How To Achieve 400 WHP In Your Mazdaspeed

Today I want to share with you a simple blog on just one way of taking your Mazdaspeed to 400WHP. After checking out this blog, If you would like more in-depth information on upgrading your Mazdaspeed with more horsepower then check out 500 WHP post for Mazdaspeed 3.

Let’s Get Started

The MZR DISI engine in the Mazdaspeed platform has been around for just over 10 years now. CorkSport along with the community of racers, shops, and enthusiasts alike have learned quite a bit about these engines. We have learned what they like and what they donโ€™t. How they react to certain mods, how to maintain them, and also some of their weak points. We also learned how to take this platform well over 400 WHP.

We recently hit 684 whp with the CST6 Mazdaspeed Turbo — Check it out here.

Among the many things we have learned, we have developed a great understanding of what is needed to get these engines to make power. More specifically, with the right set of bolt-on parts and tuning one can easily and safely make 400WHP on a stock bottom end of your Mazdaspeed 3 or Mazdaspeed 6. The torque will just need to be kept under control.

Itโ€™s not a secret or rocket science on how to achieve this power level in a Mazdaspeed3 or Mazdaspeed6, and it is very much doable.

Stock Red Mazdaspeed3
Stock Mazdaspeed3

Disclaimer:

There are certainly many variables that can come into play when trying to achieve 400WHP safely, such as the health of your engine, quality of engine tune, octane rating of fuel, engine management software and more. This is by no means an all-inclusive guide and the only way of making this level of power. However, this is a tried and tested method of making high power safely and reliably. We come from years of experience doing it ourselves and helping the community with their Mazdas as well. We have spent years and years developing this platform and continue to do so on a daily basis. What I aim to do is educate you on how you can make the most out of your MZR engine.

Necessary Upgrades To Make 400WHP

Now before we get too ahead of ourselves, there are two modifications that are a must before going down the 400whp quest. Those are high-pressure fuel pump internals and a tuning solution such as those provided by COBB or VersaTuner. These parts do not inherently increase hp and tq levels, but they are 100% necessary to give you most out of your hard part modifications and do so with safe and reliable power. A high-quality tune is worth every penny, and when paired with things such as an intake or exhaust, you can capitalize even more so your parts and net more horsepower.

Understanding the DISI MZR 2.3T

The DISI MZR 2.3T is not much different than any other gasoline direct injected engine that you would find on any modern automobile. Here is how it operates:

  • Air goes into your Mazdaspeed.
  • Air is combined with the correct ratio of fuel.
  • The air/fuel mixture gets compressed.
  • A spark event occurs that ignites a controlled burn.
  • This event forces the piston downwards.
  • Exhaust gases then leave the Mazda.
  • The cycle repeats.

So in an oversimplified matter, that is all an internal combustion engine is – a glorified air pump with more bells and whistles. One of the best ways to make a really effective air pump is to optimize the movement of air into and out of the cylinders. For that reason, itโ€™s best to start at the front and back of our car to help give it a little breathing room.

Intake & Exhaust

Mazdaspeed 3 Power Series 3.5" Intake

Mazdaspeed3 Power Series 3.5″ Intake

Itโ€™s no secret that an intake and exhaust system are among the most popular first upgrades for any vehicle, and itโ€™s for a good reason. Letting air in and out of the engine as easily as we can is a great first step to create more power. Doing this will free up restrictions with the manufacturer parts, especially on a factory turbocharged vehicle. OEM parts are by and large designed with emissions regulations and pricing priorities, rather than performance.

Upgrading your Mazdaspeed to a 3โ€ or 3.5โ€ intake and pairing it with a turbo-back exhaust will create the airflow efficiency that we need to reach 400 WHP. We’re able to do this by increasing the exhaust pipe diameter and either eliminating our catalytic converter or replacing it with a high-flow race cat. By increasing the efficiency of airflow from entry through the exit, the engine is effectively working less to produce the same amount of power.

By adding an intake and exhaust to your Mazdaspeed, you can net an easy 50+ whp when paired with the proper tune. As you continue down the modification road, you’ll find that this is the most effective dollars spent to horsepower ratio. Now that we are able to take more of the power stroke, we can focus on getting more power to the wheels, rather than letting it be consumed by byproducts such as waste heat, noise, and vibration.

