Hey. I am a new rx-8 owner near SF. Just wanted to say hi and ask a quick question.

This car is something else. It feels like butter all the way up to 9k rpm. So i was wondering, when do you guys shift up? Do you have different preferences for different gears?

My friend shifts up in his 325i at around 3.5krpm. I figure since the rx-8 redlines at 8500, should i be shifting up around 4-5k?

NOTE: This is all for normal, city driving. Don't plan on doing anything *fun* in the car till at least 1000 miles in. (Heard for rotary engines break in period is 500+average.)

Thanks and later.

 

Welcome.
I'd say you are shifting at safe RPMs for the break in period.
Don't maintain the same speeds for long periods of time either.

You're gonna love hitting redline whenever you want..... ENJOY

 

Don't stay in the same gear for a long period of time either.

 

As with my old RX-7, I shift my 8 around 4,000 rpm when running calm, cool, and collected. Usually the peak of most power curves are about 1,000 rpm below redline. I haven't seen a posted power curve for the RX-8, so I just slam it at 8,000 if I'm getting it on. Seems to work just fine. Of course at that high rev, you can be just as accurate about when to shift by watching your gas gauge.

 

wow, thanks for the replies people. I appreciate it. Although i was wondering, when you say don't stay in the same gear or drive at the same speed for "too long", what do you mean? How long is too long?

Thanks for the help.

 

Hi, I can't answer your question about how long. I can tell you with these babies it's not always easy to tell when to shift, it's not like a normal car when you can hear or feel the difference (time to shift) easily. I've found myself cruising on the freeway at 6000-7000+ rpms and not even noticed I hadn't shifted up. I don't really try to shift at any particular RPMs but as Zoomy mentioned your gas consumption will vary depending on how high your RPMs go before shifting. I think 3500-4500 is probably a decent range for most average conditions. After the break-in period if you decide to go for the 9000 "alarm", just to let you know it's very quiet and easy to miss if you have the windows open or stereo turned up. You should come to one of our meets or drives sometime, show off your new baby. Which color did you get???

 

I got the "velocity red". I know it is a cop magnet, and all that jazz, but i have always wanted a red car. I figured, since i am putting out the money to buy a sports car, i might as well get it a bit showy, and in the color i want.

I did learn something important though. Only buy new cars in the beginning of the new year. Just because i bought an '04 instead of an '05 (the changes were seriously negligible), in February of '05, i got $8500 off the MSRP!!! I got the GT package with the spoiler, and halfside skirts + 6CD changer: all the bell and whistles i was looking for, out the door at 27.5k. MSRP for the GT package without my additions was 34k. I liked the deal.

 

I don't know Gabaji, I had a neon green '75 VW Rabbit, a yellow
75 Honda Civic, a black '83 RX-7, a red '85 Dodge Colt Turbo, A burgandy '78 Saab EMS, two red '90 and '98 Jeep Cherokees, and now my '04 red RX-8 and the end result with tickets? All about the same.

I once took my annual driver training class for a speeding ticket. The instructor was a CHP officer. He said he'd heard the rumor about car colors, he asked, "Do I look like a bull?" He said "You people on the average break the law three times every five minutes, and you do it right in front of us!" Color does not play into it.

Talk to those that drive those plain silver ones. I'll bet they get just as many tickets. I now have 20K on my red RX-8 and no tickets. AND, I do not drive slow. I do have a radar detector and I do check on ramps as well as my rearview mirror. I travel with my sunroof pulled back if I need to check for planes. Bottom line, if you are watching when you are running, you'll probably be ok. If you are oblivious, you're next.

 

Oh, I was talking about during the break-in period. It's good to shift the gears and not stay at a constant speed in the same gear for too long during breka-in. As to how long is too long...umm...I guess it's just whatever you feel comfortable with. Whenever I was on the highway during my break-in period, I would fluctuate my speed anywhere from 55mph and 80 mph, shifting between 4th and 6th gear.

 

Sounds like you have a good plan. Now just keep an eye on your oil. You'll have a healthy rotary for years if you just watch the oil/filter.