Posts

Posted on

More Turbos from Mazda

CorkSport likes to be in the know on what Mazda is up to so I spend a good deal of time keeping in touch with my contacts at Mazda headquarters and searching the internet for clues on what Mazda is developing. I recently ran across a fascinating bit of information looking up patent applications with the US patent and trademark office that gives us a very interesting clue as to what Mazda may have in store for us in the future.

Mazda had a patent approved on January 12, 2010 for a forced induction engine with two sources of boost. The patent refers to an electric driven compressor (electric supercharger) which disengages when the engine reaches a pre-determined mid-range RPM point at which point the engine switches over to an exhaust driven compressor (a turbo charger).

This could be really handy for a small displacement engine when you want to get a large amount of power. The electric supercharger gives the engine the necessary boost to get the mid-range where the engine can then develop enough exhaust flow to spin the turbocharger.

This is the same theory used for a twin turbo charged engine but with instant boost from the electric supercharger. It can give a small displacement engine a decent torque improvement and the turbocharger will add the benefit of top-end power.

The whole idea gets even better with a variable vane turbine that would adjust to the engine speed. The faster the engine speed the more exhaust volume, allowing you to get the most out of the turbocharger efficiency.

This whole patent has the fingerprints of 2015 Mazdaspeed 3 written all over it if you ask me. You would still be getting the smaller, eco-friendly, SkyActiv engine but when you put your foot on it there is a big turbocharger lurking to give you gobs of torque just like the current Mazdaspeed 3.

I will give a word of warning though, not all things which have patents ever see the light of day, but the fact that Mazda spent the time and effort to patent this idea with the US patent office, gives me hope we will see a version of this patent in the next 3-4 years.

-Derrick

Posted on

Photos and Recap: Car Shows Across The NW 2011

CorkSport Sponsored, CJ Ramos, Recaps 2011’s Events and Car Shows Across the Northwest:

Car shows are amazing events where people show off their creativity, ingenuity, and the hard work they put into their rides. Seeing what others do to their cars is what keeps me going to these events and helps to inspire me to try to make my ride even better.

This year I went to 10 events. Some were new to the region (like Driven to Perform and Xtreme Drift Competition) and some were recurring favorites of the Pacific Northwest (like Nos Forum Fest and Import Faceoff). It all started with a car show premiere of Fast Five and then culminated at MazdasNW’s Summer Bash at Corksport HQ in Vancouver, WA.

Here are some highlights from just a few of the events I went to…

Fast Five Premiere Party and Car Show – Tukwila, WA – April 29, 2011
NW Motiv and NOS teamed together to throw a release party for the premier of the movie Fast Five. Situated on the top floor of one of the parking garages at Southcenter Mall, spectators and car enthusiasts were treated to giveaways throughout the day including free tickets for a private showing later that night.




Nos Forum Fest – Kent, WA – June 25, 2011
One of the most memorable events of the year. Forum Fest had something for everybody, a car show, drag racing, and drifting. Once again, MazdasNW won and defended its title of Best Forum with its members grabbing five out of the six available belts for the Mazda categories of Best five door and Best two, three, and four door.









Driven to Perform – Vancouver, BC, Canada – July 16, 2011
DTP is the biggest car show series in Canada. The show was plagued with constant rain showers but that didn’t scare the diehard car enthusiasts from entering their cars and enjoying what the show had to offer.




Xtreme Drift Circuit and Remix Car Show – Kent, WA – August 13, 2011
A drifting competition that featured local and national, amateur and professional drifters.




My Fiance and baby boy came out and visited me at the show. He amazed everybody as he slept through the loud revving and squealing of tires of the drifting competition. He was only 3 month at the time.


It was a fun and memorable year. I didn’t win as many shows as I did last year but I didn’t mind. I was happy to see more Mazdas competing and participating like Rob McChord in his wild protege, Martin Chen in his blacked out Mazdaspeed 3, Brendan Hughes in his green accented Mazda 3, and even the 40+ members that entered the Forum Fest car show.

Being voted by my peers for Car of the Year on mazda3forums.com and featured on Mazdas Meet the Tuners and NWmotiv.com were great honors and happily made up for those times I went home empty handed.

2011 Accomplishments
Mazda3Forums.com 2011 Member Car of the Year
CorkSport Featured Car of the Month – July 2011
Nos Forum Fest Best Mazda 5 Door
Featured on Mazda’s US Site’s Meet the Tuners Section
NWMotiv’s Editor’s Choice Award at MazdasNW Summerbash, which led to a nwmotiv.com web feature.
CorkSport 2012 Calendar Cover

-CJ

Posted on

i-ELOOP: Mazda Reveals New Regenerative Braking System

Mazda recently announced a new groundbreaking system called i-ELOOP that they are claiming as the first regenerative braking system that uses a capacitor. Mazda will be introducing this new technology into their 2012 models, which they say will improve fuel economy by 10%.

Mazda says that the odd name is an adaptation of “Intelligent Energy Loop” and represents the company’s intention to efficiently cycle energy in an intelligent way.The i-ELOOP will use a capacitor which is an electrical component that stores large volumes of electricity in place of a battery to convert the vehicles kinetic energy into electricity when the vehicle decelerates. The energy it produces will be used to power the climate control, audio system and other electrical components of the car.

This type of system is already used in EV technology, with the difference being that regenerative braking systems in electric vehicles use an electric motor and dedicated battery to operate. Mazda avoids the need for this by featuring a new 12-25V variable voltage alternator, a low-resistance electric double layer capacitor and a DC/DC converter.

