Keeping you up to date with the latest CorkSport Mazdaspeed news!
Category: Dyno
We have an in house dyno which we use to develop our Mazda performance products with. All power products are on the dyno to validate designs and theories.
As the New Year rolls around, most people are looking for a change for the better in their lives.
At CorkSport we think one of the best changes you can make is more power for your Mazdaspeed. We have all the parts you need to liven up your Mazdaspeed3 or Mazdaspeed6 in the New Year.
Safety First
One of the first things to consider when modifying your Speed is the health of its engine. Performing maintenance is very important but it only gets you so far. When adding power, one of the first modifications on your list should be the CorkSport Max Flow Fuel Pump Internals.
These pump internals allow you to maximize your stock fuel system for optimum power capabilities and safer than OE A/R ratios. This means you can add the power you want and have peace of mind that your engine will get the fuel it needs.
Put the Power Down
Like the CS fuel pump internals, the CorkSport Stage 2 RMM for Mazdaspeed 3 will not directly increase the power levels of your car; however, it helps you put all that hard-earned power down. By decreasing the amount the engine can rotate, the Rear Motor Mount allows for reduced wheel hop and torque steer while providing faster throttle response and crisper shift feel.
Even we are surprised how much this engine mount changes how a Mazdaspeed 3 feels. Don’t worry Mazdaspeed 6 guys and gals, we have an RMM for you too.
Improving Airflow
Engines in an extremely simple sense are air pumps; so the faster you can get air in and out of the system, the better. That being said, some of the simplest and easiest power gains you can get from your Mazdaspeed are from upgrading the intake and exhaust. We have seen peak gains of 25ft-lbs and 33WHP from only the CorkSport Stage 2 Intake and a CorkSport Racepipe.
Checkout the dyno sheet below.
Power and torque levels will be further increased if you install a full CorkSport Turbo Back Exhaust instead of just the race pipe section.
The catback exhaust section has proven to gain up to 14WHP while the downpipe section alone has proven to gain up to 21WHP. In the dyno graph below, the downpipe car had a CorkSport Intake installed at the same time as the downpipe (hence the 50hp gain).
If that wasn’t enough flow for you, we also offer 3” and 3.5” intakes for even more airflow into your turbo. Keep in mind though, once you get into those you will need to use a new tune to ensure your car runs optimally. But check out the extra flow you get!
Turbo Upgrade
The CorkSport Drop-In Turbo is a fantastic upgrade to the stock K04 turbo that allows your car to make more power on an equivalent boost pressure. It will work with any mods you already had on your OE Mazdaspeed turbo as the CS turbo is truly a drop in upgrade. With supplemental tuning, fueling, and supporting parts, you can push your Speed to its limits.
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The Next Level
CorkSport also manufactures parts that can take your Speed beyond the parts discussed above. A short list of the parts with the best power gains can be seen below:
CorkSport Camshafts: Replacement cams with extra lift to provide increased power and torque across the entire RPM range.
Bigger CorkSport Turbo? Yes, there is one in development. See this blog post for details.
No matter what your goals are for this year, CorkSport is here to help you achieve them. Whether you just picked up a Mazdaspeed and are unsure where to start, or have been driving one for years and want the excitement you once had back, CorkSport has a part for you.
Many have tried, but few have succeeded to retrofit or modify an existing throttle body to work with the Mazdaspeed DISI MZR platform.
As you know, CorkSport does things a little differently, and as a result, we started from the ground up to create the best performance throttle body possible with no sacrifices to drivability or reliability. Introducing the CorkSport 72mm Throttle Body for 2007-2013 Mazdaspeed 3, 2006-2007 Mazdaspeed 6, and 2007-2012 Mazda CX-7.
Starting from the ground up means 100% brand new parts, no reworked or refurbished components anywhere.
We start with an aluminum investment cast body that is made to our specific design specifications.
A flat faced throttle plate is added to gain a little bit of extra flow by avoiding the bump of a traditional round pivot shaft.
Finally, new electronics are added that are based upon OE logic to avoid any tuning and calibration issues.
To retain easy installation, we knew we had to keep the OE bolt pattern. With this, we wanted to maximize the throttle plate diameter for maximum flow. We ended up increasing from 60mm to 72mm. This may not sound like a huge increase, but the OE Throttle Body fits inside the CorkSport Throttle Body with plenty of room! The 72mm size also fits well with both 3” and 2.5” intercooler piping to fit almost any TMIC or FMIC setup. Finally, we did away with the OE gasket (which is too small anyway) and replaced it with a durable O-ring that will hold up to oil, gasoline, methanol, and other fueling options that it may come in contact with.
