With the success of the CorkSport CX-9 axle back, it was time to turn our attention to the slightly smaller little brother, the CX-5. We are proud to introduce the CorkSport 80mm Axle Back Exhaust for the 2017+ Mazda CX-5 equipped with the 2.5T. If you’re looking for a little more life out of your new CX-5 Turbo, read on for full details on how to give your grocery-getter some growl.
With our experience with the SkyActiv 2.5T in the CX-9 and Mazda 6 exhaust, we had a pretty good idea of the correct balance of volume and tone that would be a good fit for the CX5-T exhaust. With this, we ended up with 80mm, mandrel bent piping that feeds through two large flow-through resonators. The large resonators keep the noise and drone down during regular driving yet the larger piping size and flow-through design of the resonators ensures you can actually hear your 2.5T when you get on the gas. It’s a throaty and deep sound that adds some much-needed excitement to the CX-5. It’s not all sound though, the larger piping and flow-through resonators are much less restrictive than the OEM muffler section. While we haven’t had a chance to get a CX-5 on the dyno, the 2.5T is definitely breathing easier.
Aside from the obvious sound benefit, the CS axle back adds a visual boost that looks at home on the rear of the CX-5. The exhaust tips were enlarged to 100mm to fill in the bumper cutouts. They were also extended outward slightly, and a slant cut was added to the end. This gives a stylish and classy look that should’ve been the way Mazda made it! The tips are garnished with a laser-engraved CorkSport name badge for a nice finishing touch.
The entire CorkSport axle back exhaust is made from fully polished 304 stainless steel that is precision TIG welded together. This construction ensures good corrosion resistance and strength to last as long as you own your CX-5. Plus, being fully polished, it looks great if you ever catch a glimpse past the tips. In addition, we supply the hardware and gaskets you need for installation, so spicing up your CX-5 can be done in as little as 30 minutes!
Want to hear the Cx5 Turbo Exhaust? Check out the Youtube Vid below.
For all you 2017+ non turbo CX-5 owners, yes this will fit your Cx5. The exhaust note of the axle back will be different without the turbo in the system and will be comparable to our 1st Gen Cx5 axle back.
If you’re still curious, give us a call and we can answer any question you may have!
Mazda did a great job bringing a turbocharged engine back to the Mazda 6 (Mazda 3 next please?), but may have done too good of a job of keeping it quiet. Say hello to the CorkSport 80mm Cat Back Exhaust and Axle Back Exhaust for 2018+ Mazda 6 equipped with the turbocharged 2.5L engine. If you’re interested in waking up your SkyActiv-T in both excitement and power, read on as we breakdown the newest CS exhaust.
As with all CorkSport exhausts, the goal of the Mazda 6 2.5T exhaust is to improve power and sound by improving the flow of the OEM exhaust. We started by increasing the size of the piping from 60mm to 80mm. That is an increase of over three-quarters of an inch to really help your turbocharger breathe better. In addition, the CS exhaust system eliminates the crushed areas present in the OEM exhaust and replaces the restrictive muffler sections with pass-through resonators. These resonators control volume and drone without affecting power output.
All that extra flow does mean a power increase. In our in-house dyno testing, we saw an increase in 5-6WHP just by bolting on the CorkSport Cat Back Exhaust. Check out the dyno sheet down below to see. This increase came with no tuning changes, no check engine lights, and the only other mod beingthe CorkSport Short Ram Intake, which was installed for both tests. With the 80mm piping size, this exhaust is ready to support future modifications and would likely show more power gains with proper tuning.
The CorkSport MZ6T exhaust is more than just function. We went through multiple iterations and designs to ensure the best-sounding exhaust for your Mazda 6. The finished product ups the volume without being annoying to daily drive yet still sounds great when in hard acceleration. We strongly recommend you watch the video below to hear what to expect from this exhaust.
If you feel the video below gives you too much volume for the daily, then check out the Axle Back Only Exhaust. Recently added to the CorkSport line-up, the Axle Back alone adds a mellower, but still noticeable tone to the exhaust. This is a great middle ground between the CorkSport Cat Back and the stock exhaust.
To give a great-looking, long-lasting finish to each exhaust, they are manufactured from fully polished 304 stainless steel. To ensure a high-quality fitment, all components are precision TIG welded together on jigs made from OEM exhaust components. Lastly, as a finishing touch, we use 100mm dual wall exhaust tips. They fill out the bumper cutouts and are extended slightly to give a classy look and enhance the new Mazda 6’s styling.
The CS Mazda 6 Turbo Exhaust comes with all the hardware and gaskets you need for installation, high quality instructions, and CorkSport support for any questions you may have. Pick up a CorkSport MZ6 2.5T Exhaust today and liven up that daily commute.
We are proud to announce a old product that we have redesigned. Introducing the V2 CorkSport Coilovers for 2004-2013 Mazda 3 and Mazdaspeed 3.
We’ve taken the same basic designed and revised and refined it with small changes to fitment and big changes to spring rates and damping rates.
