Author: Derrick Ambrose

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CorkSport – Not Just for Your Mazda Anymore

Being that I usually post about new parts coming out, I thought I would change it up a little and blog about something different. We are finally rolling out some SWAG with our new logo on it here at CorkSport and one of my favorites is the slap-on can koozie. It features our new logo screen printed on a fabric layered over neoprene. It also utilizes two of the old slap bracelets that some of you may remember, so it will fit various sizes of cans and bottles. However, it does not come with installation instructions or telephone technical support.

Being an engineer, I tried to come up with a way to still get some useful data out of this post. I came up with a comparison of two typical domestic beers straight out of the fridge: one in our new can koozie and one without. The picture below shows my two test victims (opened to simulate someone who is actually drinking a beer).

For four hours, I took temperature readings of each beer every 15 minutes. The ambient temperature in my office was about 73 degrees F and the fridge remains roughly constant at 38 degrees. As you can see, both beers start out at 38 degrees (the temperature of the fridge) and remain fairly similar to one another for the first hour. However, from hours 1-4, the can in the koozie stayed roughly 7-9 degrees cooler. This may not sound like a lot, but you have to take into account that it also keeps your hand from warming up the beer as well (I did not test for that, but it may be a good excuse to retest).

In the end, the CorkSport slap-on can koozie did its job and I had an excuse to drink beer at work, albeit 71.3 & 63.9 degree beer after staring at untouched open beers for four hours.

We also have our new T-shirts available!

– Jake

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Introducing the XCorder (More Like XTREME-Corder, Am I Right?!)

We recently added a new part to our webpage, the Xcorder. I had a chance to drive around with one for a few weeks getting more familiar with the unit.

The primary feature is the video capture. The camera is always running on the unit and the videos get saved in 1 minute chunks in an MP4 format. The wide angle lens does a really good job of showing everything in front of recorder. You can see the complete windshield the Xcorder’s entire view.

I got a chance to test out the load sensor in the Xcorder doing product testing. I took the Xcorder out for a spin in the Mazda 2 with a new rear bar to get an idea of how many g’s I could pull around a roundy-round intersection. In the video below you can see the path I was taking and the g-load spikes. I came close to pulling 1 g around the turn which is shown just under the video screen (the spikes on the x-axis). You also get a good look at where I was doing said suspension testing in Vancouver with the GPS location. After recording the video I noticed that I slowed down going around the corner. I did not want to slow down; my sub-conscience took over while driving. This will give me something to check while competing in the next auto-x. If I can correct a throttle lift at points on the course where I need to be on the throttle it can result in quicker times.

If you really want to amuse yourself with the Xcorder turn it around backwards so you can see the expressions of the drivers and passengers. You would get a wide angle view of everyone and their faces while driving. (check out those white knuckles on Jake)

If you have kids it also gives you a great deterrent against the sibling “she said he said” conflicts that can occur in the back seats.

Getting the videos off the unit is really a snap. The SD memory card pops out of the side which is super handy. The video and picture above, I pulled off the SD card on my laptop in a few minutes.

Is it worth the $199? You bet it is. The little bit of data- logging information I gains from looking at my driving in the corner testing out the g loads is something I had no idea I was doing. That little piece of information is worth it in competition events. The extra insurance the Xcorder offers makes an incredible value. Having a constantly running video recording can be invaluable. I hope I never have to pull a video off of the unit to prove who caused a traffic accident.

– Derrick

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Hydrolock

After seeing several forum posts and receiving many emails asking about performance intakes and sucking in water I decided to write this bog, because I wanted to get this cleared up for everyone with questions.

Water is everywhere, as our planet is covered in it. There is water in the air. When you are driving your car down the road you are sucking in water. It may be water vapor but it is still water and harmless to your engine.

Open element filters in either short ram intakes or cold air intakes have water come in contact with them by splashing puddles or rain. With air passing through the filter the water gets vaporized (evaporates) and gets consumed by the engine during the combustion process. This process is like the hand dryers in a washroom that blow air across your hands to dry them. The water enters your intake as vapor which is safe for your engine.

There are several companies that sell water injection systems for combustion engines. The water cools the fuel air mixture resulting in less chance for engine detonation. This is helpful for forced induction engines running higher boost levels to control detonation and get more power.

The only time you will experience water damage/engine destruction is when the intake in your car creates a seal with a water source, as in complete submersion. The engine creates suction from the air pumping movement thus pulling more water into the intake towards the engine. This becomes a problem when the water gets to the cylinders and the crankshaft tries to move the piston up. Water does not compress like air and causes the piston to stop and catastrophe occurs. This is called hydro-lock, which is when the cylinder is too full of water and the piston moves against it effectively preventing, or “locking” the engine from further movement. The result of hydro-lock is bent connecting rods, broken pistons, etc. It is not pretty.


Hydrolock Damage

Cold air intakes normally get the bad rap for sucking up water and hydro-locking engines. You would have to move your vehicle into large water mass, like a very deep puddle and submerge your air filter for this to occur. If you live in a climate that has lots of standing water or floods on a regular basis a cold air intake is probably not the best choice. Short ram intakes normally have the filter situated up higher in the engine bay near the throttle body. The chances of water being deep enough to cause a seal and suck in water are pretty low. You would need the water to be higher that the filter location in the engine bay. This also applies to the stock intake airbox. If you see water cresting over the top of your hood you have more problems than water getting into your engine.


