Product Release! CorkSport LED 3rd Brake Light for 2010+ Mazda3 Sedan

CorkSport is pleased to announce the release of the 2010+ Mazda 3 Sedan third brake light for your trunk lid!

The CorkSport Mazda 3 Sedan 3rd Brake Light will enhance the look of your lights with a direct replacement LED brake light for the trunk of the Mazda 3 sedan. This premium quality light assembly includes nine LED lights in the lens and has been built for durability and reliability. Precision manufactured to match the OEM factory specifications, the CorkSport LED Trunk Light is easy to install is the perfect addition to your Mazda 3 sedan.

As with all of our CorkSport parts, the Mazda 3 Sedan LED 3rd Brake Light comes with a limited two year warranty, full color installation instructions, and knowledgeable telephone support.

It can be purchased at www.corksport.com for just $69.00.

Product Release! CorkSport Eyelids for 2004-2009 Mazda 3/Mazdaspeed 3 Hatchback

We have been selling our popular Mazda 3 and Mazdaspeed 3 Eyelids to our Gen2 customers for some time now and in June received a product idea from customer Nick Miller to develop eyelids for his 2008 Mazdaspeed 3. With his idea in hand and the huge sales success of the gen2 eyelids, it only made sense that we should find a good option for our Gen 1 customers as well.

We went to work on the design and development of eyelids for the Gen1 Mazda 3 and Mazdaspeed 3 customers and after several months of design and testing, we are happy to announce the release of our all new CorkSport 2004-2009 Mazda 3 and 2007-2009 Mazdaspeed 3 Hatchback Eyelids!

Made from ABS thermoplastic for increased strength and warp resistance, the CorkSport Gen 1 Hatchback Eyelids will give the Mazda 3 and Mazdaspeed 3 a more aggressive, sporty look. This simple to apply enhancement is sold as a pair with 3M backing tape for easy installation.

Our Gen 1 eyelids were specifically designed using a hatchback Mazdaspeed 3. During testing we found that will only work with the hatchback models due to the different headlights used on the sedan models.

As with most exterior styling products, we recommend test fitment prior to painting or finishing work and have found that some minor finishing work or trimming may be required to achieve the best results.

In addition to the installation instructions we include with purchase of this product, we have also included a “How-To” on painting your eyelids for the dedicated DIY’ers out there.

The CorkSport Gen 1 Mazda 3 and Mazdaspeed 3 Eyelids for Hatchback Models can be purchased today at the following link, https://www.corksport.com/corksport-2007-2009-mazda-3-mazdaspeed-3-hatchback-eyelids.html.

Product Release! CorkSport Gen 1 Mazda 3 and Mazdaspeed 3 Exhaust Hangers

We knew that those of you with a gen 1 Mazda 3 or Mazdaspeed 3 were feeling a little left out earlier this week when we released our new LED Bumper Light Kit for our gen 2 customers. We wanted to release something new for you too, so today we are releasing our all new 2004-2009 Mazda 3 and 2007-2009 Mazdaspeed 3 Exhaust Hangers!

Durable poly urethane hangers for your 2004-2009 Mazda 3 and Mazdaspeed 3

Like our popular 2010-2012 Mazda 3 and Mazdaspeed 3 exhaust hangers, the CorkSport gen one exhaust hangers replace the stock rubber exhaust hangers with long lasting, high quality urethane and will limit the excessive movement of your performance exhaust and keep you system tightly in place.

Urethane hangers for your 2010-2013 Mazdaspeed 3 and 2010-2013 Mazda 3

The CorkSport polyurethane exhaust hangers are molded to an exact fit and can be used with the CorkSport exhaust system, the stock system, and most aftermarket exhaust systems that use a stock exhaust hanger diameter.

The new kit comes with four hangers for a secure, precise fit and like all of our products includes full color installation instructions and our knowledgeable telephone installation support.

Product Release! Corksport 2010-2013 Mazda 3/Mazdaspeed 3 LED Bumper Lights

In honor of Valentines day, CorkSport wanted to release something red and shiney for you to give to your true love, your Mazda!

Now available, CorkSport Mazda 3 and Mazdaspeed 3 LED bumper light Kit! These premium quality light assemblies include 16 LED lights in each lens and are built for durability and reliability. Precision manufactured to match the OEM factory specifications, the CorkSport LED Rear Bumper Lights are easy to install and offer a perfect fit for your Mazda 3 or Mazdaspeed 3.

We developed the LED Bumper lights in response to a product request submitted by customer Andrew Parmenter and are pleased with the result of the development process and Andrews feedback and suggestions.   It’s amazing how something as small as switching out the LED reflectors can have such an impact on the look of your Mazdaspeed 3.

