Speed 3 Auxiliary Fueling Tank

Mazdaspeed 3 Auxiliary Fuel Tank

The time has come to reveal our Mazdaspeed 3 Auxiliary Fuel Tank design!

Years ago there was an option to run Port Injection or Methanol Injection without the requirement of a smelly and messy tank in your cabin. Sadly that option disappeared and left the community with a need for another purpose-built and designed option for high power Mazdaspeed 3s.

That’s right! There is soon to be another fender mounting fuel cell for the 2007-2013 Mazdaspeed 3 and it’s packed with more capacity, durability, and functionality.

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We approached this project with a clean slate and set a goal to maximize capacity, work with both GEN1 & GEN2 Mazdaspeed 3s, and provide the functionality needed for both methanol and E85 port injection auxiliary fueling.

This was no easy task; we encountered many challenges that forced us to look to different methods and innovations to succeed. However, through those challenges we developed a tank like no other available for the Mazdaspeed community.

The greatest challenge we faced was the manufacturing method. We originally approached the design with the intent to use cut, formed and welded sheet metal as the material, but this quickly proved to create many unwanted issues. Cost, design flexibility, capacity, durability are just a few of the issue we faced with sheet metal. With that we looked to other processes…what about a gas can? Those are plastic and have very irregular shapes…

From there we identified that rotomolding was the ideal path to pursue. It helped us maximize capacity, incorporate the features needed, reduced cost, and increased durability/reliability of the tank.

Speaking of durability first…

Yup…we parked a truck on the tank and it took it like a champ. As you can see there is a small amount of deformation, but that’s it! After that we wacked the tank with a 3 pound sledge hammer on the front face (much like if you hit an object on the road) and again it took it like a champ!

Upon closer inspection we did not find any cracks forming due to the truck test or the impacts of the sledge hammer. After letting the tank sit for a bit we found that the tank actually formed back to its original shape before the testing.

So what makes the CorkSport Auxiliary Fuel Tank strong and durable? Two things:

The material used is Cross-Link HDPE (High Density Polyethylene) which is a very durable and resilient material by itself. Add in the cross-link reinforcement in a 0.190” wall thickness and you now have a material that can handle a large amount of impact force and yielding (bending) without failing.
The manufacturing process is the other key aspect here. Unlike welding, there are no seams or welded joints that can fail. In the rotomolding process, the HDPE is poured into a mold that is heated to the plastic molten temperature. This powder melts and creates one continuous structure with an average wall thickness of 0.190”. Even the brass threaded inserts are embedded into the plastic with no seam or seal to leak.

Speaking of those threaded inserts, those are really neat. When the mold is assembled, there brass threaded inserts are fixture inside the mold in set locations. These give us the flexibility to have integrated mounting points for the brackets that mount to the vehicle AND for both methanol pumps and the standard 044 style fuel pump bracket.

Now let’s look at a cutaway of the Computer Aided Drafting Model of the tank so we can see a couple other key design features. BTW these would not have been possible (or atleast not cost effective) with sheet metal.

Probably the most critical and useful features of the fuel cell is the integrated sump for the pump feed. This is the little area under the blue line. This “low” zone is called the sump and the point is to create a lower spot for the pump to be fed fuel. This reduces the chance of fuel starvation during braking and cornering as well as allows you to get the full capacity of the tank to your pump.

Next you can see a “chamber” on the left side. This actually sits under the frame rail a bit which allowed us to increase the capacity to ~2.6 gallons but it also serves another purpose. If you are running a port injection auxiliary fuel kit then you most likely have a fuel return from the regulator; this is where that return line connects. The low ceiling in this chamber helps reduce aeration of the fuel due to the return line flow. This green line also sits just below the low level sensor so you’ll know when you are getting close to this threshold.

Alright let’s wrap this up. Designed specifically for the 2007-2013 Mazdaspeed 3, you can utilize the tank for methanol or ethanol fuels and you can switch from either or if you change your setup. Durable and chemical resistant material used can take beating and once installed the tank and black filler cap basically disappears from view.

