Mazda Lantis

[jiranz2]

Hi, new here. Anyhow, does anyone now what the manufacturers recommendation for service checks on a 1995 5-door 2.0L V6 Type-R Mazda Lantis might be? (its a jazzed up japanese version of the 323F and astina).

I have a manual and have I've spent hours looking at the pictures in it -- they are very good and explain a lot of things, but i can't read Japanese and miss out on some of the big picture stuff.

Specifically, I have a bumper-to-bumper warranty with my local toyota service department. They require the car be serviced according to the manufacturers guidelines. I've been told this means either every 10,000km or 6 months, whichever comes up the soonest (I always get my oil changed every 10,000km). But it seems silly to me to take my car in to the garage next week having only done 3,000km in the last 6months.

I thought i'd find out from you experts what the story is.

 

[Nutari]

(hah) (hah) type r....

 

[jiranz2]

Yes, Type-R, whatever that means. R for Race. And while your grinning, what would be the best feul type to use: Here in New Zealand we have 91 octane, 96 octane, and 98 octane. I've been getting 12km/L on 98 (or 8.3L per 100km). I'm just starting to see how it goes on 91 (much cheaper at the pump).

 

[Nutari]

maybe post in the australia section. dunno bout higher octanes. highest we get here in the states is like.. 91.

 

[jiranz2]

cheers, and nice car u got there

 

[TheMAN]

recommended octane for the Lantis Type-R is 98 RON

mazda australia recommends oil changes every 7500km (or 6 months, whichever first), this should apply to oceania in general... typically though, due to adverse driving conditions (stop and go traffic, weather extremities, spirited driving, short distance driving, etc), everyone recommends 5000km oil changes (or 3 months, whichever first)

as for the other important maintenence items:
engine coolant every 24 months, timing belt change at 105000km, air & fuel filter & brake fluid change every 30000km (or 24 months, whichever first), spark plugs every 20000km (or 12 months, whichever first)

 

[miraphes]

The most important thing is the timing belt! When changing the timing belt, always exchange the water pump! Type-R is a really really nice one! I only have 1.5 Lantis You should have a rear strutbar, eletrical folding mirrors,automatic climatics and so on. No compare with any BJ

If you have more questions... try visiting mazda-community.de There are much more Lantis drivers (but no one has a Type-R!!)

 

[solid_snake]

This is a strange Mazda

looks like a Honda Civic hatch with a Mazda front end
​

 

[miraphes]

It's the most ugly Mazda ever build... 323 P BA. Comes in most cases with powerful 1.3l engine... Uses same parts like 323 S BA (Protege sedan). Was meant as successor of 323 C BA, but instead was sold in parallel with C BA LOL. UGLY THING!

 

[SP33D]

wow that thing is badass

maybe post in the australia section. dunno bout higher octanes. highest we get here in the states is like.. 91.

highest you will find at a gas station pump is 94 i think... never seen higher than that unless you go to the track. most stations have 93 and in some states 91 is the highest

 

[jiranz2]

Just back from driving up country. My lantis is a great car for open road driving, with enough power to zip past traffic (oh yeah, its a manual so putting it in 3rd at 100kph gives it heaps of power right up to 130kph --it revs out at 7500rpm doing `140kph). It does have all the mod cons, electrics, rear strut and another strut just under the bonnet as well (roll bar? sorry i'm not that geeky about cars yet), but just a standard tape deck at the moment... Incidentally i just got 11.5km/L out of it using 91octane so will stay with it for a bit. The engine is not purring as nicely though.

Is it true that modern ECUs are intelligent and adapt the car to your style of driving? If i continue to drive careful and steady, will the car run leaner given time?

Its only done 150,000km so far so no worries about the timeing belt, but why change the water pump?

That LX has a lot of power for a little car, hope its not front wheel drive only. If your mom drives like mine the tires will bald quick.

Thx all for ur help, esp theman & miraphes. I negotiated another 3 months with my garage. Time to start saving some cash.

 

[Brad]

I wouldnt run my car with any less than the recommended octane. They do that for a reason.

 

[TheMAN]

the engine isn't running as good because it's running on a lower octane than intended despite the fact that the KF-ZE has a knock sensor... the ECU has to compensate for the lower octane by reducing ignition timing and injecting more fuel

run at least 97 RON to allow for intended performance and reliability, and it will also improve fuel economy!

water pump change is recommended during timing belt replacement because of the fact that if it leaks, then the timing belt has to be removed again to access it! So it is a preventative measure to change both the timing belt and the water pump to save labour

you should see a label on the fuel door that reads in japanese:
無縁プリミアム
無縁レキュラー可
which means:
unleaded premimum recommended
unleaded regular possible

 

[Poseur]

Just to throw it out there, I'm prettysure I've read that octane ratings on different continents are not always direct equivalents.

