Mazda has already made the announcement that they intend to begin offering the Mazda SkyActiv-D (diesel engine) on the CX-5 in the US market in 2013 and as a leader in the motorsports arena, it should come as no surprise that the latest announcement surrounding their new SkyActiv diesel technology comes on the racetrack.
Mazda announced that they will be supplying SkyActiv-D engines to the GRAND-AM series GX class. Set to debut in 2013, the rules for the GX class are still being developed, but are expected to showcase the exploration of clean diesels, alternative fuels and even hybrid powertrains.
In press release distributed by Mazda Motorsports, Jay Amestoy, Vice President of Mazda Motorsports, Mazda North American Operations (MNAO) was quoted saying, “This opens a new chapter in racing for us. We’ve won with rotary technology, and now we’re looking to again put our customers in the winner’s circle with what we believe will be the most advanced and cleanest production-based powerplant the sport has ever seen.”
The engine is being jointly developed by Mazda Motor Corporation, Mazda North American Operations, and Speedsource Engineering and will be featuring a 14:1 low compression ratio, new two-stage turbocharger, a 5,200 rpm redline and compared to Mazda’s current-production 2.2L MZR-CD diesel engine, up to 20% reduction in fuel consumption, 20% reduction in internal engine friction and 10% reduction in weight.
On track testing will begin later this year. The actual Mazda model the SkyActiv racing engine will be installed on will be announced after the conclusion of the 2012 Grand-Am racing season. My guess is that we will see it debut on a Mazda 3, but only time will tell.
As many of you know, here at CorkSport we always have products in different stages of development and recently have been splitting our time between two areas of the Mazda world, suspension and exhaust.
Because we support so many models, our time gets allocated between several different product lines to ensure we have parts coming out consistently to support our whole customer base. Today, I will be covering just a few of the items I have been working on over the last several weeks and give you an idea of what we have working in the pipeline.
This summer it will be time to step up, or drop down, to a new set of coilovers designed by CorkSport. They will of course be CorkSport quality and be optimized for most of our customer base. Adjustable height, adjustable dampening and front camber adjustment will be a few of the characteristics. We are also working on producing some camber adjusters for the rear as a separate product.
We have also been exploring many options to get internals or a fuel pump upgrade to market over the past several months and we have started preliminary testing and design of CorkSport’s own fuel pump upgrade solution for our customers. We are in the preliminary stages of testing and will be working through the development process over the next several months.
Mazdaspeed 6 owners have been lacking options on the market for a front sway bar application for a while but don’t worry, this summer you should have that bar you’ve always dreamed of. Our beta car has had this bar on for a while and with a few revisions it is getting tremendous results in terms of improved handling and feel. We are in the final stage of development, are going into production now and expecting a full release of the product as early as next month.
All of you RX-8 fans out there will be glad to know we are in the final stages of development for a single exit exhaust. It has been a long time coming but the drift style exhaust is almost ready for release. We are doing final test fitment now and have identified some beta testers that will be getting the parts on a pre-release later this month. The Beta testers will run the exhaust making sure they like the fitment and sound of the part and will help us to refine our installation instructions to make sure that they are easy to follow before we release it for sale to the public.
Keep watching the blogs because we will be sharing more information that will give and inside look on the engineering and development of many of the parts we are releasing. I will be writing an in depth blog on the coilovers and coilover development and will also be writing a blog on all the information we are learning about fuel pumps, including spill valves, relief valves, fuel injectors, fuel pump internals, and information on the cam that drives the pumps.
Brydon –
CorkSport Product Development Update May 29th, 2012CorkSport
The time had come to see what the Mazda 2 could do at the track. The race weekend I signed up for was the Oregon Region SCCA April Showers Event which was a two day race. Each day there was a 20 minute qualifying session in the morning and a 25 minute race in the afternoon.
With the car being brand new to the race track, there were a few extras which were required so I showed up early. I had to get the Mazda 2 a log book and the car received a full tech inspection which included checking out the cage and safety equipment which takes some extra time. The car passed with flying colors and the cage received lots of compliments on the design and quality of the installation.
Saturday morning was looking like it would be a raining all day but the clouds cleared up and the sun came out in time for the new race slicks to be installed. This was the first time I had driven the 2 on a race compound tire which was an interesting experience. I let the tires warm up for the first lap of qualifying before I really started pushing the tires. The level of grip with the BF Goodrich R1S tires is outstanding on the 2. I was able to increase my speed through the corners as the qualifying session when on. I was able to drop the lap times from a 1:46 to a 1:40 which is a good start.
