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Comments
Your expericnces are exactly what I've noticed from the U.K. RX8 enthusiast WEB site. There's quite a bit of "discussion" about demand being so high and U.K. dealers not being able to deliver in a timely manner.
You're welcome here any time!
The waiting list seems to be a supply / demand thing. Because the Brits and the Irish drive on the right, unlike the rest of Europe, I don't think Mazda ship over so many cars for us.
It would be easier if we could just have the Japanese spec cars - after all they drive on the "proper" side too - but we have much tighter emissions laws.
Some impressions and questions to those who own them:
I drove the 6 speed which I liked very much but was wondering how the character of the car differs with the auto and how are the paddles to use?
I am only 5'9" but most of my "height" is from my waist up (shorter legs in other words). I didn't really have the time to play around with seat adjustments but I found the lack of headroom with the moonroof to be a little disconcerting. Can one adjust the seat to make more head room and a comfortable driving position?
I loved the seats and the interior is fantastic. Very striking.
I found the lack of an analog speedometer a bit uncomfortable.
What is the experience of those of you who have put people in the back. It seems to me to be OK in a pinch but for more than 20 minutes might be a bit uncomfortable.
How does it do in the snow? I currently put winter tire set up from Tire Rack on my 3 series and it's fine. Could I do that with the RX 8? Wondering if the tires would fit in back to switch
out?
Does anyone know the approx. max speeds per gear? I was wondering since I do a lot of city type driving how often I would have to be shifting when in NYC for example.
Thanks to all and congrats to those who own a car that to me seems really special.
I don't know how the 6-speed compares to the auto, but I'm sure cheezeboy will chime in. He's the resident auto RX8 guru. I've never driven the auto version but can say the 6-speed has one of the slickest shifters in the industry.
I'm 6' and find the seats and interior to be just about perfect for ergonomics (except fo the remote trunk opener). It's comfortable and it only took me about 2 days to get the seat position perfect for me.
The digital speedo wasn't something I was too sure of at first. Now, I prefer it over the analogue type. I can read it quickly with just a glance as opposed to reading "hash marks" on the analogue type.
I use the back seat in mine all the time. Back seat passengers find it comfortable and like having the console in the back. They do complain about the windows not rolling down (but flipping out) and feel a bit claustrophobic, but that doesn't bother me much given the fact I don't ride back there.
With good snow tires, you shouldn't have any problems in the winter from what I've read. Snow tiers are a must for those who drive in snowy/icy conditions.
I'll have to wind it out and see where I'm at in each gear. I do know that it's rare that I can hit redline in the first 3 gears because you are really flying at that point.
Since I don't have snow tires, I've had to park my RX8 for the last couple of weeks. The weather broke this weekend and I've been "ZOOMING" all over town in my RX8. It never ceases to amze me the looks this car gets and how it performs. Just a stellar drive each time I get into it.
I actually read a study once that results showed driving on the left (wrong) side of the road was more dangerous than driving on the right (correct) side. I am not sure what the parameters of the test were though.
I am sure it must have been correct in it's conclusion! ;D
Anguilla
Antigua & Barbuda
Australia
Bahamas
Bangladesh
Barbados
Bermuda
Bhutan
Botswana
British Virgin Islands
Brunei
US Virgin Islands
Cayman Islands
Cyprus
Dominica
Falkland Islands
Fiji
Gambia
Grenada
Guyana
Hong Kong
India
Indonesia
Ireland
Jamaica
Japan
Kenya
Lesotho
Macau
Malawi
Malaysia
Malta
Mauritius
Montserrat
Mozambique
Namibia
Nepal
New Zealand
Pakistan
Papua New Guinea
Seychelles
Singapore
Solomon Islands
South Africa
Sri Lanka
St Kitts & Nevis
St. Helena
St. Lucia
Surinam
Swaziland
Tanzania
Thailand
Tonga
Trinidad and Tobago
Uganda
United Kingdom
Zambia
Zimbabwe
St. Vincent & Grenadines
How long is the list of countries who drive on the other side?
revdrluv- Good reply revdrluv, but I'm sort of biased.
Seriously, though, by population, it's about 2/3 of the world driving on the right and 1/3 driving on the left.
I found this with Google:
http://www.travel-library.com/general/driving/drive_which_side.ht- ml#population
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S
I've gone for high power because the rev limit is 9000 rpm, but only 7500 in the low power. When I was test driving the RX8, almost all the fun seemed to happen above 7000, so getting an engine that couldn't rev high and fast didn't seem right somehow.
