Turbo-charge and Auto. Rx-8?
 

well...here's the situation... I have an '04 4-spd. Automatic Rx-8. I've seen turbo-charged auto. rx-8's before but I wanted to hear good opinions on what other people thought of putting a turbo in an automatic. I mean the car pulls for an automatic...but I would just LOVE to hear a blow-off valve go off when I press the paddle shifters...

most of you are probably going to extensively disagree with me--wanting to add such performance to an automatic but i'm just not ready for a manual yet. I've just started to learn how to drive a manual and I don't want to get one and not be able to handle it, especially if turbo-charged. So maybe turbo-charging my automatic could get me used to more power so when I step into a stick-shift, it's not a whole another world, entirely.

Let me know what you think. Thanks :-)

and also, if I was going to turbo my car, how tough is the install? {w/ the greddy turbo kit}

thanks again!! :)

Fixed.

you'd be surprised at how FORGIVING our Manual Transmission is. I've given my girlfriend lessons in my car (and most of you know how much I BABY my car) and she did GREAT.

I honestly think you're better off trading in for either a new (6 port AT or making the jump to a MT RX-8)

+1 seems like you're working in the wrong direction. learn MT 1st, then learn how to handle more power.

Good luck man. I'd like to see how it comes out..

You would gain about 50hp just by switching from an 04 AT to a MT. That would be the easiest and cheapest way for you to gain hp.

Seriously, man. Don't be scared of a manual. I see you've started learning it, that's a good start. If I were you, I'd save the money from the turbo and get a better manual car later on in life. It definitely would be a better use of the money. A turbo would help an auto RX-8 a lot, but it does not have as much hp gain potential as the MT, due to your 4-port engine not achieving as much flow as the manual's 6-port. See rotarygod's thread:

https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-specific-performance-mods-97/heres-why-engine-has-less-power-potential-than-6mt-20148/

Don't waste your time.

Turbocharging the AT will give you $ for $ better performance gain than doing the exact same mod to the MT. It's not a waste of money in my opinion. If so, then modding the slightly faster but still quite slow MT is a waste of money. We all should have bought Vette's. Do your research and go for it. The money lost on trade in would make you faster than the MT if used on your current car. Buy a manual next time around if you want one.

true...
 

yeah i've had mixed feelings on it, but I don't think i'm going to do it... I'm just going to keep at it with learning to drive manual and hopefully when i'm financially ready, i can upgrade to a 6 sp. MT. Thanks for the replies!

I couldn't disagree with you more. I have seen dyno's of AT turbos on this forum with less whp then my MT had stock.

krock i was in your similar position. i had an 04 auto and was looking for more power. i went out and found someone that had stick and got a crash course in driving stick. i then test drove a MT rx8 and couldnt believe the power difference. it pulled so much harder than my AT. shortly thereafter i leased an 06 MT. it took me about 2 weeks to learn to drive it and be somewhat smooth. im happy with my decision. go test drive one and you'll see. im not putting down the AT just sharing my experience. but if you are happy with the AT stick with it and dont beat yourself up over it like i did.

Peak horsepower doesn't say everything. Average horsepower is all that matters. I haven't seen any turbo AT dynos on this forum, so I can't comment on specifics.

It's probably more important that you know what you're doing w/turbo options, now that I think about it.

If you have no experience w/turbo the rotary is not a good engine to use as a learning experience.

I too took two weeks to get comfortable driving manual. That's all it takes, d00d, don't be afraid of it. You can do it.

if you're not financially ready to upgrade to a 6 speed MT you're probably not financially ready to throw a turbo in your car.