Out of the 23 cars which were in the run group I qualified 15th overall. Considering the cars in the run group this wasn’t too bad, 8 Porsches, a 350Z, a couple of STL and STU miatas, and 1976 HP Rabbit driven by Monte Shelton. Behind me were an ITJ Mazda Rx7 and a Ford Maverick and a few Porsches which finished less laps during the qualifying session. The Rx7 was the closest car in group to the Mazda 2, it was faster on the straights but the 2 was better in the corners. The maverick was really fast in the straights but horrible in the corners making it difficult to get around because it was all over the place.
We lined up Saturday afternoon and the race went as expected. There were two slower cars behind me as the faster cars slowly pulled away…ok, the Porsche GT3 disappeared really quick. He completed 18 laps to my 15 lap, due to a 20 second faster lap time. During the race I discovered several of the Porsches were slower than the Mazda 2 in corners. There were a few times when they would try to pull away in the corners and would get squirrely and have to slow down so I could get closer. Once the straights came up they would disappear down the track again and I would be back to checking my mirrors for the next fast car to come up on me again. The result of the first race in the 2 was 15th overall. The lap times were slower during the race which was a surprise to me. With letting the faster cars go past you give up some speed around the track.
On Sunday our run group was merged with another since there were only 3 cars running in the group. One of the more notables was a tube frame SPO Panoz which was running close to the same lap times as the Porsche GT3. Qualifying was improved over the day earlier, the lap times were consistently in the 1:42s to 1:40s with a best time of 140.527. The qualifying location came up 15th again in the run group with the ITJ Rx7 behind me again.
The race on Sunday was a smaller group as we lost a few cars in the morning qualifying. A bmw lost a connecting rod bearing and a few vehicle break downs which took out a few more cars. The race had 17 cars in it which gave more time for speed and less time getting out-of-the-way of the faster cars. The race itself has some interesting points. During the second lap the Panoz pulled off the track on a side road with the race being over. There was a 944 turbo which also suffered a failure and did not finish either. One of the laps one of the faster Porsches was catching up to me on the front straight. I had been working on braking into the corners later and later. With the approaching speed of the car I knew he wanted to get in front of me before the chicane. He found out that I could brake 100 feet later than he could as I watched him disappear from my vision on my right and I went through the corner first. It was an interesting feeling of satisfaction as I let him past me into corner 4 and I stuck with him through the rest of the corners until the straight came up again and he pulled away. The overall result from the race was 14th place overall.
The whole experience was a great first event and I learned a ton about the Mazda 2 and its characteristics at the limit. My goal for the next time out is to get the 2 into the 1:39s.
Derrick-
Pictures courtesy of Illiad Boyce and video courtesy of Brendan Hughes. Thank you both for the support and the footage!
The newly engineered CorkSport Mazda 2 Skid Tray will provide solid protection against rocks and road debris to prevent damage from occurring on key components of the vehicles undercarriage. The one piece design offers a more complete seal to handle harsh conditions and improve the aerodynamics of the engine bay.
The CorkSport Mazda 2 Skid Tray has been made from anodized aluminum to provide maximum protection while adding minimal weight to the body of the vehicle and includes metal support brackets that bolt to the vehicles structure for added rigidity.
The CorkSport Mazda 2 Skid Tray provides much needed protection to the undercarriage of my Mazda 2, said CorkSport customer Brendan Hughes, This is a must have for any Mazda 2 owner that may experience harsh driving or weather conditions. If you’re lowered or plan on lowering your Mazda 2, This skid tray is an absolute must!
As with all CorkSport products, the CorkSport Mazda 2 Skid Tray comes with all of needed installation hardware, full color installation instructions and video installation support, knowledgeable telephone support and a full two year warranty. It can be purchased today for $229.00 from CorkSport’s online catalog at https://www.corksport.com
Product Release! CorkSport Mazda 2 Skid Tray April 8th, 2020CorkSport
CorkSport began our new financing program in partnership with GE capital just two months ago and is pleased to announce our new special financing offer just in time for event season! Our new financing program provides customers with the option to purchase with zero down payment and 0% interest for six months on all purchases over $299!
Six months no interest means that you can take your purchase and spread the payments out over several months and it is the same as cash. Here is quick breakdown to give you an idea of what your payments would look like on our CarCareOne six months no interest payment program:
As always, CorkSport wants you to mod responsibly, so keep in mind that as with any retail financing card that you might come across, after the six month promotional period has ended, the interest rate jumps to 29.99%. We highly recommend using the six month interest free period to pay off each of your purchases, but for each purchase you make of $299.00 or more, you will always get the six month grace period to pay it off before you accrue interest!
Approval is quick and easy. Simply fill out an online credit application. It takes three seconds or less to obtain approval and once approved, you will receive a line of credit immediately. You can place your order by phone or online with your new Car Care One Credit card.
The new Car Care One CorkSport credit card is accepted at a number of national retailers including Tire Factory, Discount Tire, and Summit Racing making this not only a practical but versatile addition to your wallet.
