Tips | CorkSport Mazda Performance Blog

August 1, 2014April 24, 2021

Dear Car Guy – Don’t be a Jerk, Let’s get to Work

Dear Car Guy,

Hoping this finds you well and enjoying the late night rides with your “baby”, feeling the power beneath you and in your hands as you find your favorite spot to drive. Nothing like a late night summer drive to clear the mind and invoke positive vibes.

I’ve been well and learning more and more about how to connect with those same positive vibes while working. As you may know, I work in the customer service department. It’s like choosing to work in the missing baggage claim area, or being the person who empties porta-potties, you’re bound to catch some crap and unhappiness each day.

What’s nice about my job is I am the decision maker; there is no “manager” above me. Anyone who has a warranty claim or complaint knows they’re dealing directly with the person who will be making the decisions and coming to a mutually reasonable resolution. It’s more often than not that we do come to a mutually beneficial resolution, because I’ve been given permission to take care of our customers.

Now, in dealing with car companies, I know there are a lot of Car Guy’s that have horrific experiences, where a company has zero desire to take care of them or work through issues, so when they come to me with guns blazing and fists raised, I realize this is just from their past experiences.

I just wanted to take the time to tell you, that we’re a reasonable company and we know we’re not perfect, BUT we’re always willing to help. We’re always willing to work towards a solution, and we’re always going to get back to you.

So when you call, Car Guy, know that if I don’t pick up, you’ll hear from me that day. When you email, know that you’ll get a reply within that same day. When I say I’ll call you back, you will be receiving a call back. When you ask a question, we are always willing to find the answer.

I hope you can understand our side of things a little better now, but just a heads up: As a standard, our company values its employees, and realizes that mental health and emotional well-being are more important than making a few bucks.

For whatever reason, I have experienced some people that just want to spread hate, and ill will. A burned out LED bulb is not worth being yelled at, cursed at, or being a personal punching bag for an angry Car Guy. This would make sense if we were a company that didn’t at least attempt and DESIRE to solve the problems as quickly as possible. We will always try out hardest to take care of those people, because we understand that sometimes it’s just a bad day, or you’ve been put through the ringer by other companies before, but if necessary, I have been giving permission to “fire you”.

What does it mean to be fired as a customer?

Ex: Angry Car Guy calls us and decides to yell, curse and/or throw a tantrum while I am trying to help. I reserve the right to hang up on you and 86 you as a customer. When you threaten us with personal insults and call us amazingly unoriginal names, and I am on the verge of tears, it just isn’t worth it anymore to try and be polite back. We will end the call, and move on with our days. We are here to help, not be the scape goats for your bad day.

Put your fists away, put the guns down, and come at me with a positive mindset, knowing that I’m going to do anything and everything I can to get you taken care of. I’ll be in contact with you consistently to let you know what we need, and what we’re doing. If at any point you have questions, call me up and I’ll let you know what I’m working on.

I am a customer service specialist. Yes, by nature this job isn’t going to be the most amazing all the time. Sometimes we have fallen short as a company and it’s my part to fix it and make your experience a more pleasant one. I am just hoping that, after reading this, you will know that we are here to help, and that we know that we’re not perfect. Give a chance to make it a better experience, refrain from yelling (because honestly it makes me cry sometimes), and know that we’re doing everything we can to get you taken care of as soon as possible.

Until next time, stay fast, stay safe, and stay happy!

– Kim@CorkSport

July 23, 2014

Dear Car Guy – Tell Me What You Want

Dear Car Guy,

It’s been a while my friend. I hope this finds you well and enjoying the midsummer heat, hot nights, car shows, and scantily clad women that July and August tends to provide.

Over on our end of things, it’s been hot and busy! Keeping up with your requests has kept a smile on my face though. From a simple request for a drawing on the box, to the silly requests like sending livestock, “surprise me”, or simply “make me smile when I open this up”, it’s been a lot of fun and a good break to my day.

It got me thinking though, some of you get surprised without a request, others of you send them in as notes on your order, and still yet others will shoot a quick email saying you’d love to see what we at CorkSport can come up with.

So here I am, writing to you, sharing a few of my past favorite requests:

Though we can’t honor all requests, we certainly try our best! Whether you want us to build you a sling shot, a lizard drawing on your box, or simply request us to send you the strangest thing we can find in our desk… we love the personal aspect that we get to attach to your orders!

Often our best requests come from the comment field in order notes. Feel free to list notes, jokes, or requests in this box here:

So remember to feel free to request some drawings, or silly things, it breaks up the monotony and gives you (and us) a smile! Hope all stays well Car Guy! Until next time, stay fast, stay safe, and stay happy!

-K

April 9, 2014October 1, 2020

Why Every Mazdaspeed Owner Needs the Cobb Accessport

What is an accessport?

The Cobb Tuning Accessport is a device that communicates with your ECU (Engine Control Unit). When you own an accessport you will be able to read error codes, modify engine settings, and take informational logs of data to keep your Mazda running reliably, and to give it more power.

The main reason people purchase the accessport is to install maps on their car.

What is a map?

A map is a preconfigured group of settings or parameters for your car. Want your Mazdaspeed to get better gas mileage? Run the “Economy Mode Map.” Want your Mazdaspeed to run faster? Remove the boost limits in 1^st and 2^nd gear, then run a “Stage 1 Map.”

Related: Get a Free Map Sensor with the Mazdaspeed 3 Turbo Upgrade

Maps also allow you to tell your ECU specifically what power modifications you have done and how you want them running. If you have a new downpipe that flows better and Max Flow Fuel Pump Internals, then your ECU will need a new map installed that tells it how to control the boost levels by controlling the waste gate, the spark advance, ideal fuel pressure, fuel trims, and many other things.

