I test drove it yesterday afternoon in Fremont mazda CA, dealer was good, i told the dealer that i'm not going to buy it, but they still let me test drive it.
This car is GREAT!!! although it wasnt as fast as the Z, its handling is the best of all.....I decide to buy one after i graduate next summer.
But is it normal that the stick shift keep on vibrating during idle? my housemate who drives a FC said it is normal. I'm just curious because the RX-8 that i test drove it was brand new with only 38 miles on it..

 

Yes, it vibrates constantly. Every other stick I've driven has also vibrated, but not quite as much as the 8. You get used to it pretty quickly, however.

 

Not every stick vibrate during idle. Only RWD stick vibrate like that. MY 2000 Celica GTS 6spd does not vibrate like that. Since you can drop by Fremont Mazda, why not drop by Nissan next door of the same dealership? Test drive the 350Z stick and you should notice the same vibration.

 

I would also say that the BMW540 I traded in did not vibrate the shifter much. I noticed that when I test drove the G35, but since I bought the RX-8 without a test drive, I did not know what it would be like. The 8 has vibration, a lot compared to the RWD 540.

 

the difference is how much insulation there is between the gear selector and the shifter handle (don't think of the word in the traditional heat insulation way).

depending on how it's connected (cables, or direct action), and how dampened the mechanicals all are (the stiffness of the bushings) you're going to get more or less vibration, but that will also alter the feel of the shifter itself.

 

mine hardly moves at all in idle....?

 

the 540 has very good insulation for that, so u don't feel that much of vibration.

 

My 8 stick vibrates less than my '83 FB GSL. Also, I have kicked my bad habit of resting my hand on top of the shifter. So I don't notice it much anyway.

 

What I really like about the RX-8 shifter is the short throws. I switched with a friend (who still has a 540), and was amazed at how far the gears are from each other.

It would be hard to give up the short throws once you get used to them, even if it comes with some vibration...

 

Mine shifts gears all by itself! :D

 

The powerplant-frame unifies the powertrain front and rear and maybe it conducts more vibration to the shifter than might otherwise be noticed. Miata has a powerplant frame and the shifter vibrates. The ppf does beautiful things though.

 

I once thought my Miata had short throws. Going back to it now from the RX-8 they seem long in comparison. Some vibration in the stick is okay. Most do some,if you leave your hand on it in neutral you'll notice it a bit. My 8's is not annoying, but I don't usually touch it except to move it.

 

You have to realize that the shifter has no linkage, meaning you have direct feed into the tranny, only "front engined RWD" cars will have sticks that vibrate. Its all that torque you think the 8 is lacking :p

Therefore, your Celica GTS will not because it has linkage and is FWD etc.....

 

Talk about finish off a thread, well done PoLaK... this is of course completely correct... and just to put you off FWD cars even more, (If that were possible)...

I once was out with a friend in his (POS) Citroen BX and the linkage failed... on close inspection with a torch at the side of the road, it was made with fairly thin bits of metal and NYLON ball joints... I popped the failed ball joint back together, but it was pretty shot and came apart again almost instantly... After some lateral thinking, I tied a nice thick elastic band (the type used by the postal service, and hence found lying nearby) to hold the two parts of the ball joint together.

This worked remarkably well, so much so that after ordering a replacement balljoint... I don't think he ever did actually collect it from the dealership... selling the car some time later.