RX-8 Break-in Poll
 

I've been hanging around these boards for a little while now, and it seems to me as though almost every thread gets hi-jacked by either a couple of unhappy RX-8 owners, or a couple of people who don't even own an RX-8 (you know who you are).

So rather than have our view colored by a small sampling of the RX8form.com population, I thought it might be constructive to hear back from *only* people who actually own an RX-8.

So sound off - what has your experience been with the break-in so far? Please let us know how many miles on your car, and what changes (if any) you have noticed. How is the power? What about your mpg? If anyone has dynos or timeslips for comparisons, that would be great too! Let's get some facts from real owners going here rather than just hypothetical drivel from people with no objective experience with the actual car.

I'm one of the lucky few who has seen improvement. From 200 miles for my first tank to at least 285 now. If I do lots of highway can go as high as 380 (no AC). Power has improved noticeably, and even tail pipes arent as sooty. I have noticed the dreaded AC cycling in the last couple of weeks as temps here hit 95, but since I'm usually alone in the car it's a non-issue for me to just crank it all the way up and 5 minutes later I'm comfy. Also the tinting helped a lot in that regard, even if it's mild tinting (38 in front, 28 in sides/rear). I'm definitly getting used to the high RPM power on the car and find myself much more eager to downshift into high rev gears to pass someone. Gotta love that 6 to 9000RPM jump. Mileage is at a rather low 1855.

I've got about 2500 miles on my GT/6MT. Before 2K miles I was in the 15/16 mpg category. After 2000 it's been creeping up. Last tank, 18.1 (woohoo, personal best!) Now, I'm running with DSC/TC off and I can tell I'm getting at least 18.1 probably better. I'll let you know in a couple days when I fill up.

I voted "mpg increased but power remained the same." I never experienced the power problem, nor the engine light nor low oil light. In fact, at 2500 miles my oil is still topped off. Weird, huh? I do have, and have always had, the cycling A/C. I have tried many things and carefully tracked fuel consumption to resolve the low mileage: Shifting at 3000 rpm religiously, no a/c, skipping 2nd/4th gear (that waaay sucked), etc. all the random advice on this forum. I found that nothing I did made my mileage any better or any worse. After 2000 miles I abandoned all fuel-saving strategies (other than trying Shell) and mileage keeps improving. The one exception may be the DSC/TC trick; I'll need a few more tankfuls until I can decide this is really helping or not.

edit: btw, that 18.1 personal best was using Shell 87 octane. I am now committed to low-octane having seen it makes zero difference in mpg, undetectable difference in performance, and an email assurance from MNAO that nothing bad will happen to the engine. Now I'm trying Navy Exchange gas vs Shell 87 to see if there's any difference.

I have 3100 miles and the mpg has done from 13 to 18
power is the same but car does drive smoother since oil change

Torque clearly increased at lower revs during/after breakin.
At first I had to wind up to 5K to get response. Then, after about 1000 kilometers it got more power in the midrange.
Bottom end is still horribly weak, but as it does not "buck" like a piston engine the problem is masked.

To go up my driveway slowly ( big curb, and sloped) I have to slip the clutch so bad it stinks.

Gas mileage has NOT improved.
My first tank i babied it and got better mileage. Around 20mpg/11.3l/100km

Most of my mileage has been highway, around 16 to 17mpg.
Now after breakin my city mileage is around 12.5 to 14.5mpg.

Here are my results:
1st tank, mixed city, slow highway breakin: 20.88mpg
2nd tank, highway breakin: 16.7mpg
3rd tank, all fast highway, end of breakin:16.9mpg
4th tank, fast highway, 17mpg
5th tank, mostly highway, some city 16.2mpg
6th tank, City, lots of revs and playing: 12.5mpg
7th tank, fast highway: 16.7mpg
8th tank, fast highway:15.7mpg
9th tank, fast highway 16.5mpg
10th tank, moderate city driving: 13.9mpg

Totals:
kilometers: 2938
Liters per 100km total: 14.29
MPG total: 16.49
Cost per kilometer: $0.122
Cost per mile:$0.196

Average commute cost, daily, based on 4 miles each way:
$1.57

I'm by no means an expert, but you may not be doing it right. If you smell the burn, you've got too much rev for the clutch slip. Let the clutch out more....?

Good summary. Many of us are finding that past 2000 miles mpg starts to improve. You are almost there. If you're on the fence about keeping the car or not, do a lot of driving over the next couple of weeks, get your odometer reading up, and a couple of tankfuls past 2000 miles see if your mileage improves. Mine was like yours, but now getting. 18.1 mpg and climbing (I have 2500 miles on the car.) Good luck!

We just returned from a 3000 mile trip in the RX8. The car had 700 miles when we started. The first couple of tankfuls gave mileage in the 18-19mpg range. The mileage increased to 24mpg by the end of the trip. Most of the trip was at 75-80 MPH using cruise control and the A/C was never off.

keep in mind that the 'book' break in says 600 miles. This car really needs a bit more than that before it starts loosening up. I'm a bit over 3000 miles, and things are just starting to get better for me, in terms of power/mpg.

Miles as of today: 3248

Gas mileage, last three tanksful:
16.4 mpg (mostly city driving)
17.7 mpg (50/50 city/highway)
21.6 mpg (90% highway)

Averaging not much more than 200 miles per fill-up; I don't wait until the light goes on to head to the gas station, though.

Power seems the same as the day I bought it... but my "butt dyno" probably ain't as sensitive as some. ;)

No noticeable differences after first oil change, either. I still enjoy driving her as much as I did day one. :D

One other thing I've been noticing, is that when the light first goes on, I can only fit just over 13 gallons in the tank, making me thing the empty light is a bit premature.. since there's about 2.9 gallons left (or almost 12 Litres!!).. That's another 30 miles before the last gallon even gets touched....

Just hit 3000 miles today. Winning Blue 6/MT GT, VIN 1083. I too have noticed a little more low end torque after 2000 miles, not that what I had before was inadequate. The car has seemed to develope a little deeper bellow to it as the miles increase. Engine felt extremely tight when I first got it (3 miles), and my first couple tanks were 16 MPG. I have driven it harder since break-in and MPG keeps increasing, up to 18.5 MPG. I have driven 95% in stop and go city traffic with 100% A/C use. I never miss what few chances I have in the day to open her up in and around redline. Although I never felt power was deficient, I do believe it has increased in the last 1000 miles, might just be perceptions like the deeper bellow, looser engine, or better driving skills. Took a while to break down the "shift at 6K" piston paradigm, but its gone, and I hope it never comes back. I have used 2/3 of a quart of oil, and that was after the only oil light I have seen. Two months 3000 miles and its still the best ride I've ever had, and that includes my back seat ride in an F-15 fighter. (Okay sorry, I call B/S), but its right up there.