Tag: CX-7

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2018 CorkSport Garage Update

CorkSport's Mazda 3 guide.

CorkSport Garage

How about something a little different from the usual CS blog? I thought I would give you all a little insight into all the different Mazdas that are owned by employees. Some are daily drivers, some are full racecars, and some are…different (more on that later). So grab a cold refreshment, we’ve got quite a few cars to go through.

The Mazdaspeeds

Mazdaspeed Miata
Owner: Corey
Year/Model: 2004 Mazdaspeed Miata
Mileage: 28,800

Modifications: Full Flyin’ Miata CAI, polished stainless piping, Turbosmart recirculating bypass valve, manual boost controller, O2 signal modifier, boost gauge. Recent Mustang Dyno showed a consistent 189.9WHP.

Corey’s Comments: Purchased new to me at 17,000 miles in 2012 for my 40th birthday. The Mazdaspeed Miata had been stored for 4 years-everything was original, even the tires. This Miata came from California and had never seen rain. I keep it in the garage and it’s mainly a fair weather/weekend car except during the summer. I enjoy taking a ride in the MSM with each of my kids, but love honking the horn at people and making my son wave back…like he knows them.

2009 Red Mazdaspeed 3 GT
Owner: Luke
Year/Model: 2009 Mazdaspeed 3 GT
Mileage: 124,000

Modifications: Full bolted, built engine, CS prototype turbo, methanol injection. Too many CorkSport Parts.

Luke’s Comments: Car has been through stock turbo/stock block, CS turbo/stock block, CS turbo/built block, 35r/built block, and now CS prototype turbo/built block.  Fun fact: my girlfriend went faster in my car than I did when I first bought it.  Stock turbo went 12.8 @ 110mph in the  1320.

Owner: Daniel
Year/Model: 2007 Mazdaspeed 6
Mileage: 68,000

Modifications: Custom front license plate delete, CS Interior LED Kit, daily driver dirt.

Daniel’s Comments: Just bought the Mazdaspeed6 a few weeks ago, doing a ton of maintenance before mods. This er fleet vehicle (whatever that means). Bought it from a guy who owned it the past ~9 years. Hoping to sneak some new Mazdaspeed 6 parts into the CS catalog and feed the zoom-zoom obsession!

Owner: CorkSport (shop car)
Year/Model: 2013 Mazdaspeed 3
Mileage: 14,000

Modifications: Virtually everything in the CS catalog for MS3. Plus a few prototype parts that never made their way to the market.

Comments:  Affectionately called “Whitey”. On its 2nd built engine (we use and abuse this thing). This was one of Vincent’s first projects when he arrived at CS: rebuild Whitey’s engine. He just got done rebuilding it for the second time and is now breaking it in.

Owner: Barett
Year/Model: 2009 Mazdaspeed 3
Mileage: ~135,000

Modifications: Manley internals, L19 head studs, CS cams, bowl work & porting, all the bolt-ons, 28gph methanol injection, prototype CS turbo, 330mm BBK, other suspension bits.

Barett’s Comments: More info on the engine build here. Made ~465whp at the 2017 CS dyno day. My car hates me and is a constant work in progress. (Check out all the updates for Barett’s Mazdaspeed 3)

Owner: Brett
Year/Model: 2013 MazdaspeeD 3
Mileage: 37,000

Modifications: Full CS bolt-ons, big turbo, meth injection, making 430whp 385ft-lbs. BC coilovers w/ custom rated Swift springs, BMSPEC front splitter, Varis rear diffuser, custom side skirt extensions, Volk TE37SL: front 18×11 rear 18×10, paint matched 240Z flares, 330mm Mazdaspeed3 Big Brake Kit.

Brett’s Comments:  I’ve had the Mazdaspeed3 for about 4 years now. It has every CS bolt on in the catalog. Helps that I work here now. This MS3 makes ~430 WHP, and is a stock block for now; built block soon to come. I take more pictures of this car than I do anything else. 

The GEN 3’s

CorkSport's Mazda 3 guide.
Ready to mod your Mazda 3? You will be after you read this!
Owner: Jennifer
Year/Model: 2014 Mazda 3 2.5L Hatch
Mileage: 100,000

Modifications: Most of the CS catalog for GEN3: Intake, exhaust, lowering springs, adjustable struts, rear sway bar, aluminum skid tray, etc., GEN2 MS3 wheels, big CS livery.