Mazdaspeed3 Exhaust Setup
Mazdaspeed3 Exhaust Setup

Intercooler & Turbo

Another great way to make more power with your Mazdaspeed, and to get closer to 400whp, is to increase the level of boost pressure running through the engine. OEM boost levels are around the 14-15 PSI. But once we have our intake and exhaust installed on our Mazdaspeed, our tuning solution can allow us to start increasing that level into the 19-21 range.

A natural byproduct of increasing the pressure within the system is a corresponding rise in air temperature. To be able to make the most of the increased boost levels, it’s important to keep the temperature at a lower level. To do this, you’ll want to upgrade to a larger top mount intercooler (TMIC), or even go a step further and upgrade to a large front mount intercooler (FMIC) core.

The intercoolers primary function is to act as a heat exchanger, and we know that heat is the #1 roadblock for any engine to make more power. The more efficiently we can remove heat from the system, the more power we can create safely and reliably. We should also note that the stock TMIC in the Mazdaspeed platform is a terrible bottleneck in the system so this will free up extra flow.

Mazdaspeed Front Mount Intercooler
Mazdaspeed Front Mount Intercooler

Now that we have a good way of getting air into, out of, and keeping it cool at the same time, we want to increase the total volume. An easy way to do this is by upgrading the turbocharger in your Mazdaspeed. This is an easy process that replaces your factory K04 Turbo and creates the potential to throw down some serious power. When you reach this point in your build, you open up options on how to proceed:

  1. Make the same power on less boost
  2. Make more power on the same boost
  3. Make way more power on WAY more boost!!!

If we are shooting for 400whp on our Mazdaspeed, then we generally like to choose door #3.

CST4

Side note: We highly suggest / possibly need a 3.5 bar MAP sensor and an electronic boost control solenoid (or EBCS). Once we start to increase our boost pressures north of 21psi, the OEM electronics begin to lose resolution and can negatively affect our tuning if not addressed.

By upgrading our MAP sensor we are allowing the powertrain control module (PCM) to recognize and look up higher boost targets than those equipped from the OEM unit. With this upgrade, the computer can now accurately record and look up these values. We also upgrade our electronic boost control solenoid (EBCS) to allow more fine-tuning of our maps and boost targets. An OEM EBCS just wonโ€™t allow us as fine of control of our boost pressure, which can result in some headaches as we approach higher horsepower levels.

Stay Up-to-date with CorkSport  


The Finishing Touches To Reach 400 WHP

With the above combination of mods and proper tuning on a healthy engine, a medium frame turbo on pump gas can get you into the 330-340whp range. If we go another step further, we will open up more ‘breathing’ mods such as the intake manifold, taller lift camshafts, or a larger throttle body. This will stretch us into the 350-360 whp range.

That being said without the help of e85 or aux fueling we canโ€™t go any closer to our 400whp mark. We simply hit the limits of the Mazdaspeed factory fuel system and need to look into upgrading that system as well.

Making the switch over to e85 allows us to get in the 380 range, but we soon run out of fuel injector headroom in the Mazdaspeed at this point and max out our injector duty cycle. We then have to look at aux fueling (Meth or Port Injection) as a solution to get us to our 400whp mark safely. Whatโ€™s unfortunate is that at this point we are also looking at upgrading our hard parts such as our in-tank fuel pump to keep up with demand if you plan to run PI. There are quite a few options for AUX fueling which are beyond the scope of this blog.

Now, as mentioned this is not the only way of making these power levels, but it could be said that it is one of the easiest and most popular. Itโ€™s important to remember that along the way we supplement the engine with other supporting mods to ensure we are safe and can make full use of our power. Things like lower heat range spark plugs and a stage 2 rear engine mount can go a long way.

Thanks for following along and feel free to leave us a comment if you have any questions or want some more specific information on a product.

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

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You May Also Like:

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 3โ€ and 2.5โ€ 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 3โ€ 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 youโ€™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 Injector Puller

For the Mazdaspeed 3, Mazdaspeed 6 & CX7

After years of popular requests, we have something that we are very excited to announce! The CorkSport Injector Puller is here, and ready to assist you with your DIY, or shop needs.