For spring rates we took an approach that seems to differ with most street oriented kits on the market today. We wanted to develop coilovers that were both enjoyable to drive on the street in a daily driven car, but could also perform on the track in more performance oriented settings. With these goals we focus on the ride feedback, understeer/oversteer balance, and suspension frequency balance.
The result; linear rate 7K front springs and 8.5K rear springs. This provided us with a ride quality that was comfortable, but sport focused and with the right balance of understeer vs oversteer, with a car that is more oversteer biased. The frequency of the suspension was also taken into consideration with a higher rear frequency than front to improve driver feedback and comfort.
Like most coilovers, ride height adjustability is essential to setting up you Mazdaspeed 3 or Mazda 3 for your goals. The redesigned CS coilovers offer 2 inches of height adjustability from approximately 0.75 inches to 2.75 inches lower than stock springs. This range of ride height allows you to have a conservative track-oriented setup or a slammed show setup depending on your goals.
With ride height, you can also adjust the front camber setup with the CS Coilovers include front camber plate, this kit comes to your door ready to install.
Lastly, and also somewhat unique to CS, is the design of the front coilovers. Instead of a more conventional and cost effective design, we’ve utilized an inverted damper design for improve performance. By inverting the front damper/shock, we’ve both reduce the unsprung weight of the front suspension and increased the rigidity. Both of these result in increased driver feedback and improved performance.
If you been considering lowering springs or coilovers for you Mazda 3 or Mazdaspeed 3 then give CS a good look. Thanks for taking the time to checkout CS, stay connected on the blog, newsletter and social media channels for upcoming performance parts for your Mazda.
-Barett @ CS
Guess Who’s Back February 4th, 2020Derrick Ambrose
Ever wonder what it was like to win the lottery. You ever let your mind wander and think what it would be like to actually “Live the dream.” I know I have, well, until I joined CorkSport! My name is Zach Sprague, and I wanted to share with you my experience of joining, what I believe to be, the best well known and respected company in the Mazda Community. Let’s take a look at my journey.
I’ve always been into cars and have had a pretty big obsession with FWD Hatchbacks. My passion for this platform started back in 2014. I sold cars for Toyota in Southwest Washington for about four years. During my tenure, I drove some pretty amazing vehicles, one of them being a 2013 VRM MS3 Tech pack. I knew what a Mazdaspeed was, a Turbo FWD Hatchback, and at that time that was more than enough to pique my interest in the platform. It was temporarily sitting on my lot, and I had to drive it back down to Portland to our sister store.
Before jumping into the seat, I didn’t know any horsepower or torque figures. I didn’t know what kind of emotion it was going to spark when I drove it. I had NO idea that it would become the screen saver on my computer. I slid in and pushed the button. (You know those Cold Starts) This Mazdaspeed’s exhaust made my heart drop and gave me goosebumps. I honestly felt like an 8-year-old on Christmas Morning.
Once on the ramp, I slowly shift into third at about three and a half grand on the tach and just sent it. Torque steer was prevalent as I was gently pushed back into my seat. I slammed 4th, and I hear this intoxicating PSSHHHHHH from the short ram intake. I was done, I was hooked, addicted and didn’t know what to do with myself. I was so intrigued I stopped at every rest stop on the way down so that I could feel this car accelerate back onto the freeway. <insert uncontrolled giggling here>.
Flash forward a couple of years, and a guy I worked with, now one of my best friends, went out and bought a VRM Mazdaspeed6. Everything on that car from top to bottom was stock down to the wheels. I slowly watched his build progress over the year and transform into one of the most inspiring builds I have ever seen. In that time he was kind enough to let me pick his brain about these cars and what they like, what they don’t like.
In 2018 this is when things got interesting! After a few months of looking and 100 YouTube videos later, I was finally ready to pull the trigger on one of my bucket list cars. I snagged a 2013 MazdaSpeed3 in liquid Silver. I drove almost 4 hours and paid an arm and a leg for sales tax, but it was worth it.
Miles of Smiles
I was grinning ear to ear the entire way home; 4th gear dumps on the freeway, testing the grip of the tires out at a few stoplights, full-on shenanigans. I tell you what; I made it home a lot quicker than the drive up.
I had the car for 3 weeks before I added my first mod. I already had a vision for the car, but first things first, I had to take care of those sloppy shifts. My shifter bushings and short shift plate showed up from CorkSport. At that time I knew they made great parts and were one of the very few places that even made parts for this car. What a difference that made! It felt robust and more responsive.
The Opportunity of a Lifetime
I always joked with my friends about working for a company like CorkSport. I just thought it was this elusive dream that I’d be sitting behind a desk helping other people build their dream cars. I never thought in my life that an opportunity like this would come into fruition.
My buddy, who helped me get into Mazdaspeeds, sent me a message on FB, letting me know that CS was hiring. I thought to myself; this is no lie. “There is no way on god’s green earth I’d ever get that lucky.” However, I applied. What’s the worst thing that could happen, right?
