ptiemann

I learnt driving back in Germany, in 1984. Stick shift is mandatory there. I think if you take the test on an automatic, they put that on your license there.

I didn't have a car until 1996 though and this RX-8 is my first manual transmission. No problems, even after nearly 20 years :-)

Question 1:

The other night I was bored and found in the manual on page 5-9 these shifting instructions:

at 14 mph : switch from 1st to 2nd gear
3rd gear at 22 mph
4th at 29 mph
5th at 36 mph
6th at 46 mph

I tried that yesterday and it makes the engine run around 2000 rpm. Is that intended to minimize wear and tear? God forbid that I'd ever go beyond 55 mph :-)

At 2000 rpm there's just no pull - I usually shift around 4000 I think. And I redline it once or twice a day.

Any thoughts on this?



Question 2:

What is more wear 'n' tear on a rotary engine - low rpms or high rpms? And what is more wear on the transmission?



Question 3:
Someone said drive any rpm you want, but don't LUG the engine. What does that mean? (English is my 2nd language..)



-Peter

khoney

First - THROW OUT THE OWNER'S MANUAL!

Here are your instructions:

1) Start in 1st gear.

2) When you hear the beep, SHIFT to next gear.

2) Repeat step 2 until desired speed is reached.

syntrix

The owners manual recommends shift points for fuel economy.

There is no way in hell that I would EVER shift that low

Don't redline the car on every shift (hard to do), rather find some points to shift where you know and understand the power of the car.

If you shift early, the next gear will not feel as fast, and the car will lug until the rpms get up there. Not a bad thing, unless you need to go fast.

RussellP

you definitely dont shift that low in this particular car. I cruise around at 7k rpms, shift at 8 or 9.

ptiemann

again! LUG! I think it means to behave like a sLUG (type of snail, right?)

Thanks for the answers...

syntrix

As in... low engine rpms, you aren't accelerating very fast at all... more of a strain on the engine.

Think 6th gear at 20 mph, floored while climbing a mountain. You don't go fast, and the engine has a large strain on it. 1st would be better

ptiemann

out of curiousity.. are you one of the people who get 13 mpg?

(I'm getting 20 on highway with 4000 rpm)

rxevolve10

LUG= to bog down basically press the gas to the floor and you do not go very fast. Along with it you may experience some vibration.

RussellP

I dont get great mileage right now, but i know its because of how i drive. After having the car a few more weeks im sure ill tone it down a bit but right now its worth the gas money to enjoy the car.

Doctorr

The guys are right - the shift points in the manual are definately for maximum fuel economy, but more importantly, if they are printed that way in the manual, the government mileage tests MUST use them as their gear change points!

Face it, that is the ONLY way the car will get near the 'official' fuel economy!

Just ignore them, they are designed by the lawyers, to cover their ***.
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doc

come 8 me

lug=means your mind wants to gof fast but your car is moving at a slower speed than you would like.

PoLaK

iTrader: (1)

I shift around 4k or 5k for the 2nd to 3rd shift and 5-6.5k for the 3-4th shift. I do have a problem with the car jerking when shifting out of 1st into 2nd when i have to keep the car at or around 25 mph any suggestions?

sindows98

Make sure u press the clutch all the way in and dont just let the clutch drop when u shift. slowely let ur foot off the clutch

or

make sure ur foot is off the gas when shifting, and keep ur RPMS up when in 1st gear.

I was the same way when I first got my manual, I do like the clutch in my corvette MUCH better then the RX8's when I test drove it. In a corvette the clutch activates very fast it makes for great take offs.

shimm57

this thread has been very helpful to me. thanks everyone.

Does anyone know what ''grinding the gears'' means?

also

When braking, what do you usually do? put it in neutral and coast to a stop or downshift? I heard downshifting is hard on the transmission but is that true?

Rick

Brakes pads are cheaper to replace. I coast M/T in neutral.

sindows98

I coast when breaking saves breakes and ur legs if u drive a lot.


Grinding gears is when you dont have the shifter all the way in a gear and u let go of the clutch and sounds like someone is sawing off your legs with a chainsaw.

8_wannabe

Does this mean that some ppl keep their foot ON the gas while shifting? I was always taught think of clutch and throttle as a teeter-totter. One goes up the other goes down. And vice versa. is this generally good technique?

druck

You dip the throttle just enough to reduce the revs to match what they will be in the higher gear. Comming off the gas completely and letting the revs drop is just almost as bad as staying on the gas.

As long as you aren't trying to get a record 1/4 mile time, you should be able to change gear so smoothly your passengers dont notice.

This is particularly important if you are a friend of mine driving his TVR V8 with 400HP and 400ft/lb. His gear changes consist of alternatively being thrown against the belt, and pressed in to the seat, followed by nausia and dry cleaning bills.

Cheers
---Dave

8_wannabe

I obviously need training. I'm not getting these fine points. Short of going to a track and shelling out a hundred or two, where can I look to get drivers training on MT?

JohnnyCumLately

What's all this 1st to 2nd to 3rd to 4th to 5th stuff? Approaching the motorway in 3rd at around 25, drop down to 2nd for better acceleration passing the lorries up the slip road up to about 55, at which point you can go straight to 5th if all is clear, or 4th if there's a lot of traffic and you need a bit more oomph to cut through it (or a bit of engine braking if there's no way out). Once you are in your lane, top gear and cruise for a bit.

I'm still in an old fashioned cylinder based car, but I imaging the RX is not too different. (From the test drive you can easily take it up to 70 in second - though the MPG may not be too good).

Now I know why the yanks have got their cars first - to give them time to learn to drive!

emailists

It seems for me that coming off the gas all the way in the 8 and shifting is perfect- the revs stay high enough and no problems engaging to the next gear- after readinn this I even tried to shift on partial throttle and I just couln't seem to do it- force of habit...

What do others here do- shift on part or no throttle?

8_wannabe

I completely come off the gas, but shift quick and ease back onto the gas. Whether shifting up or down it is so smooth you can hardly feel it; you can only hear the change in gear. So is druck saying this is bad for the clutch? I have trouble believing that...

ptiemann

that's how I shift as well

visitor

keeping the gas down during shifting is otherwise known as "power shifting", an effect which can produce good results for certain cars in certain situations, ie drag racing. of course the whole action is done in about half a second so the revs in the engine shouldn't change too much. this probably isn't a good idea on the 8 since you'll probably hit the rev limiter every time.

8_wannabe

Thanks, visitor. So druck was just jerkin' us around. I knew it didn't sound right.