We are stoked to bring a new and innovative option to the Mazdapseed Community very soon.

Barett @ CorkSport

P.S. – that stainless bracket in the last image is my splitter mounting system for my 2009 Mazdaspeed 3. Check out @halfmilespeed3 for more details!

January 7, 2021October 25, 2022

Mazdaspeed High-Pressure Fuel Pump Rebuild Kit

We are proud to introduce the CorkSport HPFP Rebuild kit for the Mazdaspeed 3, Mazdaspeed 6, and Mazda CX-7 Turbo. Replace every seal in your HPFP with a brand new, E85 safe O-ring/X-ring made to exact OEM specifications. The perfect reliability upgrade to install with your CS HPFP internals, we even include new hardware and a security Torx bit to help the install go smooth. Read on for more details and be sure to give us a call if you have any questions!

The best and most complete Mazdaspeed HPFP seal kit — Mazdaspeed E85 Safe HPFP O-Ring Rebuild Kit

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The potential for HPFP failure

While the HPFP internal upgrade is a must-have mod for any Speed, the rest of the HPFP is commonly ignored. As the cars get older and ethanol blends are used more often, the factory O-rings can begin to break down, causing fuel dilution in your oil, and the potential for HPFP failure. The CS HPFP rebuild kit replaces all your seals so you can be confident that your HPFP is performing exactly as intended.

Save $35 off the CorkSport Mazdaspeed Fuel Pump internals when purchased at the same time as the COBB Accessport

Was the HPFP system designed with ethanol in mind?

With the MS3 and MS6 coming out right around the time ethanol mixes in gasoline were becoming more common, it’s hard to say if the HPFP system was ever designed with ethanol in mind. We spent months researching and testing on a car and in isolated conditions to find the best O-ring material for gasoline and ethanol blends. Each seal in the CS HPFP rebuild kit uses this material so your Speed will operate properly no matter if you’re using the standard pump gas E10 mix, and E30 mix, or even straight E85!

To ensure the correct size for all seals, we were lucky enough to come across a zero mile DISI MZR engine. The HPFP was disassembled and all seals were carefully measured to ensure each O-ring exactly matches the OEM specification. We even had tooling made to produce a custom X-ring that matches the exact specification of the OEM X-ring. This is vital as the X-ring fits on your HPFP piston and needs a precise fit to ensure an OEM quality seal between the fuel chamber and your cam follower.

High-Pressure Fuel Pump Troubleshooting Blog

Lastly, we include hardware to replace the annoying Torx screws that are used in the OEM HPFP assembly. The small security Torx can be notoriously difficult to remove, so we even include a bit to help with removal. As with all CS products, the HPFP rebuild kit comes with full-color installation instructions to guide you through the rebuild and ensure you know where each and every component goes.

Mazdaspeed E85 Safe HPFP O-Ring Rebuild Kit

Check out CorkSport.com.

October 8, 2020May 10, 2023

Mazdaspeed-3 4 Inch Complete Intake System

If you’re looking for big power (500+whp) potential for your Mazdaspeed 3 and don’t want to be held back by your intake system then look no further!

Benefits of a huge intake with the easy fitment of a smaller intake

Introducing the CorkSport 4” Intake system for ’07-’13 MS3 (Gen1 and Gen2). Featuring mandrel bent piping, a billet MAF housing, and a large aFe dry flow filter; you can get the benefits of a huge 4” intake with the easy fitment of a smaller intake. We went back to the drawing board for this intake to optimize both fitment and performance. Read on for details!

Mazdaspeed3 4" Intake System — 2007-2013 Mazdaspeed 3 4 inch Intake System

We truly started from scratch to ensure the best fitment for this intake. The main change is the way the silicone couplers attach to the turbo inlet pipe. To get the pipe as close to the engine as possible for easy fitment, we use a custom-designed coupler off the compressor of the turbo. The 4” intake pipe fits straight into this, making install just that little bit easier. The biggest change though came at the MAF housing connection.

