Press Release | CorkSport Mazda Performance Blog

December 22, 2021September 21, 2023

Mazda 6 Turbo Down Pipe

Time for more horsepower and boost with the Skyactiv 2.5 Turbo engine.

The Mazda 6 just got its next upgrade in the form of the CorkSport Downpipe for 2018-2022 models equipped with the 2.5L Turbo engine. We took the OEM downpipe and improved on it in every way, including sound, flow, power potential, and even ease of install! Help unlock power with the Mazda6 Turbo downpipe and take a step forward to more making power!

Mazda 6 Turbo Downpipe for 2018-2022 Turbo

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The CorkSport downpipe uses a 2-piece design that starts with a cast 304 stainless steel bellmouth. This provides a high-flowing, smooth transition from the turbocharger to the piping that will stand up to the test of time and the high heat of the turbo. The piping is upgraded from the OEM 65mm diameter to 80mm mandrel bent piping to maximize flow and reduce restrictions. The bellmouth is joined to the piping using CNC machined v-band flanges which ensures a leak-free seal.

The two-piece design is not all about flow through. We optimized the casting design to be easy to install and tighten all the hardware. Since you do not have the piping in the way, like you would with a one-piece downpipe, the mounting hardware at the turbo is very easy to access! Fitment is also spot on, as we used 3D scan data from the OEM downpipe when designing the CS downpipe. That means great fitment with your existing aftermarket exhaust, or even the OEM one! With exhaust, the CorkSport downpipe will change the exhaust note of your Mazda 6. With the full CS catback exhaust, we noticed a different tone with some extra “growl” and a very slight increase in volume. This goes for both the catted and catless setups, with just a hint more drone with the catless setup.

All of the efforts to reduce flow restrictions are in the name of power! By smoothing the exhaust path and eliminating restrictions, the turbocharger can breathe better. While we have not been able to fully tune the car to take advantage of the flow gains (more on that later), typically an upgraded downpipe offers faster spool times, better peak power, and can help hold power better at higher RPMs. We hope to be able to test & validate the power potential of the MZ6T downpipe soon, but for now, know that the CorkSport Downpipe has enough flow capacity to efficiently support 500+ WHP, assuming you’ve got the mods to make that power!

So the elephant in the room: tuning. While the CorkSport Downpipe can be installed and driven on an otherwise stock Mazda 6 Turbo, we strongly recommend a tune after installing the CS downpipe. There are some fairly strict limits to airflow and torque in the OEM tune that can result in some mild surging or “hiccups” especially when at wide open throttle. This is simply the car hitting those limits and pulling back power. We have experimented with these limits and have found no long-term effects of hitting the limits or even going beyond. They are very conservative limits for safety with stock parts. With more efficient parts, your engine works easier and is able to produce added power/torque and consume more air so the limits are simply hit easier.

Let’s go through some housekeeping on the Mazda 6 Turbo downpipe. We offer the downpipe in both fully catless and with a high flow 300cel cat. As modifying or removing the primary cat is illegal in most areas, both options are sold for off-road or race use only. The fully catless setup will be the best for power gains but also comes with an all but guaranteed check engine light. The catted option cuts down on the smell of a fully catless setup but will sometimes still throw a CEL. This CEL can however be disabled with a tune.

Finally, what comes in the box with your MZ6T downpipe? Each kit comes with all the hardware needed for installation. This includes new turbo studs & crimp nuts, exhaust connection hardware, a Remflex exhaust gasket, and the stainless steel v-band clamp for connecting the upper and lower sections. Also included is a support bracket for the downpipe and even a custom heatshield to deflect heat away from engine bay components. Both come with required mounting hardware as well!

Be sure to check out the product listing HERE for more images, a product teaser video, and pricing. Ready your Mazda 6 Turbo for some big power with downpipe kit from CorkSport!

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November 4, 2021August 16, 2023

2018-2021 Mazda 6 Turbo Lowering Springs 2.0

A couple years ago we developed performance lowering springs for the new 2018-2021 Mazda 6. Read the Release Blog. Our goal was to transform the full-size sedan from a commuter to a fun luxury sedan you can daily and enjoy in the back country roads. While we succeeded, we also heard from the community that you wanted more LOW LOW. V2.0 Mazda 6 Lowering Springs gives you exactly that!

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Let’s start off with the big one: ride height changes. The Mazda 6 Lowering Springs V2.0 springs offer a more aggressive drop from the stock springs with about 1.75 inch lower in the front and about 2.00 inches lower in the rear. This height is more aggressive than the previous CorkSport Sport Lowering Springs (1.00in front & 0.75in rear) while still maintaining good ride characteristics for the daily commute.

