hey ivory8, just wondering...
how long did you practice w/ another manual car before picking up your 8?
im 15 1/2 too and i HOPE i can get an rx8 as my first. but i dont have/know anyone who has a MT car. but i know how the clutch,braking,etc works. after reading and youtubin it lol
people here on the forum told me the 8 really isnt a good first car. mostly because of how much power it has.
was it easy for you to get used to?
sorry for the questions

 

I considered myself lucky as hell to have my first car be a top model neon cause it was new. but I paid everything for it but the down payment. Now that I'm 18 with a steady job I bought my used Rx8 and honestly the best feeling in the world is to pay for and own a car all on your own.

 

briann, i'm 17 years old and my RX-8 is my first car, and i learned how to drive manual on this car. It is alot of power to handle. i've taken a few BMW driving schools and learned how to handle a car a little better. but i think you should be fine, just don't floor it around every corner.

 

i need to google driving lessons and all that x]
thanks topgear8
mustve read my other thread about AT and MT and all that stuff
im juss like trying to pick lol

 

i hear ya

 

Congrats. I learned to drive a stick on my eight. I figured the only way to learn to drive a stick was to to buy one. Have fun

 

Yay! another Velocity Red! Welcome to the club.

The 8 has a very narrow bite point for the clutch, and it's jerky because you are letting it out to fast. Find the bite point of the clutch by sitting in a parking lot in first, and then let the clutch out until the car starts to move a bit. Memorize that location, and get used to releasing the clutch slowly from that point. Don't give it gas while you are releasing the clutch either. If you are downshifting, you can blip the throttle to bring the revs up to match the speed of the gear, but don't release the clutch while giving it gas or you'll jerk.

Also, when starting from first, I make a game of seeing how little i can get the tach to move from idle as i release the clutch. you dont need much throttle to keep from stalling, you just need it at the right moment. Again, finding the bite point of the clutch will help with this.

and always, practice practice practice.


PS: You be careful with her. I'll kick your *** if you wreck that beautiful machine.

 

Congrats man. I started out riding dirty with a dark green mini van with tinted window. The 8 was also my first attempt at driving stick. The salesman laughed when I told him a couldn't drive manual but I wasn't leaving without one. Excellent choice with the color[Fact: VR is the fastest].

P.S. Watch out for the popo. We tend to give the illusion that we are moving faster than we really are. Welcome to the club.

 

Yeah, but only two or three in the whole Bosnia...people just don't like em, and also there are no good mechanics to handle a rotaty engine...

edit : don't you in America learn hove to drive a MT car when you are getting your driver's licence...I mean...learnin how tu drive on an AT car is crap....everyone can drive an AT car...also, MT car makes a lot of more fun when driving it...

 

They let you leave with a MT even though you didn't know how to drive stick?

 

Yeah!! My Mazda dealership was in it for the money. Their customer service tanked big time when I returned to get my keycards reprogrammed. Now I actually go to a different dealer to get my car serviced.

Anyway, I had my brother drive it back. I think he had about 2 weeks of practice. It's scary riding shotgun in your own vehicle.

 

Congrats on the car. My first in highschool was an 87 2nd Gen RX-7. I loved that car and drove the hell out of it. I just picked up a lightning 04 RX-8 a few weeks ago and Im loving it. Have fun.

 

My first car was a service mini-van I bought off a guy I tought how to fly model airplanes. 1500 bucks. Drove it for 3 years and sold it for 3000.

 

Lol. That phrase is just hilarious down to its very essence.

 

congrats man!! pretty sweet to get an 8 as ur first car. As well as others on here i was stuck with a 94 honda. (lol) Well good luck , ull get the shifting down soon enough.

 

yea, im another lucky bastard =D
my rx8 was my first car, got it when i was 17 brand new... and trust me, at that age with a car like this... yea let me say it wasnt a good combo! showin off left and right, racing, nearly gettin pulled over a few times... yea i can say i was lucky... but yea like everyone else said, thank ur parents and be careful... im still thankin my parents... but im not sayin dont have fun once in a while... u gotta wit that baby ;P

 

265 dollars per month???? Darnnnnnn!! Crazy! With that amount, your insurance agent should be personally available to you 24/7 to give you massage whenever you get all tired from driving your 8 around :P hahaha!

 

$265/mo is about right in Canada.

 

insurance here in vegas is terrible.

my brother is 18, and he just got a brand new 07 mustang gt. 415 bucks a month, no accidents on his record. A,B student.

 

I had the most comfortable first car, a 1986 caddy broham(the short 1), when I was 18 in 2002. Ahhhhh, the soft seats. Had it for a year then I got a 2000 cavalier coupe. In Dec. 2006, I went to the dealership just to look at the 2004 VR rx8 I saw in the magazine. I took a test drive and I had butterflies in my stomach. I was suprised I could afford the car but I wanted a cheaper price so I had to walk away. When I left the dealership, I had blue ***** because I didn't get the car,lol. Well next day they called me with a cheaper price and I got the car that night. I loved the heads always turning and always getting asked what kinda car I had. Well i've been doing a lot of thinking and need to start saving because that $750 car payment/insurance is a lot and I plan to get rid of the car by the end of the year. I've learned that what I get paid(about 50k a year) is not a lot, so I need to start saving for the future. I am now 24.
Sorry for the story about me. You have a really nice first car and enjoy the basically free car.

 

psst... my first ride was a 85 Toyota Tercel Wagon... silver with the orange and yellow racing stripe at the bottom. i recall pulling into the parking lot one day and having the vice principal stop me and gesture... Joey... that's not you! this of course came after my father shot down the idea of me having my dream car at that time... an 85 VR rx7. who'd figure some years later i'd get the predecessor in BB. woot. enjoy but be safe man.

 

Hey!!! Congrats on the car! Im 46 and finally got my first sports car also. Identical to yours 07 GT velocity red!! You are sssooooo lucky!!! Please be careful...You are inexperienced and you will get lots of peer pressure from friends to drive it like you stole it...Don't listen to them...Be safe and enjoy....Your insurance is high enough!! lol

 

hey man like everybody else says drive safely: i bought a '00 prelude and totaled it the next night and my insurance SUCKS... dont make my mistakes

 

Good for you man
and i thought i could have been the youngest around
im 16 and half now and I to am thankful for how lucky I am to get an rx8 for my first car
And as far as the manual goes
what better time is there to learn how than when you first get your license

 

I must be seeing things. Is that seriously a kid in your high school that drives a freaking FERRARI F430 ROADSTER?? Please tell me that's a joke.