The CorkSport Throttle Body underwent extensive testing to ensure that it will not fail during daily use and to ensure it performs as well as we expect. The throttle plate underwent endurance testing to validate the D-shaped pivot can stand the test of time. During flow bench testing, we found that the CS flows about 150CFM (~33%) better than the OE throttle body when 75% open (accelerator pedal fully depressed).
Check out the graph below for the full data.
In daily driving testing, we noticed better throttle response with no CEL or choppiness. In power testing with a midsized turbo (~GT30 size) we found the throttle body caused faster spool, but when we moved to a big turbo, things got interesting. With a GT35R, the CorkSport Throttle Body caused 100-200RPM faster spooling and an increase in power. Check out the dyno graph down below to see the difference between the CS Throttle body (blue) and the OE throttle body (green).
Each throttle body ships with fresh stainless steel mounting hardware, a 3” stainless t-bolt clamp, and your choice of silicone. We have options for FMIC, Mazdaspeed 3 TMIC (which also works for you CX-7 guys), and Mazdaspeed 6 TMIC.
If you’re looking to take your Mazdaspeed3, Mazdaspeed6, or CX-7 to the next level, or squeeze that last bit of power out of your big turbo build, the CorkSport Throttle Body can help you meet your goals.
Yes, I know, a performance aftermarket parts company has an automatic; I’m right there with you, but there’s a good reason for it. CorkSport has a couple Mazda3 6-Speed Manuals and a couple manual and automatic Mazda 6’s, but no automatic Mazda 3; so it made sense to add that to the garage, especially with the many new performance parts we have in the pipe line. Check those out here.
Now back to the CorkSport’s new 2018 Mazda 3.
The 6-speed automatic comes equipped with three transmission control modes; Standard (default), Sport, and Manual (aka manumatic).
We became curious about how those three modes affected the driving experience, specifically the shift points. I believe we all understand how the Manual control mode works, as it provides nearly 100% control of the shift points, so for the comparison I am going to focus on the differences between the Standard and Sport modes since those are controlled by the ECU.
Driving the car on the street, you can easily feel the difference between the Standard and Sport modes of the Mazda3.
The Standard mode feels soft, relaxed, and maybe even lazy between shifts. It seems to default to the highest gear (lowest engine RPM) possible in every driving situation. This is great for fuel economy, but disappointing for smiles-per-gallon. Push the Sport toggle, and the car comes alive. The engine pulls through the RPM range longer for each gear and seems more eager to accelerate with the slightest throttle input. MUCH better.
The Butt Dyno is great and all, but it’s subjective, so we decided to strap the car down on the dyno to see what is happening; what exactly is changing between the Standard and Sport modes with the CorkSport 2018 Mazda3.
On the dyno, things become much clearer, but first, we had to set up the dyno to provide us with useful information. Typically we are testing wheel Torque and Horsepower, not shift points. It was interesting to play with the various parameters the dyno has available to find a readout that would convey the shift points and the effort the car was exerting. Check out the graph below; this is not your typical dyno plot.
With this dyno plot we quickly see that is much different than the typical readout. I’m going to break it down, so it’s clear and easy for you to understand what is going on.
Description: Standard Mode = Red, Sport Mode = Green
The horizontal axis is our independent variable in the test. This is the variable/parameter we can control directly in the test. Since we are trying to understand the difference in shift points between the Standard and Sport modes, Road Speed was the logical choice. To be consistent, the throttle input percent for both Standard and Sport modes was held constant throughout the test runs.
The two vertical axis’s are the dependent variables in the test; these are the parameters that depend on engine RPM.On the right side of the dyno plot, we have engine RPM; this is represented by the lines with dots. On the left side of the dyno plot, we have tractive effort, which is essentially the amount of force the tires are applying to the road surface.
Looking at the two graphs, it’s clear that the Sport mode shift points and tractive effort are much different than Standard mode. This is interesting because we can now visualize what we were feeling while driving the Mazda 3 Hatchback on the street.
In Sport mode, the car carries through the engine RPM longer, and the resulting RPM after each shift is also higher. Because each gear is carried to a higher RPM the resulting power is much greater, which is shown with the tractive effort plots.
