Although I've been an RX-8 owner and club member for many moons, the maiden roadtrip was this winter break and it gave plenty of opportunity to test the car's limits and achieve some personal bests. Here's what I found...

Speed:

- The car will top 150 on command. I was able to get 152 in 5th. (I'll save 6th gear for some future "envelope expansion" testing.)

- If you set the cruise control at anything over 130, it will only hold 130.

- The brakes are very effective at getting the car slowed from 150+ down to normal speeds. But judging by the smell, I wouldn't count on being able to do this more than once without a cooldown period.


Range:

- This car's range is attrocious. The best I was able to do on one tank is 326.1 miles, with 40.7 of that on amber. At the pump, I figure that I had roughly 4 miles to spare.


---more info:

Stock sport.

Speed check, on straight level ground at constant 70mph indicated: 3 mile markers in 2min 37sec. Less than 2% error.

Max Range of 326.1 filled up with 14.960 gal. That works out to 21.798mpg. No wind, negligible altitude delta. Tire pressures: 39.5front, 43/42rear. 5W30, Regular octane Fina gas.

The max speed and max range runs were done on back to back tanks. I had no intention of testing the maximum range, but after tanking up at the Fina I hit some thick fog that slowed me up. After seeing how good the mileage was doing, I decided to go the distance.

=~=~=~=~=~=~=
Edit for further info:
- M-Flash
- No aero package
- DSC fully enabled
=~=~=~=~=~=~=


++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Be advised:
If you push your car past more speed than you can handle,
remember that the life you kill may not be your own.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Photos...

 

Rotary fans will dig this photo at the Fina pump...

 

I hate to say this, but 320 miles is pretty damn good. Many people get under 200 miles on a tank. I get around 210-230, but it varies, and I'm mostly city driving. Would you belive that in ~9 months, and 9500 miles, I've yet to do a full tank of gas on the highway? I have no idea if I can top 20 mpg

 

Another photo I took for those who like to see really big numbers (especially the non-Americans)...

 

Yeah, before this roadtrip I was "happy" getting 15mpg. I live one mile away from work. This was my first opportunity to get a full tank on the freeway, and some of those stretches between towns made for some tense moments at 70mph cruise control (with the a/c confirmed off, windows rolled up tight, etc).

 

wow i've never goen past 300 on a tank..well most i've gotten was 287... sad tha ti made a few long trips on the highway (but i was going with the flow of traffic ~84mph) damn fast sc drivers. lol i could've sworn tha t5th spun out at 149 as it's top speed and our baby (at least mine) is electronicly speed governed at 148mph in 6th....but i think on the older ecu flashes it would top out at 155 in 6th.

I hope you weren't doing these speeds on the highway .... or any other public road

i took my baby to teh track so she could stretch her legs and lenghten her stride (149 in 5th 148 in 6th haha gotta love that govener)... i hope you were in a enclosed environment as well (a track)

 

I should have mentioned that I have the M-flash.

The only limiter I'm aware of is the 9500 RPM tach limiter, which I've hit on several ocassions both before and after getting the latest flash.

As far as safety, I felt completely safe. I was on public roads. But consider that Autobahns are public roads too. US Interstate highways are designed for speeds much higher than the posted "limit".

Ironically, it was just yesterday that I was watching the music video "Warning" by Green Day. The video showed some guy rip the tag off his matress, stick Q-Tips inside his ear canals, and do other radical acts.

"Professional driver on a closed course." (- Doesn't have to be)

The most dangerous element out there is other drivers. I will not drive at extreme speed around anyone I don't know and trust. That means any public road. The reason why I know how effective the brakes are at max speed is because I slowed down to pass a semi at a safe closure rate. This gives me enough reaction time in case the other driver does something erratic.

I have been driving for over two decades and I have yet to be involved in any driving incident where any person has gotten hurt. My insurance company has given me their safest rate. While I have certainly made my share of driving mistakes, I'm thankful that the price has not been high.

While many may write it all off as -luck-, I attribute a significant part of that as having a sense of when to push and when to back off.

 

Here's one more photo that I took that night...

(If I had planned ahead, I could have set the trip to read "678.9")

 

ur going 250+ and still had the time to take a pic of ur speed....

 

wow you hit the 300 territory. Seriously my all time best is 240. That's mostly highway and some city driving. I be really estactic if I get 21 mpg, which really isn't bad at all...

 

if i could get 21mpg all the time (or at least consistantly) i would never stop doing a happy dance...sadly though my lst fill up was 15.76 mpg

 

326 on one tank is amazing.

 

hmmm...skeptical

 

"yawn"

 

There are plenty of RX-8 drivers who can confirm to you that 150+ mph and 20+ mpg are quite doable. And there's nothing too mysterious about taking pictures at top speed, so long as you have a stable steering technique that prevents pitch-yaw coupling.

I've posted this only for those who will find this information as useful. Certainly not everyone in the forum. And the safety criticism was so expected that I created a new nym just for this topic.

One piece of info that I'd held off from sharing is that I had passengers and a full load of luggage in the car. Performance would only improve without the extra weight.

Someone else might have an idea of how much a spoiler and aero package might help. My 8 has none of that.

