After a semi trailer’s re-tread tire shattered our Mazda 2’s windshield and ruined the hood (I’ll leave that for Derrick to write about since he was driving), it was time for some much needed TLC. To start with, we fitted the 2 with a new CorkSport Stainless Steel exhaust (still in the testing phase). It includes a cat-delete pipe, full mandrel bent piping, and a 90mm rolled dual wall tip. The exhaust gives a nice, but not overbearing tone that even your significant other will not complain about.
The next Christmas present the 2 received is a new front strut tower bar. There was not much clearance for this bar to fit, but we managed to make it work. The bar utilizes laser cut mounting plates and even allows you to keep the brake reservoir in its stock location. As shown in the picture, the bar is black powder coated and installs in just minutes.
The last item that hasn’t made its way on to the 2 yet is a quick-release rear hatch brace similar the the Mazda 3 version that we currently sell. The prototype bar utilizes cnc milled mounts that will be totally hidden behind the hatch molding except for the actual mounting holes.
My initial impressions of the 2 were that it was simply a commuter sub-compact. Now that I have spent several days working on and driving this car, I have come to like it’s fuel efficient and nimble stature.
Have a new product idea or question? Feel free to email me.
I have been one of the Product Development Engineers here at CorkSport for roughly nine months. During that time, I have helped complete projects that were already in the works before I was here, completed projects on my own, and have started projects that are still in the development process. One project that I have been working on (other than physical part development) since I started here has been getting some of our parts California Air Resource Board (CARB) approved. After nine long months, I can now check that off my to-do list (at least for a few of our parts).
Our 2010-up Mazdaspeed 3 Short Ram Intake (SRI), 2007-2009 Mazdaspeed 3 SRI, 2006-2007 Mazdaspeed 6 SRI, and our 2007-up CX-7 SRI will now be CARB certified. This is the full intake kit that consists of the filter, MAF housing, silicone couplers, and turbo inlet pipe (TIP) as shown in the picture below. In the next few weeks we will be receiving a legal Executive Order (EO) number assigned to these intake packages. That EO number will be affixed to the intake system which will designate it as CARB approved (50-state legal).
If you already have our intake system for one of these vehicles, DO NOT WORRY! No, we can’t legally send you a sticker to put on your intake, but when you go in to the smog check station, they will look up our intake and verify that you have the same intake system on your vehicle.
The process of getting a performance part CARB certified is lengthy and time consuming, but we feel that making parts that are legal in all 50 states is very important.
Feel free to contact me if you have any questions!
Here at CorkSport, we recently held a focus group to help understand what we can do better as a company. One of the things that were shown to be important to you, the customer, is to be more transparent in regards to what products we are currently working on and what you can expect to see released for sale in the near future. This post will be about some of the new products we have coming down the line, but our knowledgebase is your one-stop place for FAQs, testimonials, install instructions, and new product development.
In trying to expand our product line, we are looking into branching out into some new types of products that we don’t currently offer such as the mudflaps in the picture below. We are going to be coming out with a set of mudflaps with our logo embossed, laser etched or screen printed onto the back of them. They will be made of high quality polyurethane and will hopefully be available for several Mazda models. They will utilize stock mounting locations and come with everything needed for installation.
We will be releasing our CorkSport Short Ram Intake kit for the Mazda 2 in the next week or two. This will utilize a redesigned MAF housing specifically designed for the 2 and shows gains of 5-6 ft-lbs of torque and 3-4.5 hp.
Next on the list is a license plate relocation bracket that will fill out just about all of the newer Mazda vehicles that we currently don’t offer a plate relocation kit for. The picture below shows that kit on our Mazda 2. The kit includes a smoked Lexan plate with our new logo milled in. It also includes locking screws to help reduce the risk of someone stealing your license plate.
Finally, our amazingly popular Aluminum Skidplate for the 2010+ Mazda/Mazdaspeed 3 will soon be available for the 2004-2009 Mazda 3 and 2007-2009 MazdaSpeed 3. This upgrade from the factory undertray offers a removable oil filter cover that does not require you to take off the entire skidplate to change your oil. It also offers added protection and increased ground clearance compared to the factory undertray.