We will be offering the kit for 2010-2012 Mazdaspeed 3 and 2010-2012 Mazda 3 models  in your choice of red or smoked lenses. The kit comes with color installation instructions and all of the needed hardware to install the part including the wiring connectors needed to wire the kit into your turn signals to connect the lights as a blinker.

For more information, check out our product listing at https://www.corksport.com/corksport-led-rear-bumper-lights.html

How to make a 1.6 Diesel Mazda 3 fun!

The title of this blog is really the truth, but let me explain. We have done a couple blog posts on the Van Herck Mazda 3 that is competing in the Belgian Touring Car Series over the last year.

This 2010 Mazda 3 sedan, powered by a 20B 3 rotor engine started life as a plain model silver Mazda 3 sedan powered by a 1.6 diesel engine. In today’s post we will explore the evolution of the Team Van Herck Mazda 3 and how it became the machine it is today.

The process starts with several hours of stripping the car to get a chassis ready to start work.

Next they changed the drive train layout from a front wheel drive econobox to a rear wheel drive 450 hp 20B racecar. This involves some serious surgery.

The chassis was fitted to a frame rack in order to modify the front and rear chassis. A core engine was setup to get the support frames built and the transmission mounted. You can also see the beginning of the intake penned in on the card board box.

The new framework is welded into the chassis along with the roll cage for safety. There is a huge amount of time into adding the subframe and roll cage. You can see the bolt up locations for the rear diff in the bottom of the V in the cage on the right side.

With the Mazda 3 being changed to rear wheel drive it required more space for the rear tires for the 3 rotor engine. The inner wheel liners had to be built and incorporated into the new rear suspension. The upper suspension pick up points are shown just above the new rear frame.

You may not recognize the black rear differential sub frame, that is because it is from a BMW. In this case it was used for two reasons, #1 there are tons of them available, and #2 there are plenty of options available for final drive ratios.

The rear shot through the trunk really shows the extra width given to the rear wheels.

After all of the frame work was finished up the entire chassis was painted white including the roll cage. The seat was mounted along with the pedals, steering, and wiring was started.

The rear suspension links and shock absorbers were mounted up with the new hubs.

The engine bay was coated with a layer of reflective heat insulation. Critical areas like the frame rail which is next to the exit point of the exhaust for the 20b engine. If you look at the center of the picture you can see an opening in the firewall for the exhaust to travel in. The piping exhaust travels in an enclosed channel through the right side of the chassis.

You can see the tunnel for the exhaust system along the floor of the chassis on the passenger side. More of the wiring is completed for the fuse panel and engine control.

The car uses stainless steel packed Magnaflow mufflers and v-band clamps for quick release if it needs to be changed. You can see the exit path from the exhaust tunnel. Also notice there is no floor between the frame fitted yet. It will be filled in with aluminum to enclose the car with minimal weight.

In the front of the car, the factory crash bar has been hit with a hole saw to lighten it up and filled in with pipe to keep the air passing through it from being too turbulent. The crash bar now also houses the tow strap and an alternate mount point on the right side of the car. On the hood you can see the markings for the ducting and the planned vents.

The front suspension reveals more surprises if you look close. The suspension subframe is made from aluminum and not from a Mazda 3. The knuckle is also aluminum but from a front wheel drive vehicle as you can see the splines for an axle would go in the middle of the hub. What road race car wouldn’t be complete with some huge AP racing rotors and calipers.

With the engine fitted you get a good sense of how the layout of the airbox for the intake will be. The picture gives you a good shot of the peripheral port intake manifold on the CLR built 20B. The hydraulic reservoirs are pretty easy to ID which is a must in the heat of racing when you come into the pits and you need to quickly ID items under the hood.

With the partially finished airbox you can get a sense of size of the air intake that will be fed by the hood ducting when it is completed. The metal framework above the radiator is for additional coolers which were mounted later.

With the rest of the intake installed you cannot see the engine in the Mazda 3, just some sexy purpose built carbon fiber ducting. You also get a good idea of how wide the tires are on this Mazda 3. With the widebody front fenders, they are huge.

The trunk of the Mazda 3 gets the treatment too when it comes to function. There are coolers for the rear differential and the transmissions along with the remote reservoirs for the rear shocks. If you notice the coolant tank is also set opposite the driver in the chassis to help balance out the loads.

After 1 year of hard work the Mazda 3 was out for a shakedown run at the track. The irony of the door logos is worth a laugh, it definitely is a “New Mazda”

The last touches of the Mazda 3 were completed by adding the liverly from Mazda and the Garage van Herck Raceteam.

It was reported at the first event the other teams were very surprised at the speed of the rotary powered Mazda 3.

Here are some great videos of the 20B powdered Mazda 3

Special thanks to MVdesign for the video.

2012 should be a great year for the Mazda 3 and Garage van Herck

-Derrick