xKp5609x

At first i thought this thread was just a joke but i read through it an i guess i could understand. I drive the 8 in boston & providence traffic here and there, and my VW is a 5-speed and i drive that in stop and go all the time, and at time it can be a hassle! Now im not sure of your finances/living situation, but have you thought of keeping the 8 for a weekend toy car and getting like a cheap auto corolla or civic?

qcktvr

Just a couple of comments.
My R3 has a pretty light clutch compared to some... and the pedal does not need to be fully depressed.
The motor has a super wide rev range when in town, 2000 -
Just because you have 6 gears there is no need to go through them all every time if you are not in a hurry or find shifting a pain. If just driving gently try 1st to 3rd to 5th; I never use 6th around town.
Don't downshift more than you really need to, brake pads MUCH easier to replace than a clutch. see the traffic stopping ahead and anticipate when to slip it into neutral and roll to a stop. Allow a reasonable gap in front of you and you may not even have to stop that oftenm 2nd can be good then..
Manual trans give you total control over the drivetrain, although the new autos are really good (had a VW R32 DSG and have a ZF 6 spod with paddles) I had to have another stick.
Apologies if you already tried this, but sounded as if this is fairly new to you.
Regards
Trevor T
(using a clutch since 1964)

Bladecutter

It could be worse.
Try driving a Porsche Cayman manual in Chicago traffic during rush hour.

That clutch actually is heavy, and Chicago traffic is just plain evil.

BC.

Cookie Monster

I'm not sure if I can agree with the sentiments fully, maybe because I've driven a stick for 2 decades and many different manual vehicles.

I don't find the clutch to be firm at all, actually quite light, mine is stock and the car has less than 24k on it.

If you are shifting that much when you are in stop and go traffic in a rotary, you are shifting way too much. I'm in a rural area now, but a Lon time ago in an rx7 I was in stop and go and rarely did I leave 2nd gear, on some of the forums back then it was encouraged to stay above 3k rpms, and if you are really stopping again that much, there is little need for you to shift 3 times, 2nd or 3rd are more than enough gear for any stop and go traffic.

I never use cruise control, adaption to the car I'm driving is all I need. This car does not drone to me at highway speeds, I can hear the radio just fine at 9-12 though if I'm in to the music I'll have it up higher like 18-21. Now, I've been in cars that are super silent and powerful where you can be going 80 in a 60 if you don't check your speedo enough. Maybe you need some tunes to help your ears focus much less on the exhaust note.

Is your car used? I ask because this could explain off two of your complaints; a much stiffer than stock clutch and much louder than stock exhaust. Maybe try some music you love to help with the latter; and when it's time, get a stock clutch for the prior.

Again, if you get into 4th in 10 seconds and stop 15 seconds later you can do a couple things differently; first, 1-3 shift, second, hold 3rd. This will cut your shifting by 1/3, one shift instead of 3. You aren't driving a hybrid, you are driving a rotary that thrives at higher rpm, including maintaining speed. Our highway cruise is 3k+, so for 15 seconds being at 3-6k up to your next red light isn't going to strain the engine.

As someone with personal and family health problems, I don't find it an ample excuse. Exercise and diet helps with blood pressure. I used to be on Xanax for my severe anxiety disorders and one of he reasons I almost never post, I've had to walk away from loved ones while talking it was so bad.

Everyone is different, but taking a drive for me lowers my anxiety and stress, even if it isn't on 'twisties', find a silly destination like a store with a special drink or snack you like, and make a trip just for yourself that isn't an errand like grocery shopping or a required drive like to work. Have some fun in your car, drive down unknown roads, just give yourself some freedom from routine, it can really help with the mind and body issues.

As far as 'shifting constantly forever', you reach a point where shifting is so second nature you don't notice outside really extreme cases such as gridlocks, where you move inches to feet every 10-20 seconds. I don't notice or think about it at stoplights at all any longer. It is a similar experience for manual steering, some people find it tough, but for me after a couple days and the knowledge that if the wheels are rolling even slightly the effort is exponentially less, it becomes unnoticeable.


