Tag: Mazda 2

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The Time has Come – Project 2 Update

The time has come for what you say? The time has come to give our Mazda 2 Project Car a real stereo.

Instead of going with the usual tunes only deck, we decided to give the Mazda 2 a really big upgrade. We chose the Pioneer AVH P3300BT which includes DVD video, MP3 playback, iPod/iPhone direct control, and the option to listen to Pandora using the iPhone Pandora app. This top of the line system includes a 5.8” wide screen size with a 16:9 aspect ratio, touch panel operation, built in amplifier, rear view camera input and dual zone audio/video.

To install the system in our project car, we went with the Japanese made Kanatechs Mazda 2, 2 din installation kit. The Kanatechs kit uses an OEM quality, exclusive panel, designed to fit the Mazda2’s unique dash and includes pre-formed steel mounting brackets. The other kit on the market, the Metra, uses plastic brackets for a rather flimsy installation and gives car stereo thieves easy access.

The installation kit from Kanatechs is thorough and very easy to follow. After giving the instructions a once over I was ready to get to work. The interior in the Mazda 2 is surprisingly easy to take apart and came out with a Philips screw driver and an M10 headed bolt. The harnesses for the installation kit and the pioneer are all color coded so that was a snap to get connected as well. Overall I spent 2 hours installing the new deck.

The installed unit looks like it belongs in the Mazda 2. Too bad it wasn’t an option when the car was purchased.

There are a few notes from installing the unit which I would keep in mind for future installs.

1st – If your original set-up has steering wheel volume controls, get the steering wheel adapter unit from Kanatechs. It allows you to retain the volume controls on the steering wheel if your new audio unit supports IR control.

2nd – The information display selector will be disabled when the original stereo is removed. I recommend you choose your favorite setting and leave it there. With the stock unit unplugged you will have it set forever.

After a few days driving around in the Mazda 2 with the new unit, I am really enjoying the features. I can just plug in a SD card or a USB flash drive with whatever music I want and I am down the road.

-Derrick

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Featured Car of the Month September 2011 – Domii’s Mazda 2

It’s not often that you come across women that take the modified car scene seriously, but if you’re a female and know your way around your car, from installing a performance exhaust system to spending your weekend’s auto-crossing, there’s a place for you in the performance world too.

Domenique first became interested in Mazda performance when she went to the NEPOC meet in 2009 with her boyfriend Jordan in his RX8. She was immediately attracted to the great cars at the Spring Clean Meet and met some great people that turned her on to a whole new world of modding and performance. By June of 2009 she was hooked and knew that she needed a Mazda of her own to mod.

Initially Domenique wanted a Mazdaspeed 3, but when she saw the 2011 Mazda 2 Sport, she fell in love. “The car was the perfect size. I loved how light and small it was and how well it handled” said Domenique, “This was my first manual, but the Mazda 2 was so easy drive, it was cake to learn.”

Wheels and lowering springs were the first priorities on Domenique’s list when she began her new project car. After talking with one of our CorkSport experts, she settled on the H&R springs and also decided to purchase a CorkSport Rear Torsion Bar to add much needed roll resistance to the rear of the Mazda 2.

“What an improvement in handling!” said Domenique, “The car not only looked much better, but the handling got much tighter and the turn response improved greatly.”

She decided to go with 15’s on the wheels to keep the weight of the car down and went with powder coated Kosei K1’s 15×7 with a +27 offset.

As her first power upgrade, Domenique installed a CorkSport Short Ram Intake which gave the car a noticeable gain in power and a nice grunt to the engine and has since added a Power Pulse Muffler Exhaust.

Future projects include a CorkSport Lightweight Crankshaft Pulley, CorkSport Front Strut Bar, CorkSport Rear Chassis Brace, tint, and a sound system.

Domenique’s new love for car modding has translated into another new love for autocrossing. On August 20th, she took the MZ2 out for the first time Auto-crossing at Renegade Miata and learned just what the car was capable of.

“I never really thought I would have been so interested in customizing a car. I guess I can blame it on my boyfriend, in a good way of course,” says Domenique, when asked about becoming a car enthusiast, “I love to go to shows and now my goal is to get better at Auto-Crossing.”

If you want to keep up with Domenique’s new and upcoming Mazda 2 projects, you can follow her progress on her blog, https://piinkdem.blogspot.com

Gwynne-

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Compete and Win!

The Oregon Region SCCA Solo Director stopped by CorkSport this week and during our discussion, he brought up the topic of the national event and contingency awards that he and the other driver for his car had won. I missed the national tour event this year from other obligations, but it got me thinking, “what if I had competed and won my class.”

So I hopped on the computer and took a look at the SCCA national webpage to see what contingencies are offered to the winners of the National Solo tour.

#1 Mazdaspeed. Mazda pays out $200 for first and $100 for second for any Mazda who is registered with their program.

