Tag: turbo

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Safely Upgrade Your Mazdaspeed Turbo

It doesn’t take long for those building power to use up the stock Mazdaspeed K04 turbo. They are prone to fail, especially when you start shoving that extra air through it. A common question is, “My Mazdaspeed is smoking, is my turbo bad?”

First things first. There is a BIG difference between replacing a bad turbo and upgrading Mazdaspeed K04 to a more efficient one for more power. If you want to replace it, go with OEM and just plug and play, you’re good to go, wash your hands, and get on with your life. This will have your car up and running pretty quickly. However, your maximum power output will be limited and you will eventually have the same problem – the Mazdaspeed KO4 turbo will fail.

If you are saying to yourself, “It’s time to upgrade the K04 Turbo…I NEED more power in my life!” Then this blog is for you. Below, we lay out the basics needed to successfully install a CorkSport Mazdaspeed Turbo, highlighting the required supporting modifications to keep your Mazdaspeed safe. As a bonus, we keep our installation instructions on each of our product pages, so you can preview how easy the installation will be for your experience level.

Mazdaspeed Turbo Upgrade for the K04 BNR

Here it is, the list is comprised of the BARE essentials to run the 18G CorkSport turbo.

HPFP INTERNALS

Giving you 50% more efficiency with your fueling system, as well as, a strong base to build power for your Mazdaspeed. The CorkSport Max Flow Fuel Pump Internals are built to directly replace your stock fuel pump internals and perform with immediate improvements.

CorkSport fuel pump vs. competitors

ACCESSPORT (or VERSATUNE if you have a CX-7)

The Cobb Accessport will give you the basis for tuning, and since this is required with the CorkSport turbo – you’ll want to make sure you have this in hand and ready for when you install your turbo.

These are the basic foundations of our Mazdaspeeds, without these two items you cannot operate your Mazda after installing an upgraded turbo.  You will need your Mazdaspeed tuned, and your tuner is going to say the same thing.

That’s it, that’s all you need to run the CorkSport Mazdaspeed turbo safely. With this proper foundation, you can put yourself in a position for efficiency, or more power.

Mazdaspeed turbo upgarde and installed on a Mazdaspeed 3

Now the question is do you want to make it go fast and harness the power that this turbo is built for? Keep reading and we’ll provide some other awesome upgrades that are the next step once you have your turbo installed and running.  Oh, and if you are looking for a proven path to make 400WHP, check out our Chasing 400 WHP Blog here!

2013 Mazdaspeed 3 Engine bay with TMIC, SRI and Turbo inlet pipe, CST4

CorkSport Upgraded 3.5” Intake

The CorkSport turbo is rated for up to 450WHP with the right set up. Unless you are going for the MOON and shooting for over 700WHP a 3.5” intake will be more than sufficient for this turbo. Giving you some extra airflow to increase your power range, and harness what your Mazdaspeed3 is capable of. Note: Will require additional tuning!

Mazdaspeed 3 Turbo Back Exhaust

CorkSport Mazdaspeed Downpipe

Doesn’t matter if you go with a high-flow catalyst or opt-in for one without, the choice is yours. However, if you want to utilize its flow you are going to have to upgrade to a bigger diameter. Our 80mm one does really well, plus it sounds GREAT.  Note: Will require additional tuning!

The CorkSport Cat Back Exhaust System gives your new 2016 Miata the power it needs without the annoying drone.

CorkSport Cat-Back Exhaust

It’s no secret that car engines are just big air pumps, the faster you can shove air into the engine and how fast you can expel it efficiently is what it takes to make more power. No need to run the stock 63.5mm exhaust when you can run our 80mm (like to wake up the neighbors every morning, go with our non-resonated, you can’t beat the cold start)

Top Mount intercooler or the Mazdaspeed

CorkSport Top Mount Intercooler

If your power goal is 450whp or less you can get away with just upgrading your TMIC and be on your way and they look great in your engine bay.  Note: Will require additional tuning!

If you have the 2nd gen you can really utilize that hood scoop from the factory.  Not only that but you can even see a noticeable performance gain with our larger hood scoop and a TMIC set up.

When it comes to your Mazdaspeed we know you want to create safe power and harness the true potential of your ride. Be sure to build upon the proper foundation and head in the right direction for your build. Our techs are available for any questions you have and are ready to assist with planning your Mazdaspeed build path! Any questions – give us a call directly – (360)260-2675, email to sa***@co*******.com or leave a comment and we’ll get back to you!

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Collaborating with CorkSport – R&D for the Community

My name is William Dawson; for those who do not know me, I am owner/tuner at Purple Drank Tuning. In this Guest blog, I want to bring up some of the research & development I was able to contribute to with CorkSport (behind the scenes) to help bring some new performance parts to the Mazda community.

