Is there a stonger 5 speed to look for?
 

OK. 6 speeds are where it's at strength wise or the turbo II rx7 unit. Unfortunately there are no easy swap parts available for the RX7 unit and the 6 speeds are hard to find under $600.

For those of us looking for a cheap easy solution are any of the 5 speeds better than others? Kinda like you want an 01 or newer 6 speed. Were there any special editions or certain years known to have stronger gears?

Anyone looked at the 06 and newer MX-5 tranny for fitment? It's been talked about before but I don't know if anyone ever tried the RX8 unit for fitment.

Looking for a more affordable + easier to find option to the 6 speed.


I know I really need that dead horse av but I haven't seen definitive answers to these ignorant questions. :facepalm:

I've heard it told that the 01+ 5 speeds are stronger and have some changes in the case design. I can't verify that at all so I could be talking out my ass.

The 06+ engines spin the other way dont they? So that would give you 5 or 6 reverse gears and one crappy forward :giggle:

I've been more and more seriously considering a TII swap. The challenge sounds fun and I think it has better gear ratios than the miata 6 speed. If/When I do it i'm going to analyze the ways that a bolt on kit could be made.

I'm sure you could sell boatloads of bolt on kits for the TII tranny. This is if you have an extremely tiny boat! Sure seems like a kit/part/guide someone should be making.

Check out the mighty mouse build thread for some of the details. The biggest thing I think that makes it not worth while is the adapter plate. That hunk of aluminum on its own is atleast 200 bucks. The tranny mounts could easily be made a semi bolt on piece in which case the end user would have to drill holes in the floor much like a roll bar or frame rail install.

The more I think about it the more I think it would just end up costing as much as a 6 speed :(

That's what I was afraid of. I'm really hoping not to have to spend $700. Was really hoping someone knew if there was a year (or special edition) the 5 speed was stronger than the rest.

How much power are you making/plan to make? What do you plan to do with the car?
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Over 9000.

Troll for youngun's...I mean get groceries.




Are you still on the 5spd? Holding up to your street antics?

I'm still on my 1992 5 speed with 208k on it.
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Is 900$ a good price for a 6 speed from 2002 with 25,000km on it?

I would buy a kit to mount a TII transmission. Would love to have it.

that is kinda high but you pay for proximity and timming 99% of the time.

My 94 car has been my daily driver and track day thrasher for 3 years now. I now have 35K miles since turbo'ing it two years ago. Currently running the stock 5 speed and 12psi/ around 250 rwhp. Finishing up an engine build and would like to turn up the boost. 15-17psi and 300hp.

If it was a 2nd car or track toy only I wouldn't be too worried. Also one of the tracks I drive regularly is 3 hours away in the middle of nowhere. Breaking a tranny there wouldn't be fun.

I also agree one of the many vendors/builders on here needs to fill the need for a T2 swap kit. Surely it wouldn't be that much of a task to put one together, and I'm sure they would sell like hotcakes (what ever that means). Since I'm considering the turbo route again, I'm back to stressing over the 5 speed. I hate that some people run fine with a 200k mile 5 speed, and others blow through 3 a year at lower power levels. Maybe I'll just buy a spare 5 speed or two and keep them around for a quick weekend swap if and when it blows. I'd love a 6 speed, but shit is it hard to track them down, and they are always expensive.

I have 3 spare transmissions in my garage, and have been beating the hell out of my 5 speed for the past ... 8 years. It's still holding up just fine. Stupid thing.

See, I hear stuff like this, but now watch, now that you said this, within a week or two someone will blow one up at a track event or on the street, running fairly low power, not beating on it too much. I guess I might just find a cheap spare and keep it in case, for comfort. Can't really justify the cost of a 6 speed, then the cost of getting the rear end rebuilt with lower gears to make it livable. Pretty sure I'm going to do 3.6 anyway, I HATE driving on the interstate in this car, running 4000rpm at 80 cruising. Probably sounds like I have an extra gear that I forgot about to other people on the road.

There is a rule: 5 speeds are weak and break anywhere between 200whp-300whp (and that's being generous)
There are exceptions to the rule: a few guys I know running over 300 still on the 5 speed.

Those rules suck though. "WARNING: May destruct anywhere from 200hp-300hp, but may also be reliable from 200hp-500hp. Flip a coin." My luck sucks, so I will for sure have a spare.

Doubt the 5 speed will hold up anywhere even close to 500. maybe for a dyno pull or 2.

yeah lol, its a shitty rule. gotta pay to play.

I absolutely hate the gearing on my 6 speed + 4.10 torsen. way too short. at least I won't blow up tho

:ugh: Yeah, that 6 speed and 4.1 would drive me fucking crazy! I would watch Sav's videos on Youtube and freak out over how short the gears were. I hate the gearing on the 5 speed and 3.9 (I think it's 3.9 anyway, I forget) so I KNOW 4.1's and closer gears would make me pull my hair out. Even the 3.6 with the 6 speed I didn't much care for. Still closer gears 1-5. If I could get any setup I wanted, it would be the 6 speed with the mystical 3.3

Realistically, how much added stress do you get by dropping the rear from 3.9 to 3.6 gear? Surely not much.