#2 Kumho. I am currently running #2 Kumho EXS tires on the CorkSport Mazda 2 and Kuhmo pays out big time if you win especially in the street tire classes. First place pays out $600 in product credit, second place is $400 in product credit and third place is $300. The tire size I use is 205/50/15 which goes for around $90 a tire. Even third place would almost pay for a set of new tires.

If you wanted to give it a shot in the Pro-Solo event (the Pro Solo event was the weekend after the national solo tour) there is even more available if you can get a class win.

#1 Mazdaspeed. Mazda pays out $200 for first and $100 for second for any Mazda who is registered with their program for a class win. If you go on the challenge they bump it up to $400 for a win and $200 for second place.

#2 Kumho. Kumho pays out the same for the street tire classes as the national solo win. For the challenge first place pays out $300 in product credit, second place is $200 in product credit and third place is $150.

#3 Hawk Performance. Hawk gives out $100 per class win and $100 for the challenge win.

So hypothetically if I could pull off a class win for two weekends of racing it would add up to a total of $2500 in products. Not too shabby for having a great time driving around cones. I am fortunate that the events are only 2 hours away for me. Some of the competitors I saw in the entry list came from as far as Texas.

Remember, even if you think you might try to attend a national event, make sure you register with the contingency sponsor before the event. Some require registering at the beginning of the year so read the fine print.

-Derrick

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CorkSport Announces Release of New CorkSport Stub Antenna

CorkSport would like to announce the release of the newest addition to the CorkSport line of accessory parts, the CorkSport Mazda and Mazdaspeed Stub Antenna made for 2007+ Mazdaspeed & Mazda 3, 2007+ CX-7, 2011+ Mazda 2 , 2003-2008 Mazda 6, and 2006+ Mazda 5.

CorkSport Stub Antenna

An easy upgrade to boost the look of your Mazda, CorkSport’s new shorter antenna is 2.75″ in length and will replace the oversized factory antenna. Tested to ensure they perform similarly to the OEM antenna, CorkSport antennas are anodized and made out of billet aluminum which has a long lasting, durable, black finish. CorkSport antennas come with two different size fitting studs for straightforward installation of the product that will easily attach to the Mazda Genuine antenna base.

“This product represents the beginning of what will be a string of products designed to address the glaring need for additional options in the Mazda performance accessory market,” said Rich Harris, President of CorkSport Performance. “Our ability to listen and respond to the needs of our customer base combined with our efficient manufacturing expertise has resulted in the rapid development of these products to meet the demands of our customers.”

The newest addition to the CorkSport line of accessory parts will be priced at $32, making it an easy and inexpensive way to boost the look of your Mazda. Installation for this part takes mere minutes. Simply twist off the existing pieces and install the new ones to add a custom look to your Mazda.

For more information or to purchase the CorkSport Stub Antenna, Please click here to be redirected to our catalog.

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Reach for the Sky

We have been blogging about the Mazda Sky series of engines over the last year but Mazda had yet to announce any specifics about them in terms of fuel economy, displacement, and size.

Sign at AutoExe HQ

1.3 Sky-G Engine

This week Mazda took the wraps of the first production Sky engine which will be available in the Mazda 2/Demio in Japan later this year. The engine will be showcased at the Automotive Engineering Exposition near Tokyo Japan from May 18th-20th.

The first engine will be a 1.3 liter displacement gasoline engine which is rated at 70 miles per gallon. This is from a gasoline engine alone, no expensive hybrid setup. The Toyota Prius for example is rated at 51 mpg for city driving and has to pack around the extra hybrid drivetrain. The Sky-G engine features a 14 to 1 compression engine (the highest compression mass production motor ever manufactured) with a direct injection system. The engine features a whole collection of new designs Mazda engineers have been working on over the last few years.

Despite all of the fuel economy goals and gas saving technologies, the engine still produces a decent amount of power for a 1.3 liter making about 80 hp at 5400 rpm.

Sign at AutoExe HQ

Specially Designed Sky Piston

Mazda mentions that the engine is an all new design except for the exhaust manifold. I bet we will see a trick exhaust manifold available soon after the Sky engine gets released to the rest of the planet next year which will help it with emissions in various markets.

There is another recent development which I have not seen any automotive news outlets mention. Two engineers Takashi Youso and Masahisa Yamakawa from Mazda’s powertrain division have been recognized by the Society of Automotive Engineers of Japan for an outstanding technical paper they have produced. The paper was on the development of HCCI or Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition which is when fuel and air are well mixed then compressed to auto ignition. You may think big deal, diesel engines do this already. Gasoline is harder to work with when you factor in how it can pre-ignite easier than diesel and the wide variety of fuel grades/blends around the planet. The paper is about gasoline HCCI, which has super low nitrogen oxide and carbon emissions output, and offers improved fuel economy. I can picture a Mazda 2 getting 80mpg+ which would be incredible from an all gas engine. This is a technical paper so the design is not in production but it gives some good insight on how much Mazda is pushing the envelope of the standard gas engine.

– Derrick