Being that I usually post about new parts coming out, I thought I would change it up a little and blog about something different. We are finally rolling out some SWAG with our new logo on it here at CorkSport and one of my favorites is the slap-on can koozie. It features our new logo screen printed on a fabric layered over neoprene. It also utilizes two of the old slap bracelets that some of you may remember, so it will fit various sizes of cans and bottles. However, it does not come with installation instructions or telephone technical support.
Being an engineer, I tried to come up with a way to still get some useful data out of this post. I came up with a comparison of two typical domestic beers straight out of the fridge: one in our new can koozie and one without. The picture below shows my two test victims (opened to simulate someone who is actually drinking a beer).
For four hours, I took temperature readings of each beer every 15 minutes. The ambient temperature in my office was about 73 degrees F and the fridge remains roughly constant at 38 degrees. As you can see, both beers start out at 38 degrees (the temperature of the fridge) and remain fairly similar to one another for the first hour. However, from hours 1-4, the can in the koozie stayed roughly 7-9 degrees cooler. This may not sound like a lot, but you have to take into account that it also keeps your hand from warming up the beer as well (I did not test for that, but it may be a good excuse to retest).
In the end, the CorkSport slap-on can koozie did its job and I had an excuse to drink beer at work, albeit 71.3 & 63.9 degree beer after staring at untouched open beers for four hours.
We recently added a new part to our webpage, the Xcorder. I had a chance to drive around with one for a few weeks getting more familiar with the unit.
The primary feature is the video capture. The camera is always running on the unit and the videos get saved in 1 minute chunks in an MP4 format. The wide angle lens does a really good job of showing everything in front of recorder. You can see the complete windshield the Xcorder’s entire view.
I got a chance to test out the load sensor in the Xcorder doing product testing. I took the Xcorder out for a spin in the Mazda 2 with a new rear bar to get an idea of how many g’s I could pull around a roundy-round intersection. In the video below you can see the path I was taking and the g-load spikes. I came close to pulling 1 g around the turn which is shown just under the video screen (the spikes on the x-axis). You also get a good look at where I was doing said suspension testing in Vancouver with the GPS location. After recording the video I noticed that I slowed down going around the corner. I did not want to slow down; my sub-conscience took over while driving. This will give me something to check while competing in the next auto-x. If I can correct a throttle lift at points on the course where I need to be on the throttle it can result in quicker times.
If you really want to amuse yourself with the Xcorder turn it around backwards so you can see the expressions of the drivers and passengers. You would get a wide angle view of everyone and their faces while driving. (check out those white knuckles on Jake)
If you have kids it also gives you a great deterrent against the sibling “she said he said” conflicts that can occur in the back seats.
Getting the videos off the unit is really a snap. The SD memory card pops out of the side which is super handy. The video and picture above, I pulled off the SD card on my laptop in a few minutes.
Is it worth the $199? You bet it is. The little bit of data- logging information I gains from looking at my driving in the corner testing out the g loads is something I had no idea I was doing. That little piece of information is worth it in competition events. The extra insurance the Xcorder offers makes an incredible value. Having a constantly running video recording can be invaluable. I hope I never have to pull a video off of the unit to prove who caused a traffic accident.
Being one of the product development engineers here, I have seen many ideas submitted by customers. Some crazy, some very practical, some impossible and some of them eventually grow to become a part that we produce and sell. I have never seen more people interested and dedicated to any other submitted idea than a skidplate built specifically for their 3. Being that this is not something we typically sell, we thought, why not.
You wanted a larger opening for oil filter changes? Done. A one-piece aluminum design mounted to the sub-frame that won’t flop around in the wind? Whammy. More ground clearance? Shazam. An undertray that will protect against the elements better than the stock plastic one? You got it. (The lowest part of the skidplate is directly mounted to the sub-frame via two M12 and two M14 bolts to factory threaded holes.). Finally, something that won’t rip off when you reverse out of your parking spot in a foot of snow? Check.
The result of your input is the product below. A piece that reminds me of the many winters in Minnesota and the UP of Michigan where I would have loved to have had this on my car.
We have put some miles on the Mazda 2 over the last month and a half. We are approaching the 2000 mile mark. At this point the engine is well broken in and up to the challenge of some performance driving.
I had a chance to Autocross the Mazda 2 on Sept 18th at a local SCCA event held at Portland International Raceway. I signed up the car for time only runs to see how it would do. If the Mazda 2 was to be in a specific class it would be ST class according to the SCCA rules with the current modifications. This would pit me up against Mazda 3s, Honda Civics, Mini Coopers (non S models), etc.
The course that was laid out was tight and technical with not many sections to build up speed. The weather decided to liberally apply water to the course making setting record speeds pretty tough. After taking my turn working on the course and watching other cars maneuver through it was my turn to give a go. I do have experience driving around cones racing rally cross so I am not a total novice. This also means I had expectations of what the 2 would do on the auto cross course.