So where do I get these maps?

The Cobb Accessport will come pre-installed with a few maps that are known as OTS (Off-The-Shelf) Maps. They are basic maps that should cover a wide variety of parts. Though they are more beneficial than keeping a stock ECU tune, they are nowhere near as beneficial as doing a custom tune. Custom tunes can be done by anyone with Accesstuner Pro who is willing to devote time to learning the ins and outs of engine control management. Most people who don’t want to spend hours tweaking small variables to meet safe and powerful conditions choose to get a tune done by a professional.

For the Mazdaspeed platform there are many tuners to choose from:

PDTuning
FreekTune
Dramatune
Or you could find a local tuner who will do a Dyno Tune

How do I use this thing?

The accessport is really rather simple. If you can use a modern smartphone, you can figure out the accessport.

Step 1: Find the OBD II port on your Mazdaspeed 3 (located on the left side of the dash above the hood lever, below the traction control switches.) and then plug the accessport cable in.
Step 2: Tell it to install. Make sure you follow all directions on the screen and don’t shut your car off halfway through install.

Once installed to your car the accessport will not be able to be installed in any other vehicle unless you uninstall it. This is called by many “marrying “ the accessport. You can only install an “unmarried” accessport to your car. If it’s already “married” it will not work, which is why buying one used can be so sketchy.

Now that it’s installed, you can change maps, do datalogs, and view check engine lights right from inside your car. When it isn’t installed, you can easily connect it to your computer and load the accessport manager to copy new maps to the device, or open datalogs in Excel. You can eve use tools such as Virtual Dyno to monitor performance gains.

The Final Step

Once you have installed the accessport and decided on the map to use there is only one thing left to do: Drive. Get out there and enjoy your car with its new power curve, removed boost limits, and better breathing. If you thought your car was fun before, just wait until you get an OTS map installed with your accessport and put the pedal down for the first time!

Once you’ve done that and realize how amazing it is, I dare you to get a custom tune for your specific car, modifications, gas, elevation, and driving habits. You will be BLOWN away.

Overall, the accessport is an amazing device that every Mazdaspeed owner should have for safety, reliability, power, and to learn more about your car. Let us know if you have any questions about them, or purchase one here.

Get the latest Mazdaspeed 3 Performance Parts from CorkSport

January 3, 2014October 16, 2017

The Best Power Mod For A Mazda

In the ongoing quest to make your Mazda more powerful, and fun to drive, we have developed many great aftermarket options.

The stock airbox and air intake on most Mazdas were designed for economy instead of power. The problem with using the stock filter and airbox is that it functions similar to breathing through a rag. The rag does a great job of keeping contaminants and dirt out, but it also requires extra effort to pull air in.

When you upgrade the intake to a CorkSport Short Ram Intake you remove the air stifling setup and finally breath freely. Suddenly, your car goes from an underpowered, oxygen lacking zombie, to the free breathing, throaty roar of increased horsepower and freedom.

Take a look at a section from our book “The Ultimate Mazda Performance Guide” about how a Short Ram intake system should be your first modification for power.

If you are looking to start the year off right, and are ready to upgrade your intake system we can answer any questions on which option is best for your ride.

Want to start 2014 off with some extra power? How about just letting your Mazda breathe easy? Thankfully you can do both with one simple modification, the Short Ram Intake.

www.corksport.com

July 25, 2013February 21, 2018

“Which intercooler should I get?”

“Which intercooler should I get?” At Corksport we get this question almost every day. The debate of top mount intercooler vs. front mount intercooler has been one that has raged on in the forums for years. Just looking around you will see both options on all sorts of cars. So what is the answer?

The Mazdaspeed 3 and Mazdaspeed 6 both come with top mount intercoolers (TMIC’s) from the factory. There are many reasons for this, but the main one is that it is much cheaper to manufacture and install. A Top Mount Intercooler can be installed directly to the engine at the factory so it is ready to drop into the car which saves both time and money.

Beside the TMIC, the other option available is the front mount intercooler (FMIC). Both styles have their pros and cons. The upsides of the TMIC is that it uses the shortest possible path from the turbo to the engine. This reduces the amount of time it takes for the car to accelerate, this feeling can be amplified between shifts when the power comes back on very quickly. The TMIC also is very simple and compact with very few connections and possible places to leak. A TMIC will also weigh very little compared to a FMIC setup and usually is in a place with very good airflow.

The downside of TMIC’s is that they are generally limited in size by the design of the car and can be much smaller than most FMIC’s. They are typically placed very high in the engine bay, raising the car’s center of gravity. Most importantly though, the biggest downside of the TMIC is that it sits in a hot engine bay. Just by sitting on top of the motor, the TMIC can soak up heat thereby decreasing its effectiveness in cooling the air compressed by your turbo.

The principals are mostly the same for the pros and cons of the FMIC. The core of a FMIC can be much larger, and in the case of a properly designed system, can cool temperatures much more effectively. Being placed further away from the engine and out into the stream of air can make the FMIC much cooler and more importantly, more consistent. One last reason that many people love FMIC’s is the look, nothing says I mean business more than a massive bar and plate core smiling in your rear view.

The biggest downside of a FMIC is that the install process is much longer. Other downsides of FMIC’s can be the much longer piping needed to route compressed air to them. This piping can increase turbo lag and usually has many couplers that can have the potential to leak or cause other issues.

So what does CorkSport say? As a general rule we would say if you don’t plan to add more than 50-100 horsepower, a top mount intercooler will work just fine and be much easier on your plans and wallet. If you eventually want to go wild with your car and build it up much higher than stock, you will probably want to look hard at a front mount intercooler. Our advice would be to try to plan in advance what you want out of the car so that you only have to buy parts once.

Happy spooling!