I was just wonder how much dose it cost to fill up your RX8? When I fill mine up with gas being high as it is it cost me at the highest $54, and I got about 260 miles out of a full tank. Is that about right? It seems like my car eats a lot of gas and honestly I hardley drive it far.. Just wondering...

 

Your analysis is right on the money. The one major draw back of the RX-8 is the gas mileage which is approximately 18-20 miles per gallon. At $3.55 per gallon for premium your cost is about right. Remember, the RX-8 is a sports car and not a commute car. The joy of driving it kinda off-sets the cost.

 

I know what you mean this sucks, was hoping that the gas mileage was better. I am not a engineer but there has to be something we can do to get better gas mileage. If anyone has an Idea let me know.

 

a sports car eats gas no real sports car is going to be goog on gas especially an rx8 wait until it reaches $4 dollars a gallon by the summer.

 

one of the reasons that the rotary engine is bad on gas is because it lacks the development that piston motors have had. piston engines have had millions upon millions of dollars spent on research and development to make them stronger, have more power, and be more efficient. rotaries have only been developed to a very short extent compared to piston motors which means that they are only slightly more efficient than rotaries years ago.

 

Just thinking out loud....Sunday I paid $4.059 a gal for Valero premium 91 octane. At a Chevron station a block away it was $4.099. At another Chevron I later passed a mile further away it was $4.029, it has gone up again since then all across town, but I won't tank up again for a few more days. It might be possible to get away with a half tank of 89 octane mixed with the 91, but only just once, I suppose. Octane booster costs about $4. a pint at my local auto store, maybe buying a tank of 87 or 89 octane and adding the booster to it would cut fuel costs. Naaaa what am I thinking lol. It's beginning to look like there may not be any 2500 mile long high speed desert trips this year. Just have to wait and see if the urge to go fast and far over rides the urge to save. Actually thinking about it, it might be only a difference of 50/100 dollars in fuel costs, not so much really. hmmmmm.

 

I'm going to go out on a limb here, and say that a major reason for bad fuel mileage is the application that the rotary is used for.

The engine is very efficient -- otherwise, we wouldn't be squeezing 3 horsepower per cubic inch out of these things. We're sticking it in a sports car -- not an economy car. If we wanted high mileage, probably this same motor could be detuned for economy applications to get 1.5 hp per cubic inch, and get much better mileage.