With great power comes great responsibility! Owning a Mazdaspeed may have made you aware by now of how troublesome removing a GDI injector can be. We designed this to assist you.

CorkSport Mazdaspeed Injector Seals
YOU CAN NOW SAY GOODBYE TO:
  • Twisting a seized injector until it breaks loose
  • Rigging up some method to pull or pry out the injector
  • Beat up hands
  • Beat up injectors
  • Hours of lost time

Now, I know what you are thinking: we may be late to the party. We are aware that we are not the first ones to make such a tool, however, we wanted to ensure that we made one of the highest quality that can be used time and time again.ย We love that you guys buy our injector seals, and we wanted to help ease the installation as much as possible.

Mazdaspeed Injector with CorkSport Injector Seal and Injector Puller

With its stainless construction, Nator can truly make use of this when it gets passed around, because it wonโ€™t deteriorate with use.

Dirty Mazdaspeed Injector - How to remove your Injector

As the OE seals fail, carbon starts to build up around the injector and seal and really locks that sucker in there over time. Sometimes, a Mazdaspeed injector has to be sacrificed, as seen above. But, Itโ€™s amazing how much easier the proper tool can make the job.

Stainless steel Injector Seal

Although it may resemble a shake weight a bit, it’s just your normal slide hammer-style tool with a custom head designed to perfectly fit the DISI Injector.

HOW TO USE:

  1. Take off the O-Rings on the tip of the Injector where it goes into the Fuel Rail. Be sure to store those in a safe place.
  2. Slide the head of the tool into position as shown.
  3. You will then put tension on the tool, pulling it backwards.
  4. Use your other hand to slide the hammer backward until it hits the lock nut on the back. Repeat until the stubborn injector finally breaks free.
Mazdaspeed Injector Puller
How to use the Mazdaspeed Injector Puller

โ€“ The CorkSport Team

Be sure to check out our full product video on YouTube and remember to subscribe!

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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 Iโ€™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, letโ€™s talk about some of the features you can expect on the upgrade and why we decided to utilize them.

Letโ€™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 4โ€ 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!

โ€“ The CorkSport Team

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

Luke’s Build: My Mazdaspeed 3 Journey

Hello CorkSport family!

I have been thinking about how much my Mazdaspeed3 has gone through in the past couple weeks; I figured I would allow all of my CS crew to enjoy the look back on my journey with me!

2009 Mazdaspeed 3 GT.  Mods include:

Built engineCorkSport Mazdaspeed intake manifoldCorkSport short shifter
Turbo back exhaustCorkSport MAP sensorCobb AccessPort
CorkSport Mazdaspeed big turboCorkSport EBCSCorkSport adjustable strut/shock/ spring combo
CorkSport heat shieldsCorkSport FMICDrag bags
CorkSport 3.5โ€ intakeAEM methanol injection kitPurple Drank Tuned on 92 pump and 92/methanol

I have always had a love for cars, due to my dad always owning some sort of sporty car throughout my childhood. My love of cars started because my dad would let me control the steering wheel in our BMW 318i while cruising on the freeway. That continued as I got older, and as my dad bought faster cars, and of course as I was allowed to start learning to drive.

My very first boosted car was a 2003 Mini Cooper S.

The Mini Cooper S in that year came standard with a 1.6 liter, inline four cylinders, with a supercharger on roughly ten pounds of boost stock. As soon as I bought the car, I was instantly hooked, and had a need and desire for more power. In the time that I owned the Mini, I was able to do a few modifications to it, including: 15% reduction pulley on the supercharger, cold air intake, upgraded top mount intercooler, and a catback exhaust. Those modifications bumped the boost up to about 15psi. For what the car was, it was pretty quick. I owned the car for about three years, and along the way, the car started to have small issues here and there, and eventually, it was time to part ways with the Mini.

When I went looking for my next car, I test drove a 2005 Subaru WRX. Letโ€™s just say that I didnโ€™t know what was best for me at the time.  

