Oh, winter and the holidays. It’s an amazing and stressful time of year when we hope all the time spent shopping for that perfect gift for our lady means we get the karmic payoff of loads of CorkSport parts in our stocking — or, even better, when they’re rad mods too big to fit in a stocking! (If you didn’t get that special CorkSport part this year, or you’re still shopping for the Mazda fanatic in your life, check out the last-minute holiday gift guide).
Now that we’re past focusing on holiday madness, it’s time to get back to thinking about your Mazda. ‘Tis also the season of winter weather and slick, sludge-covered roads. At CorkSport, we’re here to help with that. We don’t want you to fret about snow damaging your ride or how a trip to the mountain for snowboarding might fill your car with salt-filled snowmelt, so take a look at these Mazdaspeed 3 mods you’ll want this winter.
Branded with a stylish CorkSport laser-etched logo, these 80A durometer 1/8” thick urethane flaps protect your baby from the abuse of road debris and snow buildup. They’re heavy-duty enough to keep your vehicle in great shape, but durable and flexible enough to hold up to wear and tear — they won’t peel, fade, rust, or break. Fear no road with these bad boys installed, which only takes about an hour!
If you know the snow’s about to hit, it’s easy to grab a trash bag to lay down and protect your car from the snow that’ll drip off your shoes. But who wants to pick someone up for a ride with garbage bag-lined floors? And nothing ruins a good entrance like stepping out of your ride with a trash bag accidentally stuck to your shoe. Our floor mats are the accessory you need to protect your vehicle from the winter weather and look good doing it. With OEM fitment that delivers show car quality, these mats feature a fully sewn and sealed edge along the high-quality carpeting to deliver a long lasting, durable floor protector.
Don’t make the mistake of simply trying to protect your Mazda while it’s on the road. Keeping your car covered during the winter weather is crucial. With a five-layer composite structure to protect against all forms of water — even falling icicles that can cause scratches — this cover also keeps your ride safe against the additional UV rays that bright white snow banks can bombard your car with in winter. Even better, this cover comes with a tie-down and adjustable buckle so it won’t blow off during winter storms.
Winterizing isn’t just about protecting your car’s good looks. You want to protect that undercarriage as well. Don’t put in all that hard work just to let a snowy, salty, gravelly road mess it up! Made of a single piece of 0.090” precision machined aluminum to deliver maximum coverage with minimum effect on your vehicle’s weight, the skidplate also features an opening that makes oil changes a breeze. You can hit those winter roads with peace of mind that your hard work isn’t going to get dinged up along the way, no matter what the weather. These winterizing tips should help you start preparing your Mazda for the months ahead. If you have tips and thoughts of your own based on cold weather experience, we’d love to hear them in the comments below. And, if you apply any CorkSport mods to prepare for the snow, make sure to share them with us using the hashtag #CorkSport on Twitter and Instagram!
Prepping Your Mazda for Winter Weather January 6th, 2017CorkSport
CorkSport is happy to announce the release of our long awaited 2010-2013 Mazdaspeed 3 Exhaust Mid Pipe. Designed by our engineers to be a simple, bolt on upgrade for your Mazdaspeed 3. The CorkSport mid pipe changes the exhaust note only slightly and gives a pleasant tone unlike some Mazdaspeed exhausts on the market which can sound hollow and buzzy. The exhaust features 80mm piping and a single resonator, all constructed from T304 Stainless Steel.
As with all of our CorkSport exhaust components, the Mazdaspeed 3 mid pipe features mandrel bent, polished stainless steel T304 construction for corrosion resistance and a clean stylish look. It has a distinctive performance sound that is mild but noticeable at cruise and idle but packs a bit more of a rumble when you’re really getting on the throttle.
In the car game, there are two big shows each year where all the action happens: the Specialty Equipment Manufacturers Association (SEMA) and Performance Race Industry (aka PRI). At these events, automotive parts companies flaunt their accomplishments, showing off their latest and greatest mods and parts, while everyone gets a chance to network, catch up, and just generally ogle and chat about gorgeous vehicles. We here at CorkSport love to keep up on what’s hot and new in the automotive industry, so this year we headed to Indianapolis for PRI to see what auto trends are being developed.
First Impressions
As we first entered the convention center, the stage was set. The picture above features the main PRI banner, which prominently displays some dirt mod cars. That can only mean one thing: PRI would be showcasing a lot of American muscle and, probably, not a lot of imports. Regardless, we braved the show.
The Cars, The Parts, The Highlights
Wandering the aisles of the show, our suspicions were confirmed. PRI had more American muscle than the lineup of cars Vin Diesel will drive in the next “Fast & Furious” movie. But, as we navigated the aisles, we were greeted by a sight for sore eyes — an import you can never go wrong with — a Le Mans-winning P1 car.