Jennifer’s Comments: The car has been used for the majority of the Mazda3 research and design at CS. This Mazda 3 is daily driven ~80miles each day to torture test CorkSport parts, it helps that the commute to my house is that far round trip. Basically, my daily drive is a perfect example of “running up a hill both ways” for this Mazda 3.  

(Left)

Owner: Collin
Year/Model: 2016 Mazda 6
Mileage: 40,000

Modifications: CS RSB, prototype CS Front Strut Bar, CS RMM, prototype CS performance header, CS license plate kit.

Collin’s Comments: Aside from the performance parts available at CS, I chose this car due to the extra ~30HP compared to most commuter cars. I still get 42MPG on my freeway commute. This is my first New Car I bought myself and I have loved learning how to modify on it. 

(Right)

Owner: Rich
Year/Model: 2014 Mazda 6 GT

Modifications: CS lowe\ring springs/struts, CS front camber plates, CS rear camber arms, CS SRI, CS catback, CS radio control knob, CS license plate kit, 25mm wheel spacers

Rich’s Comments: I drove around the same B2300 for many years while we built CorkSport from the ground up. I finally decided to treat myself and picked this Mazda6 up in 2014. Big shift, and I’ve loved having the luxuries of this Mazda 6. 

Owner: Derrick
Year/Model: 2014 Mazda 3 2.5L Sedan

Modifications: Caged, stripped, CS SRI, straight pipe to CS axleback, bunch of custom adjustable suspension, Big Brake Kit (sometimes), custom racetrack-modified bodywork.

Derrick’s Comments: This Mazda3 could not be sold as a road legal car, so I don’t drive it on the road. There are a TON of track hours on this Mazda 3 and all of it’s modifications. We basically TRY to break our test parts before we let them hit the market, which is good for me because I love to go fast.

Owner: CorkSport (shop car)
Year/Model: 2018 Mazda 3 2.5L Hatch
Mileage: 2900

Modifications: CS struts, CS lowering springs, CS camber plates, CS RMM.

Comments: Mainly stock so far, big things to come to the “CBR” (CorkSport Branded Ride). Brett, who has been dailying the CBR, somehow only is getting 23mpg. Expect more parts for facelifted GEN3’s with the CBR’s arrival.

The Others

Just because you may not have seen much about them and they don’t get their own category does not mean they’re not special. For me, some of the most interesting cars are down below.

Owner: CorkSport (shop truck)
Year/Model: 1995 Mazda B2300
Mileage: 160,000

Modifications: Sweet stickers for extra HP, tire shop wheels, custom faded paint

Comments: Vincent used to own this truck before selling it to be the “new” CS shop truck. He notes that it was involved in 3 accidents, each time the insurance company did not total the truck, leaving Vincent with more money than he spent to buy the truck. No power steering provides an arm workout for those lucky enough to drive this beast.

Owner: Derrick
Year/Model: 2016 Miata Launch Edition.
Mileage: 24,000

Modifications: Full CorkSport ND Miata catalog – CS cold air intake, CS catback exhaust, CS front sway bar, rear sway bar, CS lowering springs, CS adjustable front end links, VersaTune CS parts tune, CS short shifter – Sparco Drift wheels, Bridgestone Blizzak run flats

Derrick’s Comments: The ND is an interesting car for me as being a lifelong Mazda enthusiast I had never owned a Miata before.  When the ND was announced I had already converted the Mazda 2 into a B-Spec car so I stopped street driving it and went back to my Rx7 turbo as my daily driver so I had gotten used to driving a car with “issues” again.  When I got into the ND for the first time and drove it home it was very surreal expecting some weird sound or smelling hydrocarbons (the Rx7 is old and catless) and the car handled incredible right out of the box.  Of course that lasted all of 3 months until we have Kenton Koch behind the wheel helping us out with the suspension development.  It is one of those cars that I warn people, if you drive it you will want to buy one.

Owner: Vincent
Year/Model: 2010 Mazda RX-8 R3
Mileage: 60,000 (original engine, no issues)

Modifications: Turbo XS exhaust, K&N high flow filter, custom VersaTune tune, DBA club spec rotors, Hawk Street/Race pads, Goodridge stainless steel brake lines.