I took the WRX home to let the girlfriend see it, and instantly got a “HELL NO!”  The interior was too basic, and the mileage was pretty high for the price the dealership was asking. I took the car back the next morning and looked around some more.

All of sudden there she was, my Mazdaspeed.

The car showed up overnight, and as soon as I saw it, I had to drive it. I called the girlfriend, and instantly got a NO NO NO.  I told her this car was different, and that I thought she would like this one. Took the Mazdaspeed3 home, grabbed the girlfriend, took her for a test drive and got the approval (I know I sound a little whipped here… but, I knew it was going to be more than just a car, so having her approval meant it would be easier in the future when I asked for more). I signed the paperwork, and took the car home. When I acquired the Mazda, it was pretty much stock.  It had a short ram intake, and a downpipe installed, other than that it was mine to build and enjoy.

Fast forward about six months, and I had decide to buy a Cobb AccessPort after reading all of the forums. I did that to make sure I could monitor certain things like knock and fuel pressure. Two essential things to keep an eye on.ย While I was reading the forums, I noticed that people kept bringing up making sure you had your fuel pump internals upgraded. I had no idea if mine had been done. The only thing I knew was my fuel pressure never dropped below 1600psi under wide open throttle. Bought the internals, and sure enough, I had stock ones in there still. ย After that happened, the modding bug took full effect. ย Soon enough, the car was fully bolted running e85 for all of the timings.ย Tuned by Purple Drank, the car went 12.8 @ 110mph in the 1320. I was impressed with the stock turbo at this point and considered my car to be โ€œfast.โ€ ย Little did I realize there was much more to be had.

I landed the job at CorkSport, and as you can imagine, the car almost instantly got a turbo upgrade.

I kept running the stock block but decided to no longer run e85, and just run pump and methanol.  Using the additional fueling, the car made 400whp and 400wtq.  My tuner even warned me that I was dancing with the devil at this point.  I cared, but not as much as someone else because I secretly wanted a built engine anyways. Took the car to the track one night, and sure enough, on the last run, the car blew a quarter size hole in piston 3. I knew I had a chance of ring land failure, and it failed hard!  I guess that meant it was time for a built engine right?

So it was,  I decided to rebuild the engine with forged Manley goodness. I had beat the crap out of my MS3 so why not?  

I put the car back together towards the end of 2016, slapped the CorkSport turbo on and started the break in/ tuning process. Once the engine was fully broken in, it was time to turn up the boost.  Ryan Martin, at Purple Drank Tuning, was excited to give me more power than I had ever had before. The car was making 25psi of boost at 3500rpm, and on the top end, the car was making right around 420whp.  Impressive turbo, considering itโ€™s not the biggest snail, but on a built engine it sure packs a wallop.

As more time went by, the more my coworker Brett kept saying that I needed to be way faster than him if I was going to have a built engine.  I should have just ignored him, but I caved into the peer pressure and bought a used Gt3582r!

Garrett Turbo

I should have just stuck with the CorkSport turbo; only a couple months later, this turbo decided to destroy its oil seals and turn my car into a diesel truck. 

So what am I currently running you may ask??  

The new CS Mazdaspeed CST6 prototype turbo may be a thing of our future, but for now itโ€™s keeping me going. ย Some of you may have seen its development posted in places on Facebook, for some of you this might be the first time. ย Check out this beauty though! ย Still in testing phases, but results are looking good! ย The current plan is to finish the pump gas tune, and then turn on the meth and see what the turbo will do.

Mazdaspeed 3 Turbo Upgrade 600 WHP Turbo better than garrettt turbo

I have owned my Mazdaspeed3 for a little over four years.

When I first bought the Mazda, I thought it was the fastest car ever.  Now I look back on those days and think how slow the car actually was. I have put back-breaking hard work into making my car as fast as it is today.  It really just goes to show you that hard work and dedication allows you to reach your goals with your car.  

For all of the Mazda Enthusiasts out there, it doesnโ€™t matter where you are with your build, just stick with it.

At some point, you will reach the goal you have been working towards (or find that you have new goals once those are reached). I know this because I have done it!  If anyone reading this ever has any questions, feel free to contact me at CorkSport!  Until next time!

Cheers,

Luke