Product Release! CorkSport Oil Catch Can Development and Release Notes

Sometimes projects take a lot longer than expected to get to release. After several design changes, lots of simulations, and plenty of mounting revisions, we are happy to announce the release the CorkSport Oil Catch Can for Mazda and Mazdaspeed vehicles.

Oil catch cans are designed to separate the water, oil and other contaminants from your PCV system. The PCV system feeds directly in the intake manifold causing all these contaminants to be pushed to the back of the valves then into the engine cylinders. As cars wear, we see more and more contaminants in the PCV system and then into the engine.

Many of you have followed the development as we moved through our design revisions beginning with our first concept, a titanium oil catch can that used stainless steel wool to separate out the oil and several versions in-between before we came to the design that we are happy to be releasing today.

Unlike other catch cans on the market that simply expect the contaminates to fall out of the PCV vapors, our newly released oil catch can has a unique cyclonic vacuum design that forces contaminants to the walls of the can before the air can move back into the intake system. This Solidworks simulation shows how the system was designed. You can see that the air swirls around the outside of the can trapping the contaminants at the wall. This allows them to fall through a disk that is welded between two chambers used to separate the PCV vapors and the contaminants. Once the contaminants are separated you can view them with a sight tube located on the side of the catch can.

We were particularly surprised to see how much water vapor builds up in the crank case of these cars. After a few miles of driving with the catch can on our shop Mazdaspeed 3, we could really see what separates our catch can from the competition. After only 500 miles we had separated out a great deal of contaminants from the PCV system. Most of which was water vapor that had been trapped in the PCV lines and engine block. This alone should ensure that oil doesn’t break down quickly on our DISI MZR engine.

After 3000 miles we performed our first oil change. The results were exactly what we expected, a much smaller concentration of water but a noticeable amount of oil. MZR engines are notorious for slight amounts of blow by getting back into the engine. As you can see from the picture this is something you don’t want getting back into your engine. We took this sample and sent it out for particulate analysis. The results really prove that you don’t want this in your engine. Along with a large amount of oil, which can be seen, there was metal and water present in the oil. All of which we don’t want to be reburned in our engine or stuck to the back of our valves.

Even though it took a little longer than we expected to release this, I’m sure everyone will agree that there are certain things you want done right and somethings are worth the wait. When it comes down to it there are just some contaminants that you never want entering your motor. Most of them are listed on the sheet to the right.

The CorkSport Oil Catch Can will enhance the reliability of your engine and improve performance and fuel economy. It is made from high-grade aluminum with a pressed annodized top cap and includes a chemical resistant sight tube. It comes with a complete mounting kit and can be purchased from CorkSport here.

For more information about this product or to purchase one today, please visit our product page on our online catalog at https://corksport.com

Formula D, Northwest Style

CorkSport spent Friday and Saturday soaking up the summer sun at the Round 5 Pro Championship Formula Drift at Evergreen Speedway in Monroe, Washington. The weather could not have been more perfect; blue skies and moderate temperatures welcomed us on both days. I was joined by our lead engineer, Andrew and our shop manager, Dustin and we brought out our Rx8 and Mazdaspeed 3 to show off our CorkSport parts during the show.

Participating in the drifting event over the weekend were four Mazda’s. Two Rx8’s, a FD Rx7, and a FC Rx7. The two Rx8’s and the FC were part of the Formula D pro series and the FD was participating in the Pro-Am event.

The first Rx8, raced by Kyle Mohan of KyleMohanRacing out of California, is powered by a 13B turbo engine which generates 525 wheel hp through a liberty transmission.

Kyle made it to the Great 8 round despite an ambitious chase car that hit Mohan’s in the round before, bending a tie rod end, which required some fast service work on his car. Unfortunately for Kyle he lined up against Rhys Millen and did not make it to the final 4 to compete for a trophy.

The second Rx8, built by Bergenholtz Racing and driven by Joon Maeng, is powered by a turbocharged 20B putting the power down through an HKS sequential 6 speed. The exhaust note of the engine is crazy loud but incredible sounding.

Joon was knocked out in the top 16 round after he had what looked to be a problem with a gear engagement on the last corner.

