1.3L

If you care about fuel consumption, how can you even mention the Viper? The Viper, while an impressive performer, has an unimpressive 12/20 EPA rating. I don't care how fast it goes or how much power it has, it still sucks a lot of gas More so than the 8. Also, let's not forget that the Viper also has an unimpressive purchase price of $85,000.00. I'm sure you already know that you can get an 8 out the door for under $30,000.00.

Which car can you really afford?

1.3L

philodox

I get 12.3 mpg city and 18 on the highway.. yay.. hehe..

Razz1

Wow! I gt 19 mpg for the first time!

rx8wannahave

AMEN!

AMEN! Exactly…those numbers are not normal. I truly agree with SDB, the people getting 13mpg need to yell at Mazda, the dealership, the EPA, and media…who ever will listen because those numbers are not normal in my opinion. Now go…go complain until your 8 gets at least 17/23…


Since some people say their 8’s get 12-13 city that is the same as the previous viper and the new model also. So, what I’m saying is that if a car company was going to sell me a car that got 12-13 then they better be giving me 500HP. That is the comparison, not that the Viper get’s good fuel economy…but with 8.3L of V10…12/20 is pretty dang good.

So again, that’s the comparison…the 8 getting similar mpg numbers but giving out only 238HP is beyond an insult. That would make it, in my opinion, the worst fuel economy out there. SUV’s that weigh 4500 pounds, have big V8’s, get 13-20 so a light small engine car should NOT be getting those horrible numbers.

First, heck no I cant afford a Viper…I love the car, but there is no way I could get one. Even If I was rich, I could not bring myself to buy a $85,000 car…I would get a Vette…that’s the best bang for the buck sports car in the world.

dat165

13 mpg today... some highway, but most of the time, not shifting till ~9/10. ~1000 total miles on car. I thought I had a leaky fuel line. 93/94 octane only.

rx8wannahave

Ouch...poor 8, no wonder you get only 13mpg

G8rboy

Here we go again... Mazda and the EPA can't ride along with you and observe all of the variables that come into play to determine your gas mileage. Is it Mazda's fault if someone always drives at WOT? Or only shifts at redline? Or if their tires are underinflated? Or if their state uses 10% ethanol or winterized fuel? or they let it idle in the driveway when cold to warm it up? or drive in stop and go traffic everyday? Or only drive short trips? etc, etc.

Every one of these factors impacts fuel economy... how are any of those the responsibility of Mazda or the EPA? I've seen 13mpg, and I've seen 23mpg, and just about every thing in between... and for every "low" reading, I can trace it back to something listed above.

Yes, there are a handful of cars that can do no better than 13mpg regardless of these variables... and they obviously have something wrong- fouled plugs, bad seals, screwed up MAF's, etc. But they are anomolies, not the norm, and this is not an epidemic. If you intend to drive this car like it was meant to be driven, don't expect hit the EPA numbers... and if you find this "insulting" from a car that puts out 238hp and weighs 3k lbs, then the RX8 is just not for you.

philodox

You know, if we all just ignored the problem it WILL go away..

rx8wannahave

G8, no it’s not Mazda’s fault but with so many people reporting WAY below what the EPA gives the car…something is wrong. So, let me add in…

If you have any of the above…that G8 listed, then YES…it’s your fault, or the type of fuel etc etc etc. What I’m saying is that people who drive the car normal.

Normal = No constant shift point of 9000RPM, simple normal shift points under 4K probably, and a 9k run every now and then

Then you should be able to hit at least 17/23. 13mpg in the RX8 is beyond explanation IF you drive the car “normally”. What’s normal for me…might not be normal for others, but style of driving should be brought up in these type of questions.

9K shift guy gets 13mpg (of course he/she will when they beat the car to death)
4k shift guy gets 19mpg (of course they will because that’s normal driving to me)
A little of both probably would get you 17mpg

I wish an EPA guy could come in here and explain how they test the engine…what shift points, etc etc. I do not plan on shifting the 8 at 9k at every stop sign or red light…so I tend to think I will be able to get the 18/24 the EPA got…normally.

I know, I agree…I’ve posted about this before…I think it’s more in the driver!

G8 you just don’t get it man…18/24 is fine with me, but NOT 13…that’s ridiculous. “Drive like it’s meant to be driven…” That does not mean I’m going to 9K at every point in the day. Sorry, I don’t know too much about Rotaries but with any engine that will KILL it with time.

You want to beat the heck out of an engine, drive it to 9K all the time…and let me know how that works out for you. I for one will enjoy driving it normal and pushing it when I want to…not too much of either one. I just don’t understand why this does not make sense to anyone? Too much of anything is not good…that’s my point, so I’ll push the 8 once I get (GOD WILLING…and IF I GET IT) one…but not all the time, that’s all I’m saying.

13Mpg is for 9K people
18Mpg is for normal drivers

Note: Sorry for taking this thread to the same old topic...sorry about that

G8rboy

Bingo- there is no 'normal'... I consider under 4k shift points abnormal with an engine that can rev over twice that. You're under the assumption that I must shift at 9k all the time, which I don't... 4-6k rpm more like it. You're focused too much on hard driving being the cause of low mpg... which is why most people can all hit 22-24 on the highway, because most of those variables I listed above go out the window. "City" driving it just to subjective a term to come up with a 'norm' in my opinion... just too many variables come into play.

