Hi guys.
I'm so close to buying RX-8. I'm just worried about a couple of things, hoping some of you can give me some advise.

(1)Does car drive decent in snow(Michigan winter...any Owners in Michigan?), if I get really good snow tires?

(2)I saw many of you complaining about Gas Mileage, are you all really only getting 13-15mpg?? My friend suggested that prob. because people who own RX-8 drives it really hard, which is not good for Fuel Economy. I'm planning on getting Automatic, and will be easy on it.

I really appreciate for any response....Thanks!

 

RX8s can be driven in snow... but dont expect it to drive very well in 10+ inch of snow... it is a low down rear wheel drive car afterall.

yes rotaries drink gas and burns oil no matter what... dont get a rx8 if youre going to "go easy on it" ...


if youre looking for a daily driver with decent mileage, good reliability, and can be driven in all road conditions i say go for a Acura RSX or Subaru Impreza (dont know if you would want a WRX since its turbo'd).

 

I live in West Mich. and just bought my 8 a month ago. I absolutely love it! And since I had been driving a Jeep Wrangler that got about 11 mpg, I consider my 8 to be "fuel efficient" (first tank gave me 19 mpg, with a mix of city and highway driving).
I have a 94 Geo Prism that I intend to use as my winter beater though. The finance guy at the dealership asked me what I planned to drive in the winter. I told him about the Geo, but asked him why he assumed I wouldn't be driving the 8? His response was, "Oh, you don't want to drive the 8 in the winter. It's just not a winter car." I would say it's definately not the "ideal" winter car, but with decent snow tires, there's no reason that it couldn't be driven in the winter if you wanted to.

 

My 8 getts pretty good gas mileage, around 18-19 and it only has 900 miles on it.
I have a 6 speed and if im tring to save gas i just change gears at 3k rpms. On the expressway its a little differant cause these cars zip, and I often find my self doing 70+ mph while I'm thinking im doing 60ish. 70mph in a 6speed = 4k rpm's for me. I've tried to keep it around 60mph (3500 rpms I think) but its really hard in a car hat just wants to zoom zoom

 

Thanks guys.

I'm not expecting a really good MPG. But I sure do hope to get what it says on sticker. I'm driving a car w/11-13 right now, so if I can get what Mazda claims for
RX-8, I'll be happy. You guys are using Premium Gas like manual says to your RX-8, right?

 

I've tried using both premium and regular and can't tell any difference in performance. The manual recommends 92 for optimum performance, but also states that using 87 is perfectly ok.

 

Yes i use premium gas. It costs about 40 dollars to fill it up from E.

 

im getting about 16-20 mpg i drive hard and use premium gas have 45k miles on the car =D

 

I can't help you with the snow, as I live in Texas, but would recomend DSC/TCS.

As far as gas mileage I can get over 20 if I want to but that's no fun...

 

Welcome to the site Winty.

(1)Does car drive decent in snow - Yes. As you're from Michigan, I assume you know how to drive in snow. The 8 does very well with decent snow tires. The excellent balance of the car helps keep it from getting out of sorts.

(2)I saw many of you complaining about Gas Mileage - Only a small minority of report poor mpg's. Owners at this site report an average of 19 mpg (for mixed driving) and 16 mpg for city-only driving. See these polls:

https://www.rx8club.com/polls-70/mileage-poll-75555/
https://www.rx8club.com/polls-70/your-mpg-city-driving-82005/

The numbers show that on the average, most of us are getting about what we should expect. Personally I get about 17-18 city, 23 highway.

 

My only advice to you is don't get an automatic. If you really need an automatic I would get a different car.

 

It's unlikely you'll get the EPA estimated mileage with any make of car. If I remember correctly, most get around 10% less than the EPA estimates. Every auto I've owned has been the same, including the 8.

My only exception was getting 1 mpg higher than the EPA highway estimates in my Triumph Spitfire.

 

I live south of Ann Arbor and I have an 8 I bought about 3 months ago... I can't tell you a lot about snow driving because I'm not planning the car during the winter months.....
As far as I know, the tires that come with the car are summer ultra high performance tires which means they will suck in the snow.....
If you are planning to drive in the snow, I'll recomend for you to buy some good snow tires. Also, since the car is fairly low to the ground, you'll have hard times getting through about 6+ feet of snow....

As for the fuel consumption, YES.... it is not the most economical cars out there.... but if it makes you feel better, it is better than an H2.

 

I suppose I'll toss in some token advice:

• If you get an automatic, get a 2006 -- much more powerful than the previous models
• If you get an 8 don't drive it in the snow with stock tires EVER -- you will die even if there is 1/2" of snow no matter how l33t your driving skills are.
• Check the oil every 1000 miles at the latest to make sure you're not low -- rotaries love oil.
• Keep it real always.

 

I'm going to second this response. I test drove the auto and the manual, and the difference in performance was truly staggering.

I usually am not a "manual only" snob, but I've never driven a car model with as wide a disparity in the driving experience between the two.

 

This a 6-speed auto or the 4-speed?

 

DO NOT waste your money on an auto, unless your missing your left leg or something. Jebus.

 

Did your major in peer pressure in college? Cause I think you did.

 

Peer pressure...?

 

My wife has a 05 black with all the bells and whistles and oh my god a ATUOMATAIC . She loves the car gets about 20 mpg combo.
You have to check and add some oil about every 2nd fill up .
I think most of the winners drive the manuel and high rev it all the time
In texas we don't worry about snow tires just make sure they don.t melt in the summer time . lol

 

My husband is telling me same thing about "get manual". We already had 5-6 huge arguments....I can't drive manual, and yes I tried some could drive a little, but I don't like it. This may offend some people here, but I really don't care the fact that I'll miss out a lot on "driving experience". I Love how RX-8 looks, inside and outside, and how it drives (automatic ofcourse).
I'm planning to get 2006 w/NAV, GT. Somehow, all dealership I visited are giving me hard time. They all don't have a car I want, and they seem like they are not interested in finding me one somewhere else. This one sales guy even told me when I asked him to search a car for me, "You can go to mazda's website and do a search" . I was stunned. Then he said "Do you not want to research yourself?" I've never been treated this badly by any other dealerships(Ford, VW, Pontiac, Cadillac)....

Anyways, hope to hear something from one of the dealerships I've been calling.

 

wow. That blows.

What I did was contact all the local dealerships via email (from mazdausa's website), then asked each what the best price they could do for the car I wanted. I mentioned I was calling around, so best offer... out of 5, only 2 tried, and the one that won out also ended up being closest to me. $500 over dealer invoice.

 

1. The auto tranny is fine. Just make sure it's in "Sport Shift" mode 101% of the time.
2. Get ready to plunk down a goodly sum for snow tires. Might want separate rims too. 17-inch tires are quite a bit cheaper than 18-inch.

 

Try both stick and automatic - I did, very disappointed with a 2004 stick with only 1200 miles on it - was a real brute. Got a 05 automatic but with the shift so you can play with the wheel paddles - love it - getting good milage about 25-26 (when I remember to drive like a Granny because I am one), less oil use than my old 323. I think you are going to love this car!

 

Winfree - You forgot to give Winty the advice to remember to rev up to the 9K red-line every once in a while at you're sitting at a stoplight... (1) To burn out any carbon buildup, and (2) impress the punks who drive up next to you and want to race