don't look a gift horse in the mouth. Not every sports car can heat up soup on the way to work.

 

I beleive it's in the manual, but Mazda suggests this:

1st -> 2nd at 12mph
2nd -> 3rd at 25mph
3rd -> 4th at 42mph

But i prefer to drive it like I stole it. Shift when you want.

 

break in the engine first .

 

ONE BAD THING ABOUT THE MANUAL. I always drive 100 MPH or more every day with my auto and I get up to 95 MPH very fast. If I had the faster manual, I'd be doing 120 MPH ... and my wife would be festering and telling me to slow down, or the cops would. Anyway, those manual owners driving at a 70-85 MPH to save on gas and stretch MPG ... I don't envy you :D I bought the cheaper automatic tranny and could afford to rev up to 7500 RPM every gear shift and pedal to the metal

 

With the manual, you have to physially and mentally change gears. You're a lot more aware of what you're doing and how fast you're going.

I can rev to 7500 rpm every gear shift too

 

The Italian Stallion too...

 

Vertigo, just curious, do you know how to drive stick? I'm not flaming you. A lot of my friends who drive automatic were asking me why I got a manual and isn't that a lot of trouble. Speaking as someone who just learned manual, I think it seems hard to people who haven't done it, but it was easy to learn and it actually makes driving a lot more fun (for me at least).

 

Yes, I learned manual the hard way financially. I owned a manual Mazda3 for two weeks before I had to trade it right back in for my current RX-8. Manual is just not for me. I was a total nervous wreck everytime I took the car out, and my driving attention went from being alert to everything on the road to being alert about the car and not the road. The fact that every driving session left me literally limping from the car was icing on the cake. A lot of people say manual is more fun, but driving that 3 just became an annoying chore for me.

So, no manuals for me...I'd probably be a danger to society if I drove one everyday.

 

I think we all feel that way to various degrees when learning how to drive a manual. Sorry to hear you gave up so quickly... I really think you would change your tune after a few months, but if it isn't worthwhile for you, then it isn't worthwhile.

I had driven a manual before my RX-8 - it was a honda civic. So I knew a little something about driving stick. After a month of owning my RX-8, I was wondering if I should have gotten a manual car. Driving it didn't feel natural, I had to put a lot of effort into driving - making sure I didn't sit on the clutch, didn't keep my hand on the shifter, not reving too much while the clutch was activated, and had to get "ready" to shift at stop lights. It was starting to feel like a hassle. But like anything else, practice makes perfect, and I can drive the car without thinking about it.

 

Automatics shifted hard continually do not usually last very long. Manuals are much more durable.

 

Blessed is the man who knows what he wants in life. And even more blessed is the driver who knows when he's a danger to society.

 

Maybe not the tranny but the engine would still be fine.

 

Quite right. Since automatics shift much softer than manuals the entire driveline is a lot less stressed.

 

I'm an AT owner. I don't drive a stick very well. Never learned early on in life and had to later on when my wife inherited a Thunderbird with a stick. I could drive it, but I was nervous like others in here mention. I think a lot depends on where you live. I grew up in a small town with very low traffic flow. I feel it would be easier to learn to drive a MT well there because if you do stall, you have more time for correction without getting hit. I live in a large city now with cell phone talking, road raged maniacs (hell, I'm one of them, gotta be to stay alive here.) I was always nervous trying to drive here car here. So of course, I have always purchased AT's and enjoyed them. I know I lose HP in the 8, but as other AT's here, I enjoy it just as much as you MT's out there because I really don't know what I'm missing, don't spoil it for me.

Funny MT story about me though was 2 years ago my wife paid for me to go to the local NASCAR track and drive the Busch series cars. She did this because when I mess up in video game racers, I always said I could do better in the real thing. Well, she wanted to prove me wrong I guess. Anyway, my main fear was stalling out this car getting it into 1st. I thought, oh this will be embarrassing in front of 100 people. Anyway, I got it into first fine and had a good time.

Any way, the rotary addiction has gotten into me and I have been thinking about finding an older rx7 with MT to play with and learn in. If that works out fine, I might just have to trade up for a MT in a year.

 

I think there is a misconception that the manual costs more than the auto. The auto costs more, but due to the auto having the low power motor, the manual ended up with the higher msrp.

Usually the automatic will run 700-1400 more than manual.

 

Been driving a manual for almost 25years and I remember my biggest fear when I started driving was rolling back on a hill when starting. Thought I would either stall it and never get moving or roll back into the car behind me. Learned pretty quickly that you really don't roll back that far (6 inches?) if you can learn to relax and apply a little more gas than normal and let the clutch out a little more quickly until it engages.

I was also wondering if anyone uses the emergency brake when starting on a hill? My dad taught me this trick - When stopped on an incline, shift into neutral and set the emergency brake. When it's time to go, shift to first with the clutch in. Give it some throttle and slowly let the clutch out. As you feel the clutch start to catch, immediately release the emergency brake and then continue to let the clutch out and add more throttle. Off you go up the hill with ZERO roll back. Never had any clutch problems so I don't think any damage was being done.


I haven't tried this technique in years because I feel comfortable starting on an incline these days.

Just wondering if anyone else ever tried this - sorry for the long post.