The height drop will be noticed when you’re outside the car, but the handling improvements will be apparent when driving. By lowering the center of gravity and stiffening the springs, body roll is reduced in corners, giving you extra confidence when attacking that backroad. In addition, we stiffened the rear springs more than the fronts, reducing understeer. By number, this meant 4.6K front springs and 8.1k rear springs). Derrick, our resident racecar driver and Mazda 6 Turbo owner, loves the new V2.0 springs and is sitting on some Rays 57FXZ 18×10+40 with 265/40 tires.

Mazda 6 close up for lowering spring ride height

While this may sound like a big jump, they ride very similar to the OEM springs, but do feel stiffer. We used natural frequency analysis to ensure we achieved comfortable characteristics. This affects how the car feels and responds when going over bumps, braking, accelerating, and through corners. While the overall spring rates are stiffer, the overall ride quality will not suffer like a Honda Civic on cut stock coils.

Stance view of Mazda 6 wit lowering springs installed

Last but not least, the CorkSport Lowering Springs are made from high tensile strength spring steel and come powder coated in our new CS Blue for long-lasting quality and corrosion resistance. They install just like stock, reusing all your OEM components. The only permanent modification is trimming the bump stops to match OEM suspension travel.

Be sure to check out the product listing HERE for more images, a product video with more comparisons to OEM, and pricing. Make your new Mazda 6 yours with just the right styling and handling boost from CorkSport.

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June 11, 2020November 15, 2022

Skyactiv 2.5T Intake Heat Shield

OEM Look and solid performance power gains for the Mazda 6 Turbo

We’re back with another product for SkyActiv 2.5T owners that a lot of you have requested after getting your CorkSport SRI. Introducing the CorkSport Heat Shield for 2018+ Mazda 6 Turbo, 2019+ Mazda CX-5 Turbo, and 2016+ Mazda CX-9! Cool down your intake air temps in two ways: by blocking heat from the engine bay and by using the OEM ducting to draw in fresh air. This allows your turbo system to breathe just a bit easier, especially during hot days or if you’re stuck sitting in traffic. Plus, it makes the CS SRI look like a factory option performance part!

Read on for full details and be sure to give us a call if you have any questions!

Isolates heat from the Mazda 6 turbo SRI

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We really focused on keeping cool air around the filter with the CorkSport SkyActiv 2.5T heat shield. The shield was carefully designed to seal the intake off from as much engine bay heat as possible. This meant a complicated 2 piece design that is riveted together. We also designed the shield to work with the OEM air ducting. This directs cool outside air to the filter, further reducing intake air temps. The shield is also left open to the area in front of the tire, underneath the headlight. We found that this area gets some fresh air during driving as well, further keeping air temps down.

Cx9 Turbo cold air intake heat shield — CorkSport Heatshield

Now what benefits does cooler air offer? The basic generalization is that since cooler air is denser than warmer air, your engine can ingest more air per cycle, and make more power. When a car is turbocharged though, this gets a little more complicated as you have a turbo that compresses and heats up your intake air and then an intercooler that cools down the boosted air before even getting to the engine. What that means is that the “colder air will make more power” generalization may not hold true, especially with how advanced modern turbocharged vehicles have become. What colder intake air does offer you is a less stress on your turbo system. Colder air means your turbo does not have to work as hard to flow the same amount of air at the same boost pressure. In addition, colder intake air can translate to slightly cooler air exiting your turbo and heading to your intercooler, taking some stress off the intercooler as well.

Cx5 Skyactiv 2.5T Performance airbox — See the video

Enough theory, let’s talk results! In both daily driving testing and in torture testing on the dyno, we found decreased intake air temps with the CorkSport Heat Shield installed. When cruising or when it’s cold outside, we were actually surprised at the low intake temps of the CS SRI alone—there’s actually a surprising amount of fresh air that gets into the engine bay. Where the heat shield really comes into its own is when sitting stationary or driving on a very hot day. That’s when we saw our biggest improvements in intake air temp.

While we did not see any notable changes to horsepower, our torture testing on the dyno really shows what a worst case scenario would look like for intake temps. Check out the graph below that compares the CS SRI alone vs. the CS SRI and heat shield combo. This is a little exaggerated due to decreased airflow on the dyno but is similar to what your engine could see when sitting in traffic on a hot day, then accelerating back up to speed.

