Project Car | CorkSport Mazda Performance Blog

May 21, 2020November 15, 2022

2019 Mazda 3 – What’s new with the suspension?

With the introduction of the 4th generation Mazda 3 there are many questions around the new chassis, engine, interior, and many other components. Here we are going to start investigating the suspension as we move through the process of developing sport lowering springs for the 4th Gen Mazda 3.

If you didn’t know already, we recently purchased a 2019 Mazda 3 Premium with the 6 manual transmission and Snowflake white paint. Right out of the box the 2019 has impressed us with its intuitive driver feedback through the steering wheel, pedals, and gear shifter. The interior is phenomenal and the exterior is…growing on us.

BUT enough of the chatter lets throw the car on the lift and take a look at the suspension.

At the front of the car, we have a pretty typical McPherson strut assembly with a lower control arm. This type of suspension is very common in modern passenger cars because it is simple, durable, and cost-effective. There are tons of aftermarket support for this type of suspension because it is so common, but from a purely performance standpoint, it does leave something to be desired.

Comparing the 2019 to our inhouse 2018 3rd Gen you can see one major difference. The connection from the steering knuckle to the strut body is now a simple clamp collar vs the two-bolt connection on the 3rd gens. We imagine this was purely a cost-cutting design change. For you, the result is just a slightly more difficult installation.

At the rear of the car, things are drastically different. Instead of the more standard multi-link trailing arm suspension, we have a torsion beam style suspension. Mazda says this was “to reduce unwanted movement in the suspension and increase driver comfort”, but sadly we believe this is straight-up cost cutting at the sacrifice of performance.

We could go into a bunch of nerdy details here, but in a nutshell, going from multi-link trailing arm to torsion beam takes away our ability to adjust and control camber, toe, and rear roll stiffness because all of these major suspension dynamics are integrated (or discarded) with the torsion beam design. Never fear, the Team at CorkSport Mazda Performance is working on solutions to this, but it will be a challenge.

Now specifically looking at the rear springs, you can see that the spring is very short. This caused some difficulty in design, but we have successfully overcome this hurdle.

View all of our current lowering springs

We’ve tested the OEM springs rates and WOW are they soft. We developed prototypes to validate our target springs rates and have been driving on those for about a few months now. Happily, from this testing, we’ve found that the OE struts/dampers damping rate is more than sufficient for proper sport lowering springs. With that complete, we’ve designed multiple sets of lowering springs with various ride height targets and our tested springs rates.

Lastly, we tested various final prototypes to get our final ride height just right. Ladies and Gentlemen, these will be LOW and will work with Sedan, Hatch, AWD, and FWD!

We are excited to release final production units to the public in #twoweeks. It is important to note, CorkSport 7th Gear Members will have an opportunity to purchase these springs a week before the general release and they will receive free shipping (in the lower 48 states), as part of their membership benefits!

If you have not seen what the future holds for your 4th Gen Mazda 3, see our product pipeline blog here. If you have ideas or feedback, please let us know. We are listening, we want to hear from you!

-Barett @ CS

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May 14, 2020September 27, 2023

Performance Parts for the 4th Gen Mazda 3

Today we are going to lay it all out; we are going to tell you about what we are working on for your Mazda 3 and WE ARE EXCITED! Who are we? If you don’t know already, we are CorkSport Mazda Performance based out of Vancouver, Washington. We are the number one Performance Aftermarket Mazda Parts Company and we have set our sights on the 4^th Generation Mazda 3.

Below are the first projects we are developing for the 4^th Gen Mazda 3 and CX30. Engine performance, suspension performance, and styling are all covered here and we are closer to launch than you may realize. Sit back and enjoy, there’s a lot here and we want you to see it all.

