Mazda and Mazdaspeed Performance Blog

April 9, 2013April 9, 2013

Mazda Ruined the Mazdaspeed 3

Whoa! How could we say that?? The Mazdaspeed 3 is one of the most cherished Mazdas ever created and CorkSport is one of the biggest aftermarket manufacturers of performance parts for all Mazdaspeed models so why would they possibly make that statement? I’ll tell you. The Mazdaspeed 3 uses some of the worst motor mounts Mazda has ever made attached to one of the best engines they have ever made. Just about all stock motor mounts on production cars are compromises. They need to hold the engine securely but also keep noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) from being transmitted into the passenger cabin. To achieve this goal, many manufacturers turn to rubber. In doing that, the compromise is that while the cabin is a more relaxing place for the passengers, the engine is also in a relaxing place and allowed to move much more freely. In a front wheel drive car with a performance engine, flexible motor mounts can cause a host of problems including: wheel hop, hesitation, poor handling and poor turn in.

That is a fairly common issue among auto manufacturers and would have been excusable if the Mazdaspeed 3 didn’t also have another fatal flaw: the motor mounts simply do not last. We have seen failures on stock motor mounts on cars with fewer than 30,000 miles! The rubber is soft and even simple bolt-ons can destroy them. You can see the stock mounts and see the issues that can arise with them.

With many of our customers making much more power than stock, we needed to come up with a new way to mount some of these powerful engines. We started with our rear mount. We used a factory style mount with a much improved urethane and a much larger thrust surface that allowed us to support the engine much better while transmitting very little extra NVH to the cabin.

Now we’ve designed our Passenger Side Motor Mount with those same ideals in mind. Designed to withstand serious abuse, the CorkSport Passenger Side Motor Mount is crafted from billet aluminum and performance urethane and uses top grade hardware to make sure you are covered at any power level all while allowing you to have a conversation and use your rear view mirror!

For those of you who want a big improvement with just a small investment we also crafted performance urethane inserts for many of the stock mounts, including the new transmission mount insert we are offering soon.

So… Maybe Mazda didn’t ruin the Mazdaspeed 3, maybe they just made one too many compromises for many of us. Wheel hop and poor handling can be a serious problem with a powerful front wheel drive car like the Mazdaspeed 3, luckily, CorkSport is here to help. Keep checking this blog for important new product releases and tips for getting the most out of your Mazda.

Cheers,

Joel

March 26, 2013December 17, 2018

Product Release! CorkSport High Flow Panel Filter

Want to help your Mazda breathe a bit easier and free up a few horsepower while maintaining factory appearance and factory warranty? CorkSport is here with our new high flow drop-in replacement panel filter!

The CorkSport Panel filter flows much higher than traditional paper filters and can add proven horsepower and torque increases with very little effort and money.

The CorkSport Advantage:

Superior Construction: Made from three-dimensional filter medium with depth loading and structural screen wire.
No Oil Design: Our filters use patented Dryflow technology that requires no oil, no measuring, no MAF issues.
Durable: Our Filters can go up to 100,000 miles before needing cleaning and are a breeze to clean.
CorkSport Service and Support: Receive a two-year limited warranty, full-color installation instructions, all of the needed installation hardware, and knowledgeable telephone support.

As with all CorkSport products the CorkSport High Flow panel filter is backed by a two-year warranty and comes complete with full-color instructions and CorkSport service and support. The CorkSport High Flow filter fits all MazdaSpeed 3 models and all Mazda 3 models (Non-Skyactiv). These filters are in stock and available at our online catalog here:

CorkSport High Flow Panel Filter

March 21, 2013March 21, 2013

CorkSport Prepares for Battle… Again

So after a long 5 month break it is time to get the CorkSport Mazda 2 and the driver prepped for track abuse again for the 2013 season.

For the Mazda 2 it is pretty easy to take care of being it is a relatively stock car still. Going over the car to check out the bushings, tire rod ends, and the whole chassis to make sure nothing is in need of replacement turned up zero items this year. There are only a few non stock components which we gave an extra once over to make sure they are up to spec as well. The brakes got a really close inspection being that take a huge amount of abuse on the track. The stock rotors and CorkSport pads are still in good shape so only a brake bleed was on the menu for work. With the car getting a clean bill of health it is time to move on to other things.