1. You need to stop thinking that shifting at 9k rpm is killing the car. It's not.
2. Shifting at 4k will not necessarily get you 19, unless you're strictly on the highway with zero traffic.
3. A little of both is going to be more like 15-16mpg... but again you've got to look at all the other variables besides shift points.

The EPA publishes their methods... it's been posted before. It's not a very realistic test.

You aren't listening, 18 city would be great, but if you don't look at all the other variables, don't expect it. I'm not talking about redlining every shift.
"Drive it like it's meant to be driven" means often at WOT and occasionally find redline... open it up on a curvy road, and use that tall powerband to pass somebody. Do that and you probably won't see 18... but it doesn't many anything is wrong with the Renesis. And again, you won't kill it by driving it hard if it's well maintained. Period.


I never said I drive like that... I just keep repeating it's not bad for anything besides your wallet. All I'm trying to tell you is you're too wrapped up in the EPA numbers, and too focused on one single parameter that affects fuel ecomomy. Saying "18mpg is for normal drivers" is a gross oversimplification. Many of us have been living this "experiment" for a year or more... there is a lot of data behind what I've stated.

You're also being overly concerned with the small sampling of poor fuel economy reports on this board... Mazda has made over 100,000 RX-8's, and this board represents a very small percentage of the population.

SilverEIGHT

Before I bought my 8 I understood the gas issue. After buying the car I decided to keep a gas milage chart and plot it out for the first 6000 miles. I recorded every fill-up from day one. My ranges are:

Interstate: 22.27 - 26.78 (around 70 MPH and driving like Grandma, shift @ 3K - 4K RPM)
State Hwy: 23.27 (55 - 60 MPH, shift 3K - 5K RPM)
Hard driving: 15.21 - 16.86 (Hard starts and shifting around 8K, THIS IS MY NORMAL DRIVING)
Mixed: 16.02 - 18.48 (Anything goes)

This travel is in the Southeast USA.

rx8wannahave

No, I know that…you like to push it but I did not think you did it all the time.

I agree, I guess I should look at everything and not blame the driver too much.


No, I mean if you do it all the time. I know the Renesis is made to rev to 9K

I guess I’ll be able to make a better argument when I get and test the 8 on my own.

OK, I’ll have to go check that out…but I did hear they were changing the way they test cars.

What is WOT…sorry, I don’t know that term. No, I mean driving it to 9K all the time…not that pushing the engine will hurt it. Heck, if it did that would suck!

OK, yes…it’s a lot of different things…agreed

THIS IS TRUE, I worry about the little things I see listed here…but it’s because I trust in you guys/gals so much…that’s all. I know that a few does not make it a normal thing.


This is the type of stuff I was looking for. Thanks for the info!

SilverEIGHT

Glad I could help. I know there are a lot of people that have the same questions I had. I stopped keeping records cause I ran out of ways ta drive. But... I will be getting a 2005 hopefully and I will start this all over again.

G8rboy

WOT = Wide open throttle... i.e. flooring it... which is another variable. You may only shift at 5k, but if you floor it on every light and every shift to get to 5k, that's worse for fuel consumption than hitting redline occasion (our ECU tends to run very rich at WOT). Yet another variable in the driver's style that can drastically affect mileage numbers.

SilverEIGHT

By the way... I keep my records on my Palm T3. I made a database using an app called jFile. If anyone is familiar with what I'm talking about and use the same software, I'll be happy to share my little "Gas Mileage" file with you. If I can figure out how to get it off the Palm. It's a great way to keep up with it and everything is calculated automatically. I also made a "Maintenance Record" keeping file. Not only is it fun to do... It looks really cool when you get out to pump your gas and you whip out your color coordinated techno-gadget (Silver).

rx8wannahave

It does...hummmm...I C

Oh, so will you be selling yours or useing it as a trade in? eBay, not the 2005, but eBay has some fair deals out there...but buying a car online is kinda scary.

SilverEIGHT

Totaled it on Monday. That's another story in another chat area. I'm trying to stay positive here.

rx8wannahave

Dang...sorry!

1.3L

Yes, some people get 12 MPG from their 8's. But, that doesn't seem to be the norm. I think you're looking at the worst of the worst and ignore the other end. I think if you average out every MPG report you see, things might look better.

Meanwhile, spend some time on the Corvette and Viper forums and find out what MPG the owners are really getting. I'll bet it's less than the EPA ratings.

1.3L

"Ban low performance drivers, not high performance cars"

rx8wannahave

Good idea...I got to go check them out.

I understand that I have to relax about the mpg because there are alot of factors involved and the EPA numbers tend to over estimates. It's just that 12-13 is very scary to me...that would be unacceptable for me, but I think it's not the norm at all and I tend to believe I can get EPA numbers because with my Probe GT (21/26) I avg 24.8. Not that I drive like a grandpa...but my drive to work does not have alot of stop and go.