In their press release, Mazda said “The variable voltage alternator generates electricity at up to 25V for maximum efficiency before sending it to the Electric Double Layer Capacitor (EDLC) for storage. The capacitor, which has been specially developed for use in a vehicle, can be fully charged in seconds. The DC/DC converter steps down the electricity from 25V to 12V before it is distributed directly to the vehicle’s electrical components. The system also charges the vehicle battery as necessary. “

Mazda has yet to name the production model that will feature i-ELOOP but it has been designed to work in harmony with the new SkyActiv engine and transmission technologies that are currently rolling off the production line in the new 2012 Mazda 3’s.

Mazda continues to amaze by combining new technologies with traditional concepts in order to improve fuel efficiency for its vehicles without sacrificing performance.

Gwynne-

Posted on

Hello 2012!

As we usher in the dawn of a new year, CorkSport looks forward to what’s to come in 2012 and covers some highlights Mazda enthusiasts and CorkSport customers can expect to see in the coming months!

A New Website for CorkSport.com

In the relentless quest to provide our customers with the best online shopping experience possible, CorkSport will be launching a brand new website. Our newly designed website, scheduled to launch late this month, will feature improved navigation making it easier for our customers to find the parts they are looking for, a mobile optimized shopping experience for Android and iPhone users, easier to access content, photos and video clips along with a fresh new look. So be ready CorkSport fans because your shopping experience is about to get even better!

Suspension Packages
CorkSport is gearing up to offer a new line of staged suspension packages that will simplify handling upgrades for many of our customers. Our staged suspension packages will accomodate many levels of suspension upgrade needs starting from street performance through racing. We will be rolling out the the new suspension packages beginning with the Mazda 3 and Mazdaspeed 3 with our top package including a new coilover kit for Mazdaspeed 3 with amazing features for the price

SkyActiv Technology

We have blogged about this several times throughout the last year and now we are happy to say that Mazda has officially started rolling out its new line of SkyActiv technology for the Mazda 3 and will continue this trend into 2012 with the launch of the new CX5 platform to combine their legendary drivability with fuel efficiency.

B-Spec Race Series
For 2012 a number of sanctioning bodies have created a new segment of race cars called B-Spec that target the sub-compact market. The aim of this series is to provide more access to racing with the intention of the sanctioning bodies to maintain a single “spec” for the cars. Mazdaspeed Motorsports will be using the Mazda2 as their respective platform for this growing segment of the automotive industry.

CorkSport will also be continuing to compete in the SCCA ST-F class and we will be providing regular updates on our successes as the season evolves.

This represents just a small segment of what is in store for CorkSport and Mazda this year. We will continue to grow our product line and continue our unparalleled support for the Mazda community.

We are looking forward to a successful and exciting 2012!

Gwynne-

Posted on

That’s a Wrap Folks

Another year is coming to a close and I was thinking back on the events we attended this year. We really put on some miles traveling around the US to Mazda enthusiast events from Miami Florida to Los Angeles California and many places in-between.

We started off 2011 with a bang by going to the Sno Drift Rally in Michigan at the invitation of Thayer Mazda of Michigan. They sponsored the event and went all out by supplying a hospitality tent for anyone who wanted to warm up. Thayer also built a green light car for the event. They used a 2010 Mazdaspeed 3 outfitted with the CorkSport 80mm Cat back, Short Ram Intake, and Aluminum Skid Tray. It was great to see a Mazda dealer get involved on the level they did.

The next event at the Epic Florida Meet in sunny Miami, Florida, was a big contrast from the subzero temps endured during the Sno Drift rally. Lou Bachrodt Mazda hosted the event which was put together by the SFLA Mazda Crew. It was a great event with Mazda’s that ranged from a pristine Rx2 to 2011 Mazdaspeed 3’s and lots of great people and true Mazda enthusiasts to talk with about their cars.

In May we flew to Newburgh New York to attend the OCC All Mazda Meet for a third year. We hosted a focus group to get to know our customers in the northeast better and get feedback from our customers about some of our new ideas and products. Despite a brief rain shower the event was great with a big turnout of Mazdas from all over.

In July we headed to Monroe Washington to attend the Formula D event, with our Rx8 and 2010 Mazdaspeed 3, to hang out with 10,000 other drift fans for a weekend of burning rubber. The amount of attendance at the event was great and the parking lot was a car show by itself. We saw lots of great Mazdas and met tons of enthusiasts which drove all makes and models. We did our best to convince the fans Mazdas are the best.

August came around and we headed off to the MOCC sponsored Mazfest at the Autoclub Speedway for an entire day of autocrossing and a car show. There were plenty of Mazda race cars brought out for the event along with a wide range of street cars. There were a few track mishaps including a Mazdaspeed 3 which got some damage to its bumper. Big thanks to the CorkSport customers who loaned us their vehicle to display in our booth for the day.

September brought up the Mazdas NW End of Summer Bash which was held on a sunny September day at CorkSport and included a dyno day, Mazda car show, and BBQ. It is always fun to see the Mazdas that show up at our events. The NW has quite the collection of Mazdas that are not daily driven. Big thanks to Mazdas NW for putting on the show.

The most recent event we attended was the Epic East Coast Mazda Meet at the Tail of the Dragon in North Carolina. If you ever want to get your twisties on in your Mazda, this is the place to go. I would have loved to bring some of the CorkSport vehicles to this event to tear it up with the rest of the attendees. The whole event spanned 5 days. CorkSport came out east for Saturday’s festivities that included a car show, a run on the tail of the dragon, and a Halloween BBQ.

If you want to see more pictures from the events you can view albums from each event on our CorkSport Facebook page.

Are you hosting or planning on an event in 2012? Let us know, we are always interested in what events are going on in the Mazda community and you never know, we just might show up.

-Derrick