When it comes to performance cars, it doesn’t matter if the car is an import or a domestic, one good thing about them is turbos. Good news from the show is that it looks like Garrett doesn’t have any plans slow down on their production of turbos anytime soon, for themselves or for the Mazdaspeed 3. They had some great tech on display, which is never a bad thing. Feast your eyes on these beauties.
Next, we came across a nice surprise in the NASA booth — a paint scheme that any Mazda enthusiast should know. The NP01 is more than just rad-looking, it’s powered by the 2.0 MZR motor and a large selection of other drivetrain parts making it very affordable when it comes to cost to own and cost to race. If you’re in the market for a race vehicle and cannot afford one of the Lola/Multimatic-built Mazda Prototypes that Speedsource is selling, the NP01 is a great alternative.
Finally, there was one big wow part we have to tell you about. Check out this crazy, billet Duramax Chevy motor.
The DX600 Billet Duramax is a supercharged compound turbo setup. Looking for a billet aluminum block for your Chevy truck? We know you Mazda fanatics probably aren’t, but this is really freakin’ sweet piece of hardware regardless. Now, if only we could get someone to make a billet engine for the Mazdaspeed 3. Then life would be really sweet.
Hope you all enjoyed this PRI update as much as we enjoyed checking out cars and parts at the show. As always, at CorkSport we strive to keep you all apprised of the new and interesting car news you crave. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for our latest news.
CorkSport’s Performance Race Industry Show Recap September 13th, 2018CorkSport
A couple of weeks ago, CorkSport was contacted about a toy drive put together by a local car group called Tuner Coalition. They had heard about a group of kids at a local hospital that had hardly ever experienced a true Christmas. CorkSport loves to give back to the community, so we wanted to make some kids super happy this holiday season.
We all know that Christmas is about giving, so that’s what we did. I learned there is no better feeling than knowing your contribution will make a world of difference in someone’s life. That is our main goal here at CorkSport. We strive everyday to help our customers meet their goals and enjoy their modifications. It’s all about bringing happiness to others. And just look at how happy these kids will be.
This was not only a toy drive, but also a car meet. I brought my Mazdaspeed, and there was a first generation Mazda 3 that had some cool exterior upgrades. I also had the pleasure of meeting some really cool people. Even though we drove different cars, we were there for the same reason and shared the same passion for cars.
I had the pleasure of talking to a guy that owned an Ecoboost Mustang. He had a lethal performance turbo kit installed on the cusp of making 500whp. Needless to say, his engine bay was really clean; it had been meticulously hydro-dipped by a friend of his. I always liked the Ecoboost Mustang for its indirect relationship with Mazdaspeeds. The car definitely looked cool, and drew a lot of attention. He was a very humble guy and only had nice things to say about the my Mazdaspeed. He saw the front mount intercooler on my car and instantly had to know what was under the hood.
CorkSport loves to be a part of these types of events, and we encourage anyone to participate as well. We are here to help our community in any way possible. We would love to hear about some of your holiday car meets, and any kind of fundraisers you may have attended this holiday season! Get in touch with us on Facebook and Twitter to share your mods and stories.
Cheers,
Luke
CorkSport Joins Christmas Toy Drive 2016 December 22nd, 2016CorkSport
So you may not realize this, but most of us at CorkSport are actually car guys/girls. While I’m sure most of you are at least somewhat familiar with what we have here as far as company cars, I was thinking you may be curious what some of us are working on when we’re not “on the clock” so to speak. That being said, first I’ll give you a little bit of my background as it relates to cars.
When I first came to CS back in 2011, I was probably a bit of the odd man out when it comes to cars. While I’d owned and customized 40 to 50 (or more) cars, I’d never really been into the import scene. I was always more into lowriders, 4x4s, old school customs, minitrucks, and pretty much anything and everything that was not a tuner car. When I started, my daily driver was a fully airbagged 1976 Chevy stepside truck (see below), and I had two other old school projects at home: a 1955 Pontiac which was also bagged, and I was building a 1963 GMC big window shortbed.
This was my daily driver and that was more or less my normal ride height. Of course all of the tuner guys at CS thought it was pretty funny (which I get). A lot of people wonder “why would you build something to drag it down the street?” My answer is, “because I can and most people can’t.”
The Pontiac was a little bit classier and, while fully bagged, it didn’t “lay frame.” This car was more about the custom body work that you would never notice unless you know what a stock ’55 Pontiac is supposed to look like, specifically the rear end.
Those vehicles are long gone by now, so what have I been working on since then? Immediately after those, I bought an MS6, which you may have seen in the past. We used it at CS for product development and testing on various products, so I’m pretty sure some pics made it to the old interwebs at some point. That was my first taste of a tuner car and, while it was fun to drive, it just wasn’t my thing. So I sold it to another employee here.