Sure fire defense against water in your intake

If you want an aftermarket intake and you are paranoid about hydro-locking your engine there is a solution. The sure fire way to avoid water getting into your engine is an intake snorkel. Most have the air pickup at the highest point on the vehicle to give you the best chance when fording a river.


Mazda BT-50 crossing a small creek

The best advice I can give is to steer clear of deep standing water if you have a performance intake installed in your Mazda. If you are not sure how deep the puddle or standing water is go around it.

– Derrick

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CorkSport Grand Prix

A couple weekends ago CorkSport held an impromptu Mazda competition at the last SCCA event this year in Portland, OR. A few of the guys from MazdasNW.com showed up to come have some fun with us in the Pacific Northwest sun (Rain). There were quite a few large puddles out there as Travis found:

We had two classes to compete in, Turbo Class and N/A Class. The weather made it difficult for any racers to turn in good lap times, and the MazdaSpeed3s were having the most trouble out there trying to turn in anything resembling a decent lap time. With the course set up the way it was they were not able to get out of 2nd gear and had too much power to put to use on the very wet track. Marty Chen in his Speed3 managed to keep it together for the win in the Turbo category with a time of 50.94.

Erik Getty got to run his Miata in the first run group before it started to pour down rain and turned in a time of 48.07 giving him the win for the N/A class.

Congrats to Marty and Eric, and thank you to everyone that came out and I hope we can do this again next year!

– Chris

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Back to the Track

The Oregon Region SCCA series came to an end last week and I made it to 6 of the 9 events, along the way meeting a number of people I look forward to seeing again next year and learning more than I had anticipated about SCCA and the people involved. I learned many things about my driving and the Speed3, both of which have room for improvement.

Most importantly I had a great time and I helped support the folks that run the tracks as well as a few of the clubs that sponsor these events. The fewer people that are willing to pay to play diminish the options or up the price for those of us that love motorsports. If you are interested in getting into motorsports, improving your driving skills, or are even just curious about it I strongly encourage you to participate.

You can learn a lot from watching the competition, and watching other people run is also an important part of improving your skills as a driver. Both locally and nationally, Solo and Pro Solo, there were some amazingly skilled drivers present. It was less surprising but still interesting to see how close some cars perform compared to others, classification aside.

For people wanting to get out and try a relatively inexpensive and safe afternoon of racing AutoX is a great option with a wide variety of cars competing at local levels. A few weeks ago some fellow Mazda owners came down from Seattle to play at PIR with a few locals and I would venture a bet that a few of these guys will be back, at least occasionally, or progress on to different venues including track days. In fact a few of us are planning for next year already.

The racing bug takes hold slowly for some and moves others from zero to obsessed in a mere few hours of play. My class (DSP) was an interesting story and not uncommon. Three was the average number of competitors in the DSP class I ran in and the two other gentlemen that show up regularly have been racing for a few years. I ended up finishing second overall. Second place is not bad for simply showing up and giving AutoX a go, so I am definitely OK with the results, I may even go get myself that 2nd place trophy (or plaque) if I remember to attend the year end banquet.

I would encourage anyone that reads this to take your car out, stock or not and have a good time learning your limits and those of your car or just practice and enjoy the company of some friendly folks. There is plenty of encouragement and the potential for an award if you make it out at least a few times a year. At the very least you help support racing in a safe, constructive venue.

AutoX runs rain or shine. Wet sucks, big time, but it exaggerated the limits of my skill and the limits of the car which gave me plenty to think about. Dry days are amazing, and I especially enjoyed the dry weather we had up at Packwood. I fought the street tires all summer while most folks around me had dedicated racing tire/wheel combinations, a nice guy in a BMW that regularly plagued me (the way locusts devour crops) being one of those.

The biggest thing I got out of this season was finding a line, looking ahead and knowing where I had to be. Navigating a sea of little orange cones by ones self takes a bit of practice even when you think you know where you’re going. I watched plenty of folks miss cones, or gates, time and time again as well as people that just get lost mid course. Funny as it is to watch folks get lost I do not laugh too hard as I have been in that position. Other factors like tire pressure and suspension set up are also quite important, and I spent time exploring variations to assist with turn in and produce some modicum of over-steer. The problem I have with second gear has yet to be resolved and I encountered a couple people who experienced the same issue in Speed 3’s. The gas pedal, when to be on or off the gas and how to keep boost up with some finesse. I am not consistent enough yet to be able to use the pedal they way the car wants me to yet, unexpected lines or jerky driving throw me into my “drive angry” mode.

If people have to get their exercise chasing the cones I’ve mowed down in order for me to get better then I say practicing will be a win-win situation (as long as you’re not the cone). All in all there’s still lots of good stuff to learn and anything fun to learn should be practiced regularly.

I plan to run one last AutoX this year with the local Porsche club and after that more mods for the car and wait as patiently as I am able for next year. I feel some HPDE’s, track days, will be in order as well.

In closing I would like to give a big “thank you” to our good friends Bob and Randal for the pointers and getting me headed in the right direction, and to all the other folks along the way that helped or just hung out. I had no trouble finding someone willing to offer advice or share experiences with at the events along the way. Ride alongs are also fun I discovered, my favorite being a new Porsche Cayman S driven by a very aggressive but friendly fellow. What an awesome ride!

So, for those of you that are still unsure, come on out, get a ride along, or two or three, and decide if you want to be behind the wheel.

You’ll never regret it.

– Travis