You may remember that we had to get a new shop testing vehicle after our last Mazdaspeed 3’s untimely demise See here; but what you may not know is how much time and effort was put into that car. Building a rolling showcase isn’t easy, cheap or quick. We were sad to see it go but now have a brand new canvas to start over on.
With our new speed we decided to go white, with that pearly white paint job we wanted to go towards a “panda” style going forward, mixing white and black parts in our build. We have started with a few small black and white things (intake, BOV, etc.). We’re really looking for input from you to really make this car unforgettable.
We’re looking at every detail to try to make an overall car that hasn’t been seen before that goes deeper than just bolting things on. We want to try new things, make combinations that have never been seen before and really try to make something that you would want if you never had to make a compromise.
Check us out on Facebook and let us know what you think we should add to this car to make it really unique.
Help Build the Mazdaspeed of Your Dreams July 16th, 2013CorkSport
Help limit your CorkSport Short Ram Intake from sucking in hot air with the CorkSport SkyActiv Cold Air Box for the 2010+ Mazda 3 Skyactiv. By coupling your Short Ram Intake with a cold air box, you will see the benefits of the intake system without the pressure drops inherent to longer tube intakes. Using the CorkSport Cold Air Box helps block hot air from the engine, while keeping open the access to cool air from the inner fender. Our Cold Air Box has undergone extensive testing at various ambient air conditions to verify performance in all conditions.
Made of durable and lightweight FRP construction the CorkSport Mazda 3 SkyActiv Air box is strong and lightweight, but looks great under your hood. Simple instructions make the CorkSport SkyActiv Air box easy to be installed by anyone with a CorkSport Short Ram Intake. With the SkyActiv Airbox your intake will stay cooler, which means your engine will run better. Whether you sit in a lot of traffic, live in a hot climate, or simply have noticed too much heat-soak, the SkyActiv Air box is the solution to loss of power due to high under hood temperatures.
When you look at the blow off valves (BOV) and bypass valves (BPV) on the market today you see many examples of the same thing with little to no innovations. For those of you that aren’t aware, BOV’s and BPV’s are valves that vent pressurized air in the tract between the turbo and the throttle body. This prevents the turbo from suddenly stopping or slowing as those can cause unwanted bearing wear on the turbo. A BOV vents this pressurized air into the atmosphere (into the engine bay). A BPV vents that air back into the intake just after the mass air flow (MAF) sensor. Venting back into the intake allows the ECU to correctly meter that air that it has already accounted for. Many times when venting to atmosphere you can get a momentarily rich condition because the ratios are off.
We were talking about innovation though, the last great innovation in valve technology for turbos was probably years ago with pull type valves like the SSQV from HKS. Many years have passed since then and not much has changed, outside of the few valves that partially vent to atmosphere and route the rest back to the intake tract. Typically now you just see one copy after another of someone else’s idea. SURE, it can be hard to innovate in the blow off valve market but we were convinced there was something exciting we could do.
We speak often about your ideas sparking our innovative minds, this project was started by just one of those customer suggestions. We started with a customer submission of using wave springs that led us to design a new valve design to reduce the size and weight of the moving parts.
Key Features of the upcoming patent pending CorkSport Blow Off Valve:
Reduction of spring height
With the use of a wave spring we are able to reduce the spring height by 50%. The traditional spring sits at 40mm and the CS wave spring sits at a 20mm height. These springs both provide the same force and will move the same distance before experiencing coil-bind.
Reduction of piston size
Because the spring is 50% smaller we are able to reduce the piston and still maintain the same amount of movement. As you can see, just changing to the wave spring we were able to decrease the piston by 33%!!!
What does that all mean?
The reduction in mass is all well and good, but just being smaller isn’t the only benefit (even though that is pretty cool). With the force (F) being the same and the mass (m) decreasing by 33% we can see how the mass relates to acceleration (a) in the formula F=ma. Rearranged, this becomes a=F/m. This means we have accelerated the actual speed of the valve, which means the valve is able to react much faster than a larger valve with a traditional spring (33% faster!) Because the blow off valve is a safety feature to protect the turbo from premature wear, this increase in acceleration can help increase the longevity of the turbo and the system as a whole.
What does all this innovation look like?
With the reduction in the size of these key parts, we can reduce the body size. This can be especially helpful in situations with airboxes, custom turbo and intercooler kits or even in universal situations where space is at a premium. Below you can see a comparison of similar BOV’s, the spring chamber on our design is significantly smaller but the function is not lost; in fact, we improved it!
To maximize flow, we pushed the piston area out to ensure a larger venting area, this reduces the time it takes to vent the air and allows larger turbos to vent more efficiently. As a blow off valve, this certainly pushes the envelope, we think we can find even more applications for this kind of innovation. We are very proud to be able to offer things for the Mazda market we helped create and will continue to engineer parts that push the scene for you.
