I,ve been on an extended road trip of about 3,000 miles and have been able to make several observations re the RX-8! Started the trip at 5,675 miles and currently have 8,376. Here's what I found:

1. Can't detect any difference in mileage or performance between 87 and 93 octane fuel.

2. No difference in mileage if stability control is switched off for whole tankful.

3. Average mpg has been between 19.5 and 21.2 mpg (most tanks were right at 20.5), with a combination of city/highway (mostly highway), cruising speeds in the 75-90 range, with max. 118 indicated (115 true according to gps) while following a very spirited 330Ci driver! That was the tank I got 19.5!

4. The luggage carrying capacity is amazing for a car this size and type, we've been carrying 2 hang bags, a duffel bag, 2 carry-on style cases, a briefcase, laptop bag and all manner of electronic doodads! Of course, I had to remove the spare first!

5. The handling and balance of the car is superb, there are many wonderful roads up in the Blue Ridge mtns. and the limits of the 8 when flung around some of those tight switchbacks is amazing. I find the stability control does not spoil the fun and it did come in a few times when accelerating hard out of tight corners, nicely keeping the back end tucked in. When driving like this, make sure everything is secured or it will go flying around the interior!!!

6. For a sports car, the freeway ride is very good and directional stability is excellent.

7. The potholed, rough roads around D.C., Philly and Baltimore caused the suspension to crash a few times, but the car is still solid and the ride was better than I expected.

8. I wish the car had a rear window wiper.

9. My car has leather seats, but I wish they were cloth! (cooler and grippier)

10. So far, oil consumption for the whole trip has been 1 qt. Surprising since I had many steep decents where there were long periods on trailing throttle with fierce acceleration in between!

My car has not had the M flash yet (the dealer refused to do it before the trip, but that's another story). I'll get it done soon and hope to see an improvement in throttle response (I particularly don't like the "bounce" I get when changing from 1st to 2nd at moderate throttle) and mileage.

All in all I'm happy with my 8 (have had it for 6 months now). Whilst sometimes I wish it had more punch, it really has plenty of performance for our roads and you can wring it out a fair bit without reaching insane speeds.

 

very good information to know, thank you very much.

hehe, BTW, your car looks like a nice plump tomato! zoom zoom~!

 

Good info, Thanks.

You need to get rid of them yellow marker lights and replace them with clear it looks really nice on red, as well many other colors.

 

Thanks for the insight. I too will be taking my 8 on a road trip this week. Newport news, VA to L.I. New York and return for the 4th of July weekend. With total milage around 1500-2000 by the time I get back.

How were the seats on the long haul? I have the cloth and love them better than the leather that I had in my last two cars.

I look forward to the trip and too will post results from my observations. I'ts good to hear the car held up to the potholes in the DC-Baltimore area. I just hope mine will hold up to the ones in New York area.

 

i have a red also, personally me thinks the yellow is in good contrast. also told to me by 2 other car club members. then again i dont have 60 bucks to spare

 

"How were the seats on the long haul? I have the cloth and love them better than the leather that I had in my last two cars."

Not bad but the leather is hot - my shirt was always wet in back after a couple of hours. I think your cloth will be better. Leather looks good but not as comfortable as cloth. Next time I take a road trip I'll get some cloth or sheepskin covers! The seats have decent lateral support when cornering hard.

An added benefit to my trip was to introduce my 17 year old son to the pleasures of sports car driving. He did well and is now trying to coerce me into letting him take the 8 to college next year! Fat chance!!!

 

Remember your seats have air bags in the sides. When you select your seat covers make sure they don't cover where the air bags deploy.

 

Thanks, I had not thought about that!

 

The mileage numbers sound pretty reasonable, I just noticed a C&D review of the 330i w/performance pkg where they got a combined 20mpg fuel economy.

 

I just returned from a round trip drive from Atlanta Georgia to Brooklyn New York. I covered aroung 1850 miles total from the time I pulled out of my driveway until I returned. The car performed remarkably and I was very impressed at the comfort level and the stability of the car at high speeds. I never saw another RX8 either going or on my return home. The car averaged around 21 miles per gallon and it runs very well on 87 octane. If you believe that you need to run this car on premium gasoline then you are wasting your money. I drove the car into triple digits many times and never had a problem with handling. If you really want to know how well this car runs; then you need to take it on a trip and really drive the car because it begs to be driven.

 

Daryl,

I never saw another RX-8 on my trip either, unless you count those in dealer showrooms and 2 spotted on a car transporter! I agree 100% on the 87 octane, try as I may I couldn't detect the slightest difference to 93, if anything, it's smoother on 87.

BTW, did you ever wish for 7th gear?

 

The RX8 should bring back the overdrive differential. Had one on my 1969 Fiat 124 Spyder. The 2 speed diff gives you the best of all worlds. Plenty of gearing for acceleration and a very tall top end for cruising.

 

Seriously???

I'd much rather pay 30c less at the pump for 87 if there was no actual damage or performance loss. I hear the warranty is jeopardized if you dont use premium.

Crap?

I'm thinking like 3-5 years down the line of using 87 octane to be honest. I plan on keeping my 8 for ate least 7 years and want to make sure the octance difference will cause any adverse effects...

 

Great write-up. Thanks for going to the trouble.

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