We are proud to announce a old product that we have redesigned. Introducing the V2 CorkSport Coilovers for 2004-2013 Mazda 3 and Mazdaspeed 3.
We’ve taken the same basic designed and revised and refined it with small changes to fitment and big changes to spring rates and damping rates.
For spring rates we took an approach that seems to differ with most street oriented kits on the market today. We wanted to develop coilovers that were both enjoyable to drive on the street in a daily driven car, but could also perform on the track in more performance oriented settings. With these goals we focus on the ride feedback, understeer/oversteer balance, and suspension frequency balance.
The result; linear rate 7K front springs and 8.5K rear springs. This provided us with a ride quality that was comfortable, but sport focused and with the right balance of understeer vs oversteer, with a car that is more oversteer biased. The frequency of the suspension was also taken into consideration with a higher rear frequency than front to improve driver feedback and comfort.
Like most coilovers, ride height adjustability is essential to setting up you Mazdaspeed 3 or Mazda 3 for your goals. The redesigned CS coilovers offer 2 inches of height adjustability from approximately 0.75 inches to 2.75 inches lower than stock springs. This range of ride height allows you to have a conservative track-oriented setup or a slammed show setup depending on your goals.
With ride height, you can also adjust the front camber setup with the CS Coilovers include front camber plate, this kit comes to your door ready to install.
Lastly, and also somewhat unique to CS, is the design of the front coilovers. Instead of a more conventional and cost effective design, we’ve utilized an inverted damper design for improve performance. By inverting the front damper/shock, we’ve both reduce the unsprung weight of the front suspension and increased the rigidity. Both of these result in increased driver feedback and improved performance.
If you been considering lowering springs or coilovers for you Mazda 3 or Mazdaspeed 3 then give CS a good look. Thanks for taking the time to checkout CS, stay connected on the blog, newsletter and social media channels for upcoming performance parts for your Mazda.
You may be surprised to hear that there is yet another Rear Motor Mount available for the Mazdaspeed 3 platform in a market with more than a handful of options; however, this one is different. This RMM takes the idea box and kicks it to side as it makes a great leap towards style, performance and refinement. Ladies and Gentlemen, this is the new CorkSport Stage 2 Rear Motor Mount.
Mazdaspeed 3 Stage II mount
If you are even remotely familiar with the OE style (and many aftermarket options) RMM then you can clearly see that the CorkSport Stage 2 RMM is drastically different. Now let me explain why this is a good thing.
We all understand that the engine mounts isolate the engine from the chassis in an attempt to reduce and/or eliminate undesirable vibrations and noise experienced by the driver. That’s great and all, but what is really important is how the isolation is executed, specifically by the RMM. First, some background information.
There are three motor mounts working together to suspend the engine so let’s talk about the other two real quick. The transmission and passenger side motor mounts reside on the furthest ends of the assembled transmission and engine, respectively. These do most of the work supporting the engine given their positions, but a side effect of that is the aggressive rotational force they allow the engine to exert due to their transverse setup. This is where the rear motor mount comes in by managing the rotational force from the engine when applying power to the axles/tires.
Let’s take a look at the diagram below:
In the diagram, we are looking at the OE RMM installed on the vehicle. This view is looking at the RMM from the right-hand side of the vehicle. The diagram also attempts to show the general location of the transmission mount which is approximately where the transverse pivot point of the engine lies.
The engine exerts the rotational force onto the RMM shown with the double-end red arrow. This can be further broken down into directional components as shown with the blue arrows. The forward force is unavoidable due to the design of the system in a whole, but the downward force can be reduced or even eliminated with a clever design such as relocating the damping material from the OE location to a location closer to the engine pivot point. Note the length of the blue arrows as it will be different in the following diagram.
There are two key aspects of the CorkSport Stage 2 RMM that contribute to its superior performance and low NVH (noise, vibration, & harshness). First is the rigid design of the mount that installs into the sub-frame. This nearly eliminates any up and down pivot capabilities at the sub-frame thus reducing the magnitude of the up/down motion the RMM will allow. This feature has been used by a couple of other manufacturers in the community because of is superiority. Second, and more importantly, is the location and orientation of the polyurethane bushings. The horizontal orientation of the bushing allows the bushings to function and support the load in the same direction the engine exerts force. This results in a more durable design with less NVH.
Now comes the big game changer…the location of the bushings is in a location never done before in the Mazdaspeed 3 platforms. Comparing the OE RMM pivot location vs the CorkSport pivot location you will see that the CorkSport design moves the pivot point of the RMM forward in the vehicle. This is important because of how it relates to the natural pivot location of the entire engine/transmission. Moving the RMM pivot location further forward reduces the amount of downward force applied to the RMM at the sub-frame, thus reducing the NVH without compromising performance. This is shown by the different lengths blue arrows in the diagram. This allowed us to use very stiff 95A durometer polyurethane without compromising driver and passenger comfort.
Anyways, enough with the technical stuff; check out this video comparing the OE RMM and CorkSport Stage 2 RMM in action.
If this hasn’t blown you away already then let Jason Atwell’s Beta test review set it in stone for you…
“Tested out the new CS RMM and I’ve gotta say; I was dead set on the gold RMM I was currently using. Once I got the CS one, I installed it right away. The fitment was spot on, I hopped in the car and took it for a drive and noticed an even more solid feel in the shifts. The vibes are about the same as the gold RMM so all in all I’d have to say it’s a fantastic product and would recommend it.” – Jason Atwell
CorkSport is proud to announce the new Lower Control Arm Tie Bar for the 2007-2013 Mazdaspeed 3. The lower tie bar is designed to increase the stiffness of the front sub-frame assembly to improve driver feedback by reducing wheel hop and torque steer.
