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Featured Car of the Month – Michigan Speed3

On Friday nights, you are guaranteed to find Robbie Stiff’s 2010 Mazdaspeed 3 on Woodward Ave in Royal Oak, Michigan meeting up with all kinds of other tuner cars, from Evo’s, STI’s, SRT4’s and Cobalt SS’s. This work hard, play hard, Farmington Hills, Michigan family man has always had a need for speed, but it was the three years that he spent working in Marketing for Mazda that lead him to his love for the Mazdaspeed3.

There was no question in his mind what he would be purchasing when de decided to trade-in his SVT focus. The speed3 was a natural choice for this 27 year old that grew up racing on the Waterford Hills Racing Course with his father, a life member of the Oakland County Sportsmans Club.

Though he says he is not even close to being done with the mod’s on his speed3, Robbie has already invested in a CorkSport Turbo Inlet Air Intake, CorkSport Racepipe, and CorkSport Cat-Back Exhaust.

“The sound of the 2.3 with the full exhaust is amazing!” said Robbie, “I love to hear that little K04 turbo spool up and smash whomever I am racing”

To prevent compressor surge and get a nice distinct hissing sound, Robbie has added an HKS-SSQV BOV set to BPV and installed some CorkSport Motor Mount Inserts to reduce wheel hop and torque movement under high performance conditions.

In addition to his plans to drop the car, he has also already invested in styling that includes CorkSport Mud Flaps and CorkSport Vinyl, a 3M wrap for his hoodscoop, and window tinting courtesy of DJ’s window tinting and graphics in Eastpoint MI.

What’s next for This Michigan Speed3? His future plans for the car include a Cobb Access Port, Corksport TMIC, Corksport Lowering Springs, a fuel pump, and injector’s (just to name a few).

When asked what Robbie loves about his Mazdaspeed, he said “I view my 2010 Speed3 as an extension of myself. It’s fast, a go getter, and never lets you down. With a little help from Corksport my MazdaSpeed3 is becoming a monster and this car has not even scratched the surface of mod’s. Breaking 400whp is the goal.”

Well put Robbie!

Full List of Modifications
CorkSport Turbo Inlet Air Intake
CorkSport Racepipe
CorkSport Cat-Back Exhaust
HKSssq BOV
CorkSport Motor Mount Inserts
CorkSport Mudflaps
Window Tint
CorkSport Vinyl
3M Hood Wrap

Pictures by: Chris Blunden

-Gwynne

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What’s Going On! CorkSport Development Update

At CorkSport, we are always looking for ways to improve Mazda Performance through the development of new products. We have multiple projects in various stages of development at all times and as one of the lead engineers here, I am kept busy managing the design, implementation and evolution of many of the products introduced into the CorkSport lineup.

Since I started at CorkSport, I have been involved in the testing and final release of some of the new products in the CorkSport line such as the CorkSport Mazdaspeed 3 Lowering Springs and the CorkSport Stub Antenna and I am currently working several projects that we will be releasing over the next few months. Our customers often say that they want to know more about what’s in store for our new product releases and details about how the development process takes place so today I wanted to fill you in on some of the great things going on behind the scenes here at CorkSport.

One of the products I am particularly excited about is the CorkSport Oil Catch Can we are developing for the Mazdaspeed vehicle line. It aims to help filter out the junk that can end up in your intake manifold. One of the main reasons we wanted to develop this product is because the PCV system in the turbo MZR engine has a bad rap and is not known for performing well. Its purpose is to get rid of the particles and gases in the crankcase that get blown by the piston during compression. It helps filter out these particles to keep them from getting mixed in with your oil and from being dumped into the environment. The problem is that these particles get recycled through your engine and recombusted. They also get caked on your intake valves and intake track. In a normal port injected engine this isn’t as big of a deal because the fuel helps wash the deposits away and keep your valves clean. However on a direct injected engine, as found on the Mazdaspeed vehicles, the fuel is injected right into the cylinder and no longer acts as a cleaning agent for the valves so deposits begin to form. The CorkSport Catch Can will filter out the junk that would end up in your intake manifold and possibly on your valves keeping your intake clean. All that is required is that the can emptied with every oil change.

During testing we had the samples removed from the catch can analyzed. The test results shown below reveal just how much junk is entering your engine.

Another pet project I am working on is the development of a FMIC kit that will work seamlessly with the short ram intake on the Mazdaspeed3 and Mazdaspeed6. We have been running the kit on the CorkSport Mazdaspeed3 with great results and have just completed the design of the piping on the Mazdaspeed6 to begin test fitment of that vehicle.

A product that will be entering the lineup in the near future is the CorkSport Rear Sway Bar for the Mazdaspeed 6. We have a test product installed on a customer’s car and it has been performing quite well. Our customer has seen improved handling, faster cornering speeds, and more traction. With the sway bar being a slightly difficult install, I was sure to take lots of pictures during the install in order to provide our customers complete and thorough instructions to make the process a little easier. And of course if a customer runs into difficulty during the install, they can always call us for help.