Vincent’s Comments: I had been wanting a 2nd gen RX-8 since high school. This thing revs out to 9400RPM and is super fun to drive. Just recently sold (hi Aaron) but too good to not include in this blog.

Owner: Derrick
Year/Model: 1993 Spec Miata
Mileage: “Lots and lots” (this car has run 25hours of Thunderhill a few times on top of all its other racing)

Modifications: Spec Miata Bilstein shock package, Eibach swaybars, illegal plunge cut cylinder head (lookup spec Miata plunge gate 2014), GLoc brakes, 949 6ul Spec Miata wheels, AIM dash & datalog system, ESR drive side drop floor, Really big radiator.

Derrick’s Comments: I took the advice of all the spec miata people and bought a built car so I didn’t have to spend 6 months building one myself.  The local car was raced for a long time in the northwest and was a front running car before it was parked for a few years.  I picked it up for ~6k with some extra spares and was immediately able to get on the track and go racing after the installation of the drop floor and new seatbelts.  The big question I have people ask me is why did you get a SM?  The real answer is the level of drivers in the class.  At any sanctioned race event weekend there are always SM and someone to race against and I have personally known several drivers go into SM a novice and come out the other side in pro racing.  To win at SM you have to have your shit together.  To be the best you need to compete against and beat the best so here I am.

Owner: Barett
Model: Mazda B2600i
Mileage: ?

Modifications: Solid axle swap with Toyota running gear, 4.88:1 axle gears, rear locker, 3 feet of articulation, 8000lb winch, high bolstered seats, 35×14.5R15 Super Swamper Bogger Tires, “lots of f*ckery fabrication.”

Barett’s Comments: This was my first real vehicle, and it taught me lots about owning a vehicle, modifying a vehicle and I have more memories with this beast than I can come up with right now. I beat the SH*T out of this truck and it’s always put away wet.

 Owner: Rich
Model: 1988 Mazda Rx- CONVERTIBLE

Modifications: Turbo engine swap, Apexi Power FC, CS Border Style body kit, CS front mount intercooler, CS turbo back exhaust, many other mods.

Rich’s Comments: The Rx-7 is kept in the garage and it’s mainly a fair weather/weekend car except during the summer. I take it out for special occasions or to just show off every once in a while. It’s a nostalgia piece for me. 

Not Pictured:

  • 2016 Mazda 3 Sedan. Derrick’s 2nd racecar. Caged, stripped, 2.0L AT converted to 2.5L MT.
  • Mazda RX-7 FC. Owned by Derrick.
  • NA Mazda Miata. Parts car for Derrick’s Spec Miata
  • Mazda 5. Derrick’s wife’s car.
  • Mazda CX7. Kelly’s daily driver.

For those keeping score, that’s 22 Mazdas in the CorkSport garage. The cars have come and gone over the years but one thing will always stay true: our cars will be fun to drive because they are Mazdas. Here’s to more Mazdas finding their way into the CS (and your) garage.

Oh and if you have any questions on the above cars, please let us know down below, we’ll be sure to pass on your question to the car’s owner.

-Daniel

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CorkSport Balance Shaft Delete Kit for 2006-2013 DISI MZR

Looking to add some Extra Excitement to your Mazdaspeed?

What if we told you could add extra engine protection at the same time? Introducing the new CorkSport Balance Shaft Delete Kit for 2007-2013 Mazdaspeed 3, 2006-2007 Mazdaspeed 6, and 2007-2012 Mazda CX-7. It contains all the parts you need to safely remove the OE balance shaft from your MZR DISI engine and give it the extra rev-happiness that it needs.

The OE balance shaft is an 18-pound lump that lives in your oil pan to help balance out the natural vibration and harshness that are inherently present with an inline four-cylinder engine. It does this by connecting to a large gear on your crankshaft and using rotating mass to help cancel out the vibrations from the engine. By removing the balance shaft, your engine has less weight to turn and thus, can change RPM more rapidly. If this sounds familiar, it’s because lightweight flywheels do the same thing; remove some of the rotating mass of the engine to gain a faster revving engine and even a few bonus horsepower.