 

Wow...2 weeks? You're practically an expert on the subject then.

 

In the 26 years that I've had my license, and 14 cars, 9 of the 14 were manuals. I do occasionally stall - you don't hit the right gear (did it yesterday when I stuck it in 3rd rather then first accidentally), your foot slips off the clutch, etc. But I've never had it happen in a critical situaiton.

I find with my manual that I'm an overall much more INVOLVED driver when I'm driving a manual. It keeps me from multitasking in the driver's seat, at least when I'm in situations where I need to be shifting, and my brain is just far more engaged in driving than it is when I drive my wife's minivan with the automatic. Engaged drivers are safer drivers.

I've had three accidents in my life (collisions with other cars). Two were my fault. Both occurred when I was driving an automatic - one a rear ender, and one a side-swipe lane change. Both I was not fully engaged in driving.

I've never had a collision with another car while driving a manual. Trend? I think so.

Stew

 

That's an interesting point of view, Stew. I'd love to see the stats on percentage of vehicles that have auto/man trans compared to percentage of vehicles involved in accidents and what their trans is.

 

Oh hell yeah, I learned the same technique as a teenager. When the light is getting ready to go green, I pop the button on the e-brake and keep pulling up just enough to keep from rolling. It's easy once you practice it. I use it regularly due to the hilly terrain in this area, and the propensity to put traffic lights at the tops of hills! As far as the impact on the clutch... my Toyota Celica has 180,000 miles on it with the original clutch still going strong.

 

Preference in transmissions depends on the person driving. Some are just naturally nervous when driving and would probably be too preoccupied to shift, etc. I think that's basically the biggest obsticle for people driving a standard transmission, fear. Once you're over that, which may take some weeks depending on the individual, it'll be fine. I was really nervous about stalling when I first learned too, but once I got my own manual, I basically had to drive it home myself on the freeway, so I had to force myself to learn. It went well without stalling once. And then of course have to drive it through bumper to bumper traffic in LA, that forced me to learn real fast. I guess it's like teaching people who can swim by throwing them in the water, when push comes to shove, people will learn to survive.

Multitasking isn't much of a problem either, you have two hands, 2 legs, hand one item, need on wheel, rev match and clutchless shifts! But of course I don't do that. :D :p

 

Yeah, man... for manual drivers visiting LA, know this: Sunset + La Cienega = MAJOR PROBLEM! In Hollywood, several N-S streets, the main one being La Ceinega, that approach Sunset Blvd (an E-W street) have ridiculously steep slopes, perhaps in excess of 30 degrees and you're virtually guaranteed to have to stop at the very top of the hill, but still on the incline. Even using the parking brake, you're gonna be smelling your clutch for the next 10 mins. As far as I know, there's no way to handle it other than slipping the clutch...

 

Everything you say is so true in my opinion. I experienced everything you said (minus the being hit by a huge tacoma... change that to having 20 irate people honking at you for stalling at a light). I was a total wreck for the first few weeks too but the one thing is... you stick with it and it becomes not so bad.

Maybe I just suck but I've been driving stick for a few months now and I'm far from mastering it. I still burn the clutch a bit starting from a stop at times (only slightly). I've stalled like five times in the past two months (only twice in the past two months were on a major street though). My shifts range from awesome (can't tell I shifted) to ugly (big ol' jerk). Even with all that crap I'm actually pretty confident with driving stick and am totally glad I decided to go the manual route.

I think if you would've given yourself another month or two with the mazda 3, you would've been fine. But it sounds to me like the shifting experience wasn't all that fun for you and you much prefer the convenience aspect. Getting good at manual eliminates a lot of the inconvenience, but it can't get rid of all of it (Ie making it super hard to use cell phones since you need to steer, shift, and handle your phone at the same time).

 

LOL! I was thinking of Sunset/ La Cienga while reading this discussion! I lived in the Fairfax area twenty years ago and I've stopped there many a time. On most inclines I'd just let my MT RX-7 drift back while engaging the clutch, but a vehicle would always stop 3 feet behind me at Sunset/La Cienga and I'd resort to the parking brake technique - you have to engage the clutch before letting the parking brake go to prevent any backsliding. I learned to drive manual in San Francisco - a challenging and great place to learn handling inclines.

My opinion on MT/AT: (I bought an automatic RX-8 and drove a manual RX-7 for ten years.) If you are young and have no handicaps, you should be driving an MT - no excuses. If you are older (50+) and live in a rural area, drive an MT. If you are older and live in a congested major city, it's alright to drive an AT. If you are handicapped or have knee/leg/foot/wrist problems, driving an AT makes a lot of sense.

Another disadvantage of an MT not mentioned: If you break a leg or foot you can't drive an MT while in a cast. I always feared that when I had my MT RX7 and I couldn't drive when I sprained my foot. Also if you are driving alone in a remote area and injure your hand/leg/foot from an accident or assault, you might not be able to drive.

 

Does anybody have a friend with a Auto RX8 and one with a manual 6MT, not that I am promoting street racing, but what is the real worl comparison betwwen the two.

Has anybody been on a drive with two RX8's one manual and one Auto?? I would be curious. My friends woman has the Auto, but we have not been out for a drive with our 8's.