put oil in the car, maybe a 1/4 to 1/3 a quart every 6 weeks (like one dot's worth on the stick)

RIWWP

iTrader: (2)

Yes. That is a massive amount of oil, driving the cost of ownership up AT LEAST 80%, and it forces you to spend hours upon hours every few thousand miles just to avoid getting too low on oil.

Why anyone in their right might would put up with the travesty and horrific time waster is beyond my knowledge to comprehend.

Haze

No, I was getting into my '04. He had already commented on my car and how there weren't many out there, before I asked him how he liked his. Your point is well taken though that many owners hear nothing other than how the car was a stupid purchase. I got a fair amount of that when I first bought the car, and that was well before public sentiment had become so entrenched about poor gas mileage and oil use.

Charles: I did not tell him about this forum specifically as we were both going about our business, and I took the limited time that I had with him to suggest some techinques for warm up and driving from a standing start that I feel have helped me with mileage. I did give a general suggestion that there were internet forums, which he might find helpful. I guess that I have just been lucky, but I have never gotten mileage below 19MPG, and I have achieved 24MPG on the highway a couple of times.

Personally, I don't think that I am dumping on this guy like he is a jerk or something. I was just surprised by the comment. When I have met other RX8 owners, I have always been happy to talk about the car and the things that I like about it. His reply to another owner that the car was a big negative really took me aback. As I said in my OP, I get that if he is getting 15-16 MPG that he could be upset, but the oil comment has always bothered me. It is in all of the literature, and my salesman told me right upfront several times that the car would need oil. I don't get that and never have.

I guess the thing that bugs me the most is that more and more I hear nothing but negative criticism about the RX8 and now from an owner, which I don't believe is deserved. It used to be that the guys I knew around the area who drove the car, really liked it. Now, all I hear is how bad the gas mileage is and that it consumes oil. Assuming that the guy did no research before buying the car, which I doubt because he seemed to know what to repeat about the car, then there is still a lot to like about an RX8. I would have expected a new owner to talk about that than to talk about the negative cliches. I do think that there is something to the point here that he might have been trying to deflect a negative comment. I am reminded that I got a fair amount of that when I first bought the car ... a lot of it about the color as well as how bad the engine was because it used oil. Maybe that is where he was coming from. Beats me.

I just think that if a person has bought a cool new car, that it might be something he would want to speak well about. Do all of you go around telling people what a POS your car is to anyone that you meet? It might explain the common public perception of the 8.

maxxdamigz

iTrader: (1)

I go through maybe 1.5 quarts per oil change (3000 miles). To me, that's a trivial amount. However, to some people who have owned a car where in 100,000 miles they never put 1 quart of oil in, it's a lot. In 100,000 miles, I've put in 50 quarts and done 33 oil changes. The dude in the POS has done 20? 25? oil changes and never put another quart in. So in 100k miles, I'll use 215 quarts and joe-blow might use 100. To the mouth breathing public, I guess that's a lot of oil. To me, it's maybe $100 dollars a year. On the other hand, I'm not paying some Jiffy Lube $50/oil change and I don't take my car to the dealer every time something beeps and get rheemed with diagnostic fees, so I don't consider myself financially disadvantaged automotively.

The oil life warning was on in my mom's car showing like 15%. I said "hey, we should change the oil in this bad boy" and she responded with "no, last time [my brother] changed it, he put in synthetic. It doesn't need a change for [some absurd number] miles." I mean, maybe a brandy new stock economy car is meant to do 10k between changes on good synthetic, but I have some kind of religious objection to that.

Pico

iTrader: (2)

Definition
bliss
  /blɪs/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [blis] Show IPA

–noun
1. supreme happiness; utter joy or contentment: wedded bliss.
2. Theology. the joy of heaven.
3. heaven; paradise: the road to eternal bliss.
4. Archaic. a cause of great joy or happiness.
—Idiom
5. Slang. bliss out,
a. to experience bliss or euphoria: Just give them some bean sprouts and a little tofu and they bliss out.
b. to cause to become blissful or euphoric: a recording guaranteed to bliss out every Mozart fan.

1.3L

Perhaps his salesman fed him a line of BS about the car.

-1.3L

Shijin-Kun

iTrader: (1)

when i was in the market for an rx8 after totaled my first one i went to a dealer who told me so many false things about the rx8. Things like it doesnt drink oil, it gets over 20mpg, he also said hes seen a rx8 take on a 2010 camaro stock from a dig >.> i was like bs

RIWWP

iTrader: (2)

ig⋅no⋅rant
  /ˈɪgnərənt/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [ig-ner-uhnt]

–adjective
1. lacking in knowledge or training; unlearned: an ignorant man.
2. lacking knowledge or information as to a particular subject or fact: ignorant of quantum physics.
3. uninformed; unaware.
4. due to or showing lack of knowledge or training: an ignorant statement.

Synonyms:
1. uninstructed, untutored, untaught. Ignorant, illiterate, unlettered, uneducated mean lacking in knowledge or in training. Ignorant may mean knowing little or nothing, or it may mean uninformed about a particular subject.
2. unenlightened.

nycgps

iTrader: (1)

lol throttle cable rofl.

Well, like others have said, there are QUITE A LOT of people that just buy car for the "looks"

After that, they bitch and whine about this and that. I was like yea yea about stfu ?