Since then, I’ve played with a few 4×4 trucks, a diesel Silverado, and a ’97 F-150 which I still have and plan to build into a desert truck at some point (though that’s not yet in the project status). So what am I working on? I’m taking it back to the old school and building a minitruck — and yes, it is a Mazda but that’s just a coincidence.
A little backstory on this truck and how this project came to be: I’m probably older than most of you, but when I was a kid in the late ‘80s, minitrucks were the thing. 15” wheels were considered big wheels back then, and 195/50x15s were the standard low profile tires — quite a bit different than today. So when I was 12 in 1990, my mom went and bought this ’89 Mazda B2200 which was already lowered and had fancy red 15” wheels and a red tenneau cover. It was a pretty sweet truck by most peoples’ standards back then and IT WAS MY MOM’S! Seriously, whose mom drives a sweet minitruck?
I don’t really have many old pics of it, but this was when I borrowed it from her to haul a motor for my ’63 GMC project.
Even at 12, I loved cars. I would spend my time reading “Lowrider Magazine” or “Mini Truckin’” and drawing pictures of customized cars, so of course I was in love with the truck. I dreamt of my mom giving it to me when I turned 16 and got my license (which didn’t happen), and all of the cool stuff I would do to it. At some point when I was probably 14, the truck was stolen and wrecked which destroyed one of the wheels. You couldn’t get them anymore, so my mom put the ugly Moderns on it, which you can see in the pic above. Then later something happened to the tonneau (don’t remember what). Needless to say, time took its toll on the truck. It wasn’t the same truck anymore, but it didn’t change or take away all the time I spent daydreaming about all of the things I wanted to do to that truck as a teen.
So fast-forward 24 to 25 years. My mom was retiring and didn’t need the truck anymore. At this point, it was just a 25-year-old B2200, so it wasn’t worth much to anyone aside from me. She said if I wanted it, I could have it, so of course I jumped on it as I’d been thinking about this truck and what I would do to it for over half of my life. So what were my plans for it?
I wanted to mix keeping it how it was with doing some of the things I’d thought about over the years. So the first thing I had to do was put some red wheels on it again, as that’s how it was when I was young. However, I wanted to cross it with a bit of my preferred “old school” style, so I had to mix it up a bit. I picked up some 15” steelies with chrome center caps and had the wheels powder coated red. I also wanted wide white wall tires, but I couldn’t find the size I wanted, so I got other tires and added some Porta-walls for the wide white look. I then replaced all of the bushings and ball joints in the front end and added the new wheels and tires.
Anybody that knows me and my taste for vehicles would know that I wasn’t done at this point, so I continued to collect components for the next step. Full air ride was on its way. I got everything needed to bag it, including a complete 4-link kit for the rear. (Sorry for the blurry pic; it’s what I got.)
I then kind of lost motivation, so the truck largely just sat in my garage for the last couple of years. But a couple of months ago, I started working on it again. I started with notching the frame in the rear so when the suspension is aired out, the frame will sit on the ground (lay frame). I then welded in the 4-link rear suspension as seen below. I used the factory front leaf spring perch for the lower bars. (They’re there; you just can’t see them.)
Then I turned my attention to the front end. If you know anything about these trucks, you know they have a torsion bar front suspension. And if you know anything about bagging stuff, you know that isn’t the easiest starting point for airbags. Preferably you’d start with coil springs, because then you just have to remove the stock coil and put an airbag in its place (more or less). Since these are torsion bars, you have to remove most of the existing suspension and build everything you need in the front yourself. I recently finished putting the bags in the front, which is the hardest part of this project, and am now at the point where I can start making mounts and installing all of the hardware in the rear (a.k.a. the fun part).
The frame is, in fact, sitting on the ground in this pic.
If you’re curious what my end goal is with this truck, I’ll fill you in: I don’t want to go full custom show truck. I plan to leave the body, faded paint and all, just as it is. I’ll also leave the big ugly mirrors and stock rear bumper, which is the first thing most minitruckers remove. Really my plan was/is to leave everything outside stock, aside from the wheels/tires, and fully bagged. Then I’ll do a custom interior with a nice sound system. The point is not a show truck; I want the stock look of the truck my mom drove for years with the ability to drag the frame down the street and throw sparks. I also plan to see if I can get another red soft tonneau cover made, so it will be a bit closer to the truck I remember as a kid — just better.
Other things I’ve considered are an NA 20b swap with a turbo 2 trans, cuz why not? Or maybe a boosted 302 swap, although that may be a bit overkill for such a small truck. It does have an automatic trans, so I don’t love that, but it works fine for low and slow. Anyhow, thanks for reading, and I hope you’ve enjoyed getting a little look at what I play with when I’m not at CS. Maybe you’ll see some updates in the future, maybe not, or maybe you’ll get a look at some of the other guys’ projects around here. Let us know what you’d like to see and we’ll see if we can accommodate.
What’s In Our Garage: Dustin’s Custom Projects December 20th, 2016CorkSport
