I've got no idea what revs I take off at, just take off gradually aiming for a smooth start. I usually change to higher gears between 4k and 5k, although I will go higher if I need a bit of acceleration.

 

If you shifted at 4K, you didn't take a test drive REDLINE, BABY!!!!!!!

Actually, I'm being quite serious - you can't appreciate what this car can do unless you go full throttle to 9K. Get out there again, and wait for the beep!

 

1500 for regular mellow driving take off, 2000-2500 if I'm having fun. I'm worried about dumping the clutch after reading the "blue clutch" stories. The natural shift point for me is 4500 for regular driving. I may still be tuned into my old car's revs for shifting, though.

 

This is just from my experience, but when u launch the car at any RPM that will make the tires spin at all u get to where the car almost stops then takes off. Im pretty sure that is because the DSC kicks in bc it thinks the car is losing control bc of the tire spin and it cuts from the throttle. If you hold in the DSC button for 7 seconds and the light in the center of the tach comes on showing "car is out of control" the car wont have that slow down point in any launch that the tires might chirp or spin. I dont know what u guys think, but thats what i got from my experience but I dont drop the clutch much.

 

How do you do this? i have been trying to do this the past three days and cant, the car just is no fun when doing this, and i feel like im shifting ecc very second. i just had to let it rip and slid it around the corners tonight. And ccccccccgas didnt change at all i went through a im under 3/4 tank from filling it up and only have 39 miles, now thats shitty!
robert

 

true.....very true. my insurance agent and family accused me of buying a car which is the closest thing to a bike. i could do nothing but agree. :D

......on topic comment........today i shifted at 8500.......yep, i heard the "beep." it's a wonderful sound isn't it?

yamajj

 

I have heard about the wheel hop and I thought 7-8K drops were crazy??? I think it was a typo in the place I read it. I would think, in the RX8, a 4-5K drop would be the way to go. But, I don’t got one yet so what do I know.

LOL, well…when I was test drive I get into that mentality like if I was getting graded or something. Like when I first got my license. So I tend to drive a little grandma style but I have to say that I never found the RX8 lacking torque. Now, I did not push it so maybe that’s the reason but it was not like I was driving a civic and I could not move. I can’t wait till I get to take the 8 to 9K…I can only imiage how great that will be.

One thing about this shifting thing is that I think (I have only owned stick cars I hate auto) the 8 because it revs so high and lacks torque will take more shifting than a normal car. Am I right on this point? Low torque, high RPM…= more shifting in highway or performance times…not so much city???

 

Higher RPM gets more torque to the wheels so faster acceleration...my 8 doesn't really kick-in until it's over 5.5k RPM then I feel the torque/acceleration. City driving just the same as highway, but I can't really push 5th in Sing

 

What's the difference between all this and a clutch drop??

 

damage

 

Brilliant...care to elaborate? Just a thought

 

normal driving I let the clutch out at about 1K-1.2K. It is my brothers car so I won't be doing any high rpm launches or dumping the clutch.

 

Cool RX-Cars...but I thought wOrm would elaborate..

 

well in traffic i see no reason to be shifting at 6k and doing a whopping 35mph... i usually shift around 3k and do a 1-3-5 shift pattern and enjoy the view and enjoy getting 140 miles on a half tank in heavy traffic

 

^^^^

Exactly as he said.

 

I realize that. But what is the difference between what you guys are describing and dropping the clutch? I don't have much experience with driving manual. All I know how to do is switch gears up or down.

But when you guys say launch at 2k rpm or 3k rpm, that to me is dropping the clutch at 2-3k rpm. I obviously don't know the difference. I thought dropping the clutch/ launching meant pushing in the clutch pedal, rev the car to 3k rpm and then release the clutch pedal while keeping your foot on the gas to "launch" the car. I'm missing something here.

 

I do it as per the manual and it works really well.

From the 1st Gear to the 2nd at 12 Miles Per Hour

From the 2nd Gear to the 3rd at 30 Miles Per Hour

From the 3rd Gear to the 4th at 40 Miles Per Hour

And so On. I find it to be very economical on gas and I really try and baby the engine.

Anyone else follow the same gear ratio?

 

You must be talking about the automatic. The recommended shift points for the manual transmission are 12, 22, 29, 36, and 44. And yes, these shift points will result in better mileage.

I'm going on my third month driving stick, and what I do now is launch at 2K, shift between 4K and 5K for normal driving, and cruise at 2K to 3K. In other words, my shift pattern usually is something like 1-2-4-6. Is that weird?

 

I high rpm clutch drop can have bad results in many ways. It can cause wheel hop which is bad for the drivetrain mounts/components. It can fry your clutch, you can snap a driveshaft, blow your differential, etc. These things usually happen after repeated abuse. It also depends how strong the drivetrain is.

 

I usually launch normal at 2k ish- performance (auto-x) I usually get to no more than 5.5

around the town- I generally shift at 4k- however everytime I drive it, at least once I drive to buzzer in 1st and 2nd

 

This hasn't been clarified yet so I'll try. "Launch" means to start moving, nothing more. Most times, you would rev the engine "a bit" (the question of "how far do you rev it" is the point of this thread) and slowly let the clutch out. This causes the clutch to slip a bit until the car starts to move. When the car is moving, the clutch can be fully engaged (out, or up from the floor) and the engine speed will match the car's road speed.

The term "dropping the clutch" means to let the clutch fully engage suddenly. This is, unfortunately, one of the fastest ways to get the car moving quickly, but causes lots of potential damage. The technique is to push the clutch all the way down, rev the engine high (around 8000 rpm) and slide your foot off the clutch pedal so it snaps up all the way. The result is that the wheels spin wildly and the car starts to move. The tires slip, instead of the clutch slipping, and the engine continues to rev quickly, in the high-power part of the tach. This also causes wheel hop, broken transmission parts, damaged driveshafts, nasty smells in the car, etc. Don't try this at home.

I hope this clears up your questions.

 

I spoke to a mechanic who owns 3 RX7s and 1 RX2. He also races one of the RX7s. He indicated that unless you want to keep working on the engine (like his race car) he does not recommend making it a habit of red lining the car. He said, yes the rotary can handle that, and you can work them to kick out massive HP, but he also said you are continually pushing the limits. For those of you who keep redlining the car daily, I would suggest to save it for certain itimes. That is unless you want to blow out a seal and rebuild the engine. Maybe this is the reason older roataries got a bad rap. Just because the car can rev really high does not mean it should be done everytime you are driving down a city street. I'm interested to hear in a year or so what happens to people's cars that continually beat on them and redline them in everyday driving. As for high rpms, I generally only hit them at high speeds on the highway. Generall in 4th & 5th and then maybe 8K. I have redlined it several times and I feel better accelaration if you shift it to the next gear and start climbing again. Maybe it's just me but the point between 8-9K just seems to be winding versus picking up continual speed. Now between 5-8K my baby is taking off.

 

Thanks, jaedcem. THat does clear things up. SO I assume launching a car is something that can be safely done at 3k rpm? I realize it still might not be something you'd want to do every single day, but maybe a few times a week? Cuz it sounds like fun!

 

Yes, launching a car is fun, and it can safely be done at 3000 rpm. However, you still may be a bit confused. "Launching" means to start moving from a stop. If you never launch your car, it will never move. You can launch from 1200 rpm, 2000, 4500, 8500, etc. It seems most of the gang starts (launches) at around 2000-3000 rpm.