Why do you need an OCC ??

For those that don’t know exactly what an OCC (Oil Catch Can) is for, here is a quick rundown.

  1. During normal operation of an internal combustion engine, there’s a compressed air and fuel mixture inside the combustion chamber that is ignited and as a result, forces the piston down. A small amount of that ignited mixture leaks past the piston rings and ends up in the crankcase. This leakage is often referred to as “blow-by” (leakage past the piston rings), and is the reason every car has a PCV System in place (Positive crankcase ventilation)

  2. Some of the oil, mist and other products settle along the engine intake and over time form a “gunk.” With newer cars being direct injected nowadays, this becomes an even larger problem when fuel is not passing over the intake valves and keeping them clean.  The OCC collects the PCV vapors and utilizes a baffle to trap the oil, fuel, and water particulates that are suspended in the air.

  3. These liquids will need to be drained periodically (we say with each oil change) of all the ‘junk’. NOTE: Monitoring how fast the can fills up, mirrors as a method of gauging engine heath. More blow by = Quicker Filling OCC.

Carl Jacobsen recently reviewed our Mazda3 OCC in an interview, and we’re releasing it here so you can hear it from a satisfied customer, and not just our opinion.

From the start, we have wanted to give our customers the highest quality experience when purchasing the OCC for their Mazda3. The importance of knowing and seeing you have every piece you need to get started is the key to a successful installation.

            “ The unboxing is the best part. You know everything is there, even the step by step instructions. (I tried not to use them, but I ended up doing so because they’re spot on all the way down to the bolt sizes).”

All of our installation instructions come with step by step tips and tricks to make things easy along the way. However, if you ever hit a hiccup, just know we’re only a call away!!

            “ Installation was a breeze, instructions were spot on, some parts – like the mount are hard to install without help, but nothing you couldn’t do on your own…  ”

As far as the CorkSport Mazda3 Oil Catch Can goes, knowing that all the crankcase vapors are getting filtered out, allows for you to have that peace of mind that your engine is cleaner. Without filling up the space in your engine bay!

            “The OCC is hidden, it doesn’t take up space in the engine bay. You’d never know it was there unless you follow the lines. Also, the ease of access to drain it was a highlight! There was more than enough tubing to route the drain plug to the easiest spot, so you can drain it when changing your oil.”

  • Brett White

Mazda Motor Oil

There are always lots of opinions on motor oil flying around the internet these days.  I normally skip chiming in on any of the conversations as someone, in the end, goes away with hurt feelings but not today!

Back in December, we ran our 2015 Mazda 3 2.5 Skyactiv at the 25-hours of Thunderhill race which like the title says is a 25-hour non-stop race.  In the spirit of doing things which are a bit, insane CorkSport entered our Mazda 3 which no one had done before in this long of an endurance race.  

For an event like the 25-hour, the internet says you should run a bit thicker oil due to the high rpm and non-stop abuse on the track. I am more at the end of the arena of doing what the engineers at Mazda designed the car to use so we ran 0W20 oil in the car.  We did use a great product, Motul 0w20 racing oil to prove a point that with modern engines and oils you don’t need to up the viscosity.

After 25 hours of non-stop racing the car to the redline and never giving the car a break, we drained the oil and sent it off to Blackstone laboratories to get an analysis done on the oil.

Based on the internet knowing everything we would expect to see the oil viscosity wiped out from the non-stop running and heat as well as there being lots of impurities found in the oil from the same.  In reality, the comments from the report are pretty boring really. They mentioned the lead found in the oil which was from race gas we burned up in the car during testing as this motor is completely stock so there is no lead in the engine bearings.  There really isn’t anything else to say about it.

So the next time someone tries to tell you that you need to change to a non-stock weight of motor oil in your Mazda send them to this blog and run what the engine is supposed to have with a good quality oil.

Happy Mazda Motoring!

-Derrick

 

Oil Filter Changes Made easy for your 2007-2009 Mazdaspeed 3 and 2006-2007 Mazdaspeed 6

The GEN2 Mazdaspeed 3 has a lot in common with the Mazdaspeed 6 and the GEN1 Mazdaspeed 3 when referencing the engine and transmission.  However, there were a few things that Mazda did change and improve when they gave the Mazdaspeed 3 a facelift in 2010.

Some of these changes include the valve cover, the gear ratios in the transmission, the power steering system, and the oil filter assembly.  This last one is the one I want to talk about today.

Perhaps you just ran across this blog while googling how to change the oil in your Mazdaspeed for the first time or maybe you’ve already done a handful of oil changes.  Either way, you can benefit from this info, unless you already have a 2010-2013 Mazdaspeed 3 you lucky bas****. All you Mazdaspeed6 and GEN1 Mazdaspeed3 owners listen up.

Mazdaspeed 3 canister oil filter

This is what you’ll find on your pre-2010 Mazdaspeed 3 and all Mazdaspeed 6; it sucks.  This design uses an internal filter element only which is fine, but the OE housing cap is a real PITA to remove from the car which makes a simple oil change a much more frustrating process than it should be.  

Along with the difficult disassembly, there is a limited number of filter options compared to the modern canister design.   Luckily, the oil filter housing found on the 2010-2013 Mazdaspeed 3 utilizes a modern canister oil filter and is a simple bolt-on affair.  

Mazdaspeed 3 oil filter housing

Mazda part # L311-14-311A is the part you’re looking for and can be found online or at your local Mazda dealership.  It’s also wise to get a new gasket for the installation; nobody wants to do a job twice. This is Mazda part # LF02-14-342.

New Mazdaspeed 3 Oil filter housing

Once you get your parts and all your oil and a new modern oil filter, you’re ready for the big install.  It’s actually really simple, only adding about 30 minutes to your oil filter change. Remove the fluid-to-fluid heat exchanger (the black thing on top with the coolant ports), then pull the housing off the engine and swap over the sensor.  Back on the car with the new gasket and you’re good to go.

Mazdaspeed Oil Temperature and Pressure Gauge Adapter Plate

Another great benefit of the modern oil filter canister is the ability to use an oil filter plate to provide sensor ports for gauges such as oil pressure and oil temperature.

This sums up the oil filter housing swap; it’s really just that simple.  So if you have an oil change coming up and aren’t one of the lucky ones with the GEN2 Mazdaspeed 3, then consider this before you get started.  I promise you won’t regret it.

-Barett @ CorkSport