Did a lengthy business trip to Hartford CT (actually Farmington CT) from Baltimore MD. Approximately 300 one way.

Here is what I found out from this road "test"...

1. Highway driving (without traffic) does yield the EPA highway of 24 MPG (in fact I got 25 MPG from Baltimore to E. Rutherford NJ - first fill up point).

2. The car handles excellent in many different driving conditions with the right tires. I changed out from the stock Bridgestones to the Avon All Seasons from TireRack and found that it had flawless response in driving cold rain in speeds over 65 MPH. It also did excellent in freezing road conditions (with proper speeds around 40-50 MPH) and on wonderfully slippery pavement with lots of leaves (makes it more slippery).

3. Backroad curves are WAY fun on open country roads (took those on the way back). I esp recommend Route 6 in PA (nice back road) and Route 1 in CT (also way fun and curvy).

4. Stop and go traffic ZAPS fuel economy. Dropped to almost 15 MPG driving through NYC.

5. Tranny is very fluid (even more so that when I first got it). However, it's a real pain in the lower gears in stop and go for a long time (avoid NYC during afternoon rush hour if you can)

6. Rear visibility is a serious defect of this vehicle. I find that I need to double check and do the crank my neck before passing. I find that you cannot trust the mirrors due to serious blind spots in the rear quarter (esp the passenger side) of the vehicle. Not sure how to best improve the situation without putting big honking mirror extenders.

7. Upgrading tires should be seriously considered, even on poor quality roads in NY state, the Avons were a lot smoother and a lot quieter than the Bridgestones. Not sure if other tires also improve road noise and comfort. Only drawback on the Avons are that you loose a bit of road feedback. Not a big concern for me.

8. The Nav system is really cool. Even though it is outdated, it had no problems finding a gas station when needed (sometimes it was a different brand though... guess that's where it's outdated a bit). Most roads in the NE are pretty old and established so finding addresses was also no problem for the nav. I plan to update the maps soon though but just can't justify the cost of 199 (or is it 169)

9. The looks I got from others were fun.

10. RX-7 folks noded at me in my RX-8. I of course noded back.

11. It was fun to follow a black RX-8 at 70+ MPH in a near blinding rainstorm at night on the Merritt Parkway in CT (very heavily wooded and somewhat windy road).

 

Adjust your side view mirrors like this ("wideview"). This adjustment significantly reduces the harmful blind spots. It shifts the actual vision and the blind spots to places where a car won't fit anyway. So there's a lot less true dead spots.

I actually find that the RX-8's mirrors don't extend as far out as some other cars, so my mirrors are adjusted full tilt left and full tilt right.

I can trace a car in the left lane or right lane completely from rear view mirror to side mirror to the side vision on the left or right w/o losing it anywhere in the process. Almost every car (save for motorcycles) has its rear end sticking out 1-2 feet or so in the side mirror as it starts to enter the side vision.

The traditional mirror adjustment has you sitting in the middle and adjusting your sides to just barely show the sides of your car. My dad did this and I forgot to readjust to the wideview. Getting on the highway, I was surprised by someone coming out of the blind spot.

I find that the traditional arrangement has a lot of redundancy between the side view mirrors and the rear view mirrors. With the wideview, there's less overlap. It's more disconcerning at first, since you're used to seeing so much "rear view" through the sides, but as you merge onto the highway and change lanes you'll appreciate being able to see nearby cars better.

Because the mirrors extend wider in this car than my previous Mazda Protege, I find that I actually have better left side visibility than the Protege. The right side is about the same, maybe somewhat less. The reduced size mirrors make parking more difficult, still not used to that.

 

I use the force when it comes to lane changes.

Of course, I'll experiment with the side mirror adjustments Astral gave.

Have you driven an S2000 with the top up? The rearview mirror loses its purpose.

 

Ok, I'm confused. 6 in PA is one of my favorites, I've ridden it (motorcycle) a few times. But that runs west out to Ohio. How did you manage to hit that going between Hartford and Baltimore?

Also, where in CT did you pick up 1 and find it worthwhile. I go through CT with some frequency, and am always interested in good backroads.

Be careful. Some parts of the Merritt are a little more than "somewhat" windy. You're lucky they got rid of that god-awful steel-grate bridge (well, the bridge is still there, but it has a real surface now).

 

Nope, but I believe you. The other thing is that with wideview, you can still move your head to the left or the right and get the same view that you used to have in either of the sides... more work though (when you have no rearview)

 

That was aimed at James (I tend to let RX8 owners know those little advantages they get over other cars in its class )

About to head to school...I'll try the mirror alignment.

 

the mirror alignment works wonderfully been doing it for years. there is (of course )even a previous thread on this forum about it. this poll is the earliest one-kwolfman's instructions are just liike those in the link in this threadhttps://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...t+side+mirrors

 

[QUOTE=psbjames1970] yeah, i agree with above on elimiating blind spots. regardless of car, or mirror, you should always include a quick head check. i.e., you ALWAYS have to do the 'double check and crank your neck". you should never trust only the mirrors..
happy driving

 

In fact they teach in drivers education courses now, to create that "wide view" by rotating the mirrors farther out, for just that reason.. to cover all the area from left, center, to right mirror. I've done this for years, but found out my children were learning it in Drivers Ed now.

This eliminates the blind spots because you're view in each mirror isn't redundant to each other, but expands the combined field of view of your mirror system, to cover a larger angle behind you.

 

^
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|___ That's what I do. Virtually eliminates the blind spots. It's a must, because even the quick check over the shoulder is not very good with the rear door there.

 

In addition to mirror checks, I use the view just aft of the C pillar (part of the rear window) in addition to the read door window to help overcome the blind spot. Obviously it has to be a quick glance and it takes some adjustment but it helps to spot small vehicles right in the blind spot.