Slow start off the line???
 

Hey everyone,

I'm still new to this thread as I only come here to spectate post. I just purchased an AT 04' Rx8 without test driving. I just absolutely fell in love with it at first site. It came fully equiped with navi system and all. (Huge leg up from my eclipse)

Anyway, after buying it and driving it around and what not, I realized the car isnt as fast as I thought it was. The BIGGEST thing I noticed was the fact that you can step on the gas fully and the car doesnt really pick up until about 5000rpm.

Is there ANYTHING I can get done to my car to have this changed? Does this have to do with my gear ratio or something? I'm not really car savvy but I do know that when i'm at a red light and it turns green, I would like get a lead on a stock V6.

Basically I want it so that the car picks up quickly from 0- 5000 rpm.

The only way at this point in time to make it faster is trade it in for a M/T rx8. Or, do some research in the Automatic performance section.

Edit: Someone on here had a supercharger on their A/T 8 and it was slightly faster than a stock M/T. But as far as I know they aren't available to the public yet.

You are right in that the 4AT has some tall gear ratios. I've got a 4.77 rear gear on order to help acceleration a bit. I will post my thoughts when I get it installed; a couple of guys in the far east forums have done it and really seem to like it. Search for 4.77.

Grats on your new car.
I have a 6AT.. My advice.. Switch it to manual mode and start it off there.. Accelerates quicker IMO, Without doing any mods..

it seems like your only option is to so the custom greddy turbo setup for ATs. i suggest you do that immediately and post some pics =x

Thanks for the advice everyone,


about how much would it cost to convert to MT? I'm thinkin around 2-3k?

I am pretty sure it is a different engine, so it would still be pointless. you'd be better off sell that and just buying a 6mt.

congrats on the car though.

trade in might cost you that (on the low end)

conversion would be on the order of double or triple that, if it's even possible.

Even the 6MT is pretty slow off the line, relatively speaking (without a high rpm clutch dump). It's geared better and has a longer (and higher) power band. That's why it's faster. Without mods on even it, you're not getting the jump on competitor's V6's. Minivan's maybe. A few 4cyls and V6 family cars could give you trouble off the line.

Rotary engines produce 4cyl size torque. They just rev high to compensate. Forced induction (or more rotors) is the only way you can change this.

:spank: for buying a car without test driving it. :)

changing it from at to mt is going to cost you more than it will cost you to trade your car in for a mt.

also as mentioned above, your automatic has a different (weaker) engine than the MT. Yours is 4 port, the MT is 6 port. So you'll pay more than the loss on a trade in and you'll still be slow.


if your turbo your AT, you might make a little more than the MT does, but I just don't see it being worthwhile.

it's true, my best riend has a corolla and we screw around all the time...he can actually pull a slight bit on me up until about halfway thru second. grant then I keep going til 9k and it is all better. :) (oh, and I don't launch at high rpms, that affects his gain too.)

ouch never buy without a test drive man.. thats just yeah.. wrong.

To be honest I'm happy our car isnt torque happy and fast off the line.. saves me from getting into trouble when young punks in their riced out Civics or Evo's pull up next to me. I just laugh and go on my own pace, its not worth it. As stated only way is to go Forced Induction and some gear ratio changes. I'm still waiting on the input of that gear swap mdw is doing 'cause I'm seriously interested in this if it greatly effects the car in acceleration.

We just need someone to figure out a good way to nix our speed govenor (found out we had one but the MT's dont like honestly wtf?!).

Clavius,

I guess the gear is on back-order - I promise I will post as soon as i get it! Trust me, I'm getting antsy!

:rollingla
Thanks for the laugh .

I came in this thread thinking that the OP would be saying something like "my car hesitates off the line for 5 seconds before the tach will even go to 2k rpms". I was going to make a joke that being slow off the line was part of the design of the 8 in order to stir up some trouble and get a good laugh. Turns out the OP put the joke on himself...

do some suspension mods, get some wider/wheels and tires, take it to a track. If you leave unhappy after that, then you got the wrong car, /thread.

Would you still just laugh it off if you had 400hp? Or would you "teach them a lesson"?

Would depend if my radar detector was singing or not :rofl:

1. Brake launch.

Hold down brake, rev to about 2,000 rpm with other foot, let go of brake. Takes a little practice to learn.