With all that said, if you want an auto, then do your research on the value of your car and what you are looking for as far as features and colors of you ideal auto version and go for it. I'm not trying to convince you otherwise, just trying to counter your experience with my own and maybe encourage you to take a step back from your current frustration and maybe see it in a different light if possible. I don't know what a auto rx8 feels like, but I can tell you an auto rx7 didn't feel like the same car; sluggish, uninspired, disappointing. My ex had one at the same time; hers was an 86 base, mine a 89 gxl. Mine felt wonderful, hers was less enjoyable and responsive than the 05 hybrid civic cvt I had.

Just hope you find happiness with the car you own or a fair trade for an auto you hopefully will love. I'd strongly suggest you find some way to take a test drive that mimics as close to possible your current driving situations so you don't end up with the auto musing the manual after some time.

Driving stick gets much more natural over time; I still felt some dissatisfaction with some of your issues a few years in, now after a few decades, nothing really bugs me about anything but crazy stop and go highway stuff, but I'm just as irritated in an auto! of

Razz1

Buy a beater. Liability insurance only.

Use that for DD

AreEx-8

I have a 2005 auto with rebuilt engine from Rotary Ressurection, and upgrades that I would trade for your manual plus cash, if you are interested. The autos are handy for traffic, and have decent power from 5000 to 7500 rpm.

Mazdaspeed RX8 ver2

All my cars are manual except for my ladies vehicles which is the cx-9 and the 6. Even with the heavy traffic that plagues the bay area now, i never would wish that any of my cars are an auto. I used to DD the rx8 and honestly miss it vs the mazdaspeed6, that clutch.. feels like a stage 2. lol

40w8

Like most auto cars my RX8 has tall final gear, so I geared my 6 speed auto down 4% by running 225/40r18 instead of 45 profile tire.

Allows it to get out of corners faster, but takes 4% off top end that I never need.

All RX8's are fun.

fyrstormer

I have never once had that happen in 19 years of driving.

You know, some people would say the RX-8 isn't a real sports car because it has usable back seats and doors to access them.

Low blood pressure, not high. I get lightheaded any time I'm upright for more than a few minutes. The medical term is "postural orthostatic hypotension syndrome". Stress makes the effects feel much worse. Falling over in the middle of the sidewalk would not be good for my health.

I bought it new. The entire car is stock except for the ignition coils and the tires.

As you say, everyone is different. I used to enjoy driving until I had a series of panic attacks while driving on the perfectly flat, featureless stretch of Interstate between DC and Richmond at night surrounded by trucks. Six months of commuting to visit my girlfriend 2 hours away with uncontrolled panic disorder was not good to me. I already had low-blood-pressure issues and the panic disorder just made it so much worse, not least because I couldn't have caffeine to help me stay alert.

DC-area traffic is among the worst in the US. We get gridlocks all over the metro area on a daily basis, even in the suburbs. Being able to creep forward a few feet just by taking my foot off the brake beats the hell out of having to put the car in gear, release the brake, rev the engine slightly to avoid stalling, feather the clutch for a few seconds, step on the brake again, put the car in neutral again, lather rinse and repeat 100x until I get where I'm going. Even though I've been doing it for years and I can do it without thinking, I'm still acutely aware that I'm having to do it.

Sometimes I skip gears, but I generally feel like that requires staying in lower gears for too long. If I'm accelerating gradually, I don't want to hear the engine whirring away at 6000rpm because I wanted to wait until I could skip a gear before upshifting.

I almost never downshift for engine braking; when I come up to a red light I put the car in neutral and use the brakes to slow down.

People who coast and crawl forever in an attempt to avoid having to come to a stop should be dragged out of their cars and shot by the side of the road. It's easily one of the most road-rage-inducing things that a driver can do to the other drivers behind them. Come to a stop promptly so the people behind you can do the same, instead of having to watch your bumper while you crawl forward, lest they leave too much of a gap between themselves and you, because some a-hole will inevitably pull into that gap in a vain attempt to get ahead in traffic.