The CorkSport Lower Tie Bar works by connecting the front LCA inboard pivots together to add stiffness to the front of the sub-frame assembly as shown below.
Introducing the CorkSport Cold Air Intake System for the 2016+ Mazda ND Miata. Maintain your cool intake air temperatures without the restriction of the OEM intake.
The CorkSport CAI System was designed with performance, functionality, and significance in mind. This is not just a piece of metal pipe with an air filter on the end. This was thought out and designed with the latest technologies to give you a no-compromise intake system for your favorite weekend toy.
First, we focused on the system performance since we all want to go fast, right?
This proved to be more difficult than expected. Mazda did a good job designing their intake, but they did leave some room for improvement when you combine hard parts and a proper tune. Now, this isn’t surprising since cars have become more and more dependent on the tune, not just the physical parts. Below is a dyno-graph of the OEM intake system versus the CorkSport CAI System; a net gain of 3-4 WHp with the OEM tune.
So, what makes the CorkSport CAI System superior?
We wanted to create a system to provide smooth laminar flow which means removing any abrupt edges, sudden expansions, and tight radius bends. First, we use an AEM performance dry-flow filter that features an internal velocity stack design. Then we matched the billet aluminum MAF inner diameter to the filter for a seamless edge that provides smooth flow to the MAF sensor. Leaving the MAF, you see another velocity stack expansion with just a 2mm edge as the air enters the 4-layer reinforced silicone with large sweeping bends. Check out the cut-away view below!
Next, is the functionality of the CorkSport CAI System. We wanted the CAI to be a quick and easy installation without the need to remove the bumper or any other intensive parts. The cold air box is designed in CAD and through the iterative process of design, a 3D print, and test fittings, we were able to produce a box that fits great and still utilizes the OEM rubber isolators for mounting and the OEM cold air ducting.
Finally, we wanted to ensure the significance of the CorkSport CAI System, because nobody wants a piece of pipe with a filter on the end flopping around in their engine bay. We knew our awesome customers wanted more than just great performance. We know you want it to look great and that you’ll want to brag about it because we’re all car guys and gals, right? The CorkSport CAI uses premium silicone, a beautiful black anodized billet aluminum MAF housing, stainless fasteners, and high-quality thermoformed ABS that blends nicely into your engine bay.
Take a peek and you will probably find another broken steel, gold zinc-coated bracket. Stop your 4 month ritual to the local auto parts store and upgrade to something much better!
Introducing the new CorkSport Sway Bar Bracket!
Manufactured from high-grade 6061-T6 aluminum, these precision machined brackets are strong, durable, and look great. Plus it’s 100% designed and manufactured right here in the Pacific NW, USA. (BUY NOW)
But wait, there’s more!
Not only did we fix the broken bracket problem, we went a step further.We use 1” and 1-1/8” poly bushings to really get your sway under control.Made from 90A durometer polyurethane, these bushings are far stiffer and much more durable than rubber bushings.Polyurethane will not deform or crack over time like the rubber counterparts so frequently do.
Time to get technical!
If you have any doubts about the strength of the CorkSport brackets then let the next images put your mind at ease.The magenta arrows represent the force that is applied in the approximate direction that the bar pushes on the bracket.The green arrows represent the “fixturing” or bolting of the bracket to the vehicle.
Above is the FEA (Finite Element Analysis) result after applying a force of 1000 lbf to the steel bracket.Obviously the bracket has deformed significantly, but is also an exaggeration to show the deformation.The deformation scale factor is 16:1 (I’ll talk about this in more detail later).Now there are two key things to see from this image. 1. The yield strength of the material is ~51k PSI, but you can clearly see that the maximum stress in the bracket is ~150k PSI.2. That maximum stress is represented by the color red.If you look back at the first image in the blog you will see where the typical fracture in the bracket is; the exact same location as the red in the image above.
Now let’s take a look at the CorkSport bracket with the same force in the same direction.
Above is the FEA result after applying a force of 1000 lbf to the aluminum CorkSport bracket.Obviously the bracket has deformed significantly, but is also an exaggeration to show the deformation.The deformation scale factor is 192:1 (Yup, you read that right).Now let’s compare those two key things. 1. The yield strength of the material is ~31k PSI, but you can clearly see that the maximum stress in the bracket is only ~26k PSI.2. The bracket is not experiencing any yielding (permanent bending) due to the 1000 lbf.
Let’s talk about that “deformation scale factor”.In most instances when conducting FEA, the material deforms so little that you can’t actually see it.To assist in the designing process the computer program automatically scales the deformation (exaggerates it) so that the naked eye can easily see it.So what’s another way to “look” at this deformation scale factor?If the same force of 1000 lbf is applied to both brackets, yet the steel bracket has a 16:1 (small exaggeration) scale and the CorkSport bracket is 192:1 (extreme exaggeration) scale, then there is an obvious difference of strengths.
With such a huge difference, my engineering curiosity kicked in, I began investigating. The conclusion I came to is staggering.The steel bracket began to yield when a mere 350 lbf was applied, whereas the CorkSport bracket could handle 1200 lbf.This means that the CorkSport bracket is nearly 3.5 times stronger than the steel bracket!