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Takes up less room than some 3.5″ intakes

Instead of using a silicone coupler between the turbo inlet pipe and the MAF housing, the billet MAF housing is TIG welded directly onto the turbo intake pipe. This further helps fitment and helped us maximize filter size (more on that later). What this means is that you end up with a four-inch intake that takes up less room than some 3.5” intakes on the market while retaining the OEM mounting points and OEM BPV, PCV, and boost vent ports. It even fits with our 51R battery box!

The benefit of a 4” intake system is in the flow capacity. Moving up in intake size, even from a 3.5” to 4” offers an increase in maximum flow capacity. A bigger intake equals the potential for a larger volume of air ingested by the engine, which equals bigger power potential. You also increase the maximum airflow that can be read by the MAF sensor before it peaks, but you must get a tune to scale the MAF sensor.

So what does this mean for power gains?

Typically, a lower horsepower car will not see a power bump but, big power MS3’s can see an increase in power, just by reducing the airflow restriction before the turbo. While you may not quite be at a 3.5” intake’s limit at 600WHP, moving to a 4” intake will increase the efficiency of your build and reduce the strain on your turbo, with a chance at some extra ponies along the way!

Increasing piping diameter only does so much if you have a highly restrictive filter. We focused heavily on fitting the biggest filter we could to minimize restrictions coming from the filter. We chose aFe’s Pro Dry S material for great filtration and flow, without having to worry about an oiled filter dirtying the MAF sensor. Check out the image below comparing the new 4” intake filter to the filter used on our 3.5” intakes. The new filter’s media is larger than the entire old filter!

While the new CorkSport 4” Intake may be a bit different from our normal intakes, we kept the same billet MAF housing design. A billet machined MAF housing ensures accurate and consistent diameter around the MAF sensor itself vs just using a pipe or plastic MAF housing while also letting us have a TRUE 4-inch inner diameter. This ensures that once calibrated, your MAF sensor will read stable and accurately. To be extra sure MAF readings are great, we pre-install air straighteners to ensure your MAF is getting clean and straight air.

Daily drive your Speed with this 4-inch intake system

With the consistent CNC machine inner diameter at a true 4 inches and the integrated air straighteners, you can daily drive your Speed with this 4-inch intake system and have MAF sensor range over 900whp.

Each CorkSport 4” Intake System is made from mandrel bent 4” 6061 aluminum tubing for smooth airflow directly into your turbo. The billet aluminum MAF housing is TIG welded into position, as are all ports and brackets to ensure long-lasting strength. Each intake is finished off in a wrinkle black powder coat for a clean look that will match just about any engine bay. We also include your choice of 4-ply reinforced silicone coupler for the turbo inlet. We have 4”, 3”, and OEM diameter silicones so you can be sure your turbo with work great with the CS 4” intake. To finish it off, we include stainless steel T-bolt clamps for the connections, to prevent any vacuum leaks.

The CorkSport 4 Inch Intake System is a complete package that can help you make big power on your Speed 3. Increase flow capacity and filter size to help that turbo breathe better so you can make more power for longer. Check out the product listing for more images and don’t hesitate to give us a call if you have any questions! Zoom-Zoom!

June 30, 2020May 28, 2024

Red Baron Speed of Newberg

My Name is Symon Powlison and this is my journey of how I got my Mazdaspeed3 and the Mazda community that became my family.

Let’s head back in time a bit, I was a broke high school student and I had just bought a 1997 dodge avenger, while my friends had all dabbled with modifying their cars at the time, I had not, but I knew I wanted to. The avenger came with an exhaust that sounded ok and some wheels and that’s about it.

When I showed my new car to my best friend Barett (yes Corksport Barett) and talked about build aspirations that never happened, we decided that we both wanted new stereo and subs, 2007-2008 was the time for loud music and lots of bass lol, “Darude Sandstorm” anyone?

