mjones53

Well once again it's time to leave my beloved Rotary, Hope to once again be back some day.

I have let it go and bought a 2009 Saturn Sky Redline, 260hp, 28-30mph and soon to have the GM added updated to boost it to 295hp 315 lb,-ft of torque, just hard to beat and still get 30mpg, well if not at wot all the time. Car only has 17k miles on it.

After 2 RX7 and 2 RX8 I will always still be a rotary head at heart. But, for now it's something different.

At least this matches the 2004 yellow RX8 I had a few year ago

Take Care everyone.

LifeAfterRx8

iTrader: (17)

Is it me or are a lot of 8 owners getting rid of their cars lately?

jasonrxeight

pretty nice looking car. its a very understated sports car. most people dont even know it existed. I like it a lot.

Roidz

So it doesn't do freeway speeds? jk.

Good luck with the new car.

neit_jnf

how's the handling??

Razz1

excellent choice!

mjones53

Thanks guys, it's actually still in route should be here by the end of the week. I could not find a local one with low miles. The only local one I test drove handled great and had amazing power it had the 290 GM upgrade, but had over 50k miles on it, and was green, I really wanted the yellow made very few of them, and of course 2009 was the last year period for them. Here are some more pics from the dealer, sure hate it's an automatic is the only thing I will have to get use too. But, old as I'm getting it's okay and it makes the wife and daughter happy, (they think they are going to get to drive it ) ..
Still nothing is as smooth as the rotary.

http://www.ecarlist.com/showroom/2889/photos/2998603

PeteInLongBeach

http://autos.msn.com/research/vip/re...umentid=435575

Four-cylinder power only
The base Sky engine is linked to the five-speed manual and worked well in a test car. The shifting is a bit clunky compared with the short, fun throws of the Miata and the Honda S2000, however. Maybe this has to do with the fact that the Sky, like the Solstice, gets its manual transmission from the GMC Canyon pickup truck. Saturn's parent company, GM, also builds the Canyon truck.

Another test Sky had the base engine mated to an optional, five-speed automatic, and the package also performed with good spirit. I could keep up with city traffic easily and had decent power for passing on highways. Torque peaks at lb-ft at 4800 rpm. Be aware that there is some noisiness from this engine, and it's not always pleasant.

Still, I wished that this sporty-looking car had an automatic with a shift-it-yourself function, but it does not. Note the Miata's automatic is a six speed with racing-type paddle shifters on the steering wheel.

Buyers will be stopping regularly for fillups in the Sky. The gasoline tank, which bursts up from under the carpet in the middle of the trunk/roof storage area behind the seats, holds only 13.6 gallons. I traveled just 267 miles—much of it hilly highway miles—before the warning light came on telling me I had to get gas for the Sky with automatic. Granted, I wasn't driving with economy in mind. My resulting mileage was less than 20 miles per gallon. Premium fuel is recommended but not required.

Safety matters
The only airbags in the Sky are the two frontal bags that deploy in front crashes. There are no stationary or pop-up roll bars in the Sky, and the windshield pillars provide only "a degree of roll bar" protection during rollover crashes, according to a Saturn official who noted that "in the real world, roadsters are exempt from (government) roof crush standards."

Safety roll bars are found in some pricier convertibles, however.

The Saturn, like the Solstice, does not offer electronic stability control that can help a driver regain or maintain directional stability. This feature is standard in Honda's S2000.

mjones53

All of that is about the "base" model.
The 2009 Redline actually has different modes: 3 distinct driving modes: Tracking On, Tracking Off and Competitive Mode
and also gets better mpg than the non-turbo
19 city, 28 hwy and most guys I see on the forum get 30+ in normal hwy driving, and since I have had both, and as much as I love the R3 the Redline is just quicker. I really don't want to get into a which is better
as I said from the start I have always loved Mazda rx7 and rx8, always will there will always be something better or worse about each.