White 4th Gen Mazda 3 — CorkSport – Lowered on CS Springs

One of the most sought-after and anticipated performance items for the 2019+ Mazda 3 are the CorkSport Lowering Springs. The CS springs provide the most aggressive drop on the market today while providing a sporty and comfortable ride for daily driver use. With that, we have confirmed fitment on FWD manual transmission hatch and AWD automatic transmission sedan. We found that the Auto AWD Sedan rides just slightly lower, but is still within proper ride height for suspension function.

Blue CorkSport Mazda 3 lowering springs — See all of our Lowering Springs

We design our springs with more than just looks in mind (but they do look great). Spring rates and suspension frequency are critical to performance and comfort. With that being said we increased the front spring rate 52% and rear rate 40% based on the OEM 2019 FWD Hatch MT springs.

Mazda 3 Hatch Back stance with lowering springs — White Mazda 3 Rear Stance with Springs and Axle Back Exhaust

Now if you’re looking at the images and thinking “Damn those wheels look good” then you are correct and we agree; they look amazing and fit the car and CorkSport springs perfectly.

Here are the specs: Advan RS 19×8.5 +38 with 235/35 Kumhos. We have just the slightest rub on the inner fender on large bumps. Besides that they are perfect and you can have this setup too!

Best 2019+ Mazda 3 Axle Back Exhaust — See all of our Axle-Backs

Next up is the CorkSport Axle-Back Exhaust. Off the showroom floor, the Mazda 3 is ghostly quiet which is pretty disappointing. Our goal with the Performance Axle-Back Exhaust is a noticeable but mellow tone that you can enjoy every single day; gents this is Wife/Girlfriend approved.

Red Mazda 3 Sedan — CorkSport – Using OEM Springs

We are proud to announce that will we be supporting multiple models on launch. We have confirmed the Sedan, Hatch, Hatch w/Aero Package, and the CX-30. Along with that we have confirmed fitment for both FWD and AWD models for all cars listed.

Look closely, there are a couple new products in this engine bay…long in development is the Short Ram Intake System which replaces the OEM airbox with a high flow dry element filter, billet aluminum MAF housing, 4-ply silicone coupler, and stainless steel T-bolt clamps.

Upon launch we will be offering various color combinations between Black, Red, and Blue. You can see them below.

Mazda 3 Short Ram Intake System — See all of our Intakes

In our testing we have seen repeatable 5whp gains at peak with a nice increase across the RPM range. Street driving our butt dyno agrees with crisp throttle response and a lovely intake induction noise. The combination of induction noises, exhaust note, and sporty feedback from the sport springs really turns the Mazda 3 from an A-to-B car to a great enthusiast hot hatch.

Mazda 3 with CorkSport products installed in engine bay — Mazda with CorkSport Products

The other project sitting in the engine bay is the CorkSport Front Strut Brace. Bracing the strut towers to each other improves chassis stiffness and reduces suspension complicity. This results in increased driver feedback and thus a better driving experience. The powder coated steel brackets and polished aluminum cross bar add a nice loot to the engine bay.

Rear sway bars designed for the 2019 Mazda 3 — Click to See all of our Swaybars

Lastly, and still in development, are the rear sway bars for the FWD and AWD 4^th Gen Mazda 3. This project has been interesting because of the new torsion beam rear suspension found on the 4^th Gen Mazda 3. It’s interesting because there is no factory equipped sway bar. Instead of just developing a larger rear sway bar, we are developing a sway bar from scratch along with the attachment methods.

You also notice that there are two different bars in the image. This is because the AWD and FWD torsion beams are different due to the AWD drivetrain. Long story short, we are developing a RSB for each drivetrain specifically because that’s the correct way to do it.

Wow, that was a lot, and trust me there is more we are investigating, but we can’t let ALL the secrets out yet. We would love to know what products you would like CorkSport to develop for the 2019+ Mazda 3 platform, you can do so right here by Submitting a Product Idea.

Also, we love sharing with the community directly and have been doing so in these groups. If you don’t know about them then check them out and join for more info.

White Mazda 3 stance with lowering springs

Thanks for tuning in with CorkSport. We hope you are as excited about the 4^th Gen Mazda platform as we are!