The next item on the list is to get the Mazda 2 through its annual tech inspection with the SCCA. The inspection covers the safety gear of the car and the driver to make sure nothing has expired in the off season. With our car being built last year the seat, harnesses, and other safety gear in the car passed the inspection with flying colors. They also check the drivers helmet, HANS (head and neck) device and drivers suit to make sure they are suitable.

During the off season our Mazda 2 has been a test mule for several parts which resulted in the suspension being removed from the car and re-installed several times. This has left the suspension out of spec for road racing which required a re-alignment. Thanks to a lifetime alignment at the local Firestone we had everything dialed back it to what we wanted with the -1.5 degrees of front camber and correct toe settings.

One last thing which we needed to do was go over the rule book to make sure there were no surprises for the new year which I did not find.

In the title I mentioned prepping the driver for the new year. Racing is a demanding sport and there wasn’t a trip out on the track where I didn’t come into the pits sweating. Being in good shape requires some out of the car effort which I put in over the off season. Starting in November at roughly 185 lbs I started training daily with cardio to do two things. First was to get my heart into great shape and second was to assist in weight loss. Over the past 3 months I have dropped to a low weight of 158lbs and lowered my body fat to roughly 12.5%. With the cardio work along with other training and change of diet I am in the best shape I have ever been in my life to attack the next season of racing.
We will see how the prep for the car and the driver pays off during the next season of racing. We will be posting updates as the season progresses.

-Derrick

March 12, 2013December 17, 2018

Dual Product Release!! CorkSport Performance Lowering Springs for Mazda 3 and Mazda 2

CorkSport is proud to present the ultimate performance spring for the Mazda 3 and the Mazda 2. With the lowest safe drop on the market, the CorkSport performance lowering springs are perfect for improving the handling, looks, and response of your Mazda.

The CorkSport Advantage

The lowest safe drop in the market for improving ride while maintaining safe operation.
Crafted from high tensile strength spring steel for long lasting quality and performance
OEM Finish to ensure lasting durability and rust resistance
Average 25% increased spring rate over the stock springs
Backed by CorkSport limited two-year warranty
CorkSport Service and Support: Receive full-color installation instructions, all of the needed installation hardware with knowledgeable telephone installation support.

As with all CorkSport products, the CorkSport performance lowering springs come with a two-year limited warranty, full-color instructions and CorkSport service and support. The CorkSport Performance lowering springs for the Mazda 2 and Mazda 3 can be purchased at our online catalog here:

CorkSport Mazda 3 Lowering Springs

CorkSport Mazda 2 Lowering Springs

March 11, 2013

Attention to Detail

Recently I have been getting questions about bolts and how important they are and why we use the parts we do. Here at CorkSport, the little things matter, we engineer every part to outperform not only the manufacturers specifications but also our customers expectations. When something important like a motor mount or an intake is designed at CorkSport we take great care to think about the little things such as: can we make our MAF housings one piece so there can be no sealing issues or possible failures? Can we use bolts that are as strong or stronger than the factory in every application? These are some of the many things that makes us different. Thinking of the little details can really mean the difference between the success or failure of a part. With that in mind, I wanted to just take a quick minute to discuss bolts.

Most bolts are classified by two very easy systems: Grade and Class.

Grade is for Standard (SAE) size bolts and the more common types are grades 2, 5 and 8. The higher the grade, the more that has been done to increase its strength such as quenching and tempering. Graded bolts will typically have radial lines on the face of the bolt to show the grade. No markings mean grade 2, 3 radial lines means grade 5 and 6 radial lines means a grade 8

Class is for metric and like many things metric… they’ve made it easy. The most common classes are 8.8 and 10.9. The class of the bolt is right on the face of it. So an 8.8 class bolt will have 8.8 on the face and a 10.9 will have the same.

Because these numbers can be similar it can be easy to confuse them. Many are using 8.8 class bolts in the place of grade 8 bolts not knowing that a grade 8 bolt is over 30% stronger than a class 8.8 bolt. Many may call this nit-picking but here at CorkSport we are obsessed with attention to detail and want to make things right the first time and if for some reason we don’t then we dedicate ourselves to figuring out why and use that knowledge in further development in the future. Thank you for letting CorkSport have a place on your car and in your life, we appreciate it and take that responsibility very seriously.