I've been driving manual gear cars all my life never an auto. Want to know if the peddle shifts are responsive on the automatic rx8. For example when you do a downshift, does the rpm of the car increase immediately or is there a lag on the car between the time u downshift to the time the car is actually on a lower gear.

 

All auto transmission lag but you just need to know when to shift early. Change to DSG best.

 

The peddle shift on the RX8 auto is quite responsive imho.... certainly much better than the other auto cars (BMW, Peugeot, etc) that I've driven before. I would even say that it shifts as fast I shift in manual

One shortfall though is that if you want to shift down 2 gears, 4th to 2nd for example, it'll certainly be slower than on a manual as you need to press twice. And it'll not let you shift down too much if your speed is too high...

 

Hi cal! Long time no hear an see.

The auto in the 8 is like a tranny nanny. It prevents you from abusing the trans. Thats the only thing i do not really like. Otherwise it does shifts faster and locks up better than most other autos; sans DSG (still cant understand why cant they put a DSG in)

 

one more thing. how long does the auto trans last before you overhaul it? I've heard other cars which need to overhaul their auto trans after a few years and it cost a bomb. Does the auto trans on the 8 last longer?

 

As long as you go for regular ATF change, it shouldn't pose any problem. Even if there is any problem, most of the time is the torque converter. That can be change easily nowadays. Just like manual you also need to replace the clutch after a few years.

My previous car with auto trans last for good 6 years and was still running strong.

 

changing atf fluid is a great idea. Though its costly, but its save a big headache in the long run. I heard that BMWs do not "need" atf change. They just get you to change the trans at 3 years. Not sure true or not; heard from a transmission shop owner.

cannot compare trans between cars. I had a honda trans fail in 2 years and a merc trans that still works into its 9th year. then again, mercs uses great trans.