The OE balance shaft needs an oil supply to ensure that it stays well lubricated and does not lock up. The CorkSport BSD Kit uses a stainless steel plug and O-ring to seal this oil passage. The O-ring is not enough to seal and keep the plug in place, however, it is locked down by a securing plate which gets attached using one of the OE balance shaft mounting holes. We chose stainless for its strength over aluminum. By doing so allowed us to create a lower profile plug with a thicker O-ring for better sealing. We were also very careful to choose an O-ring that is safe for all types of oil and safe up to 400°F.

But you may be asking where does the engine protection come from?

Since the OE balance shaft lives in the oil pan, it takes up some volume that could otherwise be used for oil capacity. This means roughly a quart of extra oil can be used once the BSD kit is installed. Also, the CorkSport Balance Shaft Delete Kit comes with an oil pan baffle to help control your oil’s movement during aggressive driving.

While rapidly changing direction or during a long sweeper at high speed, the oil in your oil pan can move around a surprising amount. If the wrong set of circumstances happen, your engine can be starved of oil, which can easily damage vital engine components. The CorkSport Oil Baffle controls your oil’s movement, ensuring that your engine will have a good supply of oil no matter the driving situation.

We again choose stainless over aluminum for the oil baffle, so that it is rigid enough to control your oil and prevent any vibrations or rattles while your engine is running. The oil baffle is made from two laser cut pieces that are then attached using stainless steel rivets to eliminate any risk of corrosion or improper hole alignment.

Note: the CS BSD Kit comes fully assembled and ready for installation.

Since the CorkSport BSD Kit removes a stock component designed to make the car more comfortable, it will naturally have an increase in noise and vibration coming from the engine compartment. As such, we cannot in good conscience recommend this mod to everyone. That does not mean it is unbearable though, Barett at CorkSport still daily drives his fully mounted Mazdaspeed3 with a CS BSD Kit installed.

If you are looking for the next mod to get some more excitement from your Mazdaspeed, look no further than the CorkSport Balance Shaft Delete Kit. After all, how many mods come with some extra engine health as well?

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The First and Only Performance Mazdaspeed Throttle Body with NO Sacrifices

Mazdaspeed3 intake manifold and throttle body installed

Many have tried, but few have succeeded to retrofit or modify an existing throttle body to work with the Mazdaspeed DISI MZR platform.

As you know, CorkSport does things a little differently, and as a result, we started from the ground up to create the best performance throttle body possible with no sacrifices to drivability or reliability. Introducing the CorkSport 72mm Throttle Body for 2007-2013 Mazdaspeed 3, 2006-2007 Mazdaspeed 6, and 2007-2012 Mazda CX-7.

Starting from the ground up means 100% brand new parts, no reworked or refurbished components anywhere.  

We start with an aluminum investment cast body that is made to our specific design specifications.

A flat faced throttle plate is added to gain a little bit of extra flow by avoiding the bump of a traditional round pivot shaft.

Finally, new electronics are added that are based upon OE logic to avoid any tuning and calibration issues.

To retain easy installation, we knew we had to keep the OE bolt pattern. With this, we wanted to maximize the throttle plate diameter for maximum flow. We ended up increasing from 60mm to 72mm. This may not sound like a huge increase, but the OE Throttle Body fits inside the CorkSport Throttle Body with plenty of room! The 72mm size also fits well with both 3” and 2.5” intercooler piping to fit almost any TMIC or FMIC setup. Finally, we did away with the OE gasket (which is too small anyway) and replaced it with a durable O-ring that will hold up to oil, gasoline, methanol, and other fueling options that it may come in contact with.


The CorkSport Throttle Body underwent extensive testing to ensure that it will not fail during daily use and to ensure it performs as well as we expect. The throttle plate underwent endurance testing to validate the D-shaped pivot can stand the test of time. During flow bench testing, we found that the CS flows about 150CFM (~33%) better than the OE throttle body when 75% open (accelerator pedal fully depressed).

Check out the graph below for the full data.
Mazdaspeed Throttle Bdy Graph for flowbench testing

In daily driving testing, we noticed better throttle response with no CEL or choppiness. In power testing with a midsized turbo (~GT30 size) we found the throttle body caused faster spool, but when we moved to a big turbo, things got interesting. With a GT35R, the CorkSport Throttle Body caused 100-200RPM faster spooling and an increase in power. Check out the dyno graph down below to see the difference between the CS Throttle body (blue) and the OE throttle body (green).

