kreuznach

I launch around 1000 to 2000 rpm. Around town on the daily commute I shift at no higher than 4000 rpm. Trying to conserve gas and all that. Otherwise, when I'm out playing, it's always 7000 + :D All the 's are above 7000

truemagellen

I redline it everyday...multiple times :D :D :D :D
well your Mechanic doesn't know much about the RX-8 different and better seals

also it is good to redline your RX-8...it cleans the engine...running it at high revs clears out carbon build up

RXE16T

That's what I keep telling the police, but they never believe me whenever I get pulled over. LOL :D

salituro64

He's not my mechanic, he is a mechanic I know who races RX7s. Time will tell with redlining your engine everyday. Good Luck!

truemagellen

talk to Rotary G-D he knows what is up with this (since it has already been discussed to death )

carguy425

Actually, the manual is even more conservative than that. It says to shift into 2nd at 14 mph and every other gear in 7 mph incriments.
Ex
1-2, 14mph
2-3, 21 mph
3-4, 28 mph
4-5, 35 mph
5-6, 42 mph

I might be off by a mph or 2 somewhere but I think that may be exactly what it says. The main thing here is not necessarily where you shift. Simply put, you should be in the highest gear you can be in without lugging the engine for the best fuel economy. If you are not interested in fuel economy, shift wherever you like. The idea of "launching" on the street is going to cause excessive clutch/drivetrain wear. On the street you should be making the smoothest engagement possible to protect your baby. Once you have fully engaged the clutch, then let her rip. The best way to practice smooth engagement is to (and this takes patience) practice engaging the clutch without any gas at all. Once you can consistently get moving without any gas you can start using gas. You want to have a fluid motion of pushing the gas pedal down as you are lifting the clutch pedal. The ratio of how much clutch let up to gas push down will determine how how quickly you take off. Just remember, the more gas you add in before the clutch is fully engaged, the more wear you are putting on the clutch. And no matter how much gas you give it, you always want to have that simultaneous motion of releasing the clutch. It is all about being smooth. That is the basic philosophy of any racing, being smooth, speed is the product of being smooth.

MarthaStewart

No Sir, I am not talking about AT. I would never buy a sports car with an AT.

SHOWOFF

I blip the throttle and ease out on the clutch when driving at normal speeds, shifting just under 4K.

When running hard, I launch at 4-5K slipping the clutch until it starts to hook then I pop it out the rest of the way. I shift just before 8500K in 2nd keeping the revvs strong and this also keeps the car in the sweet spot longer in 3rd.

beachdog

/\/\/\ A more eloquent version of what I posted further back in the thread.

I have taught many people to shift manual trans and since pedal coordination and clutch feel can be difficult to learn simultaneously, I always make the students learn to engage the clutch without using the gas at all. Yes, it can be done, even in the 8.

Executed properly, you can maximize torque multiplication without destroying the clutch or the rest of the drive train.

G8rboy

If you keep your oil fresh, and wait until the engine and oil are up to temp, there's no concern over redlining the rotary. As truemagellen mentioned, if you don't rev it up occasionally, you're going to be dealing with carbon build-up and fouled plugs down the road. A redline a day keeps the mechanic away :P

gnathen

maybe im doing something wrong but in my opinion 2nd gear is worthless. when i launch whether in traffic or open road my rpm's go up very fast and when i try to shift into 2nd it grinds the gear , so to compensate i have to sacrifice the heavy takeoff and shift at a lower rpm and i feels like im standing still untill around 5k in 3rd gear. by comparison my 97 honda civic Dx i could launch and still shift into 2nd gear at around 4-5k and reach a top speed of about 84 mph before shifting to 3rd. it just seems to me that 1-3 gear are way to close and all that quick shifting gets in the way of ***** to the wall take offs. i can see how this gear setup can be beneficial to autocross racers where tight turns cause you to run the course most of the way in 2nd but for a street racer or on the 1/4 the 1-2-3 shift is aggrevating. i would rather launch 3-4k into second where i would gain most of the initial pickup and rocket to 60 or 70 mph before shifting into 3rd. do you all feel me on this or am i just being too picky?