Most of the products currently under development have originated from product submissions we have received from all of you. If you ever have any ideas for a new product don’t be afraid to submit it. We have a monthly development meeting to evaluate every product submission we receive, so please let us know what you have been wanting for your Mazda!

Andrew-

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Formula D, Northwest Style

CorkSport spent Friday and Saturday soaking up the summer sun at the Round 5 Pro Championship Formula Drift at Evergreen Speedway in Monroe, Washington. The weather could not have been more perfect; blue skies and moderate temperatures welcomed us on both days. I was joined by our lead engineer, Andrew and our shop manager, Dustin and we brought out our Rx8 and Mazdaspeed 3 to show off our CorkSport parts during the show.

Participating in the drifting event over the weekend were four Mazda’s. Two Rx8’s, a FD Rx7, and a FC Rx7. The two Rx8’s and the FC were part of the Formula D pro series and the FD was participating in the Pro-Am event.

The first Rx8, raced by Kyle Mohan of KyleMohanRacing out of California, is powered by a 13B turbo engine which generates 525 wheel hp through a liberty transmission.

Kyle made it to the Great 8 round despite an ambitious chase car that hit Mohan’s in the round before, bending a tie rod end, which required some fast service work on his car. Unfortunately for Kyle he lined up against Rhys Millen and did not make it to the final 4 to compete for a trophy.

The second Rx8, built by Bergenholtz Racing and driven by Joon Maeng, is powered by a turbocharged 20B putting the power down through an HKS sequential 6 speed. The exhaust note of the engine is crazy loud but incredible sounding.

Joon was knocked out in the top 16 round after he had what looked to be a problem with a gear engagement on the last corner.

The last Pro entry Mazda was an FC Rx7 driven by Charles Ng and prepared by Evasive Motorsports.

Unfortunately this Rx7 was not running a Mazda power plant and went the path of an LS7 V8 making it undeserving of any close up pics, but we did get some video of his run. Charles qualified for the event in 20th but was knocked out in the first round of 32.

The FD Rx7, competing in the Pro-Am Formula D event and driven by Tyler Wolfson from Del Mar, California was the most entertaining story of the weekend, even though we regret that he suffered the worst ending. Tyler is currently working toward a Pro license for Formula D by racing in the Pro-Am events in his FD Rx7.

He had an unfortunate part failure that left his car disabled and despite putting up a sign in hopes of getting onto the track, no one offered up a spare part and after a few hours and a post on Facebook, it was apparent there would be no luck in getting a transmission for the disabled FD.

On Saturday, Wolfson gave it one more shot by making an appeal for a loaner, but with no luck on that front either, he relented and got to hang out and enjoy the show with the rest of the spectators. We wish him luck in the upcoming drift events this year.

We had a great time talking with the racers and our customers at last weekend’s race and look forward to next year’s event.

-Derrick

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CorkSport Top Mount Intercooler Development Process

The idea for the CorkSport Top Mount Intercooler (TMIC) was originally developed from a thread started by azmavhockey3 on the Mazdas247 forum. This idea exchange by Mazda owners on the forum lead to an in-depth development process that included several design iterations, prototype testing, sample testing, and finally production testing. The end result was the recently released CorkSport TMIC which provides solid power gains at a great value.

The following graphic demonstrates the development and testing process for the CorkSport TMIC.

Why a 3″ Core for the TMIC 

  1. Helps Maximize dissipation.
  2. Can directly bolt on the OEM cover which is designed to mate with the hood venting shroud for optimal flow.
  3. Leaves a clean look in the engine bay and covers up many of the wire and hoses near the fuel pump.

Max Gains

(Click Here to download a pdf of the TMIC Development and Testing Infographic)

Read More About the CorkSport TMIC

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CorkSport Product Release! – Introducing the New CorkSport Radiator Cap

CorkSport is pleased to announce its third July release and the newest addition to the CorkSport Mazda Accessory line, the CorkSport Radiator Cap.

Enhance the look of your engine bay and keep your cooling system functioning properly with the all new CorkSport Radiator Cap. Designed to original equipment quality standards, the caps are manufactured for precise pressure control and are available in 1.1 and 1.4 Bar A/S/B/N styles to either match or safely exceed OEM coolant pressures and fitments.

This comes as the third CorkSport brand product introduced to the market this month and furthers CorkSport’s commitment to developing and launching a steady stream of new CorkSport brand products to the market this year. With a focus on reducing cost drivers CorkSport has employed lean manufacturing techniques to reduce set-up time, cost of rejects and rework, and has streamlined freight shipping methods and frequency in an effort to produce the highest quality part for the best possible price.

The simple to install radiator cap is priced at just $27.00 and comes in two styles. The radiator caps are made from stainless steel and depending on your model of Mazda are available with a flat black finish or brushed stainless finish. For details on the models and fits of the CorkSport Radiator Cap, please check our two product listings, The CorkSport Mazda Radiator Cap Type A/S with flat black finish and the CorkSport Mazda Radiator Cap, Type B/N with brushed stainless finish.