i jus bought a 2004 with 45.000 miles yesterday and it felt weird taking off and the salesman told me this cars are like that it needed more rpm to get going.

it almost felt like i didnt know how to take the clutch out.

Im used to hit the gas soft like 3 times.

Is this normal???????

I've owned stick shifts all my life from a multitude of manufacturers (Honda, Volkswagen, Nissan, Datsun...) and the RX-8 doesn't feel any different or require any special feathering to get it going. In fact I find the clutch takeup quite smooth in this car as it's not particularly torque-heavy down low and the engine revs very smoothly.

Your best bet is to find another RX-8 at any dealer (even a new one) to test drive and compare them, and you'll see if the one you're looking to buy feels abnormal.

the clutch is very sensitive. dont sweat. this allows you to shift very quickly.

Depends on what your previous MT car was.

I let my friend drive my car yesterday, and he owns a 2005 Subaru Impreza WRX STI. He mentioned how terrified he was because the controls and pedals felt like a video game..., so sensitive, and requiring nothing to get going.

I guess it all depends on what you're used to, and there's no way we can know just how your car is behaving. But, in general terms, the RX-8 has several attributes which may make moving off the line a bit different than what you're used to.

1 - The rotary engine has less rotating mass than most piston engines
2 - The RX-8 flywheel may be lighter than in other cars you're used to
3 - The rotary has very little torque at low rpm
4 - despite the sporty nature of the car, it's not exactly a lightweight

All of these things conspire towards giving you less of what you need to get the car off the line. Simple law of physics. I find that I have to give more gas than on any manual I've driven. Not a ridiculous amount, mind you, but it was noticeable when I first began driving the RX-8.

This is not to say that your particular car is not boggging down unreasonably off the line. Get a ride in a new one so you can make an informed comparison, or find another RX-8 driver. Since you're buying a 2004 with a fair amount of mileage you might do well to have a rotary mechanic check it out and get a compression test to gauge the overall health of the engine. Any number of maintenance items yours might be due for. And make sure your vehicle is currrent on the PCM firmware and has had all of the recalls and special programs performed.

im used to drive JDMs but yeah the problem is leaving the clutch then is smooth through all the gears
woa thats good information . i only drove the car once because it snow bad last night,

my warranty is till april 4 next month

So i take the car to Mazda do i say i need a maintnane check i dont know what to say this is my first time buying a almost new car.?

Im so paranoid with all the bad post and reviews of this cars

thank you guys!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have driven a good amount of sticks and I would say that the RX-8 is very comparable to my 2000 Civic Si...they aren't the easiest to drive smoothly, but you will get the hang of it!

i think the problem was that i was pushing the clutch to much
now im getting used to it