Dyno stats for the Mazdaspeed 3 Throttle Body

Each throttle body ships with fresh stainless steel mounting hardware, a 3” stainless t-bolt clamp, and your choice of silicone. We have options for FMIC, Mazdaspeed 3 TMIC (which also works for you CX-7 guys), and Mazdaspeed 6 TMIC.

Mazdaspeed Intake Manifold with Throttle Body
If you’re looking to take your Mazdaspeed3, Mazdaspeed6, or CX-7 to the next level, or squeeze that last bit of power out of your big turbo build, the CorkSport Throttle Body can help you meet your goals.

Stay up-to-date on the latest news and product updates from CorkSport.

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CorkSport BIG Turbo for the Mazdaspeed & CX-7

Mazdaspeed 3 big turbo upgrade

Good day boosted enthusiast!

We wanted to take some time to give you all a quick update on one of the many projects we have brewing up here at CorkSport Headquarters.

The project I’m referencing, in general, is our 2nd turbocharger upgrade for the Mazdaspeed 3, Mazdaspeed 6, and CX-7. This unit is a substantial upgrade over our current 18G turbocharger. This Turbo will cater to those looking to take their performance and power goals to a higher level.

Not only will it be capable of putting you well into the 465whp range but this CorkSport Turbo upgrade will be able to do it without giving up on reliability and throttle response.  

It will be very beneficial to those who have mildly-built blocks and a supporting fuel system that will allow them to get higher in the HP range.

So, let’s talk about some of the features you can expect on the upgrade and why we decided to utilize them.

Let’s start at the heart of the Turbocharger.

The new CorkSport Mazdaspeed turbo will take full use of a GTX3076R center housing and rotating assembly (CHRA). The unit is equipped with a fully sealed ball-bearing cartridge, which is a nice upgrade when compared to a standard journal-bearing unit. We chose to go with a ball-bearing unit for a few reasons.

  1. The enclosed design of a ball bearing system allows us to eliminate the need for a thrust bearing, which can account for about 40% of the bearing system drag on the turbo rotor assembly.
  2. Ball bearings reduce the viscous drag, which allows a ball-bearing unit the ability to spool up about 15% faster than its journal-bearing equivalent.

The next thing you will notice on the new Mazdaspeed Turbocharger upgrade is the holes that are drilled into the compressor cover. These little holes are known as anti-surge ports and are intended to expand the turbochargers compressor map. The ports function to move the surge line further left on the compressor map which gives the Mazdaspeed turbo some more headroom before it falls out of its efficiency island. Anti-surge ports are becoming increasingly popular in modern performance turbochargers and with great reason. They offer some unique benefits as mentioned and will be fully integrated into our unit.

Last but not least, as with our CorkSport Turbo, this bigger Mazdaspeed Turbo will once-again be a true drop-in unit; minus the 4” compressor inlet.

There will be no cutting, modifying, sourcing oil and coolant lines, running to the store to buy couplers, etc. This unit will come with everything you need to have a trouble-free install. As with the current CorkSport 18G turbocharger, the new Garrett-based design will come with all studs, gaskets, washers, and knowledge that you need to have a nice weekend install.

So keep your eyes peeled as we get closer to delivering more performance for the Mazda community!

– The CorkSport Team

SOURCES: Miller, Jay K. Turbo: Real World High-Performance Turbocharger Systems. CarTech, 2008.

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Product Release! CorkSport Mazda CX-7 Airbox

We know CX-7 owners do not get a lot of attention from Mazda aftermarket performance companies and can often times be overlooked when it comes to performance parts that would otherwise be considered a standard offering for DISI engine Mazda vehicles.

With that said, CorkSport is happy to provide a little love for the CX-7 family with the release of the all new CorkSport Mazda CX-7 Air Box.

Designed specifically for the Mazda CX7, the CorkSport CX-7 Air Box for CorkSport SRI provides protection from the hot underhood air of the engine bay while adding additional access to ambient air temperatures, resulting in greatly reduced temperatures in and around your SRI for less heat soak and more power.

The CorkSport Mazda CX7 Cold Air Box for CorkSport SRI connects to the air induction scoop and can be further modified with an additional opening that can be connected to piping leading to the fenderwell.

The CX-7 Air Box is easy to install allowing customers to quickly upgrade their SRI and get the added advantage that comes with a CAI without the pressure drops inherent to longer intake piping.

For more information or to purchase today, please visit our online catalog at www.corksport.com