I wrote an earlier post, but it didn't seem to submit. Therefore writing again.

I recently became the new owner of a 1994 Lantis with 15k miles. I reside in USA, so these cars were never sold here. Add to that, they were uncommon in Japan as well. I bought it because my kids eventually will need a car, and I wanted to be a bit more unique in the sense that they're not driving SUVs with automatics like everyone else here.

My question is, does the suspension share parts with the Mazda Protege of the same years? I am probably sure this must've been asked many times here, and I'm sorry if the question has gotten thin. Thanks.

Hi and welcome!

Re posting, we have moderation in place to avoid spam, your first 3 posts will need manual approval (we try to clear those daily), but after that no problem.

Hopefully someone can answer your query. Don't worry about questions being asked before, answering them is what we're (still!) here for

Serena

Welcome

I did some cross referencing on the KYB USA and KYB UK site, and found that the 323F front shocks (struts) match up with the US-market Protege. There were non-ABS equipped models that resulted in different part numbers, and I think it's limited to a sensor mounting provisions.

Does the 323F, in stock form, seem to sit high? Hoping long-term owners can chime in here. Thanks.

Welcome, and thanks for posting. I've replaced the suspension on my 323f BA 1.5 and also V6 and in both cases I used KYB parts, which are very readily available here in the UK. There was a time when lots of 323f BA owners were lowering their cars (search this forum!) but I've never thought the stock ride height was especially high. It looks well planted and proportionate to me. But it does point to the easy availability of adjustable suspension for the BA (aka Lantis)

I agree about cross-checking part numbers, and yes, it seems the earlier BA models did not have ABS but later ones did, and this is seen in the different part numbers. But the only difference is the presence of a support lug for the ABS wire, so fitting a later strut to an older car should not be a problem

In case you've not foud it yet, time spent at partsouq.com is always useful:
All 323f shapes:
https://partsouq.com/en/catalog/genuine ... 9e0g%3D%24
Lantis specific:
https://partsouq.com/en/catalog/genuine ... ACYM9UI%24

You do want to have your wits about you when searching there, but it can pay dividends

If yours is a V6 (I'm guessing) be aware that the springs are thicker than the way more common 1.5 and 1.8 models, and are very hard to come by. Also the rear trailing arms of a V6 have a bit of a bend in them, again really hard to find, so either refurbish what you have, fabricate replacements, or try to get away with the more common straight ones (still widely available)

Also, for lively V6 chat get SerenaJ to invite you to the V6 whatsapp group

Hi, thanks for the insight, very helpful, and it seems like most of those parts are all part of the same "family" besides the part revisions. Agree, I think the KYB 33182 /33183 parts are the ones with the ABS mounting bracketry.

Yes, I've also thought about slightly lowering the car, but still on the fence with that project. for now I rather just pinpoint the part numbers; otherwise I'd be in a sea of trouble for buying a car that has absolutely no replacement parts Stateside!

Curious, FON, when you changed out your struts for your 1.5 as well as your V6, did you ultimately use two different sets of P/Ns for the KYB replacements? I assume different engines meant different loading, and therefore different shocks.

Yep, the 1.5 and 1.8 take the same part numbers but the V6 is different
I also took the opportunity to replace the strut top mounts and the dust cover/bump stops
Both my cars (1.5 and V6) have ABS but I have stripped out an early 1.5 that did not have ABS and the struts are physically identical but without the lug to mount the ABS wire
As well as KYB I did looks at Monroe struts - there are plenty of manufacturers providing replacements for suspension parts

In the end I took your recommendations and bought the KYB Excel-G 333182/333183 OEM replacements along with some lowering springs from RSR. I had wanted to stay completely OEM, but I just wasn't a fan of the ride height. I'm not looking to slam the car, but just reduce the fender gap a bit.

The car came with 16x7 wheels wrapped with 195/45 tires. Throwing the tire specs onto Google tire size calculator reviewed that this setup was actually slightly smaller than OEM wheel / tire setup, hence the added fender gap. I've removed and put back on the stock wheels / tires. It'd be nice to attach, but I don't have enough cloud storage to share photos here.

