Project Car | CorkSport Mazda Performance Blog

December 9, 2011

10,000 Miles Later – CorkSport Mazda2 Update

Our CorkSport Mazda 2 hit a milestone today and turned 10,000 miles on the odometer. It has taken us a little over a year to hit this point in the cars life which brings up some interesting points.

Our Mazda 2 has been a test vehicle for all of the Mazda 2 products we have engineered here at CorkSport. We get questions about our products asking how well they work and how they are tested. Our northwest location gives us a full range of weather conditions including snow, rain for days, and 90+ degree weather that we can test our parts in and with the company vehicles being driven daily, we get a chance to do real world testing constantly.

The CorkSport Short Ram Intake was one of the first parts we installed on the 2. So far we have put just under 9000 miles of combined road use and auto crossing on this intake with zero problems and great results.

Next came the CorkSport LED lighting kit along with the LED DRL kit. Now I wouldn’t normally bring up the LED light kit as you would not expect any problems with this type of modification, but I have seen posts on forums about people who have purchased from e-bay or another vendor saying their LED lights are failing after only a few months of use.

I can confidently say you will not have any problems with the LED lights purchased from CorkSport. One added bonus with our Mazda 2 kit is the front turn signals have built in resistors so your turn signals will flash at the normal speed.

The last piece we have had on the car for the longest period of time has been the CorkSport Rear Torsion Bar. When we took the Mazda 2 out to an autocross a few weeks after purchasing the car, we discovered the 2 was really biased to under steer, so we immediatly set out to correct this and came up with our rear torsion bar. The torsion bar made the 2 more neutral in handling and I couldn’t imagine driving a Mazda 2 without one now.

We are looking forward to developing and releasing some great parts for the Mazda 2 in the coming year and our customers can have confidence that any CorkSport brand part we develop has been thouroughly road tested and we have real world experience with the parts and their ability to improve the overall performance of the Mazda 2.

-Derrick

November 16, 2011May 10, 2023

Featured Car of the Month – Mackey’s Mazda 3

The CorkSport Sponsored 2010 Mazda 3, driven by Josh Mackey, photographer and marketing specialist by day and Editor and Chief of NWMotiv.com by night, has gotten a lot of attention lately (including a feature in the December issue of Import Tuner Magazine), and for good reason. Mackey started his 2010 Mazda 3i Sedan project in June of last year with the goal of taking the mid-range sport compact car to the next level using a variety of styles and showcasing realistic modifications that anyone could do while maintaining a practical everyday car.

Josh was attracted to the Mazda 3 because of the loyal community and followers, the price point and the suspension that, even from the factory, was sportier and more fun than anything else he had test driven. Even so, he immediately set to work improving the suspension of the 3 by adding a CorkSport Front Strut Bar, CorkSport Lower Rear Sway Bar, and Stance USA GR+ Coilovers. He also replaced the tires and wheels with Konig Lace 18×8” +35 wheels and Hankook V12 215/40/18 Tires.

Mackey went with the 2.0 liter base model Mazda 3 so that he could design the car from the ground up by starting with the most common package that the everyday tuner might select, so when it came time to upgrade the engine and exhaust, Josh knew to get the vehicle to the next level he would need the trifecta of I/H/E (Intake, Header, and Exhaust).

He added the CorkSport Power Series Short Ram Intake and opted for the addition of the CorkSport Performance Power Series Cat Back Exhaust that features dual resonators, a single tailpipe design and a 60mm racepipe. He finished off the engine modifications with a MSDS 4:1 Ceramic Header.

corksport mazda exhaust pipe and cat back exhaust

Once the Mazda 3’s suspension and basic engine modifications were complete, adding the proper equipment to stop it was a no brainer so Josh went to work on some brake modifications with the CorkSport Stainless Brake Lines, EBC 3GD Zinc Coated Slotted Rotors, EBC Red Stuff Brake Pads and Motul Brake Fluid.

Mazda brake lines and suspension products

A fan of clean lines, Josh has also done some tasteful exterior modifications that include a 3M 1080 Carbon Wrapped Roof, V-LED Platinum LED bulbs and V-HID lighting, a CorkSport Front Plate Relocation Kit, Mazda Accessory Side Skirts and a 35% Matching front and rear tint.

Continuing with the same exterior design, Mackey wanted to make a point by taking his interior to a whole new level with a full leather installation provided by Katzkin Leather. Two-tone leather interior combining dark midnight grey leather that is stitched together with dark slate perforated suede is installed in both the front and rear seats and the door cards. Stage 2.0 of the build will focus on finishing the rest of the interior by wrapping the headliner and pillars in the same material. The rest of the interior is accented with 3M carbon wrap installed by Graphix by Tex and soon-to-be-installed SRP Racing two-tone aluminum racing pedals.