The last Pro entry Mazda was an FC Rx7 driven by Charles Ng and prepared by Evasive Motorsports.

Unfortunately this Rx7 was not running a Mazda power plant and went the path of an LS7 V8 making it undeserving of any close up pics, but we did get some video of his run. Charles qualified for the event in 20th but was knocked out in the first round of 32.

The FD Rx7, competing in the Pro-Am Formula D event and driven by Tyler Wolfson from Del Mar, California was the most entertaining story of the weekend, even though we regret that he suffered the worst ending. Tyler is currently working toward a Pro license for Formula D by racing in the Pro-Am events in his FD Rx7.

He had an unfortunate part failure that left his car disabled and despite putting up a sign in hopes of getting onto the track, no one offered up a spare part and after a few hours and a post on Facebook, it was apparent there would be no luck in getting a transmission for the disabled FD.

On Saturday, Wolfson gave it one more shot by making an appeal for a loaner, but with no luck on that front either, he relented and got to hang out and enjoy the show with the rest of the spectators. We wish him luck in the upcoming drift events this year.

We had a great time talking with the racers and our customers at last weekend’s race and look forward to next year’s event.

-Derrick

Mazdas Racing Around the World

Around this time last year I reported on people racing Mazdas around the planet, and wanted revisit the topic and give everyone an update on some of the cool things Mazdas are doing.

Mazda MPS 3

This year from April 5th to April 10th 2011 was the Targa Tasmania rally. If you are not familiar with the event, different classes of cars race on public roads which are closed on the island of Tasmania to see who is fastest. The event spans 5 days of competition so it is an endurance race as well as a test of drivers and navigators. Mazda has been a competitor in the Targa Tasmania for many years, gunning for the top positions. This year Mazda entered several Mazda 3 MPS (Mazdaspeed 3 for North America) in the showroom class and RX-8 SPs in the modern class.

One of the Mazda MPS 3s, driven by Reeves and Smyth finished first in showroom classification and 4th overall. This is an impressive feat considering that there were many cars with more power in the modern classification group (the fastest cars). There were 5 Subaru WRX STIs, several Nissan GTRs of various generations, a Lamborghini Gallardo, Corvette Z06s, and more behind the MPS 3 at the end of the event.
The highest placing RX-8 finished 5th overall in the modern class. They experienced some technical problems and other challenges which kept them from being higher in the standings.

Mazda RX-8 SP

Our good friends at Knightsport in Japan competed in the Macao Grand Prix in the road sport challenge. Knightsport’s team worked hard on the RX-8 to get more power and improve the car in other areas to really be competitive.

Knightsport's RX-8 Gran Prix Racer

In last year’s event their driver Tanigawa placed 2nd in the race. Unfortunately this year an errant Nissan GTR made contact with the Knighsports RX-8 causing enough damage to take the car out of the race. Yes there is an Rx8 in the middle of the GTR and EVO sandwich in the picture below.

Mazda RX-8 gets smashed

Yau (the GTR driver) said Tanigawa should apologize for the incident and the contact between the two cars. Yau was fined by the racing sanctioning body despite his protests about the fault of the collision. The Nissan driver retired 5 cars with his skillful driving.

Want to see the RX-8 in action? Check out the in car footage shot from the Knightsport RX-8 during qualifying here.

The last team I wanted to show is the Van Herck Mazda 3. Van Herck had been racing a Mazda RX-7 for years and decided to build a new car to compete with in the Belgium Touring Car Championship. They started with a Mazda 3, converted it to rear wheel drive, and powered it with a 450whp 20B and a sequential 6 speed gearbox.

Garage Van Herck 20B Mazda 3 Race car

In the first event the Mazda 3 was in position to win when the car stopped on the track for no apparent reason. Back in the pits the problem was chased down to a fuel cooling problem which the team is working to resolve for the next round of racing. After the event all of the other competitors stopped by the pits of Van Herck to check out the car. Most were really surprised at the speed of the Mazda 3.

Garage Van Herck 20B Mazda 3 Race Car

You can see video of the Mazda 3 during some practice sessions here.

