After releasing the CorkSport Mazda 3 SkyActiv Power Series Intake, we received several questions about the differences between the SkyActiv and traditional motors. We are writing this technical post to provide some insights into the differences we have seen while testing and developing new parts for the SkyActiv engine.
SkyActiv engine is a phrase from Mazda that denotes their direct injected, high-compression motors. This is a technology similar to how diesel engines run, in that it is direct injected and one of the many reasons the SkyActiv engine is able to get such high gas mileage.
Your average fuel injected motor runs 10.0:1 compression and fuel pressures of around 45psi whereas the SkyActiv engine runs a very high-compression of 14.0:1 and extremely high fuel pressure of up to 3000psi. Most people will think 3000psi is a typo, but I assure you it is not.
The piston pictured to the right shows how different SkyActiv pistons are compared to a conventional motor. It is a much more complex piston shape that includes a cavity in the center where the spark plug fires to provide a heat-loss reduction. Fuel is sprayed at the piston in order to prevent detonation or “knock”, allowing the engine to run leaner while making more power.
Another big difference is that the fuel is dispersed into the air inside the cylinder. A conventional fuel injected motor will mix the fuel and air in the intake manifold or in the intake manifold runners. Because fuel normally acts as a cleaning agent for the valves, this could be seen as a negative for the SkyActiv engine design.
We have all seen the commercials about how the gas cleans your engine. This is true, but when we move the fuel out of the intake manifold and into the cylinders, this benefit no longer exists making it more critical to maintain the engine. Adding a CorkSport SkyActiv intake will help with this by keeping the engine clean of dust and pollutants and the filter can be reused time and time again.
There are many great benefits to both the design and functionality of Mazda’s new SkyActiv engines. In initial testing our CX-5 saw increased torque and almost 40mpg.
We are looking forward to developing many more aftermarket performance parts to support this new technology!
I was surprised to learn that there is track racing in Alaska, but when long time friend Chris invited me to spend Memorial Day weekend co-driving an IT Rx7 at a place called Tanacross, I hit the internet to see what I could find out. It turns out the track was actually used during World War II to supply Russia with planes to fight the Germans. It was one of the airports that planes would stop at for fuel during the long flight to Russia.
The airstrip is currently used by the department of natural resources and maintained for firefighting. They land the C130 tankers and fill them up with water from the river at the end of the main runway. The airfield has also been used for racing in all forms for many years.
The Anchorage Alaska Sports Car Lions Club hosts two events each year at Tanacross, one on Memorial Day weekend and the other on Labor Day weekend. The events consist of wheel to wheel racing for part of the day, than street car time trails for the other part of the day.
After a flight into Anchorage and a 6 hour drive, I arrived at the track for the weekend. You can’t ask for more spectacular mountain views and scenery than Tanacross has to offer.
I did find a few drawbacks to the Alaska wilderness though. The mosquitos are big enough to shoot them with a gun and take them home for a trophy and the track is literally just a track in the middle of nowhere so you have to campout at the track or bring an RV.
On the first day of racing, I got suited up with my gear and rode in the passenger seat of the IT Rx7 I was co-driving for the weekend. This allowed me to get a run through of the track, see how it was laid out, and get some practice.
After the warm-up laps, which included a surprise caribou running across the track, the racing got underway. We drew lug-nuts with numbers etched into them to determine the starting order. There were nine cars in the heat and Chris (who took the first heat) was towards the back of the field.
During the first race, Chris battled it out with an IT class Rabbit that led to a victory in the IT class and second overall to a GT class 280z (with a swapped V8 power plant). Unfortunately for a Subaru STI in the first round, a turbo failure two laps into the race ended his weekend.
After a brief break in the racing, I got belted into the Rx7 to take my turn. Since Chris had gotten the Rx7 up to 2nd place overall, I got a good starting order for the next round.
Since the track is an airstrip, the course was setup with cones making it feel like a really fast and wide autocross track until you hit the straight section. That is when I jammed it into fourth gear flat-out and approached the 100mph mark before hitting the corner end.
I chased the 280z that won the first heat for a few laps until he started pulling away. Each time I hit the straight section of the track, I found myself fighting it out for second place with a Rabbit. The Rabbit was faster in certain sections of the track and I made an error that allowed him to overtake me. With just a few laps left, we caught up with lapped traffic which made the battle really interesting. An IT Neon in front of us made a really fast line correction. To avoid getting hit, The Rabbit and my RX7 had to dodge the Neon and I was able to get in front of the two cars to finish with the IT win in that round. Lap times for the course were around the 1:20’s for the wheel to wheel IT cars.
After the race, I reflected a bit. The surface reminded me of what Sebring looks like and I thought, “this is how the racing surface must feel like there”. I could feel the joints in the concrete sections under hard cornering and in order to keep my foot planted on the throttle, I had to put my faith in the tires and suspension that the car would stick and not send me spinning off the track.
After the second race, the wheel to wheel racing took a break and the time trail cars got out on the track for their turn. Later that afternoon the wheel to wheel racing picked up again and I was able to fight it out with an IT class Golf, made more exciting by some light rain. The throttle inputs and cornering was even more exciting when being chased down by another car. In the end, a spin by the Golf got me in front for the rest of the race and I finished first.
After the racing wrapped up for the day, the track became a campground and social gathering for the evening. Walking from campfire to campfire talking about the days racing, I lost track of time. By looking at the sky, I was thinking was around 9pm or so when it was really 1am. Take a look at the picture below to get an idea of how light it is in the middle of the “night”.
The next day you could tell the “socializing” had caught up to some people. The racing started a little bit later than the previous day. I raced in the first heat and managed to pull away from the field a bit and landed in first place in front of the GT class Z which had started at the back of the field.
