I was admiring how different all of your rides are. As a general statement, there are lots of ways to make your baby unique and personalize it to your style. At CorkSport, we try to do the same thing with our brand, our name and our reputation.
We love when we hear back from you that we’ve done great things with customer service:
Following up with your questions via email, phone calls, Facebook, forums, and face to face.
Sending out a little bit a joy with some of your packages.
Supporting you when something goes wrong and keeping in touch throughout your order fulfillment.
And just being a part of the conversations that happen within the Mazda platform.
We want (and try) to get you to engage with us too!
You frequently make us laugh by telling a joke or letting us know what you’re thinking in the comment section that comes with your order.
WE LOVE HEARING FROM YOU and often we find a fun way to show you that we read your note, joke, sarcasm, or saw that you had a question.
Here are some of my favorites from recent months:
Jennifer sent out a “few” valentines to bring a smile and some happiness when you opened your order:
Our shipping team drew on some of your packages:
We sent out some extra goodies for you and your loved ones:
And we even shared a little bit of Mazda history with you!
We hope you enjoy it as much as we do! It makes the day go by that much faster and gives us an opportunity to really connect with you and figure out what we can do to best serve you and your ride! We’re here to help by bringing knowledge, parts, supplies, support, and hopefully good-natured humor and joy every once in a while!
ALWAYS leave a comment in your order. The more original you are with your notes, the more fun we can have in return!
Thanks for passing along the joy! Stay safe, stay fast, stay happy!
Dear Car Guy: Engaging with the CS Fam March 15th, 2016Derrick Ambrose
Good day fellow boosted enthusiast, Vincent here with CorkSport Mazda Performance. Today, I want to share some expert advice with you on diagnosing boost control issues with your turbocharged Mazdas.
I’d venture to guess that about once or twice a week, my team and I get a phone call related to customers that are trying to diagnose a boost control issue with their electronic boost control solenoids (EBCS). Whether it’s too much boost, not enough boost, or random and sporadic boost signals, a boost control issue can have you digging around your engine bay for quite some time if you don’t have a good diagnostic procedure.
This blog is intended to function as an aid in diagnosing boost control issues. If you’re interested in a more thorough understanding of how an EBCS works, check out this white paper that one of our engineers wrote. Now let’s get to it!
What An EBCS Is and Is Not
The EBCS is a unit composed of an electrically operated solenoid housed in its own little manifold designed to regulate and route boost signals to the appropriate area in the engine bay. The EBCS is not the mechanical device that physically moves the wastegate flapper to re-route exhaust gases around the turbine wheel, that’s the job of the wastegate actuator.
Now that we cleared that up, let’s look into some possible causes for poor boost control issues.
Hoses
I can’t stress this one enough. I would say a bad or improperly routed vacuum hose is the root cause for about 70% of all issues. When diagnosing a boost control issue, start with a visual inspection of all vacuum hoses in the system. Any hoses with nicks, tears, rips, or cuts should be replaced with a good quality silicone vacuum hose. Silicone is preferred because it has a longer life than a traditional rubber hose and tolerates engine bay heat better. Also, check to make sure the hoses are not pinched in between anything. I’ve seen cases where a signal hose gets trapped between a nut and stud of some sort, causing it to be completely pinched off and rendering it useless. So make sure your hoses go from point A to point B clearly and perfectly with no stops.
Routing
Since we’re on the subject of hoses, let’s also be sure that we’re routing them correctly. Each hose is meant to take some air from one place to another in a particular fashion. Often times guys and gals get in a rush and just start plugging in hoses wherever they see empty spots. This is especially evident on the EBCS unit itself considering there are 3 ports on it that are all very close to each other and it’s quite easy to put the wrong hose on the incorrect port. This is where a good set of high-quality instructions becomes helpful, so you always have something to reference.
Important note: Make sure to reference instructions specific to the brand of EBCS your vehicle is equipped with, not all controllers designate the same letters and ports.