Its like that

Pico

iTrader: (2)

RIWWP
To funny LOL

Fun words of the day!

lucifuge

You only have to read some of the 'mpg' threads to realize that a significant number of people seem to get a significantly worse fuel figures than is quoted for the car. People regularly pop up and quote figures of 15mpg, 14mpg... even as low as 13mpg and 12mpg. Unfortunately it's not clear why they get such different figures than others. So while someone buys an Rx8 having an understanding of "sports-like fuel usage", they might not expect even worse figures in reality. I personally don't think the Rx8's performance is in proportion to this sort of fuel usage, particularly when compared to other sports cars, but that's just a personal opinion.

But if the guy who made the comment in your original thread was experiencing worse fuel economy than quoted ...then is it really so hard to see why he made that comment?

Haze

I think you're right ... and it is sad.

911SC

Lets face it, for it's performance the fuel consumption of the RX8 sucks. Forget the "it's a sports car" excuse. My 30 year old 911 gets way better gas mileage. Even our 260HP Acura CL-S got 34 mpg on our last trip to Cape Cod at an even 72mph. With A/C on no less.

Charles R. Hill

iTrader: (7)

But it's a rooootaaaary.

RufusVonStorm

I am shocked, SHOCKED to find out that these piston engines deliver better fuel economy than a rotary

What's the dressed weight of those engines so we can calculate power output vs. engine weight

CyberPitz

Eh, it has less fuel economy compared to a car of equal class.

It also has better handling ability and much more fun *opinion* than cars in it's class.

You can't have your cake and eat it too!

9krpmrx8

iTrader: (46)

I agree it sucks too but to buy one and then bitch about it is retarded. It's like buying a 370Z and then bitching because there are no rear doors.

mikesol

Power vs weight and size of the engine doesn't really matter. Either you enjoy the way the car feels - with a wide, smooth, easy to control powerband - or you don't.

If you like it, then you're going to find a way to rationalize away the fuel costs.

It should be as simple as "I get sufficient enjoyment from the vehicle so as to feel okay with paying more for fuel than most people do".

If you don't get enough enjoyment out of it, and you've tried your best to get the most out of the car, you'd probably be happier in something else.

Shoafb

doesn't matter. There are PLENTY of awesome handling, piston engine, based cars out there with more power that get better MPG. For those that aren't just "rotary heads" they need a reason to switch to a rotary based car.


I think this guys reason was a great looking, and driving sports car for 8k or more off sticker... unfortunatlely he didn't research the rotary first.

RufusVonStorm

Got it, but I meant more in terms of developing an engine that you're going to try to race with, you can shoehorn the rotary into a lot of places that the 3.0L boxer might not fit as well

Reach your power goal with less weight, and a better mounting position, who cares about the fuel consumption rate? The race will probably be over before you're out of fuel

Shoafb

yea but the 370z buyer can clearly see before he buys the car that there are no rear doors. The rx8 buyer sees a sticker with a claimed city/highway MPG.

Its like the 370z buyer found out after he drove it off the lot that the passenger side door is welded shut.

1.3L

While I was shopping for my new '04 Sport w/manual tranny, a Mazda salesman tried to tell me the automatic model had the exact same engine.

-1.3L

lucifuge

well said.

Haze

Yeah, exactly! You have to concentrate on the positive and there are things that the RX8 does better than other cars, which mostly include handling because of a centralized polar moment created by having an engine that is such a small, light weight package that it can be placed entirely behind the front axle and extremely low in the chassis. Nothing handles like it.

This is the point for me. To simply spit out that the car sucks oil and gas is to proliferate an image of the car that is a part of its character but not its whole make up. After I bought mine, the fuel mileage was no surprise to me, and that was in 2003 when they were claiming much higher mileage than they do today. The things about the car that have lasted with me are its ability to dance around corners, its even weight distribution, and its quiet smoothness on the highway, which was the biggest shocker of them all. I thought that it would be tinny and raspy. I also love its rev happiness from 4-9K. The car is just fun.

Icky Mettle

This. I had looked at several 8s before finding the one I went for. I did plenty of research (learned a ton from this forum) before starting my hunt. When looking at a car, the first thing I'll say to a salesman is "what can you tell me about it"? I give them the opportunity to prove they actually know something and it gives me a chance to tune my BS meter. Sadly, I got a lot of BS from quite a few Mazda dealers. Maybe I just had a random string of bad experiences, but upon being asked they'd tell me the RX-8 didn't burn oil, couldn't be flooded, or would get mileage above the sticker when I wasn't "driving the hell out of it". I had two salespeople deny the flooding issue before a test drive. I couldn't help but notice they'd start the car only to suddenly remember they had to go inside and get the plates or take a photocopy of my license. They'd disappear longer than it would take to do either of these things while the car warmed up. I was in the market exclusively for a manual, so I suppose they feared a stall/flood from someone who might not have been that good on a stick. Finally, I found a dealer who had a beautiful 8 at a nice price, and most importantly, they were straight with me about everything. Guess who I bought from? I'm not really sure what my point is, but if there is one, I guess I can see how someone [I]might[I] end up disappointed, but only if they're an easy mark. I did my homework and knew exactly what I was getting into, so it would be stupid of me to complain about the MPGs, especially when I'm so in love with a car.