MSP Shifter in my Protege5 = RAD!!!

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blizzard

Member
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02 Protg 5
MSP Shifter in my Protege5 = RAD!!! Watch out 56K!!

I just got my MSP shifter into my Protege5 this afternoon. I know quite a few people have done this already, but man, it's awesome! It REALLY shortens things up down there (wow, I don't think you'd want to hear that from your girlfriend hey?!?!)

Here's a bunch of pics. Sorry, the quality isn't too good I had to use a Point-and-Shoot style, not my better one. Let me know if you want a how-to. There's so many out there I didn't think it'd be necessary, but I'll do it if anyone wants.

Any how, I love it...

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Yeah the MSP shifter in my MSP is RAD...looks nice man...MP5_509 i'm gonna be getting rid of mine here real soon, i can PM ya when i get rid of it if you want.
 
Mad Hatter said:
that's a lot of pics, you should warn 56k users. BTW, looks great!
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(mswerd) Edited the title!!

MP5_509 said:
DANG! Whatd that run you.
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The shifter cost $40 from Hookedup240 on here. He's the man 'cuz he sent it with another set of bushings, and also a tube of grease!!!

Then I bought the shift knob from my local Mazda dealer because it was on sale there, and it worked out being cheaper than through ebay or any where else (you can get them regularly on ebay for $45+shipping)!

Actually, the shifter really cost me $80 because I bought one from someone else, but when the postal service delivered it, it was empty!!! The padded envelope had been ripped open on one side by someone, and the contents had been removed. We're not talking about an accident, this would have been deliberate! So I called USPS, and and the lady there said, "Oh, no, your package has been opened, and someone has stolen the contents!" So I said, "No s***." Long pause, then she said, "Is there anything else I can help you with?" WTF?!?!?! I told her it had to be one of their employees, but she gave me some song and dance about finger printing everyone who touched the package wouldn't get us anywhere, (blah) (none of which I had mentioned...). Any how, long story short, I had to buy 2 shifters to get one!!!

It was worth it. I love the new feel, and I love the fact that it's a factory part, it makes me all warm inside :D .
 
No insurance? That sucks... it's hard enough getting your money back from the post office when you DO buy insurance :)

So how much shorter is the MSP shifter than the B&M... cuz mine dwarfs that one!
 
viVid said:
No insurance? That sucks... it's hard enough getting your money back from the post office when you DO buy insurance :)

So how much shorter is the MSP shifter than the B&M... cuz mine dwarfs that one!
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i think the kart boy is the shortest (ill get better pics tommrow but here are some of my kartboy SS)

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One quick thing that I was noticing. It appears that the MSP shifter while shorter in overall length than the P5 shifter, is the same length when comparing the distance of the "pivot ball" to the undercar linkage. Clearly this is going to shorten your throw some, but you could have essentially achieved this by doing the cheap "cut a few inches off the shifter" mod. I have installed the B&M on my ride and when comparing the B&M to the Kartboy, not only is the overall length shorter than stock but the under car linkage portion is longer contributing to the shortened throw. Perhaps the above picture angle is misleading but is this what I'm seeing? Is the MSP "short shift" literally just a shortened P5 shift stick? Is what I'm saying making any sense? Just curiousity on my end. Bottomline the install looks great and I'm glad that you're happy with it.~Matt
 
Damn, makes me wish I got the KB SS threaded for that knob so I didnt have to switch it out. Oh well. Enjoy!
 
Makes perfect sense to me. Is there an advantage to having the extra space between the ball and the linkage?

PR5hokie said:
One quick thing that I was noticing. It appears that the MSP shifter while shorter in overall length than the P5 shifter, is the same length when comparing the distance of the "pivot ball" to the undercar linkage. Clearly this is going to shorten your throw some, but you could have essentially achieved this by doing the cheap "cut a few inches off the shifter" mod. I have installed the B&M on my ride and when comparing the B&M to the Kartboy, not only is the overall length shorter than stock but the under car linkage portion is longer contributing to the shortened throw. Perhaps the above picture angle is misleading but is this what I'm seeing? Is the MSP "short shift" literally just a shortened P5 shift stick? Is what I'm saying making any sense? Just curiousity on my end. Bottomline the install looks great and I'm glad that you're happy with it.~Matt
Click to expand...
 
Rickman said:
Makes perfect sense to me. Is there an advantage to having the extra space between the ball and the linkage?
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Yes, it shortens the throw by increasing the distance the linkage travels. Essentially, the longer the shaft is from the ball to the linkage, the shorter the movement at the knob needs to be to change gears. The travel on my TWM from first to second is 3 inches at most. I can shift with two fingers without moving my hand at all. The disadvantage is that you have less leverage, thus it takes a little bit more effort... hence the reason most ss manufactures sell weighted shift knobs.
 
To those who were asking about the ball to linkage distance, it is most definitely the same. I am pleased with that for several reasons. Firstly, because of the decresed length of the shifter ABOVE the ball, the shift-effort is going to increase any way. By keeping the lower distance the same, atleast it doesn't go up two fold.

To illustrate this, think about a teeter-todder in the playground. If you are on the end of one side, and there is a fat kid at the end of the other side, how easy is it for you to go up and down (in this case the fat kid's the linkage, and you are your hand trying to shift)? It's not easy for you to make the fatso move. Now move the fat kid really close to the center of the teeter-todder. It's now really easy for you to make hime move!! This is exactly the same as with a shifter. If the distance below the ball INCREASES, it requires more force ABOVE the ball to make it move.

HOWEVER, to make the part below the ball move the same horizontal distance, takes LESS movement above the ball. If you were to keep the same length above the ball, and only increase the distance below, this would, in fact, shorten the throw above, while making is harder to shift. By further decreasing the distance ABOVE the ball short shifters decrease the amount of torque above the ball, and thus you effort has to go up even more!

The other reason is that I don't have to install any spacers or anything to move the heat shield away from the body. This is a MAZDA part, and that makes me super happy. So for me, I still have my stock Protege5 one that I can put back in when I sell the car, and I have a REAL Mazda short shifter from an MSP. I never considered cutting mine, that wouldn't have made me happy (just my opinion, as I know there are lots who do it (cool) ).

so blizzard,
your a bike mechanic too!???
Click to expand...

No, I manage a bike shop, and am opening another one in a few months. No wrenching here (although we all cut our teeth pulling old bad CCM's and stuff apart then rebuilding them... you gotta pay your dues :D ).
 
looks good, i get my twm ss here pretty soon, its been in shipping for like 2 weeks. cant wait to put it in.
 
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