Auto vs. Manual
 

Now I will admit I havent owned a manual car yet. I am 23 years old and have had an interpid, a ford ranger, and now I just got an RX-8. My question is how much performance am I losing in going with an automatic tranny?

BTW, it has the manual shifting on the steering wheel. Is that a good option?

Alot.

Paddle Shifters are nice, but not the same as a manual tranny.

Look in mazdas website to see how much performance your loosing, but just like nycgps said its a lot.

Trade it back in and get the manual.

both cars are not considered fast, you'll get out accelerated by v6 camrys and altimas whether you have the auto or the manual.

so the fact of the matter is, if you have to drive through insane bumper to bumper traffic everyday, theres nothing wrong with getting the auto. In fact the auto i think have more torque than the manual.

otherwise the manual is WAY more fun to drive when you have much more control over the revs. get the version that best suits your situation, don't worry too much about the difference in acceleration.

Eh, im not sure. It was the only used one they had and i dont know how easy its going to be to get a manual, plus i do sit in traffic alot, so i dunno

The difference between the MT RX-8 and AT RX-8 is higher than on most cars because of the mechanics involved. Specifically, they don't let you rev past 7.5k on an AT. On most cars it doesn't make a huge difference other than maybe launching. Of course you'll always have to endure the taunts of MT drivers.

what year did you get? the biggest difference would be if you have a 4 port AT vs. 6 port.

I think you'd be happy w/the AT except for the fact that you've joined this forum. If you love the car as is (b/c there are no easy/cheap ways to improve it), then continue to be happy and realize it's still an RX8. Don't let anyone tell you that you made the wrong choice. If you sit in an intense amount of traffic, I think you made the right choice but that's up to you to decide.

Be prepared for AT bashing. There are tons of threads on this subject.

Background:
I'm 27, this is my first manual. Took about 2 months to get really comfortable with the car (I don't drive it daily). I bought my first sports car (stealth r/t) with an automatic transmission and it kept nibbling at me.

my 2 cents:
Since you're posting this I guess its because you're having second thoughts. If you're staying away from the manual because you're afraid of stalling at lights and looking like a doofuss and getting honked stuck there in the middle of the road... well I don't think you bought that car to get nice 0-5mph starts, you bought it because you want to get on an onramp, slam it and hear the engine roar, shifting it at redline and getting that big grin on your face. Believe me that's worth the few akwards moments, and those will go away fast especially if you use the car everyday.

Anyways if you have the opportunity the choice to switch is yours... I suggest you ask a (good) friend with a manual to lend you his car for a few days... that's what I did.

if you drive a spoorts car ... especially somethinglike the rx8 ... you got to drive manual. before m,y rx8 i always owned a auto but when i picked up my 8 ... i had to drive manual

If you find yourself in Hong Kong style traffic often don't bother with a MT.
If you don't and have an AT then your missing a unique experience not found in any other car on the road.

um, you prly should have asked this before buying the AT.

You'll appreciate the AT in Masshole traffic. You'll pine for the MT on open, twisty NE roads. But there is always a performance loss w/AT.
Enjoy & welcome.


EDIT: check out the NE Spring Run thread - clicky!



[waves hand] - join us, you will.

im only 20 but i go to school and i have a 9-5 job. i drive an AT and still mod it up to make it pretty and all. but if i want to go fast and mod the hell of the engine id get a nice beater to drive when im in the mood, like a used 90s sports car. 8's arent exactly beastly in performance you know.

in the end its what you want.

Either way I love the car, so its no biggie

dmc, that looks really interesting, i'll think about joining :)

You'll be handicapped with an auto for sure. It, almost, has an entirely different engine. And what ever mods you do to it will only increase the HP/Torque by a small percentage of the base HP. So if you have the same mods as a MT, they'll be noticibly faster.

IMHO, the ability to choose gears is not anywhere near driving an MT. The clutch, to me, is EVERYTHING. The ability to control how it engages is what driving an MT is about. I taught my wife to drive a MT in under two hours. We found a large, abandoned, parking lot and I just talked her through everything and gave her "goals" for each gear, etc. Now, she drives the 8 everyday--and the 8 is HER car now. Me, I learned how to drive on an MT and will never own anything without a clutch. However, it all boils down to personal preferance. If you like the AT, then don't let anyone give you sh!t about it. It was your choice, your purchase, your money--feel me? Some Cats like ATs and it's their choice. I'd only rag on you if you failed to learn, after actually trying, to drive an MT. ;)

All-in-all, there is a pretty noticible difference between the AT and MT RX8. If you stand by your choice, don't do like some...most will regret their decision and blatantly overcompensate for the lack of power by putting every aftermarket product under the sun in their car. I mean, in all reality, after everything...it's still an AT.

2 cents.

Think its all been said. Love my MT.

That's what matters. Plus, if you've never driven MT in any car, you have no real basis to know what you may or may not be missing. So it's irrelevant.

as long as you love 8 ... it all that happens

MT more horsepower, more fun. I don't understand why they even make an automatic. Learning how to drive a stick is not hard.

ugh....well, i have a decision to make i guess.

It totally depends on the year. If you have the 4 port you are losing out on about 50 hp.

Compared to what you've been driving........an auto 8 will feel like a rocket. I would never own an auto 8. The 6-speed is so sweet to shift it's half the fun of driving.

If you don't know how to drive a stick the 8 is a pretty easy car to learn on and if you like driving I'd get the manual.

As long as you enjoy your car, that is all that should matter; however, I would never own a sports car with an automatic. I did once - bought a 40th anniversary edition Corvette back in 93 and it was an automatic - regretted it from the first week that I didn't go with the 6 speed. I learned my lesson and every sports car or performance car I have owned since has been a manual.

Bob

Manual is a must...do not be afraid to learn something new. I absolutely love the MT rx8 and I had to pretty much learn on the car too. Learning stick may be difficult or hard initially, but the curve is steep and you'll have it down in a matter of days (perfecting it takes a little more time).

Stalling out when people are checking you out ensures you are throughly embarrassed and that I found was quite the motivator. You'll make mistakes, when you are just getting the hang of a manual, but you won't repeat many of them :) . By the time you've got it down, you'll be happy you took the time to learn stick...I promise!