I had a lot of fun with that car but long story short the car was towed away late in the night for having a flat tire in a parking lot. Now with little to no money and my little avenger was never to be seen again. All is not lost though because those early years with that car started me on a slow trek of building my own “Racecar” later in life it was the catalyst that started it all.

Fast forward to the year 2012, I’m a bit more established now and I’m getting ready to deploy at the first of the year for 10 months, when my Co-Worker decides to buy a BMW 335i, I made the brash decision to follow suit and I purchased a 2004 Audi S4, my wife was needing a new car anyway so I gave her the Kia Optima I had purchased a few months back.

Everybody was happy because I got my car and my wife got a brand new Kia! My Audi came with Tien lower springs, a nice fender roll job, and a Magna-flow exhaust. The roar of the V8 through the exhaust was great, it had quick get up and go and it looked amazing in the brilliant red paint. This was my first experience with a “quick” car and I was hooked, but with Audi’s, I had no idea how to even begin to work on it if it had problems, and neither did anybody close to me. This is when I knew this wouldn’t last but I thoroughly enjoyed it when I had it.

Symon Powlison CorkSport Mazdaspeed3 — Symon Powlison

During deployment, I would leave my Audi in the hands of Barett, and return to resume driving bliss with the car, until I left again except this time it would be for nearly 3 years. My wife and I left for Korea in the middle of 2014. My car was out of my possession longer than in my possession and thus while my time away I grew apart from my Audi and wanted something new, different, I wanted a hatchback.

I always liked the way hatches look, the bodylines, the mildly flared fenders, the base stance of the hatchback drew me in. I spent countless hours looking at every model of hot hatches, tirelessly and sometimes redundantly, maybe I could afford this or maybe I should buy. I decided to call Barett from Korea and told him I was coming home and I wanted to sell the Audi and get something I truly desired.

He mentioned getting a Mazdaspeed3, I had seen some videos about them but I was rather set on an all-wheel-drive hatch to drive in the snow, but that was dumb because I hate driving in the snow lol. I decided to give the Speed a deep dive look and man I was impressed, not to mention I had an endless resource if I needed any help.

I was sold, the price was right, the whole car package was right, it checked all my boxes, I wanted a turbo 4cyl with good base stats, something reliable to a degree, and something that I could learn to modify and have help if anything breaks.

I arrived home in the spring of 2017, and scoured the interwebz and found the speed of my dreams, a velocity red 2013 tech package mazdaspeed3 with 69k on the dash. With what money I had left in savings, a small income, and an Audi for a deposit. I marched down to the dealership and literally, 6 hours later I walked out of there with my dream car.

Funny side note here, when I took the MS3 for a test drive I was by myself, I never drove a 6-speed manual car before and didn’t know how to put the car in reverse, so here I am sitting in somebody’s driveway (huge facepalm) trying to figure out how to put the car in reverse when the homeowner comes out and asks if I need help. I tell him the story he laughs and gives me a push to send me on my way back to the dealer.

That test drive officially sold me on the car, I can still remember the first time starting that car and the first time I hit 15psi of boost, it was amazing and probably the coolest feeling ever while driving. I couldn’t wait to show my wife, I ripped the speed all the way home, and it was nothing but smiles per gallon. I couldn’t have been happier. I am honored to have such a loving wife who was just as excited for me to have a car I desired so much. This was my very first and only turbo car I’ve ever owned and every time the car plants my back to the seat I can help but grin from ear to ear.

I kept the car stock for a year on the dot before I started modifying it, if you’re keeping track it’s now April 2018. I purchased all the necessary supporting mods to keep it from going ZZB. I bought an Access port, HPFP Internals, intake, and pro tune and man did that little K04 Turbo come alive, a few other supporting mods like exhaust and rear sway bar brought the Mazdaspeed to a different level.