CorkSport isn’t a revolving door, and the team is made up of a close-knit group of professionals that also happen to be car nuts. They carefully consider who’s going to be a good fit with their existing team and identify candidates that are going to get the right shit done well. I knew this was a different company, and their standards were high because they didn’t just accept my resume; there was a pre-test.
A funny little story. I got a message from CorkSport saying they wanted to set up a phone interview! I couldn’t believe it! That Friday, I called to set up a meeting for Monday. This is where the humor known as my life kicked in; I BROKE MY PHONE ON SUNDAY! *RED ALERT* My dream job was calling me on Monday, and I didn’t have a phone, so I went out and bought a little prepaid flip phone.
Although I almost missed this opportunity, it went well enough for CorkSport to schedule a second interview over Skype. I must add, this occurred over two weeks. I was losing my mind; I couldn’t believe it was happening. All my buddies knew I had the job, they knew how obsessed I am with cars, especially my Mazdaspeed 3. I still was in shock couldn’t believe I had my second interview.
When CorkSport called me to let me know, I had a final interview with the Company’s President, Corey – Hello nervousness, glad to see you again! I can’t put into words how excited I was; it was pure bliss and absolute disbelief. “IS THIS REALLY HAPPENING!” I screamed at the top of my lungs when I got off the phone. I showed up a half-hour early. It was cool; I got to meet someone I’ve stalked on Instagram for a while and who has been a significant influence on me since I got into the Mazda community – Brett White.
It’s so surreal when you get an interview for a job you’ve always wanted. Above all, I remember from the interview is telling Corey, “Even if I don’t get the job, knowing I made it this far and am sitting here with you having this interview is honestly a dream come true.” It’s unreal to think that one mistake, such as breaking my phone the day before my first interview, could have kept me from writing this blog for a company I’ve looked up to since I’ve been into Mazda’s.
I cannot believe I’ve been here a little over a year already! It’s a fun environment where everyone is looking out for one another. I’ve been able to FLY in the fastest thing I’ve ever been in (Barett’s monster Gen Juan), and had the chance to drive a car I’ve drooled over on social media (Brett’s Baby) for years.
Barett’s monster Gen Juan
Looking back, it wasn’t even four days after joining the company before the guys a CS put lowering springs on my car. It took a little over a week for me to buy an AccessPort and a Dual VTA Bypass Valve, and that was just the start! You don’t want to be an employee driving a stock Speed with a CorkSport Sticker on it.
Stay tuned to see where CorkSport and I go with my car. I’ll catch you on the flipside and, thanks for reading my first blog!
We are proud to introduce the release of a new product: the CorkSport Mazdaspeed 4.5Bar MAP Sensor for Mazdaspeed 3, Mazdaspeed 6, and Mazda CX-7 Turbo. We’ve had the CS 3.5 Bar MAP Sensor for a while now as it’s a necessity when targeting over 21psi, however, while maxing out the CST6, we found the 35psi ceiling of the 3.5Bar sensor just wasn’t enough. Enter the CS 4.5Bar MAP Sensor!
Before I get into explaining what makes this sensor tick, lets quickly go over what exactly a MAP sensor does on your Mazdaspeed. Manifold absolute pressure (MAP) sensors in a nutshell just read the pressure present in the intake manifold of your car. During normal driving conditions, the sensor is typically reading vacuum (or negative pressure) as the engine sucks in air. While in boost, the sensor reads the positive pressure (boost pressure) produced by your turbocharger. In both situations, this pressure reading is being sent to the ECU so the ECU understands exactly what the engine is doing.
The OEM sensor is a 2.5Bar unit, meaning it can do 1Bar of vacuum (negative pressure), leaving you only 1.5Bar (~21psi) before the sensor runs out of accuracy. Both the CS MAP Sensors allow you to accurately read boost levels higher than the stock sensor, so your tuner can target a higher boost pressure for more power, provided you have the right supporting mods. The sensors themselves do not increase your boost pressure, they simply enable your tuner to safely do so.
Placement of the Mazdaspeed MAP on Intake Manifold
Enough learning, let’s get into the 4.5Bar Sensor! The CorkSport 4.5Bar MAP Sensor can read a maximum boost pressure of ~48psi before it starts running out of accuracy. Having a huge potential boost pressure means nothing without a fast responding sensor, so we designed the CS 4.5Bar MAP Sensor to have near instantaneous response of only 2 milliseconds. This means if you have the build and turbocharger to do so, this sensor is ready for just about anything you want to throw at it.
The CorkSport 4.5Bar MAP sensor uses a custom injection molded body that mimics the OEM sensor. This makes it a direct install into the OEM location and a direct plug into the OEM wiring harness. No wiring or adapter harness needed. This results in a clean install that takes as little as 15-30 minutes!
Everything needed for installation is included with the CS 4.5Bar MAP sensor. A new mounting bolt is supplied to ensure everything stays put, while a fresh O-ring is attached to the sensor to provide a good seal in your intake manifold. To top it off, calibrating for the sensor is easy as the calibration for use with Cobb Accessport is laser etched right on the body of the sensor.
