Product Release! Mazdaspeed 3 CorkSport Adjustable Rear Camber Arms

Mazdaspeed3 adjustable rear suspension arms

CorkSport is happy to announce the addition of the CorkSport Mazda 3 and Mazdaspeed 3 Adjustable Rear Camber Arms to our growing list of suspension products!

Speed3 adjustable camber arms featuring spherical bearings

 

By replacing your stock camber arms with the CorkSport Adjustable Camber Arms, you will be able to adjust your suspension to accommodate for lowering springs or coilovers and fine tune your Mazda or Mazdaspeed to the appropriate camber setting needed to balance uneven tire wear and improve cornering performance.

The CorkSport Mazda and Mazdaspeed Adjustable Rear Camber Arms are made from reinforced high strength extruded bent steel tubing that is stronger, less brittle, and more durable than aluminum. The adjustability provides precision tuning by allowing for +/- 5 degrees of camber adjustment and can be easily adjusted while installed on the vehicle using just a wrench.

Unlike other adjustable camber arm options on the market, CorkSport’s unique design includes spherical bearings that replace the soft rubber bushings on the OEM camber arms, providing a true attachment to the suspension of the vehicle for improved handling and road feel.

“The CorkSport Rear Camber Arms allow you to fine tune your camber to exacting settings.” said CorkSport Engineer, Brydon Foster, “The ease of adjustability and the unique nature of the spherical bearings will provide customers with improved cornering control that can’t be outmatched by any other options on the market today.”

The CorkSport Adjustable Rear Camber Arms are available for all Mazdaspeed 3 and Mazda 3 vehicles. 

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CorkSport Coilover Development Process

There are many features and design elements that can be incorporated into coilovers so when CorkSport decided to design new coilovers for the Mazda 3 and Mazdaspeed 3 we had to come up with priorities. We asked the Mazda community what features they wanted to see incorporated and what we came up with and will be releasing in the near future fulfills all of those wants and needs at a competitive price.

You told us you wanted inverted struts. We decided on a 45mm inverted strut body for the fronts and traditional strut bodies for the rear. There are some huge advantages to inverted struts. Inverted refers to a strut that is built upside down. The shaft that moves actually holds the gas or oil in some cases. Traditionally this is held in the lower section of the strut and moved up and down as the control arm moved up and down. The first huge advantage of inverted struts is the unsprung weight. This refers to the weight that your suspension holds. If the weight is on a portion of the suspension that moves this is referred to as sprung weight which we limited by moving the factory oil and strut body to a hard-mounted body position so the only weight that has to move is a hollow body.

The second advantage of inverted struts is side loading. With Macpherson-style struts in the front, your suspension is literally held together by the strut. By increasing the surface area on the strut tubes we increased the rigidly of the structure to make a more stable suspension, which is great if you like a good autocross day, track day or a drive through the twisties.

The rear of the Mazdaspeed 3 and Mazda 3 uses a multilink suspension meaning the rear is tied together in a way that the suspension doesn’t hold any load. There was little need to go to an inverted strut in the rear so we decided against it.

For those of you out there that need data, we have what you want.

If you have ever tried to dig up data on coilovers, you may have found that it was hard to actually get the compression and rebound on the settings. Now I am not sure if this is because it is a tightly guarded secret or most companies just don’t fully test their struts before sending them out, but we wanted to make sure that ours would be the best option on the market and outlast the factory struts in every way so we tested all of the struts for rebound and compression on professional tooling.

The data below breaks down rebound and compression into six twists of the dampener knob. They are 15-way adjustable but by showing the six major steps the data is a little easier to absorb. Now you can have the important data that no one else seems to want to share.

Another important part about choosing coilovers is comfort. Yes, they will be stiffer than stock but there are ways to limit the stiffness so that the system is not undrivable on harsh roads.