The Speed had no changes for another year or less (early spring 2019), finally, it was time for power mods, big turbo, big FMIC, lots of little bits like injector seals, short shifter, motor mounts, and getting a tune from Purple Drank. The car became a monster, smiles turned to white knuckles gripping the wheel from torque steer, turbo noises for days, and a singing bypass valve that subtly lets you know it’s there on any occasion.

That kept me satisfied for another year till now, this plan is to do both manifolds, cams, and EWG. *Hurray for race car noises*. The transformation of my Speed over the last 3 years has been a rewarding experience, providing me with knowledge and experience and confidence to be able to tackle any problems or situations previously I would have avoided or paid an overpriced shop to fix.

This is the best part of the community I joined when I bought my speed, all the experiences and knowledge that has been shared with me have been nothing short of amazing and I’m truly grateful for the speed community. My wife and I don’t take a lot of vacations, but the two events that come up in the year that you can’t miss are Mazda events.

I didn’t know that I could miss Idaho as much as I would when I have to leave Papa Keith’s Mazda Takeover event in Boise after a 4-day party. The big bear puts on an amazing event yearly and when it wraps up the withdrawals of it kick in. Those pains are subsided though just two months later when we all get to catch up for CorkSport’s Dyno Day’s! The event that the CorkSport crew puts together is a blast, its high tempo 2-day event that brings our Mazda community together in the Pacific Northwest, I have seen people from British Columbia to Utah come all the way to Vancouver, WA for this event.

These two trips are something that flows into my DNA and I can’t imagine my life without experiencing them or the people I’ve met along the way. My wife and I look forward to these weekends as I’m sure anyone who has gone to them at least once will, we love spending time with our extended Mazda family and I wouldn’t change it for the world.

In closing, to say that a car would change my life would be an understatement, but it did and I wouldn’t want it any other way, so if you see the Red Baron Speed of Newberg out and about, come up and say hi and chat for a minute. I hope to see you all at future events, keep hitting that Boost, and stay safe. See you all on the road.

Symon

June 23, 2020January 2, 2024

Mazdaslow to Mazdaspeed

Let me take you to an extraordinarily dull time in my life, the last time I started my Mazdaspeed when it was still stock.

September 14th, 2018 was a beautiful September day in Washington. I started my car at 6:45 am, just like every other weekday. The Speed3 burbled to life, but it was relatively quiet, flat, and a bit uninteresting. No one knew I was leaving for work – I wasn’t shaking any windows, but that was going to change.

CorkSport mod budget. Employee incentive. — At CorkSport

Once I arrived at work and spread some Friday cheer, I settled in. Almost immediately, I could feel the pile of parts in the corner behind my desk, glaring at the back of my head. I thought to myself, “Don’t turn around – focus damn it!” The day had finally come – install day. Thankfully with our awesome half-day Fridays, I was out of the office and on my way to Brett’s house before 12:30 pm.

After we loaded up Brett’s Rodeo with a load of parts, we set sail to our destination, a place where many tears have been shed, knuckles have been busted, and where dreams have come true; Brett’s garage. Every tool you’ve ever needed and gadgets you didn’t know existed. There were even a few specialty items present, that if he didn’t have quite frankly, this couldn’t have happened.

CorkSport employee mazdaspeed getting washed — Shop all Mazdaspeed 3 Parts

We started with thorough degreasing of the engine bay and setting up the essential supplies- because what is an install day without beer and snacks! Once the car has cooled down, I started with taking out the battery box, intake, and intercooler; and then the fun really started. I’ve read the horror stories, I’ve watched the videos, and I thought I spent enough time mentally preparing myself for what was about to come – I was wrong.

The Downpipe

We all know about the Mazdaspeed downpipe on our cars. The devil engineered the placement of this thing, and he had his minions tighten the bolts. There isn’t enough PB blaster in the world to help the corrosion and excessive heat that these bolts withstand. We got the first one out with little to no issue, but it just got progressively harder from there. It was only a matter of time before rounding off the edges of that last bolt. Thankfully Brett has an extractor tool that we hammered on there, and with the small act of god, it was successfully extracted.

