2004 Mazda RX-8: First-quarter update AutoWeek - USA
 

When Mazda first announced the rotary engine would finally return to the
United States as the powerplant for its new RX-8, there was much rejoicing
throughout ...
http://www.autoweek.com/cat_content...._code=09999938

They are still complaining about oil consumtion and gas mileage.

I know shocking isnt it! ;)

Oil consumption is a given, not too many complaints on this board about that... but look at how many mileage threads there are. I am just happy I do not get any 14-15 MPG tanks anymore, most have been in the 17-20 range, while not good by any means, much closer to what was advertized.

One thing that bugs me about this review is they don't mention that oil consumption is normal and it's designed to burn oil. For the general public who aren't aware of this, they probably automatically get the impression that an oil-burning-motor = defective-worn-out-junk. Agree/disagree?

Autoweek is basically giving a neutral stance on the RX-8. They're saying it's a fun car, but it consumes a lot of oil and fuel. It's a sports car, not to mention a rotary engine. There is no way, at least in this point in time, around the fact a rotary engine consumes oil and fuel simultaneously.

Actually, the general public doesn't even know what a rotary engine is. People ask me, "is that a V6?" I tell them it's a rotary engine, they scratch their heads, and then proceed to call me a liar.

"It's a V6. You know nothing about cars" they would say. After all the advertising Mazda did to push the RX-8, you think people would realize it's NOT A PISTON ENGINE.

This is a car that the general public is viewing and buying, so naturally the gas mileage and oil burning complaints are understandable. There really is no other car that burns this much oil, and out of all of the sports car in this price range, it certainly burns more gas, without having the hp and torque that many other cars have. From an enthusiast point of view it certainly does get annoying that people complain, but it makes perfect sense why they do. This is why the rotary engine is sports car engine only, and probably always will be. If mazda wants to call the rx8 practical, it needs to accept the criticism of it's oil burning and gas consumption, because for most people this is a new kind of engine, and many people who buy car simply are not knowledgable of it's tendancies. Can't say I blame mazda, because if you avertized that the car gets horrible gas mileage, and burns oil, most people will shy away and not buy the car. I do ultimately think that for the rx8 to succeed, they need to improve the gas mileage and oil consumption if they want your every day person to accept the car as it is.

viking i agree with you but i think they as journalists have a responsibilty to educate as well as inform. saying "it burns oil" in a negative way without explaining that it is perfectly normal for this engine is not good journalism. that i think is peoples problem with this article

*shrug* when the RX8club was down last year i bummed around their boards. trust me, any idiot that reads Autoweek with any degree of enthusiasm is not someone who would want this car in the first place... for god's sakes, they all thought (for some stupid reason) that GM's pushrod V6 was the best motor in the world (i suppose they're all Grand Prix drivers).

since having the m flash i only use about 1qt every 3000miles thats not that bad .but if you dont know why it is buning oil then the consumer would be scared thinking something is wrong.1qt evry 3000miles is cheaper than a apex seal or new motor

Oil consumption isn't a big thing once you understand it. I also think it is a good think, fresh is better than old. Since we check are oil and and fresh the engines should last longer. Piston People usually don't check their oil until its time to change, or they hear a grinding noise, by that time the oil is broken down.

As far as gas consumption - if you keep the pedal to the floor, you're going to use more. I average 18-20 MPG with my AT communting 74 miles a day. But on the weekends when I let loose, the MPG goes down.

I agree the oil consumption "issue" shouldn't be even considered an issue at all. But ...

The fuel consumption issue is a major issue. Mazda is aiming at the general market, and it gets quite bad mpg on the majority of cars without even being pushed hard (mine gets bad mileage no matter how nice I drive it). They need to find a way to at least get average mpg up a bit for daily driving, or they will be ripped continuously on the issue.

>I average 18-20 MPG

I have yet to hit anything higher than 18 mpg (usual is around 13-15mpg) on my manual (5K miles). I admit that I don't drive highway routes often, but more than half of my commute is on long state roads (no lights). Its a pretty poor number to have. That said, I still love the car, just not the mileage :)