Up front, we added helper springs to make those little bumps and potholes take less impact on your vehicle. It can also save those nice wheels from bends and dings. The 15-way adjustable front and rear also help. With easy adjustment, you can go soft for the weekdays and stiffer for the weekends. You can also combine dampening and swaybar adjustments to make that perfect combination for your driving habits.

After you really get comfortable with the adjustments you can start changing end link preload, sway bar adjustment, strut dampening, camber settings, and toe settings.

In January, CorkSport released the front camber kit for the Mazdaspeed 3. Aside from the obvious ability to change camber, these camber plates have a lot of advantages over the factory camber plates so we decided to incorporate these into our coilover design. Using thick machined aluminum, high-grade bolts and tightly machined plates and bearings they will hold up to almost all abuse. They also get rid of the unwanted flex in the factory rubber mounts.

Now that we have covered the front coilovers we can learn a little about the rears. Because the system is a multilink rear suspension we have a separate spring and shock combo. In order to again have great ride quality with great handling we went with a progressive spring. In order to have ride height adjustability, we produced an adjustment device for the spring that is easily adjusted with an Allen wrench from the bottom of the spring.

The rear shocks are 15-way adjustable just like the fronts and can be adjusted in length to match any setup of the coilover springs. We have also accommodated for the differences between the Gen1 and Gen2 struts so everyone can enjoy these coilovers. For those people who like a little more camber in the rear, you don’t have to worry because we are currently in the development of camber adjusters for the rear.

Even at the lowest settings, we were able to dial camber into factory spec but some of us like more adjustments to their suspension settings. Soon CorkSport will release our camber adjustments for the rear. There will be another blog on camber coming soon.

We are in the final stages of testing on the coilovers and will be announcing the release soon! To be included on our pre-release list for advance information on this product.

Product Release! CorkSport Mazdaspeed 3/Mazda 3 Front Lower Arm Bar

CorkSport is pleased to announce the release of the CorkSport Front Lower Arm Brace for the Mazdaspeed 3 and Mazda 3.

The latest addition in a comprehensive line of suspension products designed by CorkSport to strengthen the weak points in the Mazdaspeed 3 OEM underbody design, the CorkSport Front Lower Arm Brace strengthens chassis rigidity and minimizes flex by tying the lower control arms together.

Designed to fit seamlessly with the OEM control arms, this easy to install suspension component will provide improved steering control and help to maintain the alignment of the vehicle.

The CorkSport Lower Arm Brace has a stainless steel tubular design and CNC machined ends that will help to maintain a lightweight frame while adding structural rigidity. It has been powder coated for added durability and a long-lasting finish, even in extreme weather conditions.

This latest release comes on the heels of another product release by CorkSport also designed to reduce undesirable chassis flex, the CorkSport Mazda 3 and Mazdaspeed 3 Underbody 4-Bar Brace Set. This suspension enhancement links the frame to the sub-frame locking the sub-frame in place for increased control under hard cornering and acceleration.

Immediately after I installed the CorkSport Mazdaspeed 3 Underbody Four Bar Set, I felt a difference in handling and responsiveness, said CorkSport customer, Matt Kellogg, I saw an improvement in cornering and lap times on the track as a result of adding this product to the undercarriage of my Mazdaspeed 3. This is a great addition whether you use your Mazdaspeed 3 as your daily driver or for the track

The CorkSport Lower Arm Brace and CorkSport Underbody Four Bar Set are available for purchase along with a number of other suspension enhancement products at https://www.corksport.com.

Featured Car of the Month – Ray’s Speed3

As Ray put it, “It is easy to buy a fast car, but it’s much more fun and rewarding to make a car fast!” and Ray has done just that with his 2009 Mazdaspeed 3. This Albuquerque NM native has a laundry list of performance parts on his car and based on the number of votes for his ride to be CorkSport’s June feature, a lot of friends within the Mazda community!

