As we eagerly await more news about the 2017 Mazdaspeed 3, it’s easy to become distracted by a wish list of features, making us forget about the Gen 1 and 2 marvels sitting in our garages.
We’ve hoped there would be a new Mazdaspeed 3 sooner than now, but the compensation of waiting is owning and driving Gen 2 (or Genjuan) Mazdaspeeds every day. Sure, we’re a little biased, but there’s a reason our lives are centered around Mazda performance enhancement. Maybe we’re just feeling nostalgic because it’s #ThrowbackThursday, but whatever the case, the Limited Slip Blog’s 2013 review of the last Mazdaspeed 3 reminds us: Even a few years old, these cars remain incredible.
We stumbled across this blog entry after finding that killer shot above, taken by cofounder Christopher Little. If it wasn’t clear from the entries that cover just about every car under the sun, it’s obvious just glancing at their photography that these guys have a passion for vehicles, something any self-respecting Mazdahead shares.
Chris had some issues with the interior—but noted the Gen 2 Mazdaspeed 3 had the best visibility of any hot hatch he’d driven. His description of the first time he actually drove the car probably sounds like what a lot of us experienced when we first got behind the wheel of a ‘speed. The word “intoxicating” stands out, which shouldn’t surprise anyone who understands Mazda power. The Mazdaspeed 3 makes it just about impossible to drive without experiencing some raw joy, which Chris did. We get it; that’s why we devote our lives to Mazda performance, to bring even more power out of these beauties.
The Mazdaspeed 3 has always been a stunning and, yeah, intoxicating ride. It’s been great for almost a decade, and with the new generation coming out soon, we don’t expect that legacy to change.
So you want to become a professional racecar driver. Awesome plan, I mean who doesn’t right? But where do you start? The answer is Mazda.
Image via Road & Track
Hop on Craigslist and start looking for a car. You’re going to need a good solid platform to start with and something that’s easy to work on. A car that is relatively inexpensive, easy to find parts for, super reliable, and can give you the best driving experience along with great aftermarket support for future upgrades. BAM you just bought your ‘91 Miata racecar. A car that has everything you need and then some.
First things first, you need to make sure it’s safe and in tiptop shape to handle the abuse you’re about to put on it. Go on the hunt for pieces you need to replace like brake pads, shocks, and maybe a wheel bearing or two. Don’t settle for some cheap aftermarket pieces. You are going to be racing this car and don’t want to lose a track weekend because of premature part failure. You need OEM top notch quality.
Mazda was the first company to offer a support program for their grassroots racers. The Mazdaspeed Motorsports Development program sells OEM parts to drivers at cost in order to keep them on the track longer. If you provide them with at least two current race results within the past 12 months you can join the program and reap the benefits they have to offer. Along with parts, you also have access to trained employees and other racers who can provide help and guidance.
Once the car is ready to go, you need a place to go racing. Mazda has partnerships with some of the largest sanctioned racing bodies such as SCCA Solo, NASA, and SCCA Club Racing. With over 20,000+ racers, it’s easy to see why more Mazdas are raced on any given weekend than any other brand in the world.
So you have been racing for a year or two and you’re ready to take it to the next level. Introducing the Mazda driver development ladder system, the one and only true program to help guide you from the grassroots level of club racing to the high ranks of Indy lights. If you really have what it takes, the skill and the character that Mazda embodies, you may be lucky enough to find yourself in the cockpit of a Mazda prototype racing in the Tudor United Sports Car Championships, the most prestigious road racing campaign in North America.
Image via Mazdaspeed Motorsports Development
We all know racing is expensive. The cost of gas, food, entry fees, and travel can add up quickly during a regular season. Who can help you pay for these things? Mazda of course. As a competitor in the Mazda ladder system, you have the ability to compete and earn scholarships worth thousands of dollars to help you pursue your dreams. Imagine winning the run-offs or the MX-5 cup and being awarded a grant to help fund your racing expenses. Now that’s what I call support.
Mazda also created the R.A.C.E program in 2014 to help motivate and engage the next generation of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) professionals. They dedicated a whole program to developing young minds and helping them pursue their dreams even if it has nothing to do with racing cars. You can’t tell me that is not cool.
Mazda is the true racers brand. From mentoring to scholarships to the various after school programs they have invested in, no one is as committed to the driver as Mazda is. They breed the next generation of racers. A brand built by the people for the people. The reason #DrivingMatters.
We all wish we could keep our cars clean and pristine at all times, but sometimes life happens. As much as we may love them kids and dogs are particularly skilled at destroying our cars. While you can’t completely avoid the messes they bring, these five tips will help protect your car against their havoc.
1. Use a designated dog blanket
Drape the blanket over the seat your dog sits in—which should be the back seat to prevent any injury to the dog in the case of airbag deployment. Felt usually works best because it acts as a magnet for dog hair. More hair on the blanket means less hair on your seats.
2. Plastic wrap the windows
Yeah, it may sound strange, but this tip comes straight from racecar drivers. If your dog (or toddler) has a tendency to slobber all over your windows, take a sheet of plastic wrap and push it tight to the window. Then, when you’re done driving, pull the wrap off the window. Boom. Clean windows and no clean up time.
