Taller top gear makes a real difference (10%)

[1337]

I've been poking around some Protege/Escort/Probe forums, and cannot find a definitive answer on this: What manual transmission is used on the '99-00 Protege LX 1.6?

I'd like to do a 5th gear swap on my Protege, but I'm not sure what transmission I have, so I don't know what transmission would work as a 5th gear donor.

[MazdaMatt]

The lowest speed limits outside of parking lots here is 40km/h.... that also happens to be the speed at which I shift into my top gear. I wish it was economical to make a swap, or better yet a new FD with DOUBLE the ratio.

[Unforgiven]

Originally Posted by bhazard

I just wish my turbododges had overdrive.... 3 speed autos FTL!

Surprised at that, the old Shadow turbo 91 that the family used to own was a 4sp. Sadly I actually got better milage with the 90 Acclaim 3.0L v-6 that I regularly got 35 mpg and peaked at 41mpg with it.
Do a little digging, finding the old Getrag 5sp manual is not hard for them, a good trans, just the install will take a bit to run everything right. Or do a little digging into other transmissions, you just may find something interesting.

[1337]

MazdaMatt-

Yeah, I do the same thing. I regularly drive at 30-35mph around town in 5th gear. I really want to install a taller 5th gear.

Does anyone have information about '99-00 Protege 1.6 transmission compatibility?

[metromizer]

Originally Posted by 1337

MazdaMatt-
Yeah, I do the same thing. I regularly drive at 30-35mph around town in 5th gear. I really want to install a taller 5th gear.

thanks god for modern fuel injection systems, you could never do that with an old carburated engine... it would buck and pop if you lugged it like that, from not enough vacuum signal.

In the last 2 months, I started to do about the same with my 3 cylinder metro, which has a factory shift advisory light in the dash, I shift about 5mph before the light comes on. Get this, I am in 2nd gear at 20ft from a standing stop, I'm in 4th gear at 30mph, shifting into top gear, 5th, at 40mph. My documented FE got better by about 2mpg driving this way <I burn about 18 gallons/wk, it's easy to see trends> I am sure if I did more in town driving I'd see a larger difference. I do wonder if I am contaminating my oil faster, though

[1337]

When I drive around town, I usually just shift 1-2-3-5, and sometimes just 2-3-5. When I make a turn from a stop, I am in second by mid-turn, and I'm in third a couple seconds after that.

The protege is really fun to drive around town and it's comfortable on the highway, but its gearing is just atrocious. ~3k at 65mph is such a waste of fuel. *REALLY wants 5th gear swap.*

I wonder if an I4 Probe/626 5th gear would fit in my tranny. If I get a free minute, I'll call search car-part.com for 626 transmissions, call the junkyards, and ask if they know the compatibility with my Protege transmission.

[cfg83]

1337 -

Originally Posted by 1337

MazdaMatt-

Yeah, I do the same thing. I regularly drive at 30-35mph around town in 5th gear. I really want to install a taller 5th gear.

Does anyone have information about '99-00 Protege 1.6 transmission compatibility?

I've been googling, but I can't find a thing. I suspect that a Japanese forum would have more information. But then you would need Japanese fonts and the ability to read Japanese.

CarloSW2

[Volones]

1337, you have a Mazda F5M, or F25M transmission in your protege. The difference is the F5M came with the SOHC engine and the F25M came with the DOHC engine. I believe you can swap the 5th gear from a Mazda 626, but that may be the G-series tranny instead of the F-series. I have the F25M in my MX-3, and plan on swapping in the transmission from a 1.5L SOHC Protege when I can afford to. The individual gears are the same, but the final drive is 3.4:1 instead of 4.1:1

I'll try to find the link I have for the Protege transmission info in a few minutes.

Cheers,
Vol

Edit//
Here's a link regarding swapping 5th gear in a Mazda F-series transmission
http://www.mx-3.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=65457
Hopefully, you won't need to be a member, and even though this isn't your car, the transmissions are the same for this procedure.
Best of luck!

Here's the link I was looking for...
http://www.protegefaq.net/transmission.html
Lots of great info here. Anything with an 'M' is a manual, anything with an 'A' is an automatic (in case you get easily confused like I do). Have fun!

[MazdaMatt]

wow, 15% gearing change in the FD...

I suppose that I'd be dealing with a totally different engine and tranny family with my 2.0L 2k2 pro5, eh?

[Volones]

MazdaMatt,
I'm not sure, but if you have a G-series you should be able to swap parts with a 626. The F-series swaps parts with a Ford Escort. Beyond that I really don't know, you're car is far too new and powerful for me.