I would have to say, my last race of the day was the best and most exciting. There was a GT class mustang that had been running mid-pack all day and had been down on power. After trouble shooting on Saturday and part of Sunday, it was discovered the timing had been retarded leaving the car way down on power. With the timing fixed, the mustang was putting out around 400 wheel hp. Starting from the back of the pack, the mustang had to catch up with me at the front of the field. From the drop of the green, I knew I was going to have to drive at the top of my game to be at the front at the end of the race.
The green flag went down and I let it rip hoping the field behind me could slow down the mustang enough to let me get some distance. On the 6th lap I saw the mustang at the start of the straight when I was hitting the end. By the 8th lap he really began catching up in the straights and by the last lap, the mustang had caught up with me. I managed to get a gap between us in the tight sections of the track and hit the exit of the corner leading to the straight perfectly.
The track narrowed up so I put myself right in the middle keeping the Mustang from passing me to take the lead. I made it through the corner and hit the finish with the mustang right behind me, finishing the race in first place. I had a grin ear-to-ear going around the track during the cool down lap and afterward, went over and thanked the mustang driver for the great race.
After the final race there was some free time to take hot laps with the time trail people and took some laps in a borrowed Honda S2000. The track had gotten some light rain so the S2000 was a bit twitchy in certain sections when the Vtac kicked in (Yo!). The Rx7 I had been driving in the races seemed to be more stable on the track.
I want to give a huge thanks to Chris for letting me drive his Rx7 at the races and to all the great people I raced with during the weekend. Also a big thanks for the pictures I “borrowed” from the Alaska Motorsports Forum.
-Derrick
Alaska. Land of Opportunity and Racing September 13th, 2018CorkSport
It is hard to believe that it is already time to start making selections for CorkSport’s next calendar, but November will be here before you know it and due to the huge success of our 2012 calendar, CorkSport has plans to offer a 2013 calendar for all of our fans to enjoy again in the coming year!
Would you like to see your car in our next edition of the CorkSport calendar? Well now is your chance. This post is an all call for photo submissions for the 2013 calendar.
Requirements for submissions are as follows:
Must have high quality photos of your ride. No iPhone or Android pics please.
Include a list of modifications, and yes, of course we want to see lots of CorkSport mods, but will consider all submissions.
You must have permission to use the photo and by submitting for the calendar you are granting CorkSport permission to use the photos in print and on the web to promote the calendar and our products.
If possible, please remove the license plate, avoid shots of the license plate or photoshop out the license plate.
If your photo is selected for the calendar, a complimentary calendar will sent along to you upon release.
Please submit all photos, questions, and charity ideas to Gwynne at gwynne@corksport.com and remember, CorkSport supports the full lineup of Mazda vehicles, so whether you drive a Speed3, a Miata, a CX7 or a Cosmo, if you have a nice ride and a great pic, CorkSport wants to see it!
Gwynne
Is Your Car CorkSport Calendar Worthy? June 12th, 2012CorkSport
This month, shockingly, we’ve got a Mazda 3 and a Mazdaspeed 3. Will this month be a repeat of last month? Or will the Mazda 3 pull off an upset victory?
First up we’ve got Ray’s 2009 Mazdaspeed 3. He’s gone big turbo, and has done just about everything you can do to a Mazdaspeed 3.
Our next gladiator in the arena of automotive combat is Joe. He lands the other end of the spectrum, keeping a refined, subtle, OEM look to his car with only clean styling cues to give away the enthusiast inside.
Mazda has already made the announcement that they intend to begin offering the Mazda SkyActiv-D (diesel engine) on the CX-5 in the US market in 2013 and as a leader in the motorsports arena, it should come as no surprise that the latest announcement surrounding their new SkyActiv diesel technology comes on the racetrack.
Mazda announced that they will be supplying SkyActiv-D engines to the GRAND-AM series GX class. Set to debut in 2013, the rules for the GX class are still being developed, but are expected to showcase the exploration of clean diesels, alternative fuels and even hybrid powertrains.
In press release distributed by Mazda Motorsports, Jay Amestoy, Vice President of Mazda Motorsports, Mazda North American Operations (MNAO) was quoted saying, “This opens a new chapter in racing for us. We’ve won with rotary technology, and now we’re looking to again put our customers in the winner’s circle with what we believe will be the most advanced and cleanest production-based powerplant the sport has ever seen.”
The engine is being jointly developed by Mazda Motor Corporation, Mazda North American Operations, and Speedsource Engineering and will be featuring a 14:1 low compression ratio, new two-stage turbocharger, a 5,200 rpm redline and compared to Mazda’s current-production 2.2L MZR-CD diesel engine, up to 20% reduction in fuel consumption, 20% reduction in internal engine friction and 10% reduction in weight.
On track testing will begin later this year. The actual Mazda model the SkyActiv racing engine will be installed on will be announced after the conclusion of the 2012 Grand-Am racing season. My guess is that we will see it debut on a Mazda 3, but only time will tell.
After releasing the CorkSport Mazda 3 SkyActiv Power Series Intake, we received several questions about the differences between the SkyActiv and traditional motors. We are writing this technical post to provide some insights into the differences we have seen while testing and developing new parts for the SkyActiv engine.
Another big difference is that the fuel is dispersed into the air inside the cylinder. A conventional fuel injected motor will mix the fuel and air in the intake manifold or in the intake manifold runners. Because fuel normally acts as a cleaning agent for the valves, this could be seen as a negative for the SkyActiv engine design.
Adding a CorkSport SkyActiv intake will help with this by keeping the engine clean of dust and pollutants and the filter can be reused time and time again.