This particular Mazda 3 did not come with the aftermarket BOSE system that most Mazda’s get from the factory. Mackey knew that if he wanted to take this project to the next level and maintain a competitive level with other Mazda’s in the industry, a completely new audio system would be needed. Diamond Audio provided a complete setup of front and rear component speakers, amps, and low-profile subwoofer. The entire system was expertly installed by James Anderson, all controlled by an Alpine In-Dash DVD/GPS Head unit.

What’s next for the NWmotiv Project 3? “Lots of tiny little things that need to be finished up, new bumper lenses, new wheels, front lip, maybe a dptune ecu upgrade” said Mackey “The NWMotiv Project3 takes everything that I’ve learned from the years. Clean lines, clean mods, nothing overdone, and everything tasteful.”

If you want to follow Josh Mackey’s progress on his project3, you can check out his regular posts at https://www.nwmotiv.com

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October 18, 2011September 13, 2018

The Time has Come – Project 2 Update

The time has come for what you say? The time has come to give our Mazda 2 Project Car a real stereo.

Instead of going with the usual tunes only deck, we decided to give the Mazda 2 a really big upgrade. We chose the Pioneer AVH P3300BT which includes DVD video, MP3 playback, iPod/iPhone direct control, and the option to listen to Pandora using the iPhone Pandora app. This top of the line system includes a 5.8” wide screen size with a 16:9 aspect ratio, touch panel operation, built in amplifier, rear view camera input and dual zone audio/video.

To install the system in our project car, we went with the Japanese made Kanatechs Mazda 2, 2 din installation kit. The Kanatechs kit uses an OEM quality, exclusive panel, designed to fit the Mazda2’s unique dash and includes pre-formed steel mounting brackets. The other kit on the market, the Metra, uses plastic brackets for a rather flimsy installation and gives car stereo thieves easy access.

The installation kit from Kanatechs is thorough and very easy to follow. After giving the instructions a once over I was ready to get to work. The interior in the Mazda 2 is surprisingly easy to take apart and came out with a Philips screw driver and an M10 headed bolt. The harnesses for the installation kit and the pioneer are all color coded so that was a snap to get connected as well. Overall I spent 2 hours installing the new deck.

The installed unit looks like it belongs in the Mazda 2. Too bad it wasn’t an option when the car was purchased.

There are a few notes from installing the unit which I would keep in mind for future installs.

1st – If your original set-up has steering wheel volume controls, get the steering wheel adapter unit from Kanatechs. It allows you to retain the volume controls on the steering wheel if your new audio unit supports IR control.

2nd – The information display selector will be disabled when the original stereo is removed. I recommend you choose your favorite setting and leave it there. With the stock unit unplugged you will have it set forever.

After a few days driving around in the Mazda 2 with the new unit, I am really enjoying the features. I can just plug in a SD card or a USB flash drive with whatever music I want and I am down the road.

-Derrick

June 29, 2009January 30, 2019

Considering the Mazda 2

This is a message for Mazda North America; Why is the Mazda 2 not in North America? Ford no longer has their hand in the cookie jar so what is the hold up?

I have various personal theories as to why; it will cut into Mazda 3 sales or perhaps production output for the 2 isn’t high enough. The economy is in the tank so we know Mazda isn’t at its max capacity. People are broke! We cannot afford the more expensive cars so a smaller car like the 2 makes sense. Its biggest competition would be the Fit, Yaris, and the soon to be offered Fiats. The Mazda 2 gets great gas mileage, and would argueably be car the best in class if Mazda sold the DI diesel model in the states.

Personally I want one because they are super light and prime for upgrading. I would try and fit a 2.3 DISI engine under the hood. Actually, I will fit a 2.3 DISI engine under the hood! A lightly modded 300hp DISI engine in a 2100lb car would produce an absolutely crazy-fun car to drive. Even in stock form the stock 1.6 liter is rated at 120 hp and torque. If/when Mazda brings the car to the North America you can bet we will be getting more power out of that engine.

When I was in Tokyo last year I had the opportunity to ride in the AutoExe tuned Demio heading to a lunch meeting with them. The car is just like a Mazda 3 in terms of fit and finish. The interior was nice, not over the top. Despite the 2 being small it was not uncomfortably small for 4 adult men.

There are rumors we may actually get the Mazda 2 late this year but nothing is available to the dealers yet. Cross your fingers!

– Derrick

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