Greetings all. First time poster.

I'm looking to buy a new car and I'm having a hard time between two cars: The P5 and the Mitsubishi O-Z Lancer.

Things the P5 has over the Lancer:
Looks (especially in yellow ; wheels; fog lights; etc., etc.)
More Power when moving

Things the O-Z Lancer has over the P5:
Smoother ride
Lower road noise
More Power off the line
Lower price ($2000US less)
0/0/0 financing plan


Now, if that was it, I'd pick the P5. However, one thing concerns me greatly: The stickshift.

I like manual transmissions. While the Lancer's shifter has longer throws the shifting is accurate. On the P5, there's a bit of "wiggle" while going into a gear. While I could forgive the "wiggle", the stick on the P5 shakes/vibrates -- most notably while in neutral and idling.

Now I've always been of the mind that any extra vibration will yield parts that wear out sooner. So my question to all of you is: Is the vibration of the stick "normal" and is anyone having problems shifting gears? I've taken two P5s for a test drive and the 2nd car shaked less, but not by much.

 

My gear shifter vibrates a little bit but it's not excessive. I've only got about 700 miles on my P5. I drove a Corolla once with a 5 speed and couldn't feel a thing in the gear lever....like the car wasn't running. I highly prefer a little vibration that way it feels like the lever is atleast connected.

Several on this board and others have loved the kartboy short throw shifter and/or bushings. Supposedly they get rid of some of the wiggle.

Tyson

 

The P5 uses a rod mechanism shifter which means all the virbration in the tranny are transmitted back to the shifter. That's why you see it virbrates. The Lancer (and many other cars in this class) uses a cable shifter so it's better at isolating the virbration.

Before you jump to say a cable shifter is better....it's not. A cable linkage can bind up if you try to shift too fast and you have a greater chance of missing a gear. Personally I like the feel of a rod linkage. The wiggle you experienced in the P5 can be solved with a $20 bushing from Kartboy. To make it even better you can throw in a short shifter from either Kartboy or B&M and switch to Redline MT90 tranny oil.

 

Yeah, if you've ever driven a rear wheel drive stick, where the shifter is bolted onto the trans you'll feel a lot of vibration. It's just that you are more mechanically connected to the powertrain with a mechanical shift linkage. This (the P5) actually has one of the better feeling FWD shifters. Try a VW and you'll see the difference.

Jeff M

 

you really should not be feeling any shifter vibration. Why? Because the shifter is not a handrest. Applying pressure (i.e. the weight of your hand) can cause premature wear over time. It's analogous to riding the clutch.

 

ok, all the other posts have it nailed on the shifter. while the protege shifter does shake around a lot, it is because it has a mechanical linkage, and not a cable linkage. simple as that.

however, you made these comments:

while the OZ lancer may have a smoother ride, this is because it has a much softer suspension set-up, which will not give you the same levels of handling.

personally, when i drove the lancer, i thought the road noise was similar to that of the pro5. (totally subjective and my opinion only)

outright, the pro5 has more power all over! the 2.0 liter protege has 130 hp / 135 ft-lbs and the lancer only sports 120 hp / 130 ft-lbs! and i might note that both engines peak at similar rpms.

lower price because it has lesspower, and less features.

mazda now offers 0% and 0 payments untill january for 48/60 months.

 

Actually the shifter in my P5 is the only thing I have to complain about. My VW had the best shift of any car I've had, I feel it's better than my old 3series BMW. The P5 is shift is sloppy, I'm hoping the kartboy bushing fixes that. Everybody had good things to say after it's installed. I doubt that will fix the fight my car gives me going into gear, mainly reverse, every morning. Maybe some good tranny fluid would be the cure.

 

Please don't take my VW comment too seriously. In all honesty I havn't driven a real recent VW. The shifter on my 2nd gen GTI was a real piece of crap. It felt like the old beetle shifter (try one of those and anything else feels rock solid). As for trouble going into gear, I've had lot's of sticks that were difficult to get into reverse with, even my P5. Usually a little nudge in a forward gear gets the reverse gears lined up. Havn't really had a problem with forward gears but am thinking of the Kartboy bushing myself. Have to do it on the Q.T.. My wife thinks I'm nuts to do mods on a new car.

Jeff M.

 

Where can I get the Kartboy bushing(s)? Are they easy to install? Any tutorials on installing it?

 

http://www.kartboy.com/

Instructions are on the site.

Tyson

 

Thanks !

 

Back to the topic, while the shifter definitely vibrates, it isn't intolerable. In addition, Edmunds did a review awhile back that included the MP3 and the Lancer OZ Rally. The Mitsu placed dead last:

2002 Econosport Sedans Comparison Test

Just go with the '5, you know you want to (j/k)

 

Thanks everyone. I got a yellow P5 last week!

Mazda has 0 down, 0 payments 'till January and 0% for 4 years on the P5. I paid $600 above invoice. I got the moonroof with 6CD (and other stuff), so not too shaby.

The car had 4 miles on it (I was the 2nd test driver) so I'm very happy. Thanks again.