Finishing statement:Sport mode significantly changes the way the car drives and responds. If you are looking for some fun out in the curves, don’t be shy, hit that Sport toggle and let the Mazda do what it was designed to do best.
After multiple years of testing, design and research, CorkSport is proud to announce its release of camshafts specifically designed around the MZR DISI platform. This kit is engineered to reliably provide increased power and torque without lower rpm sacrifices.
The turbocharged MZR DISI engine was first introduced in the 2006-2007 Mazdaspeed6 and was later put in the 2007-2013 Mazdaspeed3. This engine has a High-Pressure Fuel Pump (HPFP) that is driven off the intake camshaft. Other MZR engines use different camshafts and don’t have a HPFP lobe to run the fuel pump. This has been a limitation in the market since the engines introduction.
Camshaft Basics
In order to understand the basics you need to know some camshaft terminology. The most common terms are lobe, lift, duration and base circle.
Common Drawing of Camshaft Terminology
Base Circle – The circle on the backside of the lobe. When the base circle faces the valve the valve is closed.
Lobe – The lobe is the portion of the camshaft surface that is not the base circle. This is when the valve is opening or closing.
Lift – The distance between the base circle and the top of the lobe. This will be the amount the valve is allowed to open.
Duration – The distance, in degrees, that the camshaft is in the lift section. This controls the time that the valve will be open. This is shown in the diagram from A to B.
MZR Flow Testing
The first thing to do was flow test the head to figure out where restrictions might occur. To flow test, a constant vacuum was applied through the head and while slowly opening the valves. This is similar to what the engine is doing while running.
Intake lift
The factory intake ports do not flow much air above 0.350” of lift on the flow bench. The factory camshaft runs rough at 0.370” of lift. Shown in the graph below, minimal flow was increased between 0.350” and 0.400” on the factory head.
Intake Ports of MZR DISI Head
Porting is the process of modifying the intake and exhaust ports of an internal combustion engine to improve the quality and quantity of the air flow. After porting the head, there were significant increases in flow, but around 0.400” of lift there was again minimal increase in flow, with more lift. Testing suggests a proper maximum lift of 0.390” for the intake camshaft. Factory heads or ones with a large port should show gains from this increase in lift.
Why Stop at 0.390”?
More lift above 0.390” would require very extensive head work to gain much more power. Another downside of going above 0.390” lift is the valves will require stronger valve springs to maintain proper valve operation at high boost or high rpm. Upgraded valve springs should not be required for a factory head with 0.390” of lift camshafts.
Exhaust lift
A similar process to that described during the intake lift process was used on the exhaust ports and an optimal lift of 0.355” was chosen. For comparison, the factory runs 0.321” lift on the camshaft.
Exhaust Ports of MZR DISI Head
Limitations of Existing Options
The factory camshafts were designed around a compromise of performance and emissions; from that design criteria, there is still more power and torque available. The reader can now understand why increased lift and duration can release this power. There are limited options to increase lift and duration on the MZR DISI engine.
Reground Factory Camshafts
In order to increase lift and duration on a reground camshaft, the factory camshaft must be welded and reground to the new profile, but commonly the base circle is reduced. This allows the lift to increase and also the duration to be adjusted.
There are limitations with this approach. When reducing the base circle, many other parts in the head will have to make up for the amount ground away. It is essentially limited to the amount ground away. It is also limited by the duration because the profile must fit within the factory profile design.
In order to regrind a camshaft it must be removed from the engine or a new camshaft must be bought. A used camshaft can have wear that cannot be fixed. Buying new camshafts to send out is expensive and adds to the total cost of installing the camshafts.
Aftermarket Camshafts
The only aftermarket camshafts currently available are not designed for the MZR DISI engine. This means the intake camshaft does not have the ability to run the HPFP.
The existing camshafts for the MZR engine were also designed around naturally aspirated (non-turbocharged) engines, so the duration, lift, and overlap between the intake and exhaust camshafts are not optimal for forced induction applications.
The best option to upgrade camshafts is to buy those designed and made for the MZR DISI engine specifically.
Camshaft Design
In order to start testing camshafts on the car, a blank camshaft is needed. This requires making a mold and casting a generic camshaft from a mold. Then the bearing services were machined to factory specs and after that a few dozen durations, ramp rates, and overlaps based on the engines natural pumping ability were chosen.
