Automatic Transmission Critiques
 

Almost forgot- One of the deals we have in the home is that both my wife and I share in driving. She will not drive a stick...and thank god she admits it........this has lead me to Tiptronic type cars for years.

For those of you that have the A/T with paddleshifts please tell me your opinion. Obviously, we are losing some HP in the engine but please tell me the fun of the Rx is still there and the paddles actually work so it can be driven like it should be.

Derek.

I'm an automatic owner and I tend not to use the paddles as much as one would think. I love moving the gearshift lever instead. It's a little more fullfilling than pushing a button.

The reaction time to you hitting the button and the car shifting is near perfect with very little delay. Definetly not like the delay I've noticed in other Tips. (Toyota Celica). I use the Tip. option probably 75% of the time i'm in the car.

The car is perfectly drivable and totally fun with the Tip. I love to cruise around the city in 2nd gear and blast past anyone that's in my way (2nd gear will take you to nearly 70mph).

The fun of the RX-8 isn't all about 0-60 times. The auto is noticably slow in that department, but the fun comes when you get to a winding road where the car's perfect 50-50 weight distribution is a driver's dream. Having the tip allows you to keep in engine in the power range to pull out of any corner.

Hi, Falcon, if you do a search you will find plenty of threads on this topic. At does get alot of bashing - as always...

Thanks for the heads up on the Tip Transmission critique so far. Falcon 1 is used to be bashed and doing some bashing......nothing like flying the needle thru MIG alley.......

D.

I've driven both the automatic and manual dozens of times, and as with any car, the automatic doesn't have the same immediacy as the manual. However, the RX-8 automatic is tuned very well.

The decrease in horsepower in the automatic is actually less than it seems, because, keep in mind, the automatic RX-8 reaches its horsepower peak at a lower RPM than the manual, plus has 5 more lb-ft of torque (also at a lower RPM). Of course, the track times for the car will still be a few tenths slower than the 6-speed, but I suspect that if you are obsessed with having the fastest 0 - 60 time on the road, you probably aren't getting an RX-8 anyway.

In automatic mode, the transmission will shift somewhat conservatively, so if you really want to have fun, manual-shift mode is the way to go. Because of the high RPM limit of the rotary engine, shifts are lightning-quick, unlike many tiptronic systems where there is a noticeable delay in shifting. So, coupled to the tight chassis and suspension of the RX-8, the automatic is still very fun to drive.

my biggest worry when getting the AT was that the response time was slow, i now drive about 95% of the time in the manual shift mode. When i first got the car it didn't work, and if you search my previous threads you can see the story on that, but as soon as it got fixed, it took a little getting used to, its not like a stick at all. But its still fun, and getting on the highway and downshifting from 3 to 2 when merging and burning all the idiotic new york drivers is fun. driving with the manual mode is great, but the paddle shifters i've used maybe once, i always use the lever. its still a fun car to drive (more fun with a stick but some of us can't get one for whatever reason) and its def worth for you to go test drive. good luck with your purchase.

The RX8 AT manual shift mode is a great compromise if you have to get an AT...

It's nice to have the option of paddle shifters, and I've used them several times, but find myself instinctively reaching for the shift lever anyway.

What are your other options, anyway?

I am an automatic owner and feel it is a blast to drive but it does take a few seconds to get that blast of power....the paddle shifting is great.....but I prefer to shift with the knob....feels more natural to me. If you don't mind it taking a few seconds for it to kick in then you will be happy with it! It has plenty of power and the handling is superb! Good Luck!

Re: Automatic Transmission Critiques
 

The paddle shifters feel fine. They care comfortable. I'm still used to shifting with the shifter though, but it's good to know if I end up on a road that requires both hands on the wheel at all times, I can shift on the paddles.

The reason why I like using the shifter more is, it reminds me of the arcade game, Intial D, only it's right hand shift instead of left hand like the arcade game, but the shift engagement is great. Not quite as smooth as the six speed, but it feels very comfortable with virtually no lag shifting between gears in the tiptronic mode.

As for the A/T having less power...yes, on the top end, but having tested both, I have to say that the A/T doesn't feel too far behind the M/T, probably due to having a little more torque, and getting to peak torque sooner.