hello all! Just picked up my new 2005 Winning Blue RX-8 (a left over w/ 143 miles on it!) Jan 24th. I'm still somewhat of a new stick driver so i just need some advice from some experienced RX-8 stick drivers out there.

i obviously want my car to last as long as possible and not to push the engine too much or whatnot. i'm not sure as to what's best for the car in terms of the RPM level and the speed intervals.

Can someone just give me an overview as to at what speeds should i be in what gear and at what RPM level should i shift to the next gear? Also...at what RPM level should i downshift? and of course is under "normal" driving circumstances. The more info the merrier! Thanks in advance!!

oh yea...and i LOOOOOVE my RX-8!!!

 

Because of it’s 9,000 RPM redline you have a lot of flexibility in regards to gear vs. speed. I also would not worry about pushing the engine. In fact I feel they run better when pushed. Some speeds can be safely driven in 4 different gears by the way. For normal driving I tend to up shift around 4,000. As for downshifting its up to you to find your own comfort zone. I tend to use the disc brakes 95% of the time vs. engine braking (downshifting). Brake pads are cheaper than transmission repair in case you miss a shift.

 

I tend to agree with expo1 as I don't do a tremendous amount of engine braking either. If I downshift, it's to accelerate. I also agree about not worrying too much about pushing the engine. It's been said on this forum previously that you should probably perform at least one redline shift a day (after the car warms up of course). I don't know if there's a valid argument for that, but I've probably come pretty close to doing it just because it's so much fun and I have 38,000 miles and never a single problem (knock on wood).

 

First let me welcome you to the club and to congratulate you on your new car.
Make sure you follow proper break-in procedure for your engine and bed in your brakes properly. Search this form for advice and read the 'stickies' at the top of each form.
Please add location to your profile!
After break-in make sure you drive with enthusiasm! With the sun roof open and the windows down it sounds so good over 5000 RPM that you just want to run it up all the time You don't have to use 100% throttle to hit 9K by the way.
Learn 'heel 'n toe' down shifting technique. It's really easy to practice because the gas and brake pedals are so close. (You brake with the ball of your foot and blip the throttle with the side of your foot while you use the clutch with your left foot)
Have fun and 'drive it like you stole it'

 

Do the breakin to 1000 mi. Change the oil. Then dirve it like you stole it. I changed trans. and diff. at ( see my sig. ). Do the protection upgrades. Make sure dealer did all TSB's.

 

I believe that the most critical hours of engine life are the first 20! Anytime you buy a new car, the first thing you should do is go home and change the oil and the filter! You'd be shocked to see an oil analysis of it at this stage. It's got a lot of metal in it. Then change them again at 500 miles. Then again at 1000 miles. Then start your regular oil change schedule.

 

try to hold off on high rpm's (6000+) for the first 600 miles, during the break-in period. However, DO vary the rpms during that time, ie upshift/downshift regularly on highway driving, even if you're holding a relatively constant speed.

and i agree with rotarygod's advice on early oil changes during the first 1000 miles

 

It doesn't necessarily have to be a redline shift; just getting over 6000 RPMs occasionally would be enough to prevent carbon build up. Shifting at redline is just for the sake of fun, like you said, and that's where the Renesis screams beautifully.

Recently I've been doing a lot of engine braking as opposed to just going intro neutral and braking. I just braked for the first 25k miles or so, and for the past 6k miles I've been engine breaking and whatnot (I'm at 31k now). It's really a chore, seems to have hurt my gas mileage significantly, and only has it uses in certain situations in traffic. At least I think I'd be a good newbie driver on a track since I have the heel-n-toe down.

 

After proper break in, I wouldn't worry about what you can do to extended the life of the engine as I would worry about the life span of the tranny. Those seem to be the problem area with this car if not cared for properly. Changing your tranny fluid regularly and making sure to take shifts easy and rev match when the engines cold will definitely extend tranny life. As for long engine life...Find the BEEP on your rpm gauge

Enjoy your new 8 and welcome to the club!

 

Here's the breakin procedure from Racing beat.

http://www.racingbeat.com/FRmazda4.htm

After that the recommended shift point is 9000 rpm! More seriously in daily driving I shift around 5K. If you're in fun mode you can run it up to redline all day and it doesn't mind. Actually not revving it up enough will cause carbon buildup in the engine. So 9K a day keeps the mechanic away!

 

You drive it like a granny, You will replace your 8 in the matter of months.

It was designed to be a high revving engine. So you can rev it without worries

 

The engine loves to rev, but keep it below 5,000 rpm until it is fully warmed up.

Don't "drive it like you stole it". Don't want to see you on COPS. Lol

 

thanks to everyone who's been posting. i really appreciate the info and i could really use it too as a brand new 8 driver who didn't know much about the car before i got it.

one quick question tho...so everyone is telling me it's good for the car to do a high RPM shift aruond 8K and even redlining it. which i will certainly start doing after my first oil change around 1.5K miles on the car. HOWEVER...in what gear should i do this high RPM shift or does it not matter? also....if i don't do this high RPM shift, how will the carbon build up and what are the damages that could be done?

thanks again to everyone for the info! maaaan...my 8 certainly a sweet ******* car!!

 

You'll be OK as long as you keep your shirt on. On COPS, they always go after the guy without a shirt.

Ken

 

Second or third. First just goes by too quickly, and 4th or 5th have you going pretty fast.

Keep in mind that 9000 rpm in 3rd is 90 mph, so keep your shirt on if you do that.

For carbon buildup, poke around the synthetic oil threads/arguments. Somewhere in those there are copies of TSBs from Mazda Australia and Holland (I believe) showing carbon buildup in ports. The claim in the TSBs is that it's from synthetic oil, but the opinion of the experts here (and we've got some genuine experts) is that it's from driving like a granny, not a problem with the oil.

IMHO, driving like a granny or revving it up is a moot question. If you're not going to wind it out and enjoy it, why buy an 8?

Ken

 

redlining it is fun and should be done regularly on the 8, but do it ONLY AFTER the engine's warmed up!!!!!!!!!! this is crucial! otherwise you risk serious damage to the engine.

well, seeing how this car redlines at 90mph in 3rd, and 125mph in 4th, I'd suggest you to keep your redlining fun on the street to just 1st and 2nd gear, unless you have a deathwish to get thrown into jail by the cops lol

and redlining (or high revving) REMOVES carbon buildup within the engine (a GOOD THING, you want to keep the engine internals clean!), driving like a granny is what causes carbon buildup in the engine, so don't drive like a grandma!

 

and i agree with everything Ken said as well

 

I know right. But looking as he got his with over 100 miles already on it would tell me that people have test driven it. We all know what peope do when they test drive cars.