-Barett @ CS

May 6, 2020July 31, 2023

Barett’s 1/2 Mile Mazdaspeed 3 Build – Part 1

Hey Everyone, if you don’t know me already I’m the engineering manager at CorkSport Performance & @Halfmilespeed3. I want to make a formal greeting and invite you to follow along as I take the next huge step with my personal build. I drive a 2009 Mazdaspeed 3 that has been through many iterations. I bought it nearly 6 years ago and have since used it in excess to support CorkSport R&D. Hundreds if not thousands of passes on the dyno with so many parts…it’s been a beaten test mule. The time has come to set a focus.

Now, with the 4^th engine going in it, I’m setting the build focus for ½ Mile Drag Racing. Power, Aero, and some “Mad Scientist” R&D is going into this build. (see WTF is THAT)

Mad Scientist Add-ons — 600hp Mazdaspeed Build Path – CorkSport Barett’s 2009 Mazdaspeed

My goals are 700whp on the CST6 stock flange (with Will @ PD Tuning giving it the sauce) and 180mph in the standing ½ mile. I plan to play in the 1320, but half mile is the focus. My first event was going to be Never Lift @ Coalinga Munical Airport in Late March, but with recent events, this was canceled and a new date has not been set. Fingers crossed the country gets through this and the next events hosted by Shift S3ctor Airstrip Attack in June and November hold.

Back to the build…I know that pushing a Mazdaspeed through the air at 180mph is a lofty goal and that physics are against me. With the help and advice of Aaron O’neal @ English Racing I am exploring high-speed aero design.

The primary goal is stability at high speed. I want to be safe in this type of racing so I need to do what I can to make the car stable and predictable at speed. This means I need the car to cut through the air as smoothly as possible, and if possible, generate downforce.

To do this I’ve made a prototype drag wing (which I will share more detail on in a later blog) per the advice of Aaron and my research. This wing is two feet long at the top! And with the closed sides, this should reduce the amount of lift generated at the back of the car.

There is still a lot more work to do here but you get the idea so far.

Upfront I am still very much in the conceptual phase of design. Nearly the whole front bumper will be sealed off with a single sheet of ABS plastic formed to the front of the car. The only opening will be a rectangle about the size of the intercooler for cooling airflow. I also plan to build a chassis mounted splitter. The red parts in the image above are the one-off brackets I designed to mount the splitter to the chassis and still be able to adjust the height (Again I’ll share more detail in future blogs as the prototype comes together).

The other less intuitive aero bit I’m doing on the front of the Speed is hood venting. Thanks to Jonathan Castro @ JC Speedworks for the hood vent I’m able to kill two birds with one stone here. If you’ve done any type of racing you know heat is a killer and must be managed. With this hood vent, I am both evacuating any high-pressure air build up in the engine bay and promoting more efficient airflow through the intercooler and radiator.

With the 300 miles I’ve put on the car, I can already see a huge difference in normal operating temps. Maybe more vents are in the works? 😉 Oh and shout out to @mz_rawr (Aaron Maves) for cutting holes in my hood.

CorkSport Mazdaspeed 3 Transmission Mount Blog

In the process of getting the engine and transmission together, I wanted to fix a 2^nd gear drop out issue I had. Over a weekend @thatonepnwguy (Bryce Peterson) and I split my transmission and replaced the shift forks. We certainly did it the wrong way and had to chase some balls around and get them back into their respective locations; despite all that, don’t be afraid to tear into things and learn the hard way.

How To Achieve 400 WHP In Your Mazdaspeed Blog

The powerplant made it in the car and is running great. Right now I’ve got about 300 miles on the engine. I’ve been working out some little details with heat management and setup of the Vacuum Pump (WTF is THAT). I am just now starting to do logs and tuning with Will Dawson at Purple Drank Tuning. With these goals, I still intend to keep the car street legal and driven on a nearly daily basis (I wish you could see the stares I get from people). I’m putting this out to all of you as an invite to follow along with the build on Instagram @halfmilespeed3. All the inside info and goodies are there for you to see along with @corksport for other stories and build updates. I’m stoked for this season and to explore a racing series that has largely been untouched by the Mazdaspeed community. I will be finding limits and new challenges for the platform that I hope to overcome.

