HI,
Noob here trying to get some help. This is my story;

I recently got into a really bad car accident and totaled my 05 Scion tC. My insurance company gave me a settlement and I'm just waiting for my check to come in. I have my mind set on purchasing an 07 GT RX-8. Color is still up in the air. The big question I had was is it worth buying a M/T if not used to driving one. I mean in the long run I would rather have a M/T when it comes down to it, but all I'm used to driving is AT......Can use the input.

 

Yes. I learned to drive stick with this car.
Manual is much more fun

 

Get the MT.

And make it Black

BB ftw!

 

Get the MT. You will get used to driving it once you have to do it iorder to get anywhere, and eventually it will require the same amount of thought that it takes to drive and AT.

 

Was it hard to learn?
How is your clutch doing?
What kind of driving conditions did you learn in?

Sorry for all the questions.

 

Definitely go for the stick. It feels much more natural in this car. I learned to drive stick in a Toyota pickup off road. Very easy to get the hang of.

 

I took one lesson and ive driven my friends' cars before (out of necessity when they had too much to drink).
But it's not hard to learn if you know the mechanics behind it. After maybe a week or two, it becomes second nature and muscle memory takes over.

I've burnt my clutch when I first started. Also did a few peel outs...but my car is still ok.

Best to learn in flat roads first. Uphills will take getting used to. of course, dry weather would be ideal.

 

Manual FTW

 

I learned to drive MT back when I was 16... from what I can remember, my dad had me drive in an empty parking lot making me drive stop and go for about 30 mins and did the same then on an uphill street. that made a somewhat instant pro over night =)

 

Great info Please keep them coming. I have some freetime at work today...

So whats with the Brilliant Blacks being cursed???
Thats not good.

My tC didn't like me. It was a love hate relationship...Don't want another one.

 

he's messing with you. actually, it's the silvers that are said to be cursed on here. that's if you believe in anything like that. if there are more accidents with silvers it's because it's the most common color out there. of course it won't stop me from bringing up the silver curse when something happens to a silver.

 

He's right!

There's just something about those silver cars that makes them run better, they definitely attract a lot of "attention".

Sidenote: IF you do get an AT, make sure it's a 2004 model. Most reliable year yet.

 

auto = caca

 

You really do want the stick if you want to experience what the car does best.

I learned on an old VW Squareback. It wasn't hard except for the fact that I was literally learning how to drive and my nervous mother had a habit of putting on the hand brake "so I wouldn't roll" when we came to a stop sign. She would not tell me, forget she did it, and then start screaming when the car stalled. Good times.

I taught my daughter to drive a stick inside an hour on some side streets that weren't heavily travelled. If you're not the ultra-nervous type you'll pick it up quickly. In my experience the only people who have a hard time with it at first are those who work themselves up into a frenzy over the possibility of stalling it in traffic. Or who have a crazy parent sitting next to them.

There's no need to worry about the clutch imo.

 

Great input so far.

I would like to hear from AT owners as well.

All input is wanted.

 

Why? If they knew what they were doing, they'd have bought MTs in the first place.

I learned to drive on an AT, just the family Chevy. Then I got maybe 10 minutes worth of MT training in my brother's 16 or 17 year old Ford...with a slipping clutch, which makes it seem easier than it really is. Then I bought an Alfa. Another 15 minutes of coaching from my brother, and I was on my own. This was in Ithaca, NY, so sticking to flat ground was not exactly an option. After a couple of days I was fine. Probably used the handbrake as a crutch on hills for the first few weeks.

Learned to double clutch and rev match by reading Piero Taruffi's book "The Technique of Motor Racing."

Go for the MT.

Ken

 

I've had my 8 for 4 days now. I got the manual transmission even though I've never owned a stick shift before. I absolutely love it. I'm still stalling it in first occasionally, but It's absolutely the right way to enjoy this car, it makes you feel connected to the car in ways an automatic just can't.

I wouldn't worry about burning the clutch up, as long as you have a bit of sense. Always depress the clutch fully before shifting into or out of gear, and while its necessary to release it slowly, and even feather it in and out a bit, if you start smelling a funky smell, you're going to slow and smoking the clutch. I've done this maybe twice so far.

Manual transmission is one of those skills i believe that everyone should have.

 

Friday morning...

Any more useful input?

I'm getting great info from everyone please keep it coming.

 

You should be spending your time checking inventory of MT's at local dealers, and carefully considering the color. While waiting for your insurance check, go back several times to see the colors in different light.

Ken

 

Never owned an auto in my life, never will (unless I get old with arthritis or something).

 

I won't have much trouble finding the car I want. I live in palm springs and my Dad works for the mazda dealer, so I'm guaranteed a good price and if I want to get mazda parts later I can just go through him. I'll have a new thread going up soon... I'll have extra money after my check and I'll need some ideas what to spend it on.

 

If you're doing anything bad to the clutch or drivetrain, you'll know it - It's pretty tough to really pound on a car and not know you're doing so. Basically, don't ride the clutch, don't dump the clutch, and get used to placing your left foot on the dead pedal.

Oh, and as far as learning - teach yourself to launch in a parking lot by not using any throttle. It's not practical to do a throttle-less launch on the street since it takes a while, but it's a fantastic way to learn.

 

Yes get the Manual, this was my first car, and i learned to drive stick on it. it's much more rewarding than the AT.

 

Get a AT if you have doubts.. I did and hey, I sure am happy! Plus, I can always switch to Manual and shift there.. It's the best of 2 worlds! The AT also has more torque so you might feel a little more powa with the 8 auto. I'm satisfied and it's almost been a year.. Although, I've had those nights in bed thinking about.. "Should I have gone with a MT 8?" And I cry myself to sleep..

btw, here's the thread I made last year about AT & MT 8.
https://www.rx8club.com/rx-8-discussion-3/auto-manual-best-rx-8-fit-101795/

 

FYI that's not manual...and they have the same torque