I love this car a lot. I turn 16 in 9 days so I have been taking lessons with my friends. I successfully learned stick and I was just wondering if there is anything I should be aware of? So far I have learned some other useful things such as engine braking. Is it okay to use enging braking everyday or is that not needed? Thanks. ;)

0.o

16 in 9 days?!
:eek:

Plz don't take this the wrong way but if this is your first "stick shift", let me be the first to say that you are not ready to drive an RX-8!

I remember the wreckless things that I did in my '86 Fiero GT at 16 and I shudder at the thought of where I'd be if I had been driving a vehicle as powerful and as tempting as an RX-8...

Just spend some time reading stories on this forum of people who thought they were "experienced" enough to try and push this car to its limits and the horrific accidents that they were lucky enough to walk away from.
I'm not trying to scare you or put you down but just make sure you know what you're getting yourself into every time you get behind the wheel of this amazing piece of engineering.

As for your question: Engine braking is fine to do b/c it'll help extend the life of your brakes but try not to do it during your vehicle's break-in period (lots of threads on that topic) because then you might be damaging your new engine.
Once your car is properly broken in, feel free to use the engine to slow you down because if done properly, it poses no serious long term threats to the engine and some even say that it's good for it...

Happy RX'ing and sorry for the long post.

Hey good for you man. I wish I was 16 and had a $36K car or a RX-8 for that matter.

Here we go,now everyone is going to tell him hes too young to have a rx-8....if his parents can afford to buy him one,let him enjoy it.Its his car,not ours.Anyways,this car is really high maintainance so learn about the oil,try and learn how to not ride the clutch,learn about the problems with the car so u can realize when something isnt right,and most of all enjoy the car.Congrats.

damn and i thought i was too young for an 8 hehe..
take care and congrats!

Here we go,now everyone is going to tell him hes too young to have a rx-8....if his parents can afford to buy him one,let him enjoy it.Its his car,not ours.Anyways,this car is really high maintainance so learn about the oil,try and learn how to not ride the clutch,learn about the problems with the car so u can realize when something isnt right,and most of all enjoy the car.Congrats.
Well said...

Damn. When I was 16 I got a hand-me-down Toyota Camry. Then I moved to a 4Runner, then a Celica GT-S, and now my 8. Thank you dad. :D

Congratulations on your new car. I hope you will find all the information you're looking for in this forum. :)

i had a ford Probe at age 16. you are lucky as hell. congrats too. you'll love it but i was used to driving my mom's Z3, and when i got the 8, damn. the gas pedal is very sensitive. fun, but sensitive. have fun with it and be safe.

does anyone know wat is trun 16 in 9 days mean? =( is that mean he been 16 soon? if it is. congrats. when i was 16 i go to school by bus. but it's really cool to drive a nice car when u are young. and.. ha ha .. u can do a lot of cool staff with/in the car.. o well.=P am i talk too much about that.. sorry. ha ha .. have fun with ur cool car.

Thiskid where I live that drives a Ferrari to school.

Okay, back to the question ;) ....

Use the brakes. Engine braking is fun, it's useful when "racing'' or "similar". But your brakes are cheaper than your clutch and your engine. Use your brakes.

And remember: No speeding, No racing, No running with scissors... have fun with that car... just be careful.

I used engine braking in my honda, but I don't in my RX-8.

It's not about engine wear, but because the RX-8's engine turns over so easily that I don't get enough braking from it to bother. I just tap the brakes and that's that.

The RX8 is a great car - just be sure to check the oil levels on a regular basis.

he is too young to have a car like the 8 and odds are he's going to trash it---sorry look at the stats. a 16 year old boy with that car yikes---- the insurance must be very cheap! yes there's,worse there's a prep school near where i live and 17 year old punk has a GT2!!! with NOOOO clue of what he even has, his first car was a lowly regular 911Turbo! so i guess he's not that bad with the 8, but beware Jasisn people are going to tease you, call ya spoiled--car looks more expensive than it really is.

Not bad for the first car by my money its a 18k car wich is abit higher than most but in the range, my dad brought me and my sis cars when we passed our test in the same month total cost about £30k, and now hes buying me the RX8!

The rx8 has very good spec and very good safety so it make it a good first car, as if you do crash you will be ok! its just the sensible thing to do!

I engine brake with the 8 all the time but be aware that the engine in the 8 doesn't offer much resistance so you usually have to go a gear lower than you'd like (55mph I'd use 3rd gear). Be aware of the oil consumption. Be careful during the break in period. Don't thrash the engine when it's cold. Spend some time getting a feel for the car before you try pushing it, if it breaks loose and you don't know what to do you will kill the car, a performance driving school might be a good investment. Other than that try not to get arrested.