That's actually what I bought my 8 for in the first place. My Passat was supposed to be my daily driver and my 8 was supposed to be my "I feel like a change of pace/having fun" car. The Passat was never reliable enough to actually serve that purpose.

Currently I'm 5 digits underwater for my RC hobby. Unlike real cars, I can run my RCs flat-out and not get arrested, and the engines redline at ~35,000rpm which makes fun noises. So it'll be a while before I can afford to buy a spare car.

For the time-being, I'm driving my girlfriend's 3. It's an appliance, but it works, it's quiet, it doesn't bother me with the details, and the only money I spend on it is to buy gas. The cheapest option is always to not buy anything at all, right?

40w8

fyrstormer,

I'm starting to feel a little dirty here.

By the end of these discussions you're brave enough to harass people for creeping and filling the gap.

That's what you do in heavy traffic or car beside you fills it, and nearly all those creeping cars have automatics.

At least you'll get to use a driverless car someday.

Steve Dallas

There is nothing wrong with revving an RX-8 to 6K RPM to skip a gear. The engine likes it.

tobeit

Not sure what to make out of the discussion - a few people take it way too seriously what someone should have or not and what is better. Its entirely understandable that the OP desires not to deal with shifting in daily travel, if MT drivers don't like that so be it, everyone his own. I owned many AT's and MT's in my life and currently own 3 cars with AT but all with paddle shifters. So, what does that mean - literally nothing except I have an AT for convenience and in case I want to decide to shift on my own I can switch to manual mode (which is not entirely manual, I know). Neither of my cars is a pure sports car (328i M-Sport, MB C300 Sport, Rx-8) but all allow "sporty" driving habits using the paddle shifter when I want to.
So, does that make me less of a true Rx-8 owner because I drive a AT?

yurcivicsux

traffic in Washington area is ****, about the same as Toronto i know cause i have been around both areas. manuals suck for traffic and DD, but some cars are worst than the rx; this i know from experience. an auto RX-8 forget it. cant have cake and eat it too.

BigCajun

iTrader: (1)

Some of us would say you own a lesser RX8 and aren't experiencing the true RX8 experience.

I understand the frustration of OP's dilemma. I drive 20 miles of suburban interstate and rarely encounter stop and go traffic, and my commute takes less than half an hour.
I used to drive a 7 mile commute in the suburbs of New Orleans that would take 45 minutes on a normal day.

I get to drive it the way I choose to, with plenty of enjoyable downshifting and accelerating to 9k rpm, which an automatic driver will never experience.
I've driven faster cars with autos, but none are as enjoyable to drive.

If I couldn't drive mine the way I drive it now, I would sell it.
It wouldn't be worth it to me.

Lancr735

I have a 2006 (my boys) auto R8 and my friend has a 2006 Shinka R8 (stick) and I can tell you from side by side free way blasts the 2 are neck and neck side by side from launch until letting off at 115-120 and we can glance back and fourth at each other the whole way there. What the manual may gain in a RPM it loses in shift time, more so in chosing the right gear on pedal to the floor down shifts as the auto chose's the right gear every time when you stomp on it.

I have timed both with a dash mount GPS/Accelerometer and both get consistent 14.4-14.6 86-88 MPH 1/4 mile runs and the auto much more consistent and repeatable than the stick. I have to agree with a statement made some where in the middle of this thread that they got it pretty right with the auto's programming.

I am a mid 80's 5.0 Mustang guy bashing and breaking T-5's and rear diffs and LOVE gear banging for sure but there's a BIG difference of love and respect, ie having the *** end fish tail wildly hitting 3rd at 100 doing such with 400+ HP with giggle gas torque when needed verses doing it with these puny 1.3 liter soap box my garden tractor has more torque engines that would take a 7k hole shot to fish tail in first. But I can say the sound of rotary makes up for it all, I actually love driving them both so I'm not 8 bashing here, just saying all the talk I've read on this site about the manual 8 is so much more superior to the auto 8 is a bunch of hog wash, I've driven and timed them both, they are both fun and pretty equal in performance. Why do you think 550 HP GTR's are auto's? Because you can't beat the computer in shifting and knowing the power curve