I will be re-visiting the progress of the Van Herck Mazda 3 when the season finishes along with some more Mazda racing action again later this year.

Derrick

Flo-Rida!

The SFLA Mazda Crew hosted their second Epic Florida Meet at Lou Bachrodt Mazda on Feb 21st and CorkSport was invited to attend. Agreeing to attend and getting to the event which was 3230 miles away made for some tough choices for us. We decided to forego bringing a booth and parts show up with a backpack full of t-shirts, can koozies, and the new CorkSport license plate frames to hand out.

Lou Bachrodt Mazda is located in Coconut Creek which is about 45 minutes north of Miami Florida. The weather for the event was beautiful, 80 degrees with a light breeze all day. Compared to Vancouver, WA which was 45 degrees and cloudy, it was a huge difference for winter weather.

RX-7s

MazdaSpeed 6s

160 Mazdas showed up to the event and they ranged from a beautiful 1971 RX-2 to a 3 Rotor 1000+ Hp RX-8. The RX-8 was a beast with a turbo the size of my head.

RX-2

RX-8

Huge turbo 3-rotor RX-8 engine

There was a portable dyno on hand for the day but it suffered a failure which kept anyone from getting pulls completed. The failure occurred when the first car was on the first power run.

RX-8 on a dead dyno

There was a great turnout of Mazdaspeed 3s, both 1st and 2nd gens. There were several standouts I saw at the show for both generations.

2nd Gen MazdaSpeed 3

1st Gen MazdaSpeed 3

A visit from the Red Bull girls kept everyone going all day long. The aftermath at one of the garbage cans shows the carnage of drinks consumed.

Dead Redbulls. Deadbulls?

I would like to give a big thanks to the SFLA Mazda Crew for organizing the Epic Meet and Lou Bachrodt Mazda for hosting the event. For more pictures of the event check out our CorkSport Facebook Page.

Hosting a Mazda enthusiast event this year? Contact us and we might just show up.

Derrick

I’m a Mazda Girl

To all the Mazda’s I’ve loved:

It started with a toss-up between an MX-3 and a Millennia. The MX-3 was amazing and built with all the fast and furious stuff a girl could even need. The MX-3 was a beautiful car, and it has the magazine article to prove it. However, I have a lead foot and the driving record to prove it, so I opted for the float-a-cality of the Millenia. Good thing too, not to long after I purchased it my commute got very long and full of traffic hell.

The Millenia began to have issues, so off it went to the shop and I spent the summer in my 1st gen RX7, a super rare convertible no less. I love convertibles! The sun, the wind, it was the best! But like any older car with rotors and a history of drama, I knew it would be a short-lived love affair. Plus, convertibles in the Northwest during the rainy season are zero fun; cold and leaky.

Next up was a MX-5 Miata ‘M’ edition. I loved the car. It was fun to drive, took corners like a dream and was super sporty, really the perfect fit for me. But like all good things, it too came to an end.

Then came the CX7, wow, I could haul my skis up a mountain AND it had a turbocharger! What more could I want? Better long-term leasing options, could have solved that problem. Good by CX7 I’ll miss you…

Next up was the Tribute – purely functional, good for camping and that’s about it. No love lost when this one went to a new owner. It drove like an old, slow, tired, beast, but it got me to my next Mazda.

Wee, this is a great car, sporty, fun and I can get my kayak partially in the wagon (though with most of its 13ft hang out the back-end). I refuse to put a rack on the roof, in my opinion it would wreck the look of the car. It has been the only car that I have actually installed parts on. Even without a turbocharger it has proven to be a fun car to drive with great handling and plenty of gitty-up on the freeway.

I have two other affairs, a second gen RX-7 convertible and an RX-8. Both out of this world and not even remotely daily drivers. Their beauty and engine tenacity make my day when I have the opportunity to drive or ride in either. My grumpier half won’t give up the keys to the RX-7 since it’s big engine swap. Apparently it has so much power that my husband fears I will either kill myself while I whip the crap out of some poor Honda dork or there will be a high-speed police chase. My vote it would be some combination of the above, while on the way to Mexico.

I’m a Mazda girl now.

– Kelly