 

My top speed so far is only 105 MPH, plenty fast on even a deserted public road, but have had several tanks in the 23 - 25 MPG range on trips...I'm hoping to get her out on a track sometime this year. My baby is in storage right now - only driving my Envoy until the snow is done up here...

:-(

 

First, with all due respect...driving (and I've done 130 before so I include myself in this) over 100MPH is just stupid, STUPID, STUPID....stupid for your safety and even MORE STUPID for the safety of others.

I'm not saying you can't drive or anything but it's not about YOU (or ME), it's about someone elses life you might take and the hurt done to another family. Again, I've been stupid about top speed before so I include myself in the term stupid, but for the sake of yourself, your family, and the family or saftey of other people...DONT do that again please.

Based on the "EPA", a bad word for alot of you, the RX8 should have a range between (using 18/24 and using up to 15gal of the fuel tank) of 270-360 miles per 15 gal of fuel.

Now, and I don't know if everyone realizes this...LOL, the EPA is not completely accurate...LOL BUT, per my 2005 window sticker they redeem themselves by saying that the RX8 get's...and I'll scan it per request if needed:

18/24 avg but numbers of 15-28 have been observed, tested, etc

I've heard of a member say they got 28mpg on a road trip he took so if that was using 15gal of fuel he got 420miles out of a tank of fuel...GREAT, is that true...did it really happen, what temp altitude, etc....I don't know but 300 miles on the highway with the RX8 should be possible. People that can't hit 200 miles on a tank in the city using 15gal, in my opinion, hae problem RX8's. Again the EPA gave a range of 15-28, and if someone is not getting that then they need to say something.

So far, and I'm about to fuel up for the first time, I have 242 miles "on my RX8" (I love saying that) in city driving so I think I'm getting good numbers. I drive under 5K (breaking it in right now) and I use to get like 2.5mpg more in the city with my old Probe GT so I can't wait to see what those miles come to in mpg. Will it last? Is it normal?....I have no clue but if I get 13mpg I'll be making some phone calls.

People should not accept the "it's a sports car" theory, if they list it at 18/24 and further explain it can get a range of 15-28....then, THAT is what it should get...15-28 with the high number left to dreams normally. Anything less than 15...is a complaint, and anything over 24 is a blessing.

 

Got my baby up to 130 mph over the holidays w/ plenty of speed to spare!!

 

I noticed Zatem indicated Regular unleaded, not super. I believe I read in this forum that regular unleaded will give better gas mileage than super.

 

Well, I'm not particularly judgemental that someone experiments with their speed, but this swung my opinion the other way. First, squirreling around with your own life is one thing, but risking someone else's as well is irresponsible. Second, mentioning it in a forum frequented by teenagers is doubly irresponsible. I can just see Donny Dumbass loading his buddies in the car so they can watch how cool he is on his own speed run... right up until he loses control.

 

ah crap does it? ahh nothign liek paying more for less fuel economy ah well..... my baby seems to liek the premium:D so i go tto feed her what she wants to eat

 

Again, I've been stupid before too...not trying to tell anyone what to do, but like he said and I said before...it's just not too smart or worth the risk. Go to a track and test top speed, 0-60, 1/4 mile, etc.....now that would not only be fun but ALOT safer too.

I'm not trying to be too hard on you, again...I've done it too, but I look back and realize how stupid of me it was. GLORY to GOD for saving me from my own stupidity (probably 1 million and counting) and from hurting others

 

It is important to know that hazards and safety are not necessarily mutually exclusive concepts. There are ways to expose yourself to a hazard without doing it in a haphazard manner. There can be a narrow zone where you do something that may appear extremely dangerous, but still be safe.

As far as risk to passengers, I consider myself to be in a more dangerous situation when I am feeling drowsy at the wheel going near the speed limit as opposed to driving at extreme speed under specific conditions. Obviously the safest option is to avoid hazards altogether (but then you would never choose to get out of bed in the morning). Risk must be balanced by the need for action.

I consider it important for a driver to respect all passengers. If someone wants me to slow down, I will slow down. If they continue to have a problem with my driving for whatever reason, something I've done in the past is offer to have them drive instead.

As far as influencing those who are inexperienced, please consider that this is perhaps the best function of this forum. I had no community to learn about such matters when I was pushing my 2nd gen RX-7 up to 144 mph back in the 80's. I didn't know who to ask for info about steering technique, or what signs to look for to tell you whether or not the risk of animals wandering into the road was too great, or whatever. I learned these things on my own, through my own trial and error.

Whether a driver has just got their license, or is an old seasoned professional, it is their own responsibility to not exceed their own limits. And for any passengers who may be with them, they have the ability to insist that the driver knock it off if they are uncomfortable with anything going on.

Laying blame for a highway fatality on someone who is at the other end of a computer network strikes me as a skewed accountability.

 

I totally agree that the track is the ideal place to explore limits. But then what do you do with that experience? When the Andretti's go on a family road trip, do they limit their speed to 80 mph out of a concern for safety? I thoroughly expect that they drive at a speed where they feel safe. A speed that they ARE safe.

 

I always find it interesting that the gas gauge needle moves faster than the tach.

But seriously, I've gotten 21-22 on the highway at a steady 70-75 in good weather.