Hey guys, as you know, I have an rx-8, automatic, and since I got her back from the shop, new with rims and bodykit.....etc etc..........

I am so happy that, I saved up some money, and in about 5 months(ie at the end of the year) I will have about 8k left, which I will use to mod my car and put it into FI(thinking of about 7k ish) but, I also am sad.......mostly because the fact that my car is an automatic........I love it.......I really do, but I really want to switch the transmission or something, and having searched on the forum(OMG RLY?) I think its much cheaper to go trade in the car than to do a transmission swap.......so if I DO go trade in the car, I guess the FI would have to wait, not to mention I gotta get all the bodykit and the rims off of my car......... and buy the OEM ones, anyhow

do you think I should put in a turbo, upgrade all the stuff (thinking of getting a custom torque converter) and call it a day?

or should I wait, change to a manual first, and then upgrade later?

I'm ok with either way, I really want power, but I miss the clutch, and driving automatic is kinda boring sometimes(might fall asleep at the wheels)
but changing to manual would mean more money loss :(

right now I really can't make up my mind, that's why I'm asking for opinions, if I could, I wouldn't post, too tiring

sounds like you really have made up your mind but don't want to admit it. you say you miss the clutch, go for the manual for now. if you find you want to go FI later you can do that. don't take my word for gospel though, i'm just an average joe and the experts can weigh in but from your post, it looks like you want to go manual (that and your info under your avatar and a lot of your other posts).

Lol at the avatar thing.... Bout how much will it cost to switch transmissions?

I met this dude at the garage one day and he was driving a 4AT RX8.

Struck up a conversation and it turned out that his ride was turbo'd with the RE Amemiya tuned Greddy kit. He then produced a dyno chart which read in excess of 300 bhp (albeit at the crank). This would, if I aint wrong, translate into 250 - 260 rwhp. My ride was still NA at that point in time but is a 6MT with a fair amount of mods on.

Anyway my mate and I asked for a ride and the dude obliged. Now with three guys in the car, and we aint small, that thing was pulling so hard that it actually took off (all FOUR wheels) as there was a slight dip in the road that he did not see. Needless to say we were well impressed (and glad that it wasnt our cars!!).

I did not need to race the guy to know that he would beat me flat in the 1/4 but still curiosity got the better of me and so off we went to a quiet spot and did 3 quick runs. As expected I was a car length ahead of him thru the first two gears with me launching at 6000rpm, but once I got to 3rd....it was a no contest. The 4pot, 4AT RX8 with a bolt on kit just blew straight past me. Like it was steadily pulling away and there was nothing I could do to keep up.

By now you could probably guess which option I'd pick if I were you ;)

Good luck either way man and have fun!

mine is a 6spd 6port AT, heres the problem though, I really DO want to get a manual, but trading it in will cost me within the vicinity of about 4-5k which is like bye-bye to FI for a VERY VERY LONGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG time, but I really wanted more speed, and the money was initially saved up for a turbo

which is why I CANT MAKE UP MY MINDD!!!!!

BTW: is the petit supercharge anywhere in the vicinity of 5-7k?

get the manual. ive been reading you post for some time now, your tone seems to scream " i want to trade in." you know you want to, we know you want to, just do it.

I think you should get a 2004 manual transmission, some guys on here treat their cars like they were their own kids but they finally decided to upgrade to some BMW or mercedes or something else. Just watch the cars for sale section, and try to jump on a mint 2004. Maybe you can even get one already turbo'ed for a fraction of the cost of the whole system!

I think you should get a 2004 manual transmission, some guys on here treat their cars like they were their own kids but they finally decided to upgrade to some BMW or mercedes or something else. Just watch the cars for sale section, and try to jump on a mint 2004. Maybe you can even get one already turbo'ed for a fraction of the cost of the whole system!

good call. swifts old ride went in the 20's and his was tricked

I think you should get a 2004 manual transmission, some guys on here treat their cars like they were their own kids but they finally decided to upgrade to some BMW or mercedes or something else. Just watch the cars for sale section, and try to jump on a mint 2004. Maybe you can even get one already turbo'ed for a fraction of the cost of the whole system!

the first problem would be trying to sell my car...............and the other one(minor to some, huge for me) is that, like most of you guys, I just have a connection with my car, which is one of the reasons why I didn't go and trade it in(that and the money) right off the bat in the first place, the real thing I'd like to do is to change the transmission, but thats wayy too expensive, and as you guys pointed out.......retarded....so there ya go...............