This occasional (drag) racer has a COBB SRI and Access Port with custom tune, CorkSport TMIC, CorkSport Downpipe, CorkSport Racepipe, and CorkSport Cat Back Exhaust, JBR Thermal Insulated Gasket and JBR Throttle Body Gasket, but the go fast parts don’t stop there, he went big turbo with an ATP GTX 3076 26 PSI, added a big turbo inlet pipe and Devils Own Progressive Methanol Injection Kit 80/20 with D07 Nozzle. To support the many aftermarket parts, Ray has also upgraded his internals with KMD HPFP Internals.

To enhance the handling, Ray had added a Short Shift Plate, H&R Springs, 18×8 Drag DR38 +47, Eibach 5mm Spacers, and 235/40 18 Nitto NT05 tires.

Next on the list for Ray is a fully built block, full suspension, and braces. He also has his eye on the upcoming CorkSport Mazdaspeed 3 Coilovers. Looks like July is going to be a good month for modifying your Mazdaspeed 3 Ray!

Gwynne-

Full List of Modifications:
Cobb Access Port (Custom Tune)
ATP GTX3076 26PSi
Cobb SRI
CorkSport TMIC
CorkSport Down Pipe
CorkSport Test Pipe
CorkSport Cat Back Exhaust
Oil Catch Can
JBR Thermal Insulated Gasket
JBR Throttle Body Gasket
JBE EGR Delete
JBR Throttle Body Coolant Bypass
CP-E Big Turbo Turbo Inlet Pipe
KMD HPFP Internals
Street Unit TurboSmart Dual Port BOV
CP-E Single Guage Pod
DashHawk
Prosport Boost Gauge
Devils Own Progressive Methanol Injection Kit 80/20 with D07 Nozzle
E85 Tune 50/50
Street Unit Rear Motor Mount
TRZ Tranny Mount
Short Shift Plate
H&R Springs
18×8 Drag DR38 +47
Eibach 5mm Spacers
235/40 18 Nitto NT05.

SkyActiv vs. The Traditional Fuel Injected Motor

After releasing the CorkSport Mazda 3 SkyActiv Power Series Intake, we received several questions about the differences between the SkyActiv and traditional motors. We are writing this technical post to provide some insights into the differences we have seen while testing and developing new parts for the SkyActiv engine.

SkyActiv engine is a phrase from Mazda that denotes their direct injected, high-compression motors. This is a technology similar to how diesel engines run, in that it is direct injected and one of the many reasons the SkyActiv engine is able to get such high gas mileage.

Your average fuel injected motor runs 10.0:1 compression and fuel pressures of around 45psi whereas the SkyActiv engine runs a very high-compression of 14.0:1 and extremely high fuel pressure of up to 3000psi. Most people will think 3000psi is a typo, but I assure you it is not.

The piston pictured to the right shows how different SkyActiv pistons are compared to a conventional motor. It is a much more complex piston shape that includes a cavity in the center where the spark plug fires to provide a heat-loss reduction. Fuel is sprayed at the piston in order to prevent detonation or “knock”, allowing the engine to run leaner while making more power.

Another big difference is that the fuel is dispersed into the air inside the cylinder. A conventional fuel injected motor will mix the fuel and air in the intake manifold or in the intake manifold runners. Because fuel normally acts as a cleaning agent for the valves, this could be seen as a negative for the SkyActiv engine design.

We have all seen the commercials about how the gas cleans your engine. This is true, but when we move the fuel out of the intake manifold and into the cylinders, this benefit no longer exists making it more critical to maintain the engine. Adding a CorkSport SkyActiv intake will help with this by keeping the engine clean of dust and pollutants and the filter can be reused time and time again.

There are many great benefits to both the design and functionality of Mazda’s new SkyActiv engines. In initial testing our CX-5 saw increased torque and almost 40mpg.

We are looking forward to developing many more aftermarket performance parts to support this new technology!

Brydon-

Related SkyActive Parts