For the first run I left the DSC (dynamic stability control) turned on. I wanted to see how much affect it would have at a maximum drive. The first few corners went well and I could not feel the DSC engage at any point. When I hit the first short slalom I felt the car try to rein in my driving. A quick back and forth transition around the 3rd cone combined with me applying the brakes to get the car to unload the rear tires to make a quick right hand turn got the DSC light to kick on. I could tell the car closed the throttle and killed some of the power because it took a second to get my momentum back up for a “Chicago Box”.
Overhead view of cones as a “Chicago Box”
With the Mazda 2 the Chicago box was a breeze, just drive in and out with just steady speed and quick steering inputs. After the Chicago box there were a few more corners and into another slalom which once again the DSC came back half way through it. What is happening is the cone side front tire is unloading enough for the wheel to slip and it triggers the DSC. After the end of the slalom there was a tight left hand corner which transitioned to a longer sweeping corner. This corner trigger the DSC as the car wanted to under steer to the outside. I was off and on the throttle trying to get the car to rotate and get back in tighter to the apex of the corner. With the DSC turned on the throttle inputs did not help. The final section of the course was a short straight which did a 180 turn to the left and the end of the course with the timing lights. To make the corner with the Mazda 2 I opted for the e-brake approach. It worked ok but I was caught in 2nd gear so I didn’t have enough power to quickly get across the finish line after the turn. I netted a 52.68 for a time on the run which was ok for the really wet course.
The second run I ramped it up a bit. I took the DSC off and pushed the car as hard as I could. I discovered several things on the second run.
#1: The car will really under steer if pushed hard in the wet. I tried off and on throttle, left foot braking, Finnish flicks, you name it to get the 2 to rotate with no really sure fire method that worked.
#2: You can get rubber on the 1st to 2nd gear change with the DSC off. There were two spots where I had to get into second gear due to bouncing off the rev limiter and both of them occurred just before the slalom sections.
#3: With the DSC off, you can get the ABS to engage quite often. I had the ABS turn on several times with hard braking and turning which would unload a rear tire. With the brakes applied and weight transfer it was enough to cause the rear tire to lock up and trigger the ABS.
#4: Using the E-brake on the last corner only works so-so. When you get the back of the 2 swung around and get back on the throttle the car will under steer pushing you really wide. This resulted in some extra time getting the car lined up with the timing lights at the end of the run.
#5: You can use the E-brake to get the car to really slide sideways. Unfortunately the under steer takes affect after a few seconds and ruins the fun but not before you can get some great pictures.
The second run netted me a 51.86 second time but I hit some cones in the process. The third run I picked up a passenger to take along. I could tell the extra ballast was in the car. The run was slower despite not hitting any cones. If you are going to race a Mazda 2 in Autocross make sure you leave the passengers out until the scoring runs are done. My 3rd run was 53.03 seconds.
I got a chance to try out several different techniques for the three extra runs which had mixed results. The big handling obstacle to overcome is the under steer in the Mazda 2. We have a solution in the works so check back for updates.
So how did I do compared to the other cars which I would be classed against in ST? There was a Mazda 3 hatch which was running at the same time which posted times of 53.96, 54.43, and 53.59 seconds. A Mazdaspeed 3 running at the same time posted times of 55.07, 53.18, and 52.94 seconds. The Mazdaspeed 3 would be in a different class due to the power modifications but you can see the 2 would be competitive against it. If you compare the times against the more powerful cars you can see the Mazda 2 would do well. I want to try out the Mazda 2 on high speed auto cross courses to see if I would have the same success against the same cars.
Overall I really enjoyed running the Mazda 2 in the auto cross. It handled better than I expected with my driving style and proved to be very predictable.
I would like to give a thank you to Ceejay for the pictures I used in the blog. He stood out in the rain shooting pictures while I and the other MazdasNW people drove around the cones during the afternoon.
After putting almost two thousand miles on our new Mazda 2, we have already added our own touches to the car to make it a true CorkSport vehicle. The two pictures below shows our CorkSport License Plate Relocation Bracket, which has been modified from the current Mazda 3 application to not only to fit on the passenger side of the vehicle, but also with a prototype Lexan frame (Production part would be a black opaque Lexan with our new CS logo etched on the face if we do go with Lexan). It utilizes the stock tow hook location so no drilling or cutting is required.
Another new product we have in the works for release in the near future is and LED kit that would replace the license plate, hatch, and interior lights with LED’s (license plate light can be seen in picture below reflecting off the ground). The kit would also include two LED amber blinker bulbs (for the front blinkers) with built in resistors to keep flash rates normal, but with an updated and refined look. Additionally, we are getting ready to release a fog/DRL light kit (shown in the picture below) for the 2 as well as the 3, 6, CX-7 and RX-8. As you can see in the picture below, the 23 LED bulbs put off a 6,000K color, which matches the LED light kits that we currently sell.
Finally, we are finishing up testing and validation of our CorkSport Power Series Short Ram Intake for the Mazda 2. It includes all of the features of past CS SRI kits such as a silicone coupler, T-bolt clamps, and a machined and anodized MAF housing (anodized version not shown in picture) and CS logo etched post anodizing.
Look for all these products to be available in the very near future. Don’t see a product in the works for your 2 that you want to see made? Have an idea for any other part you want to see get made? Submit a product idea here.