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December 19, 2019August 1, 2023

Zach’s Road to CorkSport

The Journey to CorkSport

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 Mazdaspeed 3 — *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!

Zäch Fröm CorkSport

February 28, 2019August 17, 2023

CST5 Mazdaspeed Turbo Spools!! Testing and Validation

We’re back on the new CorkSport turbocharger lineup again with today’s blog, this time focusing on the testing & validation of the “medium big” turbo, the CST5. Just in case you missed it, the CST4 (formerly known as the CorkSport 18G) is getting some company to go along with its new swanky name. Check out the full lineup here and the design behind the CST5 here. Now that you’ve read all that, let’s get into what you’re really here for, testing & dyno numbers.

Mazdaspeed turbo CST5 Replacement for K04 Turbo

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We started with the internal wastegate option, to validate the CST5 for drop-in fitment. Since we’ve had a great experience with the drop-in CST4, we knew how to design a turbo around the tight confines of the Mazdaspeed engine bay. The CST5 Mazdaspeed Turbo fits great in the OEM location with just a few minor revisions for proper fitment. It looks pretty good in there too if we do say so ourselves!

Mazdaspeed turbo installed with the CST5

Next the car got put on the dyno for tuning and to push the new CST5 to its limits. With a little help from our friend Will at PD Tuning, the CST5 was soon putting down some impressive numbers. We started off with a “calm” boost level of ~25psi. This netted us 450WHP and spool time which surprised us, achieving 20psi by 3500-3600RPM. Turning up the boost and pushing the turbo to its limits, we achieved 519WHP at ~30-31psi on Barett’s built GEN1 MS3. Check out the dyno graph below.

Taking the car out on the street surprised us further at just how early the car was building boost for this size of turbo. Road logs showed that we were making 20psi slightly sooner than on the dyno (3400-3500RPM) but even more surprisingly the CST5 was making 30psi by 3700-3800RPM! Obviously, this is an aggressive tune that would most likely kill a stock block, but, the CST5 Turbo can be tuned to be stock block friendly and still make good power.

Best Mazdaspeed turbo for K04 Replacement

Then came the testing on the EWG variant of the CST5. We had developed a fitment for the CST6 which meant the CST5 had no issues upon install on both Mazdaspeed 3 and Mazdaspeed 6. Next was a quick retune and some power runs. The larger swallowing capacity of the EWG housing meant some extra power at peak, yet spool was nearly unchanged. We made 525WHP at the same ~30-31psi.

Comparing the IWG and EWG turbine housings you can see a small variation in the graphs. This variation is mainly due to the change from internally waste-gated and externally waste-gated. The EWG setup provides more precise boost control through the RPM range. The EWG setup allows us to better tune the “torque spike” around 4200rpm vs the IWG setup. For peak power the IWG and EWG housings are within the margin of error which makes since because they are both 0.82 A/R housings.

Further supporting the IWG and EWG setups, both options allow you to tune the spring pressure so you can better setup your CST5 Turbo and Speed for the fuel and boost levels you want and of course the most noticeable difference is what you hear. What’s an EWG without a screamer pipe!

Wrapping up testing showed exactly what we were hoping for with the CST5: a great middle ground between the existing CST4 Turbo and the upcoming CST6 Turbo that can be used on both high-powered stock block and fully built cars. Our testing continues as this blog is written as the CST5 is being beta tested by a close friend of CS with a freshly built Dankai 2.

There’s more to come from the new CorkSport turbo lineup so stay tuned for more info on the CST5, CST6, and EWG housings.

-Daniel @ CorkSport

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

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

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-Daniel @ CorkSport

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