Honestly, if I was you, I would just be happy with my rx8 the way it is and use that extra cash toward buying a liter bike or something. 0-60 in < 2 seconds. 140 rwhp driving a 350 lb bike. insanity.

But I would say my next choice would be to do the tranny swap. when they are installing it they can put in a new badass flywheel or final drive or whatever. In the end its whatever you are happy with that counts.

Honestly, if I was you, I would just be happy with my rx8 the way it is and use that extra cash toward buying a liter bike or something. 0-60 in < 2 seconds. 140 rwhp driving a 350 lb bike. insanity.

But I would say my next choice would be to do the tranny swap. when they are installing it they can put in a new badass flywheel or final drive or whatever. In the end its whatever you are happy with that counts.

hey dude, how much does a tranny swap cost?

hey dude, how much does a tranny swap cost?

cheaper to trade the car in...

beers :beer:

Drivetrain swap vs trade in...cheaper to trade in the car...

He then produced a dyno chart which read in excess of 300 bhp (albeit at the crank). This would, if I aint wrong, translate into 250 - 260 rwhp.

LOLhttp://www.mazdamaniac.com/portal/smiles/haha.gif

I met this dude at the garage one day and he was driving a 4AT RX8.

Struck up a conversation and it turned out that his ride was turbo'd with the RE Amemiya tuned Greddy kit. He then produced a dyno chart which read in excess of 300 bhp (albeit at the crank). This would, if I aint wrong, translate into 250 - 260 rwhp. My ride was still NA at that point in time but is a 6MT with a fair amount of mods on.

Anyway my mate and I asked for a ride and the dude obliged. Now with three guys in the car, and we aint small, that thing was pulling so hard that it actually took off (all FOUR wheels) as there was a slight dip in the road that he did not see. Needless to say we were well impressed (and glad that it wasnt our cars!!).

I did not need to race the guy to know that he would beat me flat in the 1/4 but still curiosity got the better of me and so off we went to a quiet spot and did 3 quick runs. As expected I was a car length ahead of him thru the first two gears with me launching at 6000rpm, but once I got to 3rd....it was a no contest. The 4pot, 4AT RX8 with a bolt on kit just blew straight past me. Like it was steadily pulling away and there was nothing I could do to keep up.

By now you could probably guess which option I'd pick if I were you ;)

Good luck either way man and have fun!


Rode in a Re-Amemiya RX-8. They are no joke. They do it right because their reputation is on the line.

tajabaho1 if you have a 6AT than its the same engine as the 6MT. You don't have the same issues that a 4AT would. Though even if you had a 4AT, I would say go FI it.

I say supercharge your car with a Pettit SC (since its available now) as it performs really well at low rpms and those should move well. The Greedy turbo is starting to show maturity and a lot of the issues have been worked out, so that is another option but I have the bias towards the SC (of course others will be bias towards turbo).

Between the 6AT vs the 6MT, they will catch you off the line because of the torque converter issue and they can launch at 6,000 rpm. After that a FI 6AT RX-8 (with the right kit and boost) would catch/pass the NA 6MT in the 1/4 mile.

If booth the 6AT and 6MT went FI, then it would depend on the kit and boost level. The 6MT should still do better in 0-60 though, but the 1/4 mile and further out would be up for grabs depending on mods. Also I highly suspect that some solutions for AT RX-8 launch stall limit will begin to drip out at some point in the not too distant future.

So the trade to a 6MT would give you a better 0-60, but if you went FI you could have a better 1/4 mile and higher top speed.

Rode in a Re-Amemiya RX-8. They are no joke. They do it right because their reputation is on the line.

You do realize that the Amemiya kit is the GReddy kit with absolutely no upgrades, right?

BTW, how did that guy get an engine dyno chart? Did he explain that one?
Probably clipped it out of Turbo Magazine last March...

Based on where you are at in your opinion right now... I would trade in for a 6sp.

I love my FI, and it is fun, but you can't go 120 everywhere you drive. You can however, enjoy a manual everytime you cruise.

I had a sports car with an auto once because I lived in Detroit, and thought the traffic would kill me in a manual. I overlooked 2 things 1) My first manual car was a 68 Mustang GT w/ 3 on the floor...they call 'em muscle cars for a reason...that thing was hard to shift. 2) New cars with a good MT setup are still fun to drive, even in traffic. My auto I just got bored... a lot.

After that, I will NEVER own an auto again. I have had 4 trucks and 2 more sports cars...all manual and I have been 100% happy with my decision.

Its true...something about the manual just makes you feel connected to this car...Mazda got this so right compared to cars in the past...

For me the manual makes a difference where I want it the most...to be connected to my car...thats what I enjoy about this car...