 

[TheMAN]

yes

japan and many other countries use RON... some european countries use MON
north america uses the average of RON and MON

so when you see people say "wow! you can get 98 octane!", they're n00bs about the subject... 98 RON is about 93-94 (R+M)/2

 

[TheMAN]

also to add to the mix, export versions of the CBAEP (called the 323F GT) require only 91 RON due to the lower compression ratio of the engine... it also does not have a knock sensor

so in otherwords, if you have a japanese gray import, then you MUST run 98 RON

 

[jiranz2]

Octane Ratings

hah! I had no idea about ron, mon, and pon, or that octane ratings were to do with preventing engine knocking. I found this website that's put it to me in laymans terms:

http://www.btinternet.com/~madmole/Reference/RONMONPON.html

In New Zealand 98octane is new out and only sold by one service station, BP. They call it ultimate petrol. I find it amusing that they use a ron rating system so its only as good as 94pon as used in the states (90mon). Well i'll go back to using 98. I've heard a story about a bmw owner who filled up on a bad batch of 91. It totally wrecked the engine and was a costly affair.

I don't think my car is a GT version. From looking up my cars specifications on the few websites that list it the compression ratio is 10. But what 10 means I have no idea. (dunno)

Learn something new everyday. timing belts, water pumps, octane ratings,... and yes that japanese label is in my feul door. Here they call 91 regular, 95 premium, and 98 ultimate. are these simply labels relative to my country for marketing purposes? I've just read a report that called 98 a premium feul also.

As for the japanese label on my feul door, have you been snooping around my car; how did you know?! (peep)

I first learned to drive in a wee 323mazda familiar. Automatic 1.5L that never once needed taking to the garage. My sister drove it into a telephone pole and dad beat it back into shape with a log splitter. It never skipped a beat. Well eventually I went on a joint venture with said sister on a honda integra 1.8L Vtech and traded in the old mazda. I onsold her my share and bought myself this Lantis. I had no idea it was a modern version of the 323! This car too has been good to me. Only the oil switch was leaking and had to be replaced the other week. Had it just over a year, done 15,000km. Great car. (owned)

 

[TheMAN]

Lantis Type-R = 323F GT

"GT" does not exist in Japan

 

[jiranz2]

oh...

I guess that means the cheaper 91 is ok for my car, and why the detailed information on the vin sticker inside my front door has a dash through the petrol type specifications.

er... what is a japanese 'gray' import? a car built exclusively for the japanese market that has been shipped overseas on the cheap? I find this site.

http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/reference/grey_import

I bought my car as a japanese used import, so i assumed it was a 'gray' import from your previous message. Oh, yay, i can tell everyone i'm driving a GT! (yippy)

 

[jiranz2]

Thanks all for your expert advice. Being young and foolish (maybe) I had to try running 91 octane. It gave 11km/L which is ok. I have gone back to 98 because the engine sounds slightly better and the cost per Litre per mileage works out about the same. Better to look after the engine I think. I don't want to wear the cylinders any faster than I have to...

On an aside, a year ago i had my wheel alignment done because the car was pulling right. I had to take it back because the car was still pulling right but not as bad. They did a second wheel alignment free of charge and then told me that tire wear was causing the car to pull right, not the wheel alignment. So for a year I've been driving my car with it pulling right just a little (which in New Zealand is towards the center of the road). I just had my wheel alignment done by a different garage the other week and now my car is running straight. Both front tires were toe-in, way outside specifications and the front left was worn on the inside So the moral of the story is don't believe any funny stories you're told. If it ain't going proper, they've muffed it.

Finally, The car has a super quiet engine and hardly any wind noise (mainly from spider webs hanging off the wing mirrors -- those spiders only need one night). The tire noise is dreadful though. It came with four Bridgestone Potenza RE88 all weather tyres which have provided me with excellent grip. Don't like the noise though. And the fronts are over half worn having only done 15,000 km. (no i don't have a heavy foot and i don't do burnouts!) Yes, i've rotated them to the back so i'll have to buy four tires in about two years (hopefully not sooner). What's a good budget brand to buy quiet tires from?