You can't do better than around 2,000 rpm because of the torque converter. You have to get one custom built to do better.

2. Neutral Slam.

Not recommended, but you could rev to 3,500 rpm (more would be really asking to have to buy a new tranny) and then put it into drive. This will wear on your auto tranny. Only decent protection would be ATF cooler and better AT fluid like redline or royal purple. Might consider this instead of buying a custom torque converter, but this is a plus versus minus situation.

3. Use manual mode

May get some improvement.

4. Flash ECU

Remove rev limit via Re-Amemiya or Racing Beat flash. Interceptor-X can do this too, but expensive. You still will not get past 2,000 torque converter limit, but may improve 0-60 as you can rev up towards 8,000 rpm and might get some slight gains. You will should get that ATF cooler and new AT fluid though, if you want to go that route.

Flash may result in some HP gains too, thus help.

5. Agency Pulley

Cheap mod that may be worth the money, especially if you are staying NA. It will help you rev up faster. It does not increase HP, just how fast you can get to the higher rev range.

https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...y+power+pulley

6. Supercharger

This is going FI. Roots (Blitz is a big question mark though), Twin Screw, Axial Flow... may improve your starting times. Notice I did not put turbo. Certain superchargers will provide boost the moment you stomp your foot on the gas. Turbo's will often not go into effect until the higher rpm range like 3,000 to 3,500 rpm or more. There is also the issue of turbo lag, but that is a "hot button" topic with turbo lovers...

Turbo will often provide more overall HP (Mazsport turbos are doing 400 HP plus) and their mid range response should do really well, but your point was off the starting line for an Auto that has the around 2,000 rpm torque converter limitation. A supercharger would appear to be the better answer in that case, but I'm sure turbo people may tell you different.

Turbo should show up well in 1/4 mile time improvements (the debate is still out for 0-60 though), especially a 400 HP plus Mazsport version.

https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...header+exhaust
https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...t=supercharger (Axial Flow- long thread... should be cheaper and relatively easy bolt on)
https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...t=supercharger (Pettit closer to being released)

7. Custom torque converter

Could raise your stall ceiling to closer to 3,500 rpm. The trick is how does the custom torque converter perform for every day use and not just for 0-60 or 1/4 drags?

8. Exhaust

Right combination of lighter exhaust and higher flow may show some slight HP and slight launch gain. If you get rid of the CAT, you may see better gains, but then you are not street legal anymore. Also, their is the issue of noise with some exhausts that make you feel like you will be going deaf soon. Good look in finding the right exhaust. My best guess so far is

Borla Exhaust, in terms of weight decrease, HP increase, quiet/tolerable noise level, and price ( http://www.rx7store.net/product_p/borlarx8.htm ). Anybody have an exhaust with a better combination than feel free to let me know.

Exhaust header may help a bit too...
https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...header+exhaust

Get the Pettit charger and you'll be much faster.

Everyone, thanks for the advice. Maybe I'll just stop trying to go fast and get less tickets and just look sexy lol, :cwm27:

I will probably purchase the Borla exhaust for sound purposes only and throw some tints/rims and perhaps a K&N intake and call it a day.


I really dont think I should throw a charger/turbo on my car. I'd just be asking the cops to take me to jail lol.

But again, thank you for taking the time to input your 2 cents.

I have the 6AT have u tried just using the semi gear change? gives u a bit faster boost that letting the crappy factory ecu rev ur car @.@

What is a semi gear change???


If it is a 6 AT thing, the OP has a 4 AT...So that won't help.

He's talking about the manual mode or tiptronic..
And yeh, you do get a little boost than regular AT gears..

ya my friend has an 04 auto and with the semi auto mode ( manual) hes able to pick up a little more and give the car a little more. In auto the car changes gears really weird.

Non-existent low end is a feature of rotary engines. As your RPMs raise, your torque and power raise. After 5k, you are in your power band. If you want that right off the line thump, you'll have to buy a car that has a low RPM torque peak. Just looking at a dyno chart for an Rx-8 and something like a STi will show you the difference in the cars. Once you're moving, however, the lack of low end is trivial. If you're driving hard, who gets under 20 mph anyway. It's still not a very powerful car, but you'll be more pleased with it's acceleration from a rolling start.