Jaisin,
Congrats on the 8! Sure, you are young and damn lucky. Words of advice:
Be very careful. What can get you into serious trouble is that when your 8 finally does let loose, you are at a considerably higher speed than most cars. Translates into severe damage to car and person(s). My first car was a 78 Honda Civic with the HondaMatic. I thought it was fast and I pushed it to its limits. Fortunately for me, I only hit the ditch at 40 instead of 70+ like I may in the 8.

Jasin,
Do some local autocrosses to get used to the car and find it's limitations. It's a great way to learn car control. You autocross in a controlled area that is much safer than pushing it out on the street. I have a few friends that have tried autocrossing and figured out that they are not as good a driver as they thought they were. Plus it's great fun. Good luck!

i rode the school bus when i was 16 :-/

My first post ... but why not?

OK... here's some things you need to learn to get the best out of the 8, which I think is what ppl meant when they said it's too soon if you've only just learned stickshift. (They're right IMHO ;) )

Don't ride the clutch... try and treat it as an on/off style as much as possible. (This doesn't mean sudden movements, but equally, avoid taking ages letting it in/out.)

Learn racing downshifts and how to time upshifts. You want the output to be spinning at the same speed as the input when you engage the gear.

Learn when to miss gears - essential in the 8 because the top few ratios are close. For instance on a slip road (on-ramp) you can boot it up to 60mph in 2nd and then go straight into 6th, still at 60mph, if you're intending to cruise.

Note I was driving for 4 years and over 100,000 miles before I had a performance car, and it STILL took me 3-4000 miles to learn how to drive it properly. (The 8 is a downgrade in terms of straight-line performance - I had a Z before - but the 8 is so much more chuckable I can drive it faster overall.)

Engine braking - well, the 8 doesn't give you much there, so unless you're on a descent I wouldn't bother. On a descent on the other hand, do NOT sit on the brakes - find a gear where you need just a touch of throttle to descend the hill at your desired speed. I followed a car down a pass in the hills yesterday for 7 miles - he used his brakes on every corner and I didn't touch mine once.

18k? I've just paid 24.5k Sterling for mine!? Rip-off Britain strikes again.

damn man your so lucky. im 16 almost 17. we have a car ('81 celica-auto) i drove this for the first 6 months with my license. and we have a truck ('94 nissan pick up-stick) that i am drive now since my dad just bought a 5 speed '04 accord ex (it'll be mine when i graduate high school). my dad didn't test drive the rx8 but i almost got him to buy it until he checked out the insurance. after that he said forget about it. i test drove it even though i wasnt supposed to cause well...im 16. i love it. i guess i can wait til im older :p

yeah hopefully that works out for you. It's an incredible car. Thing is I'm 26, and I still sometimes get looks from people suggesting: "you shouldn't really have this car till you're 35"...and some jealousy. And i don't know about you guys but i've had a couple of threatening moments. In one instance i was at a coffee shop in a fairly safe neighbourhood in toronto, and i could sense these guys who were talking to me about the car, were thinking of jacking me....Well I went into battle mode, started planning my strategy, edgeing back towards the car, (keys were inside), and then i managed to avoid the fight or whatever it was gonna be, by i guess being strong and lucky, and quick on my feet. But the thing Is I know for sure know that his car for me has come with more responsiblity. 99% positive feedback and reactions from people like "do you need to have a pilots licence to drive this thing", but there is some negative feedback too. Jealousy etc.

Oh well. What can you do.

all the best, just remember, after drinking, this car is way less forgiving than other cars...even if you've only had a few.

ripp off Briatain is true!!

look at house prices, i spent tim in Rhode Island looking for a place when i was 21 you would not believe what you can get for $750k it was very tempting!

anyway back to cars i think 16 might be a bit young to have a RX8 as rear wheel drive is a bit too much fun if you get my meaning! i drove boxsters at 18 (mine and my best mates mum had them so we would 'borrow' them all the time) and some of the damge we did was not good! chewed tyres and underside damage! and side ways is fun only if you know what your doing!

is the limit still 55mph over in the states? thats sooooooooooo slow! how do you live!

Thanks for the tips. I live in Louisiana so we have a lot of open roads where I can get used to driving it. So far I have done well. My biggest problem on the first day was killing it at lights, but now I don't kill it anymore. I am used to the clutch. I don't drive particularly fast right now since I don't see the need to. My friend showed my engine braking, but you guys are right... It doesn't slow you down that much so I probably won't use it. I have only redlined the car once and that was on accident when I shifted from 3 to 2 instead of 4. I have only grinded once and that was on the first day too. I have been really careful not to do anything like that ever again.
I'm not too worried about the rich kid thing because I goto a prep school and a few of the kids has beamers and I think someone has a G35. I really do like the RX-8 though. I test drove the 350Z, but I didn't like it because I am really short, 5' 3", and I couldn't really see out of it. The RX-8's driver seat is really adjustable. I've been reading around here looking at stuff about positioning the mirrors and such. I personally think this is the easiest car I haven driven. I can feel where I am, but when I am in my grandmas Camry I can't sense where I am in the lane. I haven't regreted getting an RX-8 at all.
Its definately a lot of fun to drive. I think you appreciate it more when you have a more relaxed place to drive in. When, I am in Boston I have a hard time driving due to the stop and go traffic, but here in Louisiana it is easier to learn and get used to a car. So far I have 400 miles and I've almost had it a week. On next Thursday I will be able to drive to school by myself. :) I probably won't drive as much since I'm in school during the day :D

Congrats.

