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New Owner
So I just bought a 2004 rx8 gt. It's a manual, and my first manual ever. Apparently I'm horrible at driving it. Drove it 3 times, i keep stalling, car is jumping around if i dont give it enough gas at lower speeds and hold steady acceleration. I've grinded gears enough times lol. I just need some help or pointers please! Biggest problem is stalling it from a stop to 1st.
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Since the car has no torque you have to rev it up to 2k to 1.5k to start from a stop with out stalling and jumping a lot but you will still get the jumpy ness until you're really good at driving the car. Still to this day it's a little jumpy for me sometimes.
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Hmmm okay well thank you for that. Glad its not just me experiencing all the jumpiness.
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Go out and practice. Figure out why you're stalling, is the clutch pedal poorly adjusted? Are you not coordinating the gas and clutch movement? It takes time to learn to drive manual.
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Yeah I'm guessing that it's just me because sometimes it works out okay, then sometimes i stall at the light 3times... Will keep practicing.
Can someone tell me at What revs i should be upshifting and downshifting? I kind of learned how to blip too btw. Thanks for the help! |
Don't worry, I stalled a bunch in my 99 Corolla 5-speed when I just started, too.
An RX-8 is definitely going to be harder than a Civic or Corolla. The clutch is heavier, but everything will also give you more feedback. The trick to remember when you start learning how to drive a stick shift is DON'T try to release the clutch in a linear, continuous motion. What you should be doing is holding the clutch at the bite point until you reach a certain speed. To figure out the bite point, go to an empty space(a shopping mall parking lot after it closes, for example) with flat surface, put it in first, and slowly let out the clutch. When the car shakes, starts to move a bit, and the RPM drops, that's the bite point. Hold your foot there, and let the speed build up to about 4~5 MPH, then release the clutch. Yes, you should be able to get a car going without using gas at all, even in an RX-8. I personally see it as the first thing to learn when I drive a stick as this was how I was taught and it works very well according to some manual drivers trying to teach others. You won't get far without knowing your bite point. As for shift points, it obviously depends on what you are doing. Normal acceleration, I usually upshift at 4~5k, and I downshift at 2.5k. |
Where you shift depends on what you want to do. Keep the revs above 3k and below 6k for regular city driving. Cruise around 3.5-4.5.
Since you're new to RX8s have you already read the New & Potential owners thread with critical maintenance advice? |
Thanks a lot guys, you are a huge help! I will definitely work on finding the bite point better, great advice. And yes I'm about halfway through the new owners guide.
Now going in reverse is a little tricky i basically hold the clutch somewhere after the bite point, then control speed with brake. Is that okay? Or is there a better way? |
What I usually do is instead of using the brake like you would in an automatic, I just control the clutch.
So when you just start reversing into a spot, just use the bite point to get the car moving, and once you have enough speed, press it in and let inertia do a bit of work. Repeat as the car slows down, and when you need to stop, press the clutch in and press on your brake. This here is a pretty good guide: If you are face downhill, you need to give it a bit of gas, but the idea is still similar. If you are facing uphill, gravity will do all the work for you. Just use the brake. |
Awesome that really helped thank you
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what Jinx said. That is how I teach my kids. Think of the clutch as letting you sip a little bit of power when you go past the pick up point. take power in little sips. I use elementary school bus loops on the weekend for the lessons.
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