These are just a few of the products that we have coming down the pipeline in the near future. Be sure to keep checking our knowledgebase for updates and new product postings.
I had three 3 days to take in SEMA this year. I estimate that I probably I walked around 40 miles (it felt that way by Thursday afternoon at least). The aisles were busier this year with people and exhibitors when compared to 2009. The most common vehicles shown at SEMA were Camaros and Mustangs, new and old, tons of them everywhere.
The vehicle which I think had the strongest showing besides the usual muscle cars was the Ford Fiesta. I saw at least 15 or these cars which had been modified in one way or another with various themes. I expect to see more and more of these on the road over the next few years. Most of the themes shown on the Fiesta were more lifestyle oriented over sheer performance. Ford did have some trick rally ready parts available for the Fiesta if you wanted to go off road your car.
One car I expected to see more of was the Chevy Volt. I saw only one, and that was in the Chevy booth. For a car which GM has been touting for 3 years you would expect a few pre-production cars to be seen around the show. My thought is they are pulling another GM move and it will be several more years until they finally get the car into production. The car looks great in person even though I would never own one.
Weird item of the show was the Green Hornet car for the upcoming movie. The car was in the Royal Purple booth. It made for an odd combo of missiles, machine guns and lubricants.
I was disappointed this year though with the showing of Mazdas, I was expecting more. There was not one Mazdaspeed 3 or any other Mazdaspeed Mazda at the show. There were two nice Mazda 3s in the Mazdaspeed booth, one time attack car which started life as a world challenge car and a great concept vehicle turbocharged Mazda 3 sedan which was also shown at last years SEMA show.
Also shown in the Mazdaspeed booth was a Rolex 24 hour winning RX8 with a devious body scheme. The left side and the rear was the FXDD car and the other side of the car was in the Castrol Dark Grey.
There were four Mazda 2s at the show. Two were in the Mazda booth, one in the H&R suspension booth and the 4th in the booth across from the Mazdaspeed booth. All of the Mazda 2s at the show were equipped with European bumpers and two had the European market lighting. The lip kits on several of the cars are designed for the euro bumpers so they do not work with North American market vehicles but they do look good. I spoke with the company who produced the kits and they are working on them for North American cars. The roll cage and race car prep on the grey Mazda 2 was done by AWR racing out of California and it looked good. It makes me want to tear out the interior of my car and go racing.
If I was to compare the show overall to last year it was better. There were plenty of new ideas, great looking cars, and people to meet with all week. Maybe next year we can see more Mazdas at the show.
Being a product development engineer at CorkSport has many perks, but the latest one was a chance to go to SEMA (Specialty Equipment Manufacturers Association) in Las Vegas. The weeklong event is the culmination of a year long process that thousands of companies have put into various vehicles and aftermarket parts. There was everything from smaller companies showcasing a new line of off-road vehicles, to Ford’s new police vehicle (long overdue).
The part that the majority of the public does not know is the education side of things. Being a member of SEMA allows us to go to seminars that are specifically geared towards helping smaller businesses (like CorkSport) evolve. These seminars are put on by successful people in the industry (usually a panel of experts in the related field). They had everything from how to make a viral video, to industry trends and what car manufacturers and planning for the future. This helps us get a head start on continuing to make quality products at an affordable price.
The other side of things that you may not realize about SEMA is the networking side of things. I know this is true for me, and most likely for a lot of you as well: the majority of the people I communitate with for various parts, hardware, equipment, etc, I never actually meet in person, rather only via email or phone. SEMA is a great chance to put a face to a name and get to know the person I am doing business with a little better.
I was also able to squeeze in a little non-work related fun such as getting to sit in the actual car Ken Block used in the Gymkhana 3 video and watch some trophy trucks race around the parking lot.
I will end with a couple very helpful hints for any future SEMA goers. Wear comfortable shoes! This is a must. I’m guessing I walked a minimum of a marathon in two and a half days. My second tip is to bring a backpack. You will get lots of little lanyards and posters and a backpack is much easier to walk with a place to store them. Finally, bring lots of water. The heat and walking around will dehydrate you and paying $3 for little 12oz bottles can get expensive.