3. Invest in all weather or heavy-duty floor mats
Did the kids jump into the car with muddy boots? Of course they did. If you keep good floor mats in your Mazda, though, it’s nothing a quick spray down can’t fix.
4. Put something between the car seat and your actual seat
Kids = spills. Protect your seats by putting a towel that’s the same color as your seats under the car seat. Now unexpected spills can be cleaned up with just a load of laundry.
5. Lint rollers and wet wipes to the rescue
Even with all the mess-proofing you do, a mistake or two are bound to happen. In this case, keep an emergency stash of lint rollers for the pooch hair and wet wipes for kiddo spills in the glove compartment. And an air freshener never hurt anyone.
These tips will help protect your baby from your babies. What do you do to keep your Mazda safe from little ones and four legged friends?
Cheers,
CorkSport
Dog/Kid Proofing Your Beloved Car April 15th, 2019CorkSport
What sets the CorkSport FMIC piping apart from its predecessor and the competition? The secret is in the new piping design. Let’s start with the typical “pain points” associated with a FMIC kit. When going from the TMIC to the FMIC, you are adding a considerable amount of piping and volume between the turbo and the throttle body. Most people believe this causes “turbo lag” which is true, but not nearly to the extent that the internet wants you to believe.
There are two components to the charge air that are coming from the turbocharger: pressure and volume. There are also two components to the “turbo lag” everyone curses: pressure and throttle response. Pressure is easy to explain because it’s measurable, but volume and throttle response are a bit more difficult and very much related.
Imagine walking into your local convenience store to grab a big fountain drink and without thinking you grab the biggest straw you can find. You’re not going to use the coffee stir straws right? You would never be able to get enough soda to quench your thirst! Basically, your engine is dealing with the same issue until the pressure from the turbo makes its way through the FMIC piping. This is the importance of volume! So how does this relate to the CorkSport FMIC?
The Madaspeed FMIC piping takes volume to the next level for improved performance and drivability. Looking at Figure 2, you will notice that the last two 90-degree bends, just before the throttle body, are a bit larger in diameter than the rest of the piping. By increasing the diameter of the pipe directly in front of the throttle body, we create a large reservoir of cold air for the engine to suck in as soon as you roll into the throttle. Having this larger volume of air immediately available to the engine greatly improves drivability and throttle response because it fools the engine into thinking it has a larger intake plenum than it really does. The 3.00 inch section provides approximately 51 cubed inches of added volume over 2.50 inch piping, that’s an 18% increase.
Figure 2: CorkSport Cold Pipe with 3.00 Inch Section
On top of the added volume, the larger diameter piping improves the flow through the throttle body because the throttle body has a 2.75-inch inlet. You wouldn’t put a 2.5-inch turbo inlet pipe on a turbo that has a 3-inch inlet, would you? Nope, I didn’t think so. So why do that to your throttle body?
This can be seen in Figures 2 and 3 with the varying colors around and behind the throttle plate. The color graph shown with each image provides the air velocity for the different colors. In Figure 3, you can see there is more red and orange past the throttle plate when compared to Figure 2. The result of higher velocity flow is more turbulence which lowers efficiency through the throttle body.
Figure 3: Comparable CorkSport Cold Pipe with 2.50 Inch Section
So, if volume improves performance, then why isn’t the entire piping system 3 inches? At a certain point, more volume becomes a performance degrade. This falls back to the pressure and volume compromise. The more volume you have, the longer it takes to build pressure. Smaller diameter piping makes up the rest of the kit, so the turbo can pressurize the system quickly while the engine is using the extra volume sitting directly in front of the throttle body. By the time the extra volume is used up, the pressure has made it through the entire system. The combination of these two reduces turbo lag and improves throttle response. It’s safe to say that this is the best of both worlds.
But wait there’s more! Along with new piping, we are offering a large core kit with a crash bar. The crash bar retains all the necessary OEM hookup points for the radiator core support and the OEM tow point.
Figure 4: Assembled Large Core FMIC Kit with Crash Bar
Figure 4: Assembled Large Core FMIC Kit with Crash Bar: Under the Hood
The large core measures in at 23.25 inches wide, 11 inches tall, and 3 inches thick with 10mm runners for high thermal efficiency and a low-pressure drop through the core. Below, Figures 5 and 6 show the temperature and pressure drop of the small core tested with a K04 turbocharger at 15psi target.
Figure 5: Multiple runs testing the small core temperature drop with the K04 turbocharger targeting 15psi.
Figure 6: Single run testing the small core pressure drop with the K04 turbocharger targeting 15psi.
The hot side boost air temperatures can reach upward of 250 degrees Fahrenheit, but the intercooler stays at a cool 110 degrees or less. You can see the average cold side temperature is steadily increasing, but this is typical of any intercooler run after run. Combine that with an average maximum pressure drop of 0.6psi, and you have a very efficient intercooler.
Last week, we asked the CorkSport community what their best adventure with their Mazda was. You posted so many awesome shots and stories of your Mazda adventures we just had to share them. This post is dedicated to you, our loyal CorkSport adventurers. And remember, the proof is in the pics.
Drive on, and don’t forget to show us pictures of your trips with #CorkSport.
