Nothing like a key word to get your attention. While I enjoy my RX8 quite abit I noticed something interesting. Now I'm not one to normally drive in the ticeket zone of the speedometer and until today I've never seen triple digits, but...

First to set the stage; on the ride home (42 miles of divided highway) I see the dreaded left lane 4X4 pickup cruising. After a while I've had enough of following him and I'm going for the pass.

I go to pass him on the right, drop down to 4th at 71 MPH and nail it. As I'm pulling past him I notice 105 flashing up on the digital readout. Wow. Getting down the road back to 70 MPH I tried the same thing again. Wow. It seems like the RX8 pulls as fast from 70-100 as it does from 40-70. I know that can't be, but just the same I'm a whole lot more impressed with the 200HP & change it's got. It feels more like 300 HP at speed, yet 175 HP at lower speeds.

I know it's probably just me. And I wish I lived in a country where I could legally run 100 MPH at times on the road.

 

I've found myself in that same situation several times. 4th gear will spool up the mph quite nicely at highway speeds. My normal inclination is to downshift and floor it, but that can get out of hand pretty quickly!

 

The speed can sometimes surprise you- you can run out of road before you max out...

 

Danger!

 

Why not rev match to 7100 rpms and row it into 3rd?

 

I agree that is a "danger" way of driving.

3rd gear would not work in this instance. He just happened to "notice" 105 you see. Since 4x4 drivers are emotionally unstable and act on impulse, a more likely scenario is: they would have decided to floor their gas, and as the 3rd gear fuel cutoff came on in the Rx8, we'd just happen to "notice" that we forgot to upshift as we hear a hideous 4x4 making throat gurgling engine noises pass by.

There's some kind of cult organization of black trucks where they decide they will drive like total boneheads.

 

Aww, I came in here fully expecting the body of the first post to say "...to manifold!"

I'm disappointed =T

 

I agree on the third. Third is easily my favorite gear and seems to pull the hardest. Especially around 71 mph

 

The 8 has some power from 45mph. let me just say a 04 GT mustang rated 260 hp could not keep up to me in 3rd and 4th gear. They don't believe it on the SVT cobra forum. But I would'nt lie.

 

4th is great for passing on the highway but i find if you double clutch and put it into 3rd, it's great for aggressive driving/passing, 3rd gear seems to have a lot of pull, just hearing the rotary goin til 9K.

 

what i like to do at about 65- 70 is drop it first to 4th to get the revs up in anticipation of the opening for me to pass or to get into positon to pass- then i drop it to 3rd works best for me. i dont like to go from 6th to 3rd and the 6th to 4th gives me that extra power to postion my self while i look at the next 2 or 3 moves.

 

ah 6-4-3 is a wonderful shift. I stopped doing 6-5 because i once momentarily did a 6-3 at 115. Overreving is dangerous.

 

I believe the aerodynamics on this car are perfect for it's amount of power from the factory. Team that with an open exhaust, and you've got some serious top-end pull...


It feels a bit sluggish from 20-80 or so, but 80+...the car just pulls. 80-130 goes by faster than 20-80, or so my mind will have me thinking.

 

"Almost had me? You never had me, you never had your car."

 

Who uses 5th gear? 4th too highway speed, then 6th for cruising.

 

OK - if you really want some fun - try this
I'm on a back country road following a truck doing 50mph - rev match into 2nd & I'm at around 7000rpm - wait till the oncoming car passes then nail it . Man - its a real thrill .

This is one of the great things about the rotary - you can sit at high rpms in a low gear & it is just soooo smooth . Just wait for the right moment because if you hit it too soon - DANGER !

 

I use 5th all the time on our roads - mind you our speed limit is 60 & we have more corners than you guys

 

I don't like dropping multiple gears at one time. It makes me think!

I do one gear at a time. 6=>5, 5=>4, etc.

Aside from 4=>3, you literally have to just blip the throttle while the clutch is in, no thinking required at all...4=>3 is a bit more of a gap in the gearing, and requires a longer "blop", instead of a "blip"

 

I find the pull nearing or over triple digits to be entirely contingent on where you are in the rev range relative to speed. While the power delivery is more linear than most, there is a noticeable extra push upwards of 7000rpm. The redline shift into 4th at 90 mph drops you down to 6500rpm, and it takes a while it get back onto power. But once you're back into the 7's it does go nicely.

 

anyone especially notice this after you clean maf, start premixing, and change the air filter?

It's like a new car.

I always drop it to third to pass, by the time I'm in front of them from 55, I'm at 95.
Maybe I'm just a douche...