i think this is the first MT vs. AT thread where i didn't want to pull my hair out b/c of all the back and forth bantor. i also agree with krankor - whether you do it now or later, you should add this to your skillset. once you have it under your belt you can then decide whether or not you want a MT car.

my learning on a MT was a quick 2 hours b/c of circumstances. my first car was AT and didn't work and my father told me you need to learn by tomorrow morning on my RX7 (such a rough life). my difficulty, aside from the incline learning, was downshifting and releasing the clutch too quickly. by the end of the evening i had mastered it and haven't looked back for 12 years.

see if a friend would let you ride around in their MT. if they have an old RX7 or celica, it'll make life a little easier as the clutch release point is similar. i only mention the celica b/c that was another i had and found the transition very easy. i have also tried subis and found theirs to be a much higher release point but that was a few years back so things may have changed. even if you can't find one with a similar release point, try it out. the only difference is that you may end up stalling a couple times once you get into the 8 b/c you're used to releasing later.

i have seen a few burnt clutches out there but that was b/c the person learning was just plain stubborn and didn't seem to want to learn. luckily they were learning on their beater civic but if you're willing to learn and listen to the car, you'll be fine and may just have a couple hiccups. it's all part of the learning process and your clutch should be fine.

go out and learn that way you can make the decision rather than having the decision made for you.

 

I can drive an MT(raced also) but likes the AT now. Maybe its an age thang or something.....nay just getting lazy

 

I agree with NGO. once you get it down i think you will be happy that you went with MT. As far as AT 8 i would not know i have never owned a auto before, and also i only driven a auto like 5 times. and that was back in japan. one of my friends owned a mini type car jsut for going to work in. But yah dont be affraid i know you can pick up on learning how to drive a MT fast. Once you get the basics down you wil be smooth sailing.

 

Yesterday I drove to work in an automatic car.

this morning I drove to work in my RX-8. It's a 6 speed. There was traffic all the way to the office, yet I had fun the entire way. Some people complain about traffic and a manual, but to me, the manual gives you something to play with even when there's nothing else to do. It's fun.


Far as learning on the 8, as long as you're pressing the clutch all the way in when shifting, you'll be fine. You'll likely be pretty bad when moving from a dead stop, but after a month you should be a pro.

 

lol yep me too. i dont know how traffice in manual is bad. i guess because japan is so crowded you get use to driving mt in traffic. But i must say breaking down in traffic sucks axx. especially if your 3 lanes away from the sidewalk . it sucked because it was the 2nd week owning my 92 rx7 and i wasnt getting enough cooling for the turbo that i could no longer drive it with out tearing up car.

Lucky i had ppl to help me push, but push car over 3 lanes in traffic was a bitch. ppl honking making my face turn read lol and i was shaking. guess at the age of 17 you tend to get ambarrased pretty easy it seems. and also i didnt want police to come, because i would get ticket for having after market mods, and i would have to strip back to stock and get it reinspected so i was scared also.

 

get a manual. much more worth it for the rpms, and trust me, speed dosn't matter untile you buy the car.

as the great somebody said:
"Learning dosn't burn your clutch. Racing does."

when your learning, the only thing that could possibly break on a new or fairly new car is.... well..... are you planning to hit anything? alright, nothing should hurt it.

 

As many others have posted, my rx8 was my first MT as well. self-taught (best thing ever is to go to howstuffworks.com and understand the mechanics involved with shifting and what you are actually doing to the car).

The short throw shifter does make it nice to learn on, however, i found the narrow clutch point somewhat challenging to get smooth with. I had friends who have driven MTs often comment on it, and they had trouble adjusting. However, I think about it as (and a couple people have commented) that if you learn an rx8 MT, you can probably drive most things on the road pretty well (i.e. when I drive other MTs its extremely easy, even if you are "rowing" the gears).

I haven't driven the AT, but....

I used to hate driving. Now, with my MT RX-8 I actually drive FOR FUN, even when its not necessary. Dont know if i can attribute that to the MT or just the car in general, but I definitely think the MT helps.

if you are thinking about your car enough to post on the forums (and taking 5 months to decide) I think you would be the kind of person that would like an MT

 

GET MT! the rx8 is my first and i learned how to drive manual the first day i test drove it... not any more then what 6 min and i picked it right up! maybe thats just me but MT also keeps you awake on those long trips. :D

 

if you're afraid, why even bother with a brand new car ?

get a beat up civic instead.

Just get MT, a few hours of driving/stalling will get you going.

 

I have 04 with the shifting paddels and when I use manumatic I usually use the shifter but when i was recently racing a 3000gt through a windy county road doing 80mph the paddels help a lot!!