Blank Camshaft with Bearing Surfaces Ground
After carefully grinding all of the blanks, it was time to dyno the engine and determine the difference in power and torque.
An engine is basically a vacuum pump with the camshaft helping determine at what rpm the pump is efficient. Camshafts allow the power under the curve to be manipulated. If you have ever taken a calculus or thermodynamics class you might have flashbacks.
Power/Torque Factory Camshaft vs CorkSport Camshaft
Potential variations in the engine tune, fuel, outside temperature, and other factors were monitored. The result is clear improvements in power and torque throughout the rpm range. The final design was chosen to limit lower rpm power decrease with a large band of power improvement over 4,500 rpm.
Exhaust Camshaft Comparison
Further examination of the exhaust lobe design is a good example of where the power comes from. When looking at the lift versus degrees as the cam spins, the changes to the lobe profile become apparent.
Exhaust Camshaft Design
This change allows the camshaft to lift the valve more and longer. This allows more air to flow out of the engine.
Intake and Exhaust Relationship
The intake camshaft is electronically controlled. With additional tuning, turbo spool and power can be increased by controlling the overlap between the intake and exhaust camshafts. Overlap is the time when both intake and exhaust are open at the same time. Typically in a turbo car overlap is much smaller than in naturally aspirated cars. Below shows intake and exhaust camshafts placed over each other and the area that would be considered overlap.
Diagram of Overlap
Fuel Pump Lobe
Recall the intake camshaft drives the mechanical HPFP. In order to allow the end user to have the best camshaft possible and also have reliable fueling and limited wear the fuel pump lobe on the CorkSport intake camshaft is ground to match the factory camshaft lobe and then rechecked to ensure no clearance issues.
Installation:
The installation of camshafts in the Mazda MZR engine is not easy. Camshaft upgrades should be considered by an experienced enthusiast or professional installation is appropriate. To aid an experienced installer, detailed installation instructions are provided. Successful installation is supported in two different ways.
As some of you may know already, CorkSport HQ made the move to a much larger and more functional building in January 2014. I think we can all agree that moving sucks and basically consumes your life for at least the month before and after the actual move. Well, I’m here to tell you it’s a hundred times worse when you are trying to move a business while still “keeping the doors open”. In the chaos of moving and getting the new location setup just right it’s easy to forget about the little yet important activities. So what better way to get back in the groove than a BBQ and Dyno Day to support the local community!
July 18th was the big day with 15 cars scheduled to get on the dyno, and another 35-45 cars planning to show up to watch the numbers! With everything set up and the burgers and dogs grilling away, people started to roll in by 12:30pm. The first car got on the dyno and the show began.
First, a bit about our dyno; it’s nicknamed “The Heartbreaker,” and oh so many hearts has it broken. The Tq/Hp curves look good, but it just reads low numbers. For example, a stock Mazdaspeed3 puts down a sad 190whp. Anyway, amongst the 15 Speed3s that planned to hit the dyno the mods varied from nearly stock to big turbo builds with lots of meth. There were quite a few Speeds in the 200-250whp range with a nice assortment of bolt-ons, a couple cars running a BNR or CS turbo in the 295-320whp range and then there is Justin England: a local out of Washington rocking a built block, GTX3071r at 34psi and tons of meth. He put down a very respectable 400wHp/365wTq on the heartbreaker dyno.
Just to give you another reference point, we threw a 07’ Corvette on the dyno that also has high flow cylinder heads, intake & exhaust manifold, performance camshaft, and full exhaust system. He put down a mere 420wHp/380wTq…yup. Anyways, enough about our depressing dyno!
Along with the constant roar of WOT pulls there was plenty of food and drinks and even a raffle thanks to a handful of sponsors: Tuned by Nishan, Justin at Freektune, Damond Motorsports, James Barone Racing, and CorkSport.
Check out the images below!
Yes, that’s a pink Miata with a V8 that’s a daily driver drift car…it’s basically badass.
All-in-all it was great day! We had a blast, put down some numbers, and stuffed our bellies. What more can you ask for?! Big thanks to all the NATOR OR members and CS employees that made this day possible and to the sponsors that donated items for the raffle! This is what makes the Mazda community so great!
Cheers,
Barett
NATOR OR BBQ and Dyno Day July 31st, 2015CorkSport