Inside the upcoming CorkSport Blow Off Valve July 8th, 2013CorkSport
It is a funny thing how fate throws people together; this is my story of the past few years and how being a sponsored driver with CorkSport changed my life. All kidding aside I have been married (blissfully) going on 19 years now and prior to my relationship status change I drove everything from muscle cars to motorcycles and all the way to V-dub campers following the Grateful Dead around or was it the other way around?
In 2010 I was driving a hand me down Audi A4 B5 from my wife and the transfer case blew. So it was time to look for a new ride, I luckily decided upon a MS3 and the moddiction started. A stage two intake from CorkSport was ordered and is still in use on the fastest Pu in the kingdom. I had the pleasure of meeting Derrick and Kelly from CorkSport at the OCC meet in New York in 2011 and a friendship/partnership began. I started buying more parts from CorkSport and the other great vendors that support our platform. CorkSport came out with a front sway bar that I purchased and proceeded to break. They fixed this bar and while they were re-working that part, I was sent a set of lowering springs to test out for them as a gesture of good faith (good business in my opinion) while I waited for the redesign and I did some testing on it. After that I asked if they had a sponsorship program, they said they did so I sent in an application and that is where it all started.
I heard back and was excited to find out I was in! I asked for a suspension focused sponsorship package and received many of the handling parts I wanted and even got a set of the Speed 3 specific coil-overs a full six months before they were released! The relationship has been great being able to give feedback and suggestions that CorkSport actually listens to and incorporates into products that make it to market. Being able to help a company bring new and exciting products to fruition is rewarding and is a symbiotic relationship. As well as being a professional relationship I have become friends with some really cool peeps at Corksport and people in the Mazda community through being a sponsored driver, from Texas with sponsored driver Matt Kellogg at the CorkSport track meet at Harris Hill Raceway to Brock, Dan, Dave and Paul the Canadian boys at the TorontoMazda3 Mazda only Meet.
It is also fun to be in on the stuff that folks outside the fold of sponsorship don’t get to hear about and test. There is a ton of good stuff coming to market soon and some projects still on the drawing board. Getting to test these or just having advance knowledge of them keeps me fresh and wanting more. Being a sponsored driver is a working relationship though so you need to be prepared to work. You don’t get something for nothing they say; you are in essence part of their marketing team and with that comes responsibilities both to your sponsor and to your fellow platform mates be it in giving some support to someone doing an install on a weekend when CS can’t be reached to talking or going on Skype to help out a mate in Australia or the UK or driving over to someone’s place to help extract and install a downpipe. Being a Nator member this comes naturally though. I’ve let folks drive both my cars to feel how the suspension upgrades performed and what they could look forward to with CorkSport parts on my car. My good friend from Mexico, Luis Herrera aka Ganque on MSF, loved the ride when he was up for a visit in April. So if you aspire to be a sponsored driver for CorkSport or another supporter of our platform be prepared to bring something to the table as being an ambassador is fun but hard work too. At the end of the day, being a sponsored driver for CorkSport is very rewarding though.
Respectfully,
Steven Kritzberg
My Life as a CorkSporter: A Case Study in Cooperative Product Development June 25th, 2013CorkSport
After a long wait and a lot of testing, we are proud to announce the availability of the CorkSport 4 Piston Big Brake Caliper Kit for the 2007 and up Mazdaspeed 3. With almost 300hp stock, the Mazdaspeed 3 can easily outrun and outperform its stock single-piston calipers, this is amplified when more power is added. With the CorkSport big caliper, you can count on a better braking feel and a more balanced setup to give you the confidence you need to use all those horses you paid for.
Crafted from extremely lightweight billet aluminum, the CorkSport calipers use an opposed-piston design that is fixed to provide significantly improved pad wear, and caliper rigidity over the OEM design. At just over 7 lbs, the aluminum CorkSport Mazdaspeed Big Brake Kit shaves almost 8 lbs of unsprung weight off each corner of your Mazdaspeed, adding more stopping power and a much better pedal feel. Available in 3 anodized colors, this brake system has everything you need to easily upgrade your stock braking system and includes high-strength steel brackets, calipers, stainless steel braided front brake lines, brake pads, and the all necessary hardware.
The CorkSport Advantage:
Superior Construction: Crafted from billet aluminum and made to last with durable components
Longevity: With dual O-rings far away from the brake pads these calipers are able to handle much more abuse than typical dust boot-equipped calipers.
Lightweight: At just over 7 lbs a side, this kit saves almost 8 lbs of unsprung weight per corner!
Versatile: Designed around a popular brake pad style (Hawk #HB750), you can use almost any brake pad compound available on the market.
Available in Three Colors: Choose from Black, Red, or Blue in a durable anodized finish
Ease of Use: With simple hand tools you can change brake pads in minutes and with full re-buildability you can be back to fresh factory brakes in no time.
CorkSport Service and Support: Receive full-color installation instructions, all of the needed installation hardware, and knowledgeable telephone support.
