I have a 2009 RX-8 that just hit 1000 miles, so I have just started to really "get on it" with hard acceleration. When flooring it in first, the tach speeds toward redline and the car seems like it has unlimited power as I hit 9k. The only reason I would know to shift is because of the beep. However in 2nd gear as I approach 9k I feel a slight drop in power as I hit around 8500 rpm (this drop in power doesn't happen in 1st gear). Keep in mind I am talking about a very little drop in power, not a huge drop - but it is noticeable. Is this normal?

 

That seems strange. How does it respond in 3rd gear?

-1.3L

 

Hmm, I too have an 09 with ~1,500 miles that I just started to push a bit and noticed a slight "dip" around 8500 RPM as well. I didn't pay attention to which gear I was in and I didn't notice it every time I pushed it, maybe that's why.

Will need to do some acceleration runs later and see if it does it again and under what conditions. Weird that I'm reading about this, its exactly what I just noticed on mine.

 

obviously it has something to do with ports opening up and could just be more noticeable in the higher gears.

 

Car makes peak power at 8500.

 

Well, here's a dyno chart. Around 8500 it starts to go downhill../

 

Yeah, you may be feeling the drop *after* 8500, if you shift at or after the redline beep there will be some power drop before you shift. Since you say "as I approach 9k" that's probably it.

 

Wow, thanks for all the great info guys! It is very subtle, but is there. I will check tomorrow to try to find the exact RPM that I notice this drop in power. It seems odd I haven't noticed this slight power loss when approaching 9k in first gear and only in 2nd. Perhaps it would do the same in 3rd, but I haven't gotten to 9k in that gear, yet...

Regardless, I am happy to know I am not imagining things and that it is normal.

 

You probably haven't noticed it because 1st winds up fast at the top end

 

CRH keeps saying the same thing as me after me

 

lol

I just got back from the gym, my head is fuzzy... edited

 

Of the pictures of girls I saw from SS the BHR girls were definitely the hottest

 

that white FD is sexxxxx

 

some good butt dyno work, but yeah a tiny drop off is there...not as bad as in my car i lose about 3lbs of boost above 6000rpm (not an 8)

 

I wonder though... did anyone dyno their 09 rx8 yet?
Not including the crappy that dynoed at 164whp...

 

Thanks again for all the feedback. Tonight I went for another drive and didn't notice it as much, but it did seem like the car had a change in momentum right around 7900 rpm, and I think I heard the engine noise sound change at this point as well (beyond the typical increase in sound of it being revved higher). Perhaps this is due to the ports opening as mentioned earlier? Regardless all of this is super minor and my friends don't notice it (they think I am crazy) - perhaps they are right, as I am a little OCD when it comes to my cars, and notice every little thing. I am still convinced everything is fine with my new baby, but I will play around with her some more tomorrow just the same.

 

All the ports open up just over 6k I believe, long before redline. If you're really worried about it you could have the car dynoed, and see exactly where the power is dropping off.

 

FYI... The APV opens at 6250 RPM and the VDI opens at 7250 RPM.

 

The slight dip in power seems to be happening at 8000 rpm and not at 8500 as I originally posted. Do you think the 2009+ RX-8s create max power at 8k and not at 8.5k like 2004-2008?

 

^ I seriously doubt it. It's basically the exact same engine. And if that were case the redline would have been moved.

 

Gearing is different. I haven't seen an 09 dyno sheet though so I dunno if the power band has shifted that much.

 

Hate to revive an old thread, but experiencing the same issues here. The interesting thing is that the power drop is far more amplified audibly when you have an exhaust installed. 1st and 2nd both when hitting 8k+ you can hear a crazy puttering from the exhaust and a power dip. I cannot comment on 3rd gear because I honestly don't remember, but I wouldn't be surprised.

 

bump, almost forgot I posted here

 

BHR coils? Have you matched the dwell times for the new (D585) coils? (I think the Oltmann/TeamRX8 dwells make more sense than MM's technique of multiplying the whole stock table by 1.45).

 

S2 here, so no way to muck with dwell

btw, used to happen with stock coils as well, was hoping that new plugs and d585's would help, but negative on that.