My experience with removing the downpipe from the exhaust, as is everyone’s experience, was different. Mine was influenced by the previous owner adding a 2.5″ resonated exhaust on it from the second cat back. The downpipe didn’t want to come out until I wiggled a pry bar in between the flange and put Brett’s Caliper spreader in there (again tools I didn’t even know I needed) and applied sheer grunt force. I got the flange to bend, and after learning a few new choice words, we got it out. By this time, it was 11:30 pm, and we still had a few other things to unbolt before the exhaust came out. Instead of using power tools and waking every neighbor up in a two-block radius, we called it a night.

The Morning After

After some much-needed coffee, we made it back from the hardware store (replaced the downpipe nut from hell) it’s time to party. We started with sliding in my new downpipe with the High flow Cat what a breeze compared to taking it out. Next came my intake, I went with the 3.5″ so I don’t have to buy another one when I finally go with our CorkSport CST4 turbo. Still might go with the new CST5. Then I put in my ECU Relocation Box, and I have to say, what a clean looking piece to have in your engine bay!

CorkSport Mazdaspeed engine bay parts TMIC with Intake, battery box, turbo — Mazdaspeed 3 TMIC Top Mount Intercooler

We changed out the OEM spark plugs for some NGK 6510 gapped to .026 and started to put on my new TMIC that is rated up to 450WHP after we got the TMIC it was time to put on my shiny new boost tubes Engine bay= Complete.

Now time to get underneath and put on my highly anticipated Non-Resonated Cat-Back exhaust and my Stage II RMM. Goodbye, torque steer! Once we had the exhaust mostly in place, I realized if I didn’t have the CS exhaust hangers I would have been in trouble. The person before me had his exhaust welded quite poorly in place of the hangers, and I didn’t have an option to use my OEM ones.

Moment of Truth

After everything was double-checked and rechecked, it was time for the moment of truth. I hooked up my battery, I flashed my new tune from Erik Bjork at Drama Tune, and now it was Go Time! I will say hearing my car make those sweet sounds was one of the best moments of my life. I’ve been waiting for this moment since I purchased my car, and it was one of the most surreal experiences I have ever had.

We let the car run for a few minutes and checked to make sure I didn’t have any leaks, and then we headed out for a test drive.

In the immortal words of George Takei “Oh My!”

That was my thought, EVEN on just a base map. My car felt and sounded 1000% different than before. The intake was amplifying fun new mechanical noises – like I was hearing my turbo and BOV dance for the first time. The crackle from the exhaust on a hard 2nd to 3rd upshift was intoxicating, all the while my RMM putting in work to make sure I didn’t torque steer into someone’s front lawn. What an experience! I would even call this life-changing for me. The funny part of the story is that I wasn’t planning on buying all these items at once – true intentions of a foolish car enthusiast. Thankfully for me, I have a fantastic career within CorkSport and have a great friend who helped me make my dreams come true. Who wants a stock car when you work for the number one place in the world for Mazda Performance, not this guy?

Mazdaspeed 3 2010-2013 Front Gray with CorkSport hood scoop — Zach from CorkSport

Keep an eye out for my turbo blog, because it’s only a matter of time until the mod bug bites me again.

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Mazdaspeed 3 Auxiliary Fuel Tank

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

Stay Up-to-date with CorkSport

The potential for HPFP failure

Was the HPFP system designed with ethanol in mind?

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

Benefits of a huge intake with the easy fitment of a smaller intake

Stay Up-to-date with CorkSport

Takes up less room than some 3.5″ intakes

So what does this mean for power gains?

Daily drive your Speed with this 4-inch intake system

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

The Downpipe

The Morning After

Moment of Truth

In the immortal words of George Takei “Oh My!”

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