hello all

when i drive, i feel like i always have to be in 6th gear even for short distances. i use 6th gear when im at or above 36mph. i shift at 3000rpm (sometimes less) and just try to get to 6th gear every time i drive. is this bad for the car or am i doing the right thing for the best mileage?

someone also told me to shift at 5000rpm evry time instead of 3000rpm? is that good advice?

 

Wow, unless you're just really obsessed with gas mileage, I'd say be a little more aggressive. You don't sound like you're having much fun in your 8.

I would not drive in 6th gear at 36 mph - seems like it would be close to lugging the engine, but I'm not sure since I've never tried it.

Shift at 4000 rpm if you want good gas mileage. That seems to be the consensus around here. But for goodness sake, take it up to 9000 once in a while. The car will love you for it. :D

 

wtf 6th gear at 36mph?!!?? why??

 

What has mileage got to do with it?

Drive it like you stole it!

(And you will probably get exactly the SAME mileage....)

S

 

The owner's manual suggests that anything below 46 MPH is lugging the engine in sixth on a flat. On a hill you are seriously looking for trouble, but I can understand how you could do it. The car is so smooth at every rev it'll throw ya'.

 

cool

 

doesn't the car feel very weak that way? I think you're overdoing it.. read the manual ~ page 5-7 has shift points.

What kind of car did you drive before or is this your first car?

-Peter

 

this is my first, never driven manual b4, im new to it and i know pretty much nothing

 

Ok dude...unless you are on the freeway cruising at 50 MPH...DO NOT cruise in your overdrive gear (6th). It puts a lot of strain on your engine and on your transmission as well. You could very well bust that gear if you floor it all of the sudden to get up a hill.

So just keep it at 5th. I've also noticed that the Renesis does pretty well on gas milage at about 3500 RPM or so.

 

I drive in 6th when my speed hits around 60. At that point, 6th gear at 3000rpm i'm doin 60, i have no hills to be worried about so it's comfortable. And with that gearing I"m less likely to go a whole lot faster without realizing it.

I find when i keep it in 5th or even 4th, my speed gets crazy and 4th gear at 60 is around the power band so kickin it up a notch is very easy...and fun.

I'm scared of tickets tho.

 

I drive the auto in 2nd or 3rd only around town. 2nd if I want to keep the revs up, 3rd if I'm cruisin. 2nd will go to > 75MPH @ redline. The car definitely feels sportier with the revs > 4000 RPM. Not good for MPG though.

 

No sweat....I was there a few years ago.

A simple rule to start with that works with MOST cars:

Gear number = Speed / 10

So, if you are cruising at 40mph, then about 4th gear is a good choice. You really shouldn't be below 2000 RPM when cruising.

Keep trying different things and you will get the hang of it in no time. Before long, you won't even have to think about it....it will become automatic. :D

Cheers!

 

I don't. Mostly, I drive it like I stole and get between 13 and 15 mpg. On the other hand, if I drive all highway at 80-90, (with some spirited spurts :D ) I can get low 20s.

 

why would you do that...its completely unnecessary...at around 36 mph im in like 3rd usually sometimes 4th

 

You can go 102 in 4th gear in this car!

 

Shimm 57
Because of the rotary design of the renisis engine you really should be driving the RX8 like a motor cycle. There is an optimum rpm for optimum fuel economy for particular engine types. DOHCs are typically around 3000 RPM. The optimum RPM for the renisis is around 5500 (like a motorcycle). The only time you should shift below 5500 is when you're still in the first 300 miles during the breakin period (read your owner's manual, you know the thing in the glove compartment that has all the pages). Also, a tip that I picked up from a web page on performance fuel economy, do not break with the engine by riding the clutch. Use your breaks like you should and downshift only to maintian engine momentum. Breaking with you engine wates fuel because it consumes the natural kinetic energy of the ingenius renisis design.

 

I was referring to cruising.....why would you want to stay in 4th at 102mph?

 

I think that at least once a day you should hit 9500rpm in 1st (45mph) and maybe 2nd as well (68mph). No other production car in the world can do this - make the most of it.


BTW the manual suggests the following gear changes for maximum fuel economy (to stay in the 2000-2750 rpm range):

1-2 at 14mph
2-3 at 21mph
3-4 at 28mph
4-5 at 35mph
5-6 at 42mph

so there is no point in moving to 6th below 42mph (I usually was in 6th at 45-50mph when just cruising in traffic).

 

I know you were referring to cruising. You wouldn't, thats about the time to shift out of 4th.