I'm not worried about missing out on the auto though. I drove an automatic once years ago and hated it - no feedback and no sense of involvement with the car. Felt like driving a sponge.
if I was MNAO marketing chief I would also skip out on offering an auto RX-8 and just offer the low-power 5 speed as the 'value leader' alternative (starting at around or even below 25k??) alongside the 6 speed hi-power version :-)
What limits the power in the auto is the torque converter. They can't rev. higher than about 7500 and stay together. As stated above, that is just after where the fun begins. So Mazda left out the extra intake ports that come on above 6K as they wouldn't help, and retuned the remaining ports for lower RPM torque at the expense of high RPM power (which wouldn't be missed with the auto as it can't be operated up there).
If they used a BMW type 5 or 6 speed auto (torque converterless, as I understand it), the same engine tuning could have been used as the 6 speed manual, but as I stated above, it probably wouldn't have met the cost targets.
Some lessons learned with the 3rd gen RX-7 - expensive Japaneze cars are hard to sell unless you develop a luxury car name.
Not 100 meters ahead of my bright yellow Mazda RX-8 the large truck's tire exploded and pieces of rubber flew back into the following heavy traffic. There was little room to maneuver and hitting the brakes would have done nothing but potentially cause a pile-up. Normally, I would grit my teeth, hope for a glancing blow and prepare for higher insurance rates.
But that's not what happened.
The RX-8's direct steering response enabled me to avoid the flying debris and the other cars while staying within my lane. It felt like being in a computer racing game, as all around me there was chaos. A large SUV tipped over and less nimble cars were pulling over to check for damage to their cars.
The Mazda RX-8 proved it could handle in the real world. Very nice.
My softy Camry would've been one of the cars having to check for damage (and it surely would've been, it doesn't have much ground clearance for all it's a midsize sedan).
http://www.thecarplace.com/famrx8.htm
http://www.thecarplace.com/agrx8.htm
Enjoy! This 19 year-old college guy who really wishes he could somehow have an RX-8 (6-speed, of course) sure does.
NOTE - although TheCarPlace.com guy made it through an exploded truck tire, let me warn all that a full roll of roofing tar paper is taller than the underside of an RX8. This morning, 2 cars ahead of me, a roofing truck hit a bump and a roll came off. I avoided hitting it with a tire, but it snagged a nice piece of my right front underbelly. Very upsetting. It ripped a screw out and now I have a nice piece of plastic hanging 3 to 4 inches down; the plastic is bent. And you know what the roofing truck did? You guessed - nothing! And it drove off. Oh well....off to the dealer for a replacement panel. There goes the cash I saved for the interior light package....or was it the aluminum switches....or the aluminum pedals....or was it exhaust finishers?...guess I will have to get them all! :-)
What does DSC and traction control do for me exactly? I live in Oregon, a lot of rain, but not much snow. Usually 1-2 days per year of snow.
Why should I pay for this feature?
THANKS!!
Funny becasue it didn't happen to me, but as I slowed down to the 65 MPH speed limit and moved over to the right hand lane, the guys trying to catch up to me kept in the left hand lane, blowing by me and down the highway. My Valentine 1 wasn't "falsing". About a mile past where I hit 3rd gear were two Patrolman. They nabbed the Celica and the Civic. The only reason the Mitsu got away was because there weren't enough patrolmen to go get him.
They had to be doing 80+ MPH...15 MPH over the speed limit around here nets you a court date...not just a fine.
car3...Mazda exceeded the '03 RX8 sales goal. I haven't seen any numbers yet for this year, but with advertising kicking in, all the accolades the RX8 has received from the world wide press, they shouldn't have much problem exceeding the 30,000 unit sales goal for '04.
1) on the center display, I saw a ghosted image of a fan and some 'level bars'. What option did I not get that would've lit those up when I turn on the fan? I also notice a ghosted image of the AUTO ac control, which I know was not offered in the US, correct? are the two issues connected?
2) while my numb-from-cold hands were placed over the vents, I felt some cold air. As I waved by the CD slot, I noticed a slight cool breeze coming from the slot. I put my face up next to it, and sure enough, cool air comes out of it. So I have hot air coming out the vents and cool out the cd...of course, people passing by my car thought I was kissing the CD player, but, well, whatever!!
Actually, it's pretty nice here in the OH Valley...about 60 and sunny. Tomorrow is supposed to be even nicer. I've got a feeling it's the calm before the storm, however. Spring is not as close as we think around here.
