I brought my car in for the cappuccino like foam in my dipstick. I also asked them to check a few things that I thought could be a reason for getting 14mpg since I bought the car. (I have over 13k miles now) They came to the conclusion that my after market intake, and free flowing exhaust was to blame. He told me that since I am putting more air into the engine, and releasing back pressure, that the engine is using more fuel? Every other car that i have done this mod to, gave me more hp and better mpg. He also said that it's a "Renesis" thing BTW, my car was getting the same mpg before the mods. I think that this is more bs from the dealers.

 

Did they give you the insulated dipstick? I'm thinking about taking mine in to the dealer as well to have this done... just waiting till I have enough 'annoyances' to warrant a visit.

 

 

What a crock. They are looking for something to blame your poor MPG issue on. You can be sure it's NOT your intake and exhaust.

 

well an intake could cause mpg to drop because of the air change over the mafs. screw with the mafs and you can have all sorts of problems.

 

but thats not really the point here.

a customer came to them with a concern. did they do anything to confirm that the concern was valid? they have a hypothesis as to what is causing the unconfirmed issue. did they do anything to prove their hypothetical? check the mafs? check the plugs? check the pcm for stored codes? check that the t-stat is working properly? did they do anything to rule out the other possibilities?

why would you take that answer and leave?

 

I agree with the "BULL" picture...LOL

Maybe it could mess with the mpg, but something like .2 or .8...not -4mpg in the city, hwy, etc

WILL SOMEONE PLEASE DOCUMENT AND PRESENT their findings to Mazda, the dealer, and anyone who will listen. Talking about it over and over, while I love to read about all the concerns and issues people have, without doing something about it that will FORCE the dealership and Mazda to pay attention...is tiresome.

 

Toro Poo

 

My 8 went from 14-15 mpg to 12-13 mpg (always mixed driving) when I put the K&N drop in filter in. Took it out, next tank was back to 14-15.

Wouldn't have believed it until it happened to me.

 

Do you guys smell something funny??? :D I guarantee you when the dealer heard your complaint, the first thiing they started looking for was an excuse...and whalla...there it was!!

Take it to another dealer or call BS on the service Manager.

- Irish

 

I didn't just leave, I finally got ahold of the service manager and explained my situation. I'll be taking the car back in. I completely agree.

 

i dropped in a k&n filter and my mileage has remained constant or maybe a minimal gain since. my mileage ranges between 16-17mpg, city driving

yamajj

 

i get the regular 11-12 mpg its nothing big for me i've never complained although i really should. the gas prices are killing me

 

 

they deserve to be beat into submission

 

All Ihave to say about this is whenever I putthe K&N Typhoon Intake backonto my Rx8 my mileage drops 1 or 2 mpg (14 - 15) depending onhow hard I drive but goesback up to the usual mpg (16 - 17) when I put the stock intake back on. I have one ofthe first Rx8s built though (got mine in August 2003) soperhaps that is a factor.

 

excellent. thank you.give us an update on what they say next.

 

Do all of you guys reset the ECU when installing extra mods? The hardware reset, not the battery disconnect one. A buddy from the tristate RX8 club did that reset and his mpg went from 10 to 20 or so. He does have a lot of mods, including intake and full exhaust.

 

how do I reset the ecu?
and is it safe ?

 

something about holding the trip odo reset button in when turning the key to on. one post i read said something about doing this 3 times in a row. havent tried it yet.

 

Yes, hold down the odo button and turn the key to "on" without starting the car, and wait each time to see "test" written instead of the miles. After the third round, release the odo button and turn the car on and it will work just fine. Thank philodox for the procedure, he demo it to us at the last meet

 

no way dude, it's "up up down down left right left right B A start"

 

^ Was that the code for CONTRA?

 

My dealer tried to give me the same bullcrap explanation when I took mine in for bad MPG. They tried to blame my Borla exhaust. What a crock... anyhow.. I don't have to worry about that now that my drive train warrenty is void.. hehe

 

Since I'm in a pot-stirring mood tonight, how's this for you:

Perhaps the reason that service departments always claim this to be the cause is the same reason why Mazda has a bulletin about intakes causing shitty idles and poor fuel economy: It is!!

The RX-8 has a pretty complex and painstakingly engineered intake system. Maybe snapping a Hoover attachment in place of a tuned airbox and moving the MAF sensor isn't such a grand idea.

I know that correlation doesn't equal causality, but where there's smoke, there's fire. Perhaps all Mazda delaers nationwide are not part of an anti K+N conspiracy. They could even * GASP! * be correct.

Food for thought.