(PS, my street stang does mid 10's in the 1/4, what your manual 8 do? and it'll out drift most in corners too)

Lancr735

This is an auto!! I can shift fast but not this fast

koyv90

automatic is cancer. No reason to buy a sports car with automatic.

wannawankel

Tell that to the automobile companies churning beautiful sedans, wagons, and coupes (with no manual option). I would seriously consider an Alfa Quadrofoglio Wagon or 3-series wagon in MT. none exist in CDN or USA.....

tobeit

I guess I am getting old. Agree with an earlier post that MT vs AT is less important on the small Wankel and not sure what all the fuss is about. But to each his own, understand if some racers just want a MT and have fun stirring the stick. My turbocharged AT's (2016 MB C300, 2015 BMW 328i) with multiple adjustable AT modes including a custom mode (shifting, suspension, steering) work great for me. And if I want more, I go into pseudo manual with paddle shifters on all incl the '8.

liondogs

Love my 09 automatic with paddle shifters. No regrets buying it.

Nisaja

I totally understand the OP's problem. I have a series 2 AT, and, even though I didn't ask for it (my mom can't drive manuals so she wanted to be able to drive it in case of an emergency), I love it. It's so easy and fun to use the pedals. As some of you may know, I live in a small tropical island, where it takes 1 hour to drive 6 miles. The traffic is INSANE. In traffic like that, the auto is a breeze. It's so livable. A friend of mine has a manual 6 speed RX8 and a manual Mazda 3, and he uses the 3 daily because it's a lot easier to drive the 3! Even though it's a manual.


I think why most people hate automatic 8s is because back when the 8 launched, the autos came with a 4 speed, and a 192bhp 4 port engine. That was clearly slower than the manual because it had 2 less gears and a lot less power, but in 2007, autos came with 6 port engines. The same engine that came with the 6 speed manuals, and, they came with 6 speed automatic transmissions. They were a whole lot faster than the 4 speed autos.

I actually raced a friend a few months back to see if his manual is really that much faster than my auto. Both were 6 speed, both had 6 port engines. To keep it fair, neither of us launched and we shifted at 8k rpm. Every time he changed gears, I pulled ahead. Because when he needs to change gears, he has to let go of the accelerator, push the clutch, change gears, let go of the clutch and floor the accelerator. While I do all of that by just pulling a pedal. By the time we got up to about 100mph, I was about 2 cars lengths in front of him. His car had a weak ignition though. Maybe if he had new plugs, coils and wires, he'd be right next to me, or even ahead! Who knows! I'm actually gonna find out pretty soon. Gonna race a friends R3 and see what's what. Hopefully I can get it on video

Autos aren't as bad as people say they are. I think they bash it so much because they haven't driven 6 speed autos with healthy engines

Nisaja

THIS! How did I miss this post. I'm assuming they both were 6 speed? I've always had this idea, that if both cars are healthy, they'll be neck and neck. I've wanted to do this race. Looks like you beat me to it. Lol.

For real? A friend of mine timed his quarter mile and he got 16 seconds. His was also a 6 speed auto, with good compression. Pretty disappointing, but it is what it is

Lancr735

Just fyi 2006 R8's came with 6 port 6 speed auto too, notice the HP figure in this quarter run done this past Saturday, hits the factory rated spec for HP prestty close and 1/4 mile time both in et and MPH right on the nose

Lancr735

Here is an example shifting the auto in manual mode waiting for the red line indicator to ring, slower time but better HP figure, right at factory rated spec for teh auto. I was slow to shift from 2nd to 3rd and rev limiter kicked in for just a split second slowing the ET. Runs best and most consistent just letting the computer do the shifting. Not bad for a all stock 2006 AUTOMATIC with 100,000 miles on original engine

Nisaja

Damn! I was there when my friend did the quarter mile. He was in manual mode! He bounced on the rev limiter for a split second too! Guess that explains it all. Thanks!