I know how to drive manual, and have the concept down etc, and I've started and taken off, just havent driven long distances with a manual yet. Im about to buy an rx8 and get rid of my Auto S4, and as I hear theres no point in geting an auto Rx-8, which I don't want to do anyways. I hear from alot of people that this car is actually very friendly with newbies? Clutch is found very easy too? Thanks guys.

 

The AT 8 is just not as fun as the MT. You'll like the clutch, it's very forgiving. When I bought my 8, I didnt' drive stick for about 5 years. But I got into it and drove it like I had still been driving MT. I drive my 8 in and around San Francisco and I don't mind it at all.

 

i know of at least 2 people personally that bought the car and learned off of it.....

 

Do you know anyone who has a beater with a manual you can learn on?

 

Reporting in...


I learned off of it...took me less than 1 day. I work as valet and the 8s clutch really isnt bad compared to many others...i dont like it as much as the civic, audis or BMWs...but its better that a lot IMO

 

Yeah I do. Thats how I learned to take off. Farthest I got was 3rd gear. Pretty sure its the same through all of them

 

Clutch is very light so heavy traffic is not a real issue. Just make sure you aren't shy with the gas pedal. This car is no torque monster and I'm guessing it could be easy to kill on takeoff. I have never owned an automatic so all I know are manuals.

 

The toughest part about learning a MT for the first time is emergency situations or accident avoidance. There are a few extra things to think about, and your body's not trained for it yet. Just take it easy for a little while. The 8's clutch is a lightweight, try a Camaro's .

And those who say the AT is no fun either haven't driven one, or haven't driven one in the right situation. It's not nearly as fast, but it's all grins on a curvy mountain road. But I digress...

You sound like you'd really like to get the MT, so go for it. Spend a few days driving around a residential area or something similar, and you'll be fine. You'll stall it some, you'll burn the clutch up a bit, but in the end you get what you really wanted.

 

I have always driven a stick, but came from a automatic "non sporty" Chevy HHR, I love my stick, I have to say its very picky on the take off and clunks when going into it from nuetral at times. But normally she is a smooth ride, and likes to stretch her legs..

 

I took a 500 mile trip just a few days ago, and drove around St Louis in heavy traffic as well as managed to get stuck on I-70 in stop and go traffic for 2 hours because of a chemical spill. It never once bothered me.

 

this is my first manual car. It was really easy on this car. Just practice finding the contact point.

 

The 8 is quite easy to use compared to most other cars. The powerband can make things a little more complicated, but not much.

Find a friend with an old Miata or MX-5 and pratice there. Transmissions don't get much better for the money than the Miata.

 

I think the clutch is very forgiving of most things other than the 7,000rpm clutch dumps the mag's did to get the 5.8sec 0-60 times. The 8's clutch I have heard, like the Mazda6 is not even really the weak link. Its the pressure plate.

Simply put, if you abuse the clutch ala drag racing style launches, its going to ahve a short life. Other than that, it can take some abuse from spirited driving without issue. Racing Beat really likes the stock clutch. If you want a slight upgrade, the Excedy Stage 1 will give you the same engagement with a slightly stiffer pressure plate.

 

Very easy to drive, and a lot of fun too, surprise?

 

my .... well exgf learned how to shift the first time on my 8 ..... the clutch is really easy and smooth

 

My 8 was the first M/T I've owned. It took me two drives to get used to the clutch; it's quite friendly, really. Heavy stop-and-go or hilly traffic doesn't bother me.

What took much longer to master was the jumpy throttle, and learning to accel/decel smoothly at low revs when in gear.

 

One of the best clucht and transmission combos being made. Its as well made as Honda's S2000 and on par with its sibling the famous MX5.

This combo is lighter and easier to shift then almost any of the Sport coupes out there.

I'd rate it simplely as EXCELLENT!!!

 

Actually the clutch in the RX-8 has an extremely long throw, much longer than most cars. This should make it easier on a person learning to drive a manual transmission car. Everytime I drive my GF's 2000 MX-5 I find my clutch foot hitting the floor with the clutch pedal much sooner (or quicker) than in the RX-8.

 

I learned to drive a MT on my 8. it was new too, which made me feel a little bad. I learned to drive a stick in under five minutes though. its not too hard, really. get an 8!!!!

 

Depends. After you get a few more MT miles under your belt, you'll start developing a "taste" or preferences. The 8's clutch IS pretty user friendly. That is, the travel is pretty short, the clutch engages smoothly and not too high, etc.

Personally, I prefer a stiff clutch, spring loaded feeling, with a long throw and with the friction point pretty high up. That's just me. A lot of my buddies think me strange for this, but it is how I like my clutches. I like to stomp on it and have the clutch try to push my foot up as I disengage the clutch. It's pretty fun for launching, etc.

All-in-all, the 8's clutch is NOT problematic, it is pretty good to learn on and very forgiving.


BTW, driving MT long distances is MUCH EASIER than driving it short distances. Keep it in 5-6th and drive like an AT for long drives. For short drives, you'll be down shifing, up shifting, etc....


Don't worry, you'll get the hang of it if you really want to. Practice is all it takes.

 

chiming in

I also learned on my brand new 8. I haven't driven too many other manual cars (especially not sporty ones) so I can't give you a comparisson, but I think we have a pretty narrow catch point. You say you have the "concept" down pretty well. Honestly, the thing that helped me most was going to howstuffworks.com and learn the mechanics behind what I was doing with my feet and hands. Once I understood what was moving where and why, I was able to more easily manipulate the car to make it do what I wanted.

Redline shifts took me a while to get used to (still getting used to?)

Also, I think the 1-2 shift is a little weird in that I wait a second before enganging second gear, otherwise the RPMs are too high if I do it too fast.

 

I think RX-8 clutch is very easy to learn on and forgiving like others said. This too is my first manual car, and i learned on other cars.........but getting into the RX8........and driving off in it, isn't that hard providing you keep the revs 2-3K.

 

I thought since this was a higher reving car, you should be shifting above normal piston cars..like around 4.5..5? Or am I totally missing something?

 

i think he meant bringing it up to 2k and slowly releasing it rather than dumping it higher to engage it

 

Oh yeah meaning in first gear taking off..I mean in regular shifting on the streets, should the rev's be up higher then normal piston cars? Or does it not matter?