93rdcurrent

I'm a little confused... I had a BMW M3, a modified 575hp MR2, a VW Scirrocco, and a Pontiac Fiero. All of them were sticks and now the RX-8. When I shifted any of these cars from 1st to 2nd gear it was in the 25 mph range at redline with the exception of the RX-8 which I shift at around 32-34 mph at the rev limiter. From 2nd to 3rd gear I am looking at 62-66 mph and in my other cars it would've been in the 50-55 mph range.

I launch from time to time at 7k+ rpms and yes it does get up there quick when you do that but I have to say I have never driven a car with the exception of a Porsche 911 turbo that would shift at that rpm range without melting down the transmission or winding out the engine. I have noticed that from the launch to the shift to 3rd gear I can beat out most cars even with greater hp because I don't have to shift as often as they do. When I'm giving the car its' healthy revs I don't shift until I hear the beeps baby!!!

zoom44

tim(93rdcurrent) was in my car when i hit 70 in 2nd the other day thats some strange gearing in that civic to hit 84 in 2nd.

93rdcurrent

And I was very impressed too let me tell you!!!

Brettus

iTrader: (2)

I wonder if you would get a similar 0-60 time if you shifted into 2nd around 6-7000 rather than going to redline ?
Anyone tried it ?

93rdcurrent

Not with your 0-60 times since that takes you all the way there without shifting, ie. foot off the accelerator, time. If you had the M3 SMG II system or in a formula one car where you are shifting in 1/8th of a second or less you might see a change but with manual transmission you won't make up for it.

ucleadguitar

iTrader: (1)

People shift before the beep...thats just wrong! Hurray for 13 mpg!

puch96

Be carefull shifting often at 9.5k

LostAngel

9.5k? I've never taken my Victoria that high (yes she has a name...).

puch96

You can't say these statement for sure... The RENESIS has not been around enough for you to be able to state this.... This might be true for the older rotaries...

93rdcurrent

Some of us have owned our cars for 3 years. And my Mazda tech sure knows what they are talking about. The design for the Renesis engine may be different than it was for the 3rd gens or what have you but the principles and basics are the same. If you don't hit higher rpms on a regular basis you will risk carbon build up in the engine and that is deadly to rotaries. You will lose the ability for the apex seals to actually seal and you will risk fowling the spark plugs. You gotta rev it 'til it beeps every now and then. Oh and yes, we can make that statement with impunity if we like. I'm guessing a few of us may know a little more about rotaries... that's all I need to say, I'll just stop myself there.

puch96

Quote from rotaryengineillustrated forums:
__________________________________________________ _________
If this were a conventional peripheral-exhaust rotary engine, I'd say it was fine as long as you occationally drove spiritedly to blow out the carbon.

But the long term effect of driving style with a RENESIS are really unknown at this point. The side exhaust ports may not let you "blow out" carbon by occational spirited driving...or maybe they do. Steam cleaning by injesting water through a vaccum tube while modulating the throttle, as we do on the earlier engines, may prove the most effective preventative maintenance...or not. Know what I'm saying? How many RENESIS engines with 100+K miles have been torn down and evaluated? We've had one RENESIS engine in the shop with 20K miles, with an apex seal failure. Carbon build up did not seem too bad, at any rate.

In general, driving at lower RPMs is a good thing for wear and tear. Apex seals, especially, wear rapidly at high RPMs. But the carbon build-up issue is unknowable. In any event, any problems in that regard are only going to show up pretty far down the road. Drive it anyway you like and let us know what happens in the long run.
______________________________________________

So I guess should I trust you or should I trust these quote..... I guess neither one... only time will tell.....

93rdcurrent

The issue isn't solved here either. They are basically saying they don't know. If you have a car where the engine can handle 12k rpms but is limited to 9.5k rpms you aren't getting near the limit. Trannies can't handle it, the engine can't breath at that range and gas mileage is a huge issue. I just don't see how this engine is that different side port or not from other rotary designs. Sure there are differences and it was a new design in rotary technology but the basics are all still there. I've had many techs at the dealership and other rotarheads tell me that babying this car is deadly. I will listen to people with years of solid experience tell me about the car.

Raptor2k

...why not? For an engine without any torque you might as well get that high and keep it in shape.

New Yorker

Wow, just read this thread for the first time. Now I know why so many are getting crappy mileage!