You would be correct....the fan bars and auto A/C monikers are both part of the automatic climate control which we, of course, don't get here in the New World.
The cool air coming from the CD slot must be the "CD cooler" option...in all seriousness, I've never noticed any air coming from my CD slot. I've never purposely put my hand there other than to insert a CD. I'll have to check it out.
On a different note, I went to the local autoshow last night. Saw the Ford GT. All I can say is "WOW". If only I would sell my house and was able to live in the car......
Others that were of note....they had the new 300C and the Dadge Magnum. The Dodge was a particularly impressive piece. Chrysler has a winner on its hands with the Dodge. The 300C is going to be a "love it/hate it" type of offering. Plenty of lines around the RX8. Even though it's been out for 7 months, the car still draws a crowd. Matter of fact, I noticed that the 350Z had a crowd, but it was mostly teens. The RX8 had a more "mature" audience. I still think I would prefer the Corvette C5 over the C6 for nothing more than the styling. Interior is somewhat better in the C6, but it's not a quantum leap, as others have reported.
I sat in a couple of Audis. I personally don't see the "hoopla" over the interiors. The RX8 interior gives up nothing to an Audi (particualrly the TT).
The Lincoln concept (new MARK?) drew quite a bit of interest.
The new MAserati Quatroporte was there. If I had the money, I found it the most stunning car at the show.
Even though Volvos never had much appeal to me, they have the best seats in the business.
Mercedes....yawn!
Everything else was pretty much "so what" (unless you're and SUV buyer).
PT Cruiser convert was getting a lot of attention, but it's still a PT with the top off (almost $30K in the turbo version).
I finaly got to see the Scion xB. I liked it a lot for a 2nd car. Lots of room with the back seats down. I don't think it's going to be the "big hit" with first time buyers like Toyota thinks it is. MOst of the people surrounding it were looking for a cheap grocery getter and were family types.
speaking of the car show, I like the new Mustangs looks, but the concept car I saw in Autoweek was way better....which brings me to the question: I saw the RX8 concept and the production car ended up being very, very close. Why do car companies keep making concept cars that never end up on the roads? If you can't build it, don't show it to us and get us all juiced about it and then unveil a Neon.....(no offense Neon owners)...we in the public know ya gotta add bumpers to a car and seat belts and gas tanks and etc....so design the concept with everything in the first place.
ok...sorry...I was venting there. :-)
The concept I saw at the Detroit International Auto Show in '03 was pretty much what we have today, even though there were some obvious "show car" parts on it. OF course, that was only 6 months before it was released here in North America.
did you have a CD in? Maybe the spinning of the CD is enough movement to cause that airflow.
yeah, this is a pretty silly topic, ain't it?
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S
It's easy to use once you understand the procedure.
In short....
--Wash your car with Dawn Blue (yes, the dishwashing liquid). You only do this once as it removes all the other wax and gunk that's on your finish
--Dry your car with 100% cotton towels (U.S. made as foreign makes use polyester threads, which scratch the finish) or some quality microfiber towels.
--put on a very, very thin coat of Zaino Z2/ZFX mix (thin is the operative word as it's not like ordinary wax where you have to "buff" it to get a good shine). Let dry (about 15-20 minutes if you put in on thin).
--wipe off with another 100% cotton towel or quality microfiber towel.
You're done!
There are other Zaino products that you can use to enhance your RX8. I've used all of them and they are all great products.
I recommend using Zaino Z7 car wash for any washes after the initial Dawn wash. I also recommend "claying" your car after you do the Dawn wash...that gets rid of any imbedded contaminants on your finish. Zaino Z6 Gloss Enhancer is a great way to keep the "newly waxed look to the finish.
Check out the instructions on the Zaino WEB site or in the Zaino thread in the "maintenance" thread here at Edmunds for more tips.
You'll neve want to use anything else.
maybe the Japanese model has an ice-maker there and they forgot to take it out on my car?.... :-)
gguy - whats good for getting some bird droppings off my roof? Said droppings have made it through 4 car washings so far! It's like hard plastic now and I am afraid to go at it and do something bad!