However...M3 w/ teh paddles kick so much ass...its too great to even possibly post on a forum...

Drive it and if its for you I think you will know...if its not...stick with the AT and FI that shiznor...

And THAT's fer real's...yo...heh

thanks guys, I think it would depend on if I can find a good 05-06 6spd or not, I if I can and add like 1k-2k to trade in my car for it, then I would, and go FI also, thats my plan right now since I still can't make up my mind, thanks alot though

and yes, driving manual is much more fun than driving an auto

tranny swap is not something that you want to do, technically speaking with enough *money*, anything is possible. BUT, 7 K will NOT cut it, because you'll need to modify ALOT of things. first of a new tranny(or old, whatever), then the computer, etc.

Trade it in. Thats the way to go.

and stock Greddy kit is garbage. 3.4 K you can get one, but you have to replace and fix alot of stuff yourself. and its going to cost you extra, plus the install, and tunning.

Also, going FI might blow your engine up, it happens to every car model, not only 8, so you should always have cash *around* in case something bad happen.

i say go with the manual. i had a 5 speed 86 NA RX7 and a 5sp 87 RX7 Turbo and they were a blast to drive. then i got an auto 88 Supra and although i loved that car and it was fun to drive it bored me so much because all there was to it was stomp the throttle. now that i have a 6 speed RX8 it feels like im back with an old friend.

also i think in the long run when you have an FI 6 speed you will be more happy even if it takes longer then you would like.

i say go with the manual. i had a 5 speed 86 NA RX7 and a 5sp 87 RX7 Turbo and they were a blast to drive. then i got an auto 88 Supra and although i loved that car and it was fun to drive it bored me so much because all there was to it was stomp the throttle. now that i have a 6 speed RX8 it feels like im back with an old friend.

also i think in the long run when you have an FI 6 speed you will be more happy even if it takes longer then you would like.

Yes, but if you have seen my car in the garage, IF I choose to trade it in, I would have to take off the mint blue kit, trade it in for another silver which is manual, take off the rims, buy oem parts to replace, and do a bunch of other crap.............I also want to know how much it would cost if I were to do an engine swap, how much would I be loosing if I were to trade in my 07 AT right now for an 06 or 07 MT?

Honestly, if I was you, I would just be happy with my rx8 the way it is and use that extra cash toward buying a liter bike or something. 0-60 in < 2 seconds. 140 rwhp driving a 350 lb bike. insanity.

But I would say my next choice would be to do the tranny swap. when they are installing it they can put in a new badass flywheel or final drive or whatever. In the end its whatever you are happy with that counts.

How much is bike insurance? It seems like the cheapest way to go very very fast. Hah...

it seems to me like petitt is developing a supercharger for the auto which can do about 250whp? if so, I would get that

ive seen moon assad's (part of pettit racing) automatic supercharged 8 and is definitely a touch faster in the straights, and his is their prototype so im sure the stage 1 and stage 2 kits should work. but tough call you already started modifying but imho u should of gotten the manual in the first place it may be worth it to go to it.

If you turbo your Auto you will forever regret not having a manual. If you want to go FI, do it right, get a manual.

I agree with VAsha. If you FI, the auto, you'll always kick yourself and wonder how much power you could have gotten out of an FI M/T.

I know you must be attached to your car, seeing all the work you've done but selling it (take the kit off) and buying an '05 M/T shouldn't be all that much of a hit to your wallet.

dont bother doing a transmission swap. there are other benefits you wont get with it. id trade in for a manual one.

shoulda got manual in the first place

Sounds like you have regretted your auto purchase.
Take the non-OE parts off, swap them over to a Manual and save again for a turbo/SC kit.

Or have your cake and eat it too, get a Fi kit and tune you auto.

Go manual...take the hit on the trade or get something else and dont take a hit...

If you have the option.....You said you have 8k, which is enough for a good downpayment. Go buy a manual and keep your auto, just to swap the aftermarket parts. When you're done swapping sell the newly stock auto.

Your biggest regret right now is putting all the money into the auto. Well, here is your way out.

get the AT turbo

I would get a manual transmission car all over again. There will be so many bugs after a transmission swap and the cost would not justify!

Well, since no one has said it I will. If you are really serious about considering trading to a 6speed go drive it. Get a dealer to give you a nice long test drive or find someone in your area with one that will let you take theirs for a ride. If you have the 6 port 6speed auto you may find there is not much difference between the 2 cars. Or you might find a huge difference. I've never driven the auto so I don't know. but go drive one and see if its all its cracked up to be.