Contrary to what some people have said, stick is simple, my first car was stick and i drove it off the lot without previous experience, never burned the clutch in over 2 years til i traded it for the 8! So congrats, take it easy and you should be good.

how much are you paying for insurance? im 17 and gonna b 18 in march, and im also considering the rx8 but i know i can handle the car, ( i like telling my self that : ) ) but anywho what kind of insurance do u have? it will probally be more for me since im only 17 and live in so cal in a pretty quickly growing city. good luck with the car.

... and back to his question...

I think my insurance is aroun $269 a month. I have State Farm with a couple of various discounts.

Now that I am more then twice your age, I am glad that I never started out with such a car. I started out with some big old cars, then moved to several used RX-7's that I had to buy with my own earned money. My first new car was a Civic. No offense, but I would never give a 16 year old a fast new car. I hope that your parents are making you pay for it in some fashion, if at least the insurance. It will make you appreciate it even more then you already do. I was relatively responsible at your age but I still did some dumb things. Good luck with it.

I pay for the note. They did the down payment and the insurance.

Advice for the newly initiated:

- DO NOT think you must accept every challenge to drag race. You are driving a $30k car--not a Neon or Honda, so resist the temptation to burn these guys at the line
- The RX-8 is much more sophisticated than the other "rice burners", so don't let them talk any any trash about their 'fart-can-muffler, priimer-fendered junks!
- Enjoy your ride, and take car of it. This is a great car, and you should not beat it to death on the street scene to prove its worth!
- Most important: PAY ATTENTION AND DRIVE CAREULLY! The life you save may be one of us!

nah that's junk, kids never listen to advice of older people anyway

go ahead and do what you want to do and learn the hard way, it'll serve you better in the long run.

LOL! Ain't it the truth! Nice comment!

I've already been challenged by some of my rice friends in their civics. I didn't even bother with it. I didn't know what rice was until I got my car.

Congrats!

I engine brake all the time. Do a search and you'll find lots of threads about it as well as general tips on the RX8. The usual list:


Engine burns oil by design... you'll need to add a quart every 2000 miles or so
There is a special shutdown procedure when is engine is cold
Watch out for curbs and avoid potholes (rims are easy to damage)
Don't drive stock tires in snow; also they lose grip in cold weather
When downshifting, be careful not to mis-shift from 5th to 2nd
When parking, put it in 1st gear. If it's not below freezing, also set parking brake
Tire repair kit sucks; recommend you call Mazda road-side assistance if you get a flat.
If car needs to be towed, make sure rear wheels are off gound and don't use a sling-type tow-truck (see manual for details).

Where in LA are you? A good buddy of mine has a winning blue rx8, around same age, gotta meet up some time. He posts here as winbluerx8sport.

Congrats on your car man, i get my license in February, and im gonna get a brilliant black 8. and i go to a private catholic school, so there are a lot of kids with nice cars. like there are 2 CLK 430's, and mazda 6's and stuff like that. and its crazy cause my friend gets his license in a week and he has had his car for 3 months. he got a 2002 black S4. he is really rich. his bro drives a silver 8 and a CLK 320. so i mean they are loaded. but yah congrats on ur 8. cant wait for mine.

Whats the difference between leaving it in first when you park and leaving it in neutral?

Oh, I live in Shreveport too. I know who you are talking about because I see him around town sometimes. Some of my friends know him too.

you leave the car in gear so it can't easily roll.

I would do it, but I tend to start the car and let off the clutch, which can cause it to jerk forward ... not good if you're in a parking lot next to another car.

Ya... Thats happened to me before. I usually do let off the clutch to check around me or adjust stuff. Thats why I just ended up leaving it in neutral with the parking brake on.

Whats the difference between leaving it in first when you park and leaving it in neutral?Putting any car in 1st is a good idea because it always prevents it from rolling. The parking brake, however, could still allow the car to move (depending on road grade and how hard the parking brake is pulled). For example (http://www.rx8club.com/showthread.php?t=31420).

As JasonHamilton mentioned, you need to make sure you put the clutch in or take it out of gear before starting (or the car will buck). But if you get in the habit of putting it in gear everytime, you won't forget.