CorkSport EBCS
Isolating The Problem
If you’re dead certain that the above two points check out, then the next logical step is to isolate the problem. What I recommend is to set your turbocharger to run off of spring pressure only. What you would be doing here is run a hose from the compressor cover to the lower nipple on the wastegate actuator (WGA) and then put a vacuum cap on the other port of the WGA. When this is done, what you’re doing is isolating the mechanical side from the electrical side.
If we perform this and our car runs 100% hitting the targeted spring pressures, then we can check off the turbo or WGA as being the issue and we can return our focus to the solenoid and its components. If we’re in this set-up and still experiencing a boost control issue, then we want to check out the turbo and its related components. Things to check are the WGA flapper for any binding or contact, and the turbocharger itself for any mechanical issue such has damaged wheels or housings. Also, we want to check any boost tubes, intercooler piping, connections, etc. to make sure it’s not skewing any of our signals.
Fixing The Problem
If you get to the point where you feel the EBCS unit itself is the problem, a simple thing to do (if you have the ability to) is to bug a friend. Say your buddy is running the exact same EBCS as you, ask him to borrow it for half an hour and swap it in. If we leave everything as we had it and swap solenoids, and our problem goes away then we have a really strong reason to believe the controller is the issue and it should be inspected. This is the point when you would want to contact the manufacturer so you can send it to them and have them test it. Don’t try to take it apart yourself! Almost all solenoids have really tiny and precise O-rings that can break easily if mishandled.
These are just some of the most obvious and most likely things to check. Before going too crazy, you still want to be sure that you have a healthy engine and no other forced induction problems such as a massive boost leak somewhere that can skew results.
I hope this blog was helpful and can be useful to some of you. I leave you with some last minute points.
When diagnosing, change one thing at a time to eliminate variables. You don’t want to jump in and change 10 different things and hope for the best. You’ll just waste time and resources.
Double-check your tune. When switching to an aftermarket EBCS, a tune will be required since almost all aftermarket units work faster and are much more precise than an OEM unit.
In regards to vacuum hose length, I can say for 99% of you it won’t matter. Unless you’re running 20+ feet of hose, the length will not affect your signals. At the tiny sizes we’re using, you’ll need lots of hose for length to make any noticeable impact. My recommendation is to use just what you need for a nice clean set up, no more and no less.
Mazda hinted that they’re going to reveal more about their latest rotary at the Geneva auto show, so now is the perfect time to come up with my wish list for the next Rx7.
Mazda is already on the right path with their SkyActiv technology to keep systems light and efficient. If they use the same strategy with a new rotary engine, we could see some exciting things.
Mazda has been talking about laser ignitions for a while now. As a current Rx7 owner, and to the rest of the rotary heads out there, you know the spark plug bills for the Rx7/Rx8 can pile up. Not having to deal with spark plugs or coil packs again would be a blessing in lower cost of ownership.
Direct injection is something I’m really looking forward to, for several reasons.
1. Lower chance of flooding out your engine in the case you go brain dead and move your Rx7 in the driveway without letting it warm up or you hold the throttle up to clear out the engine.
2. Better emissions control. This is a big one in my book when it comes to the success of a car. With DI systems, you can make sure the fuel is in the optimum location on the rotor face for the best burn and the most power from the fuel.
North America doesn’t get i-Stop technology from Mazda due to fuel-economy testing and regulations. I’m crossing my fingers Mazda brings it, or something like it, along with the rotary.
Mazda can use i-Eloop to help out the rotary’s naturally low torque by giving you a boost from a standstill and give you back some fuel economy.
Now, the million-dollar question: will it be a hybrid?
My guess is no. With the i-Eloop and i-Stop technology Mazda already has available for fuel economy and ignition improvements, adding a hybrid system doesn’t make sense. A hybrid system goes against the idea of lightweight technology and cross-platform technology sharing that Mazda has been focused on.
As if I even need to mention this, my money is on a turbo setup in the Rx7, much like the units used on the turbodiesels. The small turbo on the Sky-D engine is spooling just off idle which gives you the instant hit of torque while transitioning to the larger main turbo. It’s pretty seamless on the Sky-D. Imagine it on a rotary with the exhaust energy. It will be even better.
Any other predictions out there? Feel free to post up! I love to hear other people’s thoughts on what Mazda is hinting at for the future.
