LaRRy

heY.. fOr you peps that have stickshift out there..
does it ever get boring? i know its tiresome in heavy traffic..but are there days where its no traffic but your just sick and tired of changing gears?

Also ..are the leathers good for p5?
I seen the leathers for p5...doesnt seem much..and it doesnt sure smell like leather.

protetype

stop and go traffic sucks with manual, but it never gets old. and as for the leather in the p5's... i've seen some quality stuff at the dealership, and wanted it for myself.

mp5

It's the only way to drive.. push it to 5000 rpm and get all the torque you can!

kad

so i suppose your answer would be NO it never ever getting annoying or tiring?

mp5

YES, and it keep my wife from driving the car!

kad

I'm just a lazy bum
Screw performance... all that extra work.
Not for me
I'm a bad driver as it is, paying attention to shifting and such.... pfffffffffff

i'm sure you manual fanatics will all pounce on me now
:O

mp5

slush boxes have their place amongst old people and school buses

nightowl

boring never!!!!....i think its safer driving a manual.....means you can't eat, answer cell phone...etc while driving...plus if you blow your auto trany its $3000+ while if you blow a clutch its $800+

mp5

I do all of those things while driving my stick... you are not affiliated with my insurance company are you?

java2flavor

Yeah, manual shifting is great any time of the day all except for when there is heavy traffic. Thankfully, I live in a city with roads where I can enjoy open roads without much traffic during non-rush hours. Stop and go traffic is definitely a pain in the butt and I wouldn't even consider driving a manual if I lived back in a crowded city such as Taipei, Taiwan (or New York City, etc.). Auto stick driving can make you complacent from a fun-to-drive point of view.

So yeah, really depends where you live and how much traffic you see each day.

LaRRy

LOL mp5..u crack me up :P

btw...anyboDy here else like/dislike the leather on the protege5?

LaRRy

heY..anybody here ever tRy beefing up their mazda?

i meaN..addin intake and a good exhaust doest give u more hp rite?

since i kno everyobdy that has a p5 luvs everything but the engine.

Travis

Intake/Headers/Exhaust will add HP. However It wont add a huge amount. I was reading an article on DC Sports headers for Hondas and they guarantee 7tq/5hp with the headers, which isnt bad at all. Considering the other ones they tested either loss tq or hp. Your not gonna pick up 30-40hp off of I/H/E if thats what your asking. Maybe 10-15, if that. If this is your first 5-speed I would recommend you find some beater to practice driving on and let the P5 sit in the garage for a bit. clutches/tranny's aren't cheap and I know you would rather spend the money on mods

tttP5

P5 was my first car + first stick shift.... very easy.... but I paid for a stick shift lesson before just to crap out the instructors car... I stalled 20 times in 2 hours on his POS.

stick is never boring.... on long drives it can keep u from falling asleep.... like downshifting to 4th to overtake . etc....

heavy traffic is not too bad either I think.... I drive in LA... u get more immediate response when trying to get into hte tight spots

the only time I hate driving stick is when I pulll a all nighter the previous night.... cause when I drive my legs are so tired they always seem to want to cramp, especially the clutch leg. + heavy traffic = hell

one good thing is u don't have to lend your car to your friends...
bad thing is all your friends want u to teach them how to drive stick....
good thing is u can make your tires screech all the time and scare the hell out of the poeople who cross the road so so so so slowly like the road is all theirs.....