mx5cartalk.com

Looking for a gear knob for my NB that better fits my big hands. Looking around, I've seen a few advertised (none of which I'm that keen on) but many of the ads specify that they are threaded for the MX-5.

Is there anything particular about the threading of an MX-5's gear shift that means an off the shelf knob won't work?

Ideally I'd like something black and leather but all I seem to come across are metal or carbon-look ones made from smooth plastic

There's nothing abnormal about the thread, it's a standard metric thread M10x1.25

The reason it is usually specified is that Hondas and other cars use a similar, but slightly different thread M10x1.5
Diameter is the same, but the pitch is different, so attempting to screw the wrong one on will wreck the threads.

So yeah, off the shelf is fine, as long as it's the right one on the shelf.



Other common fittimg methods are grub screws (the centre hole is a generic size and the screw just clamps onto the stick... works ok,. but not great since they tend to wobble after a while.
Others use a plastic insert that you just sort of force on, as you turn and screw it on the metal gear stick cuts a thread into the plastic knob. better than a grub screw, but not as good as the proper threaded ones.



as for finding a leather knob, they are out there, but for the life of me I can't think of any off the top of my head.

the NC knob is a fair bit bigger than the NB ones

Rosenthal mazda have factory leather nb knobs, they're not cheap though.

Regie wrote:the NC knob is a fair bit bigger than the NB ones

Don't be so hard on yourself mate, you're just big boned!

The 04/05 NB SE came with a leather gear knob (with red stitching) from the factory, maybe there's an SE owner out there who has replaced their's who's willing to part with it?
(Not me, I'm keep mine! )