Performance Skyactiv 2.5T air temp data — CorkSport

The CorkSport Heat Shield is made from laser cut and precision formed carbon steel. We chose carbon steel for great strength and lower heat transfer than aluminum. For corrosion resistance, the heat shield is finished off with wrinkle black powdercoating. This coating also gives the heatshield a great look that helps it blend in with the rest of the engine bay and make the intake system look like a factory performance part! The two sections of the shield are attached together using stainless steel rivets for a great look and long lasting strength. Lastly we include rubber edge seal to keep as much heat out as possible, and to prevent any vibration or unwanted noise.

Mazda Cx5 Turbo Short Ram Intake OEM Look — CS Heatshield

If you’re looking for the next mod your Sky 2.5T or have been holding off on the CS SRI until there was some heat protection, check out the new CorkSport Heat Shield. We are even offering a package deal! If you purchase the heatshield and SRI together you will save $20.

For early adopters of the CS SRI, we have not forgotten about you! We are also offering the same $20 discount on the heatshield for a short time. When placing your order, enter coupon code heatshield20, and in the customer notes, enter your original SRI order number. BAM – $20 Savings!

Finally, we’ve got some new silicone colors coming for the CS SRI! They aren’t quite here yet but if you’re looking to add a splash of color in your engine bay, wait just a bit longer! That’s all for now, be sure to check out the product listing for more images of the heat shield and give us a call if you have questions!

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April 2, 2020August 15, 2023

CorkSport Mazdaspeed 6 Front Mount Intercooler

The MS6 FMIC installation gives you a stealth install with minor trimming and allows you to keep the windshield washer bottle.

It’s been a long time coming but it has finally returned: the CorkSport Front Mount Intercooler Kit for Mazdaspeed 6! We’ve had many challenges on this project but we’re happy to report that it’s finally here and better than ever. We originally released this way back in 2012 (check out the release blog HERE for a throwback) but the only thing we kept from that kit was the intercooler core itself. All of the piping, silicone, and mounting has been redesigned for best fitment and minimizing trimming needed for install. Check out the images and full info below!

Superior to the factory Mazdaspeed 6 TMIC, the CorkSport FMIC gives you consistent cooling all the time without heat soak

To start things off, let’s look into the intercooler itself. It is a unique design where both the inlet and outlet point toward the driver’s side of the vehicle. This means our pipe routing is a little more complicated than most, but it makes it much easier to fit as you do not need to relocate your windshield washer bottle or deal with any of the fitment issues that come with squeezing a pipe through the passenger side of the car.

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The bolt in Mazdaspeed 6 FMIC kit which makes it the best intercooler kit available.

The intercooler core is a high flowing, bar and plate design that measures 21”x10”x3”. This is good for efficient flow up to 500-550WHP yet adds minimal boost lag, even at lower power/boost levels. This big core fits snugly behind the crashbar to eliminate trimming the crashbar or your underbody shields. There is still some trimming required to fit the core and piping, however almost all of it is trimming on plastic components, with one metal cut on a thin sheet metal bracket.

Mazdaspeed 6 FMIC fits up to a 4 inch SRI

Moving onto the piping, the CS intercooler kit uses varied piping sizes for the hot and cold side intercooler pipes. The 2.25” hot side pipe ensures the charge air reaches the intercooler as fast as possible, helping reduce boost lag. The cold side uses 2.5” piping in the first half and 3” piping in the second half. Having this large volume of cool charge air directly in front of the throttle body helps with throttle response and the large diameter further helps with peak flow capacity. This piping setup has proven itself to work great on our GEN2 MS3 FMIC kit, and has been pushed to 684WHP on Barett’s GEN1 (he modified the GEN2 piping to fit his GEN1).

Wire reinforces silicone hoses make the Speed 6 FMIC a quality product

There was painstaking care taken to ensure the kit is as easy as possible to fit on your MS6. The hot pipe has a lot more freedom for intake fitments than our previous kit and we made sure all the CS intakes fit like a glove. Other aftermarket intakes have not been test fit but check out the images, they will give you a good idea if your SRI will fit or not. All the piping is mandrel bent and comes in a polished finish, so it is ready to install right out of the box and look and perform great!

Keeping everything together is the custom designed silicone couplers. You may notice that some of the silicone sections are longer than a typical silicone coupler. This is to ensure the best fitment as some shapes can simply not be made easily in a piece of pipe.

Front Mazdaspeed 6 with Front mount intercooler CorkSport product

As with most CS silicone components, each coupler uses 4-plys of nylon reinforcement braiding and 5 layers of silicone. This is typically very good at resisting expansion under high levels of boost; however, we wanted to really make sure the long couplers of the MS6 kit do not expand. Any coupler longer than about 6” uses an extra layer reinforcement made of metal wire. This further resists expansion under boost, and even helps keep all the piping stable between mounting locations. While the outside of the coupler may look bumpy, the insides are still very smooth like a typical piece of silicone.