The other problem I'm running into is a replacement muffler. It sounds like my muffler is just done. Its exterior it seems intact, but shaking it around revealed some insides to be loose and rattling around. Looks like the muffler isn't shared with any other Mazda as far I can tell, so it's either pay for expensive shipping from UK / Australia, or go to a local muffler shop to do some custom bends / welds.

There's lots of ideas about wheel sizes and tyres across this forum. And plenty of people have had custom exhaust sytems made for not too much. The UK seems to have plenty of people able to do the relatively simple job of joining some pipework with suitable silencer boxes to fit any car. We do see some US TV shows where they make a right malarky out of building an exhaust system but it's just some simple pipework. I wouldn't worry too much about sourcing a custom system, there's nothing unusual about it's construction

By the way, many of the photos shared in this forum are uploaded to the free 'imgur' website (not the imgur app), then the BBCode link is used inline and bingo the picture appears. It would be lovely to see a pic or two of you car, but even if not, it's great to hear about how you're getting on with it

Hello, finally had a chance to swap out the front (only) suspension on the Lantis. For some reason the old strut / spring just didn't allow for any suspension compression when going over bumps, and therefore the ride was punishing. I ordered KYB replacements for the front (rears are impossible to find, but fortunately the rear is still compliant), and also bought RS-R lowering springs to bring down the fender gap.

The fronts went in pretty smoothly, but the rears, I left alone. I could not remove the sway bar endlinks without destroying the mounting provisions, so I left it as-is. The front end's ride height definitely looks a lot more proportional now, and the car is DEFINITELY miles and miles smooth than previously.

Next will be changing out the radio with a US variant; it currently has a Japanese-spec, and the frequency range only allot me one radio station. And then after, finding a muffler to replace the one I currently have. Car drones so hard when going 75mph. Too bad all mufflers are in Europe, shipping is so expensive!

[quote="FON"]Also the rear trailing arms of a V6 have a bit of a bend in them, again really hard to find, so either refurbish what you have, fabricate replacements, or try to get away with the more common straight ones (still widely available)

Also, for lively V6 chat get SerenaJ to invite you to the V6 whatsapp group[/quote]

Just a thought but have you any contacts to refurb the trailing arms from a V6?

I've got one and could not find any proper V6 ones, so have a pair of 4 pot engined ones. They work, but would prefer to be standard. I kept the arms and have been meaning to try and find someone to either refurb or manufacturer new ones. I'm up on Tyneside if that helps.

I'm also on the WhatsApp group.

Cheers.

WF.

I've no contacts to refurb the trailing arms from a V6 but SerenaJ might, ask her in the whatsapp group

[quote="FON"]I've no contacts to refurb the trailing arms from a V6 but SerenaJ might, ask her in the whatsapp group[/quote]

Cheers,

I have a couple of contacts I need to go knocking on doors but just need to find the time.

[b]IF[/b] I get any where, I'll keep folk advised.

I decided to cross reference the rear suspension components some more, and realized they were identical to the Mazda Protege of similar years. A quick purchase on RockAuto (along with sway bar endlinks), and I replaced the rear shocks / springs / endlinks! I know I previously mentioned the rear to be compliant, but to be honest, the shocks were completely done; the new ones were bolt-on, and definitely provided a less jarring ride.

I have an appointment with an exhaust shop to take a look at my exhaust system. The muffler is internally damaged, as I can hear rattling. I also hear what seems to be exhaust leak closer up front, but don't see any cracks / damages. I will have to wait and see.

I am also looking to buy a set of Miata NB 16" wheels; they are 16 x 6.5 +40 and I think they'd fill in the wheel well quite nicely. The stock 15" wheels will eventually get mounted with winter tires.

I also replaced the telescoping antenna. I believe I have the correct part, but the antenna, when retracting, goes further INTO the hole, when it's supposed to stop right when the end "nub" reaches the rubber piece. Not sure why that's happening. It otherwise extends and retracts fine.

Interesting update about your rear suspension. Especially the Protege compatibility. Can I check - did you find replacement sway bars also known as rear trailing arms? Here in Europe/UK it is near impossible to get replacements for the V6, they are no longer available from Mazda dealers. They are a curved bar, rather than the straight bar used on 1.5/1.8. The curve lets the V6 take wider tyres, so a work around is to fit the straight bar and use less-fat tyres

So if you have found a source for the curved ones, post details here - many people are chasing replacements!