Our Wish List for Mazda’s Next Rotary March 7th, 2016Derrick Ambrose
Whether you want a lower center of gravity for better handling or you want to get rid of that ugly wheel well gap, lowering springs are a great buy.
From hitting the track on the weekend to a spirited drive through the countryside, CorkSport lowering springs are the upgrade you’ve been looking for. By adding our lowering springs, you’re lowering the center of gravity. This allows the car to stay more planted to the road.
One of the biggest things to note on the stock suspension is how far upward the suspension travels when hitting bump. It can make the car feel like it wants to lift off of the road, depending on how fast you’re taking corners. Lowering springs help correct the car’s suspension travel when you hit a bump in a turn.
Lowering springs also have about 25% increased stiffness. For the Mazdaspeed platform, increased stiffness in the rear is a must. Mazdaspeeds like to squat pretty hard when hitting full boost, so any way you can manage to stiffen up the rear is a great modification for your car.
Adding lowering springs also gives your baby amazing eye appeal and a much more aggressive look. Whether you drive a MS3, MS6, Mazda 3, or MX-5, lowering springs will get rid of that ugly wheel well gap. If your model wasn’t just mentioned, springs will still work for you too! The result is a Mazda that carries a much cleaner look and gives you the ability to take it to the track if you want to.
Some people want to drop their Mazda as much as possible, and some don’t. CorkSport lowering springs don’t deliver a super aggressive drop. If you’re not interested in scraping your front bumper on every road bump, the CorkSport lowering springs have the right drop for you and provide the increased handling capabilities you’re looking for.
When I first bought my speed, I had zero knowledge of the MZR platform, and turbo cars in general. I’ve owned my Mazdaspeed for almost three years now and have learned a lot. Since I bought the car, I’ve met many awesome people and turned it into a fully bolted machine. I’ve learned a lot about my car and what it takes to reach certain goals with it. Building the car has been very rewarding, but meeting new faces along the way has been just as enjoyable. Other people have taught me a lot about my personal goals and where I want to stand with the Mazda community. That being said, I’ve turned myself into the type of person that’s always willing to give advice when it’s needed.
One of the biggest things I’ve learned from talking with other Mazdaspeed owners is that everyone sits at a different power level and has different functions they use their car for. One of the biggest questions I see in the Mazdaspeed community is whether or not someone should consider a custom tune. The answer to that question is yes.
The OTS maps that come preloaded are definitely a decent upgrade over the stock mapping, but you don’t really know what the car can do until you actually make small tweaks. That’s where it makes a big difference. Seeing increased boost levels makes you think your car is much faster, but how much faster is it actually going to be? Most of the Stage II maps allow you to run around 17-18 pounds of boost, which is definitely a decent increase, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. It’s not until you get a custom tune that you realize how much more you can get from your Mazdaspeed.
Why you should get a custom tune:
The biggest reason is so your car can be tailored to all of the modifications you’ve done. I like to look at it like a suit. If you bought a suit from a store without having any alterations made, the suit would fit, but it wouldn’t fit well. If you were to get every part of your body measured, then the suit would fit perfectly. That’s the way I look at OTS maps versus custom tunes. The OTS maps will work, but not that well. A custom tune will be tweaked for every modification you’ve done, which means the car will run perfectly with maximum performance.
Additionally, a custom tune will make sure your car doesn’t sacrifice reliability. It will allow you to unlock the true potential of your car without having any huge issues with the motor. There are a handful of tuners that maximize performance without sacrificing reliability. Here are a few popular tuners on the market, in alphabetical order not based on preference.
My car has been on a custom tune from Purple Drank Tuning for almost two years now. During the 20k miles I’ve driven in the last two years, my car and turbo has been pushed to the limit for the stock KO4 turbo. I was tuned on E85 running around 23 pounds of boost, and tracking the car at any chance I could. Some people ask how the heck my motor or turbo hasn’t crapped itself out yet. I can honestly say the reason she still runs well and pulls just as hard as when I first starting modding, is because of good maintenance and having a great tuner to make sure the car runs the way it should.
Why You Should Consider a Custom Tune September 13th, 2018Derrick Ambrose