A complete FMIC for the speed6, everything you need to install is included except the tools

Each Mazdaspeed 6 intercooler kit comes with everything you need for install. Stainless steel T-bolt clamps are included for each connection to ensure secure, leak free joints. The intercooler mounting bracket, hardware, and full color install instructions are also included so you know you can get the job done right.

We’re happy to finally have this out and are excited to see you all get your hands on them. Be sure to drop any questions you may have below and check out the product listing for more images!

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February 20, 2020September 28, 2023

The CorkSport CST4 – The Best Turbo for the Mazdaspeed 3/6

How to get 400whp from your Mazdaspeed 3

Back in 2015, CorkSport announced the launch of the “CorkSport Turbo” or “CorkSport 18G” a high-performance drop-in turbo upgrade for the MazdaSpeed 3, Mazdaspeed 6, and CX-7. Fast forward to 2020, this potent turbo is now called the CST4 with the introduction of the CorkSport CST5 and CST6 Turbochargers.

The CST4 has found home in thousands of community members Mazdaspeeds since launch and continues to be a highly sought-after upgrade today…a testament to the CST4’s performance and durability. Starting from scratch, the CST4 is a 100% brand-new performance unit. No core, no revised K04 parts…this is a performance turbocharger from the ground up.

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Let’s recap what makes the CST4 the best turbo and a great fit for the MazdaSpeed. A proven MHI journal bearing center section, these offer great cooling capabilities and fantastic reliability, especially when combined with our high-performance journal bearings and 360° high-performance thrust bearing. The CST4 Mazdaspeed Turbo can seriously take a beating and does it in a package that fits perfectly in the OEM location.

Attached to this center section is a compressor and turbine wheel combo that is a little unconventional. Creating boost is a custom MHI 18Gbillet compressor wheel that is rated at 50lb/min while the turbine that drives the CST4 Mazdaspeed Turbo is a MHI TD05H 9 blade design. Compared to a traditional 12-blade turbine wheel, the CorkSport design is lighter weight for faster spool times and has fewer blades for higher maximum flow capacity.

Best Mazdaspeed3 turbocharger high flow exhaust wheel

The wheels are wrapped in new housings. On the compressor side, there is an OEM diameter inlet to simplify the installation with any intake system you had setup with your K04 Turbo. The turbine housing maintains the stock flange design for easy fitment with any exhaust manifold and downpipe that is bolted to the K04.

The best mazdaspeed 3 turbo upgrade internal or external wastegate, better than the BNR S3.

So what’s the hype now? Great question! The community has pushed this turbo to the limits and has asked for more…with the development of the 500whp CST5 and 600whp CST6, we found that an EWG turbine housing can be very beneficial to boost control. That development bleeds over to the CST4 in the form of an EWG turbine housing for increased boost control and an increase in A/R size.

Like the CST5, you can now choose your boost control. Internal wastegate for a stealth and simple install or go for the EWG turbine housing for extra noise and a little more top-end power potential. The choice is now yours.

Now what does all of this tech mean for you and your car? If you have a stock block you can easily max out power (~380WHP depending on fuel and bolt-ons) and keep some of the K04 Turbo spools you love. With professional tuning, you can keep a safe tune that hits hard and carries power.

The wheel and housing options deliver great response as well as great power. When pushed to its limits on a built block, 20psi was hit at 3300-3400RPM with a peak boost around 27-28psi carried to 7000rpm. Obviously, this isn’t stable for a stock block but is possible on fully built cars with full bolt-ons and a high-flowing head.

Mazdaspeed 3 Turbocharger installation hardware

Both the IWG and EWG options come with a full hardware kit that includes everything you need for installation. This means all coolant/oil lines, new gaskets, new crush washers, and even new studs and crimps nuts for both the turbine and downpipe flanges. The EWG setup includes a custom-designed elbow for excellent EWG actuator fitment on MS3 and MS6, and the correct clamp to attach it to the housing. More info to come later on an add-on screamer pipe option.

Best Bolt on Mazdaspeed 3 turbo EWG dump tube kit

Each Mazdaspeed CST4 Turbo comes with full CorkSport support, including full-color install instructions, a 1-year warranty, and assistance with any questions you may have. We are extremely excited for you all to get your hands on the CST4 and start taking your FBO Mazdaspeed to the next level. Check out the product listing for full details and to place to order.

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For A limited time get $125 off the CST4. Enjoy a more boost and increase your Mazda WHP up to 400!

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Stay up-to-date on the latest news and product updates from CorkSport.

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