Edmunds.com | Inside Line | Auto Observer Your Account | Help | Directory
You are here:
![[F]](http://a332.g.akamai.net/f/332/936/12h/www.edmunds.com/media/townhall/webxicons/site.gif){kind=small}
Forums
Coupes & Convertibles Mazda RX-8 Mazda RX-8 Road Trip Reports
13 messages, Last post on Nov 30, 2008 at 8:03 AM
You are in the Mazda RX-8 Forum. Your Host is claires
|
|
|---|---|
|
I have been absent from this board in recent months due to surgery this past winter. I'm fine now - and planning to take off all of July, get out of the Arizona desert heat & driving cross-country, visiting friends & family in the Midwest, and along the East Coast. My little red devil has only 1650 miles on it in 9 months but I sense it's raring to go - and so am I. I'm not much for blogging, I tend to use a computer daily but I will be leaving it at home. I'm not much for blogging but I'll do the best I can to report anything of interest when I return at the end of July. 89 days till I leave - but it's not like I'm counting or anything.....  )) Flip
|
|
|
Replying to: flipper897 (Apr 03, 2006 5:03 pm) I just took a little road trip myself. I bought my new 05 RX-8, 6speed last saturday. After putting 300 miles on the car i decided to take a little trip from New Jersey to Indiana. Mapquest shows it being an 11 hour trip but i did it in 9. Apparently the people on mapquest weren't driving on RX-8 when they came up with those times. LOL |
|
|
Been away from the boards for a bit. But this seems like the forum to post this in! I just completed, yet another "trans-USA" trip in my '04. 4005 miles in 17 days, door-to-door! Not as much as last years trip (5800 miles in 21 days!) but HWY X in SW Wisconsin, along the Mississippi, was a blast!! (at 20 mph over the suggested!!) I have a coworker who swears these cars can't do long trips like his 'vette or Lexus. Of course, he can't go 300 miles without stopping for the day! Enjoy the long road trips gals and guys - the "8" can do it!!
|
|
|
Replying to: cheezeboy (Aug 07, 2006 2:58 pm) I did a 2000 mile run from Boston the Ashville last Christmas. The timing was just before and just after the official holiday travel time so this fact coupled with the extra 911 related security details, had the HP through MA, CT, NY, PA, WV and NC at extremely low numbers. We averaged 84MPH. It was nice! I basically drove eight hours/day, and got out of the car feel better than when I got in. No road buzzing, no foggy brain, and no stress fatigue. I have a sensitive back, that in every other car I've owned for the last thirty years, would ache after a few hours driving. MY BACK LOVES MY RX-8! My favorite part of driving the RX-8 is the last few hours where I'm goaling for the end of the days travels, and there's that feeling of being in the zone as steering becomes laser tight and speed turns to slow motion at 95MPH. |
|
|
|
|
Replying to: cheezeboy (Aug 07, 2006 2:58 pm) I also own a Lexus ES, which obviously is very comfortable on long hauls, but I just had to take my little red rocket on its maiden voyage. You're right, the car is amazingly comfortable and quiet - 600 miles was a breeze, no fatigue at all. Trunk's surprisingly roomy too - hardly had to put anything in the back seat. I learned a lot about the Mazda on this trip - you need will power but if you can keep the speed down a bit (not easy!), I regularly averaged 23-24 mpg with the cruise set at 74 mph, and on a couple of tanks on slower 2-lane roads like the Blue Ridge Parkway, I was stunned to hit 26 mpg! I drove from Arizona to Rhode Island to Mississippi, got an oil change at a small dealership in Newport RI where the service manager had a lot of free time to talk. I was surprised that I never needed to add a quart of oil during the first 3000 miles. The dealer explained that the RX-8 will use very little oil during highway cruising and more during city driving. Always use Valvoline 5W-20 NON-synthetic oil or you'll need a new engine. (I was armed with 3 quarts in the trunk). As quick as the car is, I found that it's even more fun on winding 2-lane roads. The car seems to take on a life of its own and enjoyed the curves as much as I did! A few other observations...most states have very good roads now - the worst pavement I found was in Illinois & Pennsylvania. Worst drivers? I expected NY & New Jersey to be bad, and they were, but Connecticut takes the cake - they're borderline psychotic. Also, for people who are seeking out fun roads: the best are the Blue Ridge Parkway (VA & North Carolina), Natchez Trace Parkway (Tennessee, Alabama & Mississippi) and US Highway 160 in southern Missouri - a nice break from the boring Interstates. Only problem with US 160 was, I had to go through Branson - country gridlock! Oh well.... Homeward bound, I had just crossed the border from Missouri into Oklahoma on an empty 2-lane state road, I hadn't seen a speed-limit sign - and I was stopped for 68 in a 55 zone. I was honest & polite and got off with a warning - whew! One last thing - Mazda badly needs to advertise the RX-8 more! I lost count how many times I was asked what kind of car it was, and the praise for its looks was unaninimous. Made me feel like a kid again! I contacted Mazda headquarters when I got home & was told that the marketing department would be notified of my experience and comments. I'd hate to see the RX-8 go away although I was told Mazda has no plans to drop the car. Again, I'd love to see some commercials, management needs to let the public know what a terrific car the RX-8 is! |
|
|
Replying to: unknown (Aug 07, 2006 8:44 pm) |
|
|
Replying to: unknown (Aug 07, 2006 8:44 pm) The best thing we can do is take folks for a ride and let those twin triangles howl long and free on the twisty roads of the Blue Ridge. Then and only then will our passengers awaken to what they've never been allowed to experience in any other car but the most expensive exotics costing 10s of thousands more. On my last 2000 mile trip, I got sleepy so my wife took over driving my RX-8 AT. She had never really driven the RX-8 on the highway. I went to sleep for two hours. I woke up and my wife was amazingly charged up from doing 90MPH to get around some jerk drivers. It was the fastest she'd ever driven in her life and she loved it and I slept through the whole event. One other thing, my 8 year old son tells me regularly, "Dad you have a cool car." Kids are really the best judge of what's cool.
|
|
|
Replying to: trispec (Jan 07, 2007 8:14 am) Be safe, Nergal
|
|
|
Replying to: nergal_lv (Jan 07, 2007 8:56 am) 
|
|
|
Pathstar1, question for you... how can I add an aux input for my radio (06 Shinka) to listen to an external MP3 player as a source. Thanks, Nergal
|
|
You are here:
Forums
Coupes & Convertibles Mazda RX-8 Mazda RX-8 Road Trip Reports
New? Join Now!
Forum Tools
Search Forums
Browse by Vehicle
2010 Mazda RX-8
Browse by Board
Browse by Topic
Today's Chats