One day, many months ago, I was approached by Barett@CS to help with the tuning and development of some mystery parts CorkSport had in the works. Being who I am, I couldn’t turn down the chance to work on some new projects that could help continue to push the Mazda platform we love.  

With the pleasantries out of the way, we got down to the plan and the data.  Barett had a list of goals and how he wanted to move through the parts in testing.  The amount of data that was communicated through the first live tuning session was great. On the CorkSport in-house dyno we took their shop car to an impressive 420whp (e48 + 6 port setup) with stock manifolds, stock throttle body, and stock camshafts.

This laid the groundwork and set the stage for their product release of the CS Camshafts which gained 22whp across the curve. Along with the power increase, the camshaft upgrade also netted surprising results with turbo response.  The turbo spooled 100rpms quicker than the factory camshaft allowed. THESE ARE DROP IN RESULTS, ZERO ADJUSTMENTS! 

Mazdaspeed camshaft

Efficiency hit us with another surprise when we decided to put the CS Intake Manifold (set to re-release in early 2019) on the car and help the engine balance all of the air we have begun shoving into our test vehicle. Once again CorkSports engineering pays off with another 9whp increase and 100 rpm quicker spool up. The car lost 2-3 psi of boost which we were happy to put back in the car allowing for us to do an apples-to-apples comparison but the numbers elude me so I cannot speak to what we ended up with on that day. 

 

Mazdaspeed 3 intake manifold

 

At this point we did not know how much more we could get as the CorkSport Mazdaspeed Drop-In Turbo that was installed on the test car was producing an impressive 450whp, this did not stop us as we needed to test one more item. In comes the CS 72mm Throttle Body, this upgrade was constantly overlooked by the Mazdaspeed3 and Mazdaspeed6 community because of other attempts to get an upgraded throttle body created complications with drive by wire tables and throttle response.

Personally having a 75mm TB and not being able to enjoy the on/off throttle response and laggy part throttle was a very frustrating experience; one that even made me skeptical.  Then getting to test CorkSports product was MIND BLOWING! The test car again spooled around 100rpms sooner and throttle response was phenomenal; all with just removing 4 bolts and swapping a Throttle Body this is insanity. This team did it again, my disbelief overshadowed by pure joy that they developed a working unit and it far surpassed the factory unit in throttle response and driveability. 

 

Mazdaspeed3 72mm throttle body

 

I have known the CorkSport family for years and it does not matter what department I am working with they are always on point and pleasant to deal with regardless of the situation. Between PD and CorkSport I could not be happier to invest countless hours of hard work and R&D to allow this winning family to provide further developments and support to the Mazdaspeed 3 and Mazdaspeed 6 platforms. 

 

– Will Dawson (PD Tuning)

 

Special thanks to Will for committing his time and expertise to help CorkSport continue to grow and support the Mazdaspeed community.    – Barett @ CorkSport

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600hp Mazdaspeed 3 Build Path – CorkSport Barett’s 2009 Mazdaspeed

If you haven’t heard already, the CorkSport Dyno Day and Summer Event was a blast with food, friends, raffles, a Show-N-Shine, and the continuous string of dyno runs.  The highlight of the dyno runs came when one of the CorkSport Engineers, Barett, put his car on the rollers.  With a few minutes of warm up and anticipation building, it was finally time to see what the “CorkSport Speed” could do. 

600+ WHP Mazdaspeed 3 on Dyno

Getting past the ecstatic crowd to see the dyno screen showed an impressive 620whp/530wtq.  Now, whether you were at the show or not, you may be wondering what Barett’s setup is to support these numbers.  It’s not a short list but is simpler than you would expect. 

In this blog, we are going to layout the WHOLE build to show you how your Mazdaspeed can make 600+whp.  

Dynograph data of Maszdaspeed 3 625 WHP

The engine was built by CorkSport in preparation for setting up the Dankai Engine Program.  It features Manley Connecting Rods and Platinum Pistons, head work very similar to the Dankai 2 Built Longblock, along with the CS BSD (balance shaft delete) and CorkSport Camshafts.  Holding the block together are L19 head studs and ARP 2000 main studs.  

