Anybody have expectations of what the RX-8 will be like on long distance motorway/freeway travel at 70mph to 90mph? I won't be doing it very often but I'd like to think the car would take it in it's stride.

 

Don't really understand the question... the car if you're cruising at that speed would be in 6th gear and smooth as silk.

 

Ditto on that one.

 

Its not that clear to me. What will the engine be revving at at say 80 mph? I think it will be a lot higher than a typical V-6

 

...but the redline is a lot higher than a typical V-6.

 

In 6th gear at 70 MPH it would be about 4000 RPM tops (this is just a guess, you need Buger for a more exact numbers), cosidering it is at about 7800 RPMs at 155 MPH. The rotary engine is inherintly smooth, so even if you were in a lower gear with higher RPMs, it would feel much smoother than a cylinder eingine.

 

The car does a little over 20MPH/1000 RPM in sixth gear. 70MPH will be about 3400-3500 RPM.

That would be a little higher than I like in a cylinder engine, but the rotary should feel very smooth at that point.

-Mr. Wigggles

 

i guess mazda likes their cars geared high. i have an MX6 V6 and it cruises at 3500rpm on 5th gear, which is close to the RX8's 6th gear. my roommate had an old protege that did over 3000rpm on 5th gear at 60mph.

 

well my current car does 4300rpm in 5th at 70mph and it IS a piston engine. Can't be worse can it

 

Sounds like the gearing is just a tad taller than my Miata, which ran at almost exactly 20mph/1000rpm in 6th. Of course, the Renesis won't sound nearly as busy as the 4-banger at 4000 on the interstate.

 

The RPM speeds are relative to the gear ratios. In my curent truck (1999 Chevy s-10), it gets to 2900rpm at 90mph in 5th gear. Even with a pickup that is geared for torque it is lower than what you guys have suggested in your cars. I think you will need Buger for this one. He could probably say what the RPM's would be at a given speed/gear. Buger??...