Would anyone here care to comment, on their experiences.
jgriff - The RX-8 may not get the best gas mileage, but most owners have reported that it's getting at least what Mazda reported which would be around the first example you mentioned (18/24). 11-15 seems closer to what a large SUV would be getting.
http://www.roadandtrack.com/article.asp?section_id=2&article_- id=1165&page_number=6&preview=
cheeze...if you've still got bird droppings on the finish after washing and it's hard, that's not good. The best thing to do is to "soak" the affected areas with water until it softens up enough to wipe it off with a good car wash (like Zaino Z7) and motton or microfiber towel. That may take a lot of water/Z7 given your description. Only then will you be able to tell what kind of "mark" the droppings made to the paint. Let us know once you do that and we can go from there to give possible remedies.
Carliker...from time to time I hear about Astroshield, but have never used it or seen it. If it works for you, then that's all that matters.
I saw that R&T article. You can always "tighten up" any suspension by stiffening up components. One of the reasons I bought the RX8 was its great handling with the "sport suspension" that it comes with. It offered me the ideal between handling and ride for everyday driving. If it was stiffened even more, I don't know if the trade-off would be worth it given how well the RX8 already does in the handling dept.
Same with the lighter flywheel...I think the RENESIS already hits the 9K RPM redline very quickly. I don't know that I would like hitting the rev limiter any quicker.
Truth be told, I don't know that I would want to do anything to my car from its current state. Depending on the next gen of the RX8, I'll probably just drive mine as is until a factory certified update or newer generation comes out...maybe in '07 or '08?
I think I could handle the MPG being a little lower during the winter months. Because it sure was a blast to drive.
Has it been without some hiccups? No, I can't say that. I got one of the first units that hit these shores. I had the chance to give mine back to Mazda because they had to restated horsepower. I "re-test drove" the 350Z and G35c to see if those were something I wanted to drive instead. I still chose the RX8 because I felt it was that good.
I had a CEL issue, which was resolved quickly by my dealer. I also had to take mine back for a new oil pan and oil pan sensors, too.
Aside from all of that, I have never driven a car that's so well balanced, so well put together with high quality materials. Then there is the blend of style, performance, ride, functionality and handling, that to me anyway, is second to none. I say this coming from some well regarded machinery from BMW as previous cars.
I haven't had any issues with my car since I took delivery in August (aside from those just mentioned which were rectified in my first month of ownership).
Not only would I buy another, I had the chance to return mine and didn't.
So, yes, I fully recommend an RX8 to anyone. Just make certain that you are aware this is not a piston car and understand its differences accordingly. It's not worse than its piston counterparts, just different.
igriff - I have an AT RX8 and love it. what gguy says is so true; at least for us....the other vehicals in this catagory just pale in comparison...however, you HAVE to go test them! That will be your deal maker or breaker.
and as to MPG, I just got home from a round trip; Boca Raton to the keys and back. I have 240 miles on the trip and still have gas in the tank!! However, like any car, you rev high you will burn more gas!!...but it sounds so sweet when you do!!...
The RX8 is indeed a great bang for the buck.
Motor Week's most recent show just picked the RX8 over the 350Z in another shoot out.
Igriff I had my 8 for 5 months now with 3500 miles on it. I do a MPG test on every fillup and I usually average 13 gallons at the pump. Here are my findings for MPG.
Driving on fillup A: keeping the tach at 3 to 5k RPM I get about 220 miles mixed.
Driving on fillup B: keeping the tach at 5 to 7k RPM I get about 270 miles mixed.
Driving on fillup C: keeping the tach in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd above 7k gets me 230 miles mixed.
Im a biggy on MPG and right now I am averaging 19 MPG in mixed driving. The MPG is not that Great, but the looks, ride, handling, and sound of the rotory is unbelievable. OH did I forget to mention that the sound of the rotory is awesome HEHEHE.
If you "cruise" in the power band, MPG is going to drop.
vtlc....let us know if you decide to Zaino. The first application can be a bit "tricky", but past that, it's real easy to use and the shine/durability is 2nd to none.
Are you saying that you get better mileage by keeping the tach above 5K RPM? That seems to be contrary to what would seem logical.
I have found that I can go about 230 miles after filling the tank before the low fuel light comes on in mixed driving. This comes to just about 18 MPG. I occasionally let the motor wind out and push the revs for fun but don't usually drive the car too hard.
Although MPG is not a big concern for me since gas is plentiful and cheap, I suspect Mazda's fuel economy ratings were a bit optimistic. 18 MPG is about as good as I seem to get. Even on a trip to FL from NC I only got about 21 MPG - although the car was loaded up pretty good with 4 people and a trunkful of stuff.
Is there a ECU reflash from Mazda that I can get that might help power and/or MPG? I saw some discussion of this last week that I would like to hear more about.