1. Full ESC/TC [Best for day to day driving]
2. Competition Mode. [Nice on most track days]
3. No ESC/TC [Drift racing...and stupid stuff]

Competition Mode allows you to spin your rear wheels (without TC messing with you) and swing your rear (without ESC interfering too obtrusively). However, there is a threshold of swing where ESC will help you out to prevent a wipe out. If you are drift racing or racing on a track where you need significant drift performance, then Competition Mode might be too intrusive, necessitating turning everything off.

Think of it this way: Competition Mode is to track day what Full ESC/TC is to day to day driving day.

fyrious<>

I think he missed the "Redline" point. Saturn came out with a bunch of REDLINE classed vehicles, i know because i owned a 2004 Saturn ION REDLINE, supercharged at 210hp, before i bought my rx8. Some days i miss my ion redline, people always underestimated it, it was black with tinted windows and a low profile spoiler, not the big honker some came with. I'd pull up next to a Si and he'd think he was so badass and then he'd hear the supercharger scream and he knew his goose was cooked.

but yeah, the redline series covered the Sky, Ion and Vue... yes, they did sporterize a Vue to 260hp.

the sky redline is a good sporty car, small and fast, it's not my styling taste, but to each their own right.

my ion redline...

brilliantblackrx8

My sister-in-law has the exact same car and color in auto trans as well in a 2009. My wife loves it and it is pretty fast. I always wondered what these things are capable of when set up right with a stick.

Billy Baldone

Go with aTrifecta tune instead of the GM upgrade. It makes more power and is 100% undetectable. That LNF is a little gem of a motor. Congrats on your purchase. I tuned my dad's Cobalt SS and went13.2@107 on street tires. Not too shabby

mjones53

Thanks Billy, I've been reading about the Trifecta and the HP, I guess the main reason I was thinking just the GM for now so it's still covered under warranty. But, looks like the Trifecta is up over 300hp and seen some guys with a exhaust and down pipe around 350hp.

77mjd

Not surprising...if people with 8s are in the market for something else Mazda has nothing to "upgrade" to so people are moving on to other brands.

nycgps

iTrader: (1)

youuuuu meannnnn VtEc KiCKeD in y0 is not un-defeatable !?

no way man, NO FREAKING WAY! YOU DON'T HAVE A DAMN CLUE OF wAt Cha Talkin' bout'!

Razz1

Why do you have to be so rude to form members, even if they are wrong?

I could never understand that about you.

Wingznut

iTrader: (1)

Also, as this message board has matured, people have made connections.
Perhaps a couple of years ago, people just didn't feel the need to say goodbye.

monchie

Good luck with the new ride. Anyway, did they discontinue the Saturn brand? I know the Hummer brand was discontinued by GM...

kjb

^ Right, GM shut down Saturn, Pontiac, Hummer, Saab and Oldsmobile. I'm probably leaving out at least one :/

brilliantblackrx8

GM let go of Saab, but it's still around on life support, National Electric Sweden just put in a bid to bail them out.

Are-Ex-Eight

iTrader: (1)

Interesting choice. I sold an 07 RX8 to get a Sky Redline and missed the 8 so much I bought an R3 and kept both...until my divorce.

I miss the Sky but IMO it is no 8. If it had a power top with cooked seats I may have fought harder to keep it.

In any case you will enjoy the looks you get.

Wingznut

iTrader: (1)

I was following a Saab the other day and I wondered to myself why anyone would want to buy one.

fyrious<>

i don't even know how to reply to that, but... Yes, the ion redline can beat any civic model in canada. I'd even say it would/will beat a rx8, especially since GM came out with stage 1 and stage 2 kits for it that boosted it up to 240-250hp and 218lbs of torque. stage 2 would do 0-60 in less then 6 seconds, i think car and driver said it did 5.7s.

i liked my ion redline, so i will defend it. Don't get my wrong i love my rx8, but i still enjoyed my previous cars i have owned.

Chad D.

iTrader: (19)

Have fun with that car. btw a 2jz mounts to the tranny, local guy has it in his pontiac.
And the redline vue has a Honda J-series in it.

The Saturn looks good in Yellow.

mjones53

Thanks Chad