To get the air in and out of the engine efficiently we have an assortment of bolt-on parts and some prototype parts because what kind of CorkSport R&D car wouldn’t have some prototype performance parts on it?  To break this down in the simplest way possible we have laid out a full build list:

600hp Mazdaspeed 3 Build List:

  • CorkSport Built Engine:
    • Manley Pistons – 0.5mm overbore @ 88mm
    • Manley H-Beam Connecting Rods
    • CS Balance Shaft Delete
    • “Dankai 2” Ported Headed: Single Runner Intake, Bowl Work, Combustion Chamber Touch Up, Exhaust Porting
    • CS Camshafts
    • Stock Valve Springs (We would recommend upgrading these and plan to do so ourselves)

Now, this isn’t the complete list, but it does lay out most of the essential parts to get your Mazdaspeed 3 over 600whp.  You might have picked out a couple “prototype” mentions in that list above…well we can share a bit on the new CorkSport Mazdaspeed Turbo.  You’ve seen the power it can make…and it still has some more left in it up top, now check it out some sexy billet and massive turbine.

Mazdaspeed 3 Turbo for making 600 WHP
Mazdaspeed 3 Turbo Turbine Closeup for 600+ WHP

Lastly, none of this power would be possible without the fuel to support it.  As you may know already, the OE direct injection fuel system taps out around 380whp on an efficient build so how do we make another 240whp?  Auxiliary fueling is the key my friends, and we recently posted a blog to help you explore Methanol Auxiliary Fueling that I invite you to read.  To stay focused on Barett’s 600+whp build we have made an auxiliary fueling build list below:

Upgrade Your Turbo with the CST4

Methanol Auxiliary Fueling 600hp Mazdaspeed Build List:

  • AEM Boost Based Pump Controller
  • Snow Performance 5 Gallon Cell Trunk Mounted w/CS Prototype Mounting Bracket
  • AEM 80 micron in-line filter pre-pump
  • ProMeth 220psi Pump (Essential for flowing this volume of methanol)
  • Snow Performance Solenoid
  • Devil’s Own 1in/4out distribution block
  • 4x Devil’s Own 90degree nozzle holders
  • 4x ProMeth Compact Check Valves (Essential for proper AFR control between shifts)
  • 4x Devil’s Own D07 Nozzles (One per intake manifold runner; each flowing ~10gph)

Despite that this auxiliary fuel setup is providing the fuel required to support just over 600whp; it is at the ragged edge of what can be supported.  Looking at the dyno graph further up you can see torque decline after 6000rpm and horsepower go flat. This is due to the auxiliary fuel system reaching its maximum fueling capacity and thus forcing us to reduce boost pressure as engine RPM goes past 6000rpm.  

At this power level, true port injection auxiliary fueling is the correct step to take.  Lucky for you guys and gals, we are currently exploring this path with our product R&D. We plan to give you guys and gals a full breakdown of our experience and how we built a full port injection auxiliary fuel system that can support over 600whp.  

AND…I forgot to mention one very critical aspect of this entire build.  Professional Tuning! This specific build was E-Tuned on the CorkSport in-house dyno by Dale Owen of Gem Tuning.  E-Tuning is a great way to set up your car with the tuner that is the best suited for your platform and vehicle build because it doesn’t require the tuner and the vehicle to be in the same place at the same time.  

Hang tight for more on the PI Auxiliary Fueling and thanks for tuning in with CorkSport Performance.

-Barett @ CS

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Mazda’s Dynamic Pressure Turbo – A Closer Look

There has been a lot of buzz about the new(ish) turbocharged SkyActiv-G 2.5L first found in the Mazda CX-9 and now in the Mazda 6.  Along with all this buzz, there are a lot of unknowns as well. Here at CorkSport, we’ve taken the step to try and address some of these unknowns.  What is Mazda’s “Dynamic Pressure Turbo” and how does it work? There have been diagrams bouncing around on the internet, but no close-up view of the turbocharger itself.  That’s about to change.

Mazda 6 Turbo

If you haven’t already read Daniel’s first installment, “Mazda Dynamic PressureTurbo an Introduction.” You wouldn’t want to miss out on the extra information before reading on.

Mazda 6 Turbo

The turbocharger found in the 2.5T equipped CX-9 and 6 is quite complex in design.  There are many aspects to the OE turbocharger we could discuss, but today we are going to focus solely on the dynamic pressure system and turbine housing.  

If you are reading this, then you’ve probably already seen various diagrams depicting how the dynamic pressure system works and showing Mazda’s clever 3-2-1 exhaust port design.  If you haven’t, check it out below.  Image credit to Car And Driver Magazine for the fantastic diagram.  

The Mazda Turbocharger 4-3-1 design

Mazda’s 3-2-1 exhaust port design takes full advantage of the engine cylinder firing order.  The advantage is improved exhaust gas scavenging for the adjacent cylinder (more or less the cylinder that just fired helps pull the exhaust gases out of the next cylinder that is about to fire).  Ok, moving on; this is great, but how does the dynamic pressure system come into the mix?

Mazda 6 Turbo Skyactiv design

Shown here are the turbocharger assembly and the dynamic pressure valve assembled as one unit (the first two images also showed the fully assembled setup).  The three ports are clearly visible along with the “vane” that passes through the three ports. This vane rotates depending on the engine RPM to control the exhaust gas velocity entering the turbine housing.  The vane itself is controlled by the larger blue-colored actuator.

Mazda 6 Turbo design for exhaust velocity

Now let’s take an even closer look.  The vane does not open until approximately 1600rpm, but the engine cannot run if there is no exhaust gas can flow out of the engine.  To resolve this Mazda has designed a dynamic pressure system with two exhaust gas paths.  Looking at the above image you can see a small opening just above the vane. This is the sub-1600rpm exhaust gas path.  

By reducing the cross-sectional area of the exhaust gas path, the exhaust is forced to accelerate through the dynamic pressure system and into the turbine wheel.  This effectively reduces turbo lag, improving the vehicle’s response at low engine RPM. Once the engine revs past 1600rpm the vane opens, allowing the larger path to be used.   

Mazda 6 turbocharger

Here we show the turbocharger assembly (right) and the dynamic pressure valve assembly (left) separated.  Looking at the dynamic pressure valve assembly, you can now more clearly see the three small paths above the larger path with the vane inside.  Then look at the turbocharger assembly and you will see the small upper path and the larger lower path.

The fact that these two assemblies are separate systems is great news for the enthusiast.  The development of a performance turbocharger will be much more feasible and the dynamic pressure valve can be retained with the performance turbocharger.  One more detail to point out.

Mazda 6 turbocharger design for exhaust pressure

Mazda put a lot of thought into the design of the wastegate port; let me show you why.  First, looking at the inlet of the turbine housing you can see a small vertical wall in the large path.  This wall creates a completely separate path to the wastegate port which is very unusual on an OE turbocharger. Combine this design with a very large wastegate port and you get a design that can “waste” or divert an excessive amount of exhaust gas.

Mazda 6 turbocharger design for skyactive-g 2.5l

This tells us the SkyActiv-G 2.5L engine is creating a lot of (currently) unused exhaust gas energy.  Again this supports the feasibility of a performance turbocharger suiting Mazda’s new turbo engine quite well.  

Great things are on the horizon for the Mazda 6, now if only Mazda would put this engine in the 3 paired with a 6-speed manual transmission.  Oh, one can dream.

-Barett @ CS

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Mazda’s Dynamic Pressure Turbo – An Introduction

The SkyActiv 2.5T has been around for a few years in the CX-9 however, things started to get interesting when the engine was dropped in the Mazda 6 for 2018+ models. While lacking a manual and not a true Mazdaspeed, it’s a step in the right direction for the enthusiast. With one of the new Mazda 6s in the CorkSport garage, we’ve been getting curious about where all of that 310lb-ft comes from. Well, we decided to call up Mazda and purchase a turbo to see how it all works.

Mazda 6 Turbo

There’s a lot to take in on the turbocharger and there are quite a few things that have changed from the K04 that made its home in the Speeds.

For starters, this turbocharger is pretty big. The wheels themselves are not large, with the compressor wheel very close in size to the old Mazdaspeed K04 & the turbine wheel only slightly larger than the K04 Turbo. However, with the dual inlet turbine housing, 90° compressor outlet, and lots of attached electronics, the whole package takes up a lot of room in your engine bay.

2018+ Mazda+ Turbo housing and

The turbine housing is not far from the old K04. A large five-bolt inlet flange has two rectangular inlets to work with the dynamic pressure system (more on that later) and even a port where the EGR system sources its exhaust gases. The outlet is much simpler, using a five-bolt flange to mount to the downpipe, yet does house a surprisingly large wastegate port.

From a performance standpoint, the large wastegate should help eliminate boost creep but the turbine housing will likely need a larger scroll to get some more serious power out of the engine.

OEM Mazda 6 Turbo

The compressor side is packed full of features. As usual, the wastegate actuator bolts to the compressor housing, however, Mazda has switched to an electric actuator. Interestingly, the bypass valve is also electric and is even mounted to the face of the compressor housing.

Some fancy casting design leaves a pathway between the high and low-pressure sides of the compressor and let the BPV decide when the passage is open or closed. These two electric actuators will mean easy and consistent boost control. The final plastic component on the housing we believe is a boost-assisted vacuum source for the vehicle. Finally, the inlet is a typical clamp connection while the outlet uses a 90° turn and two-bolt flange for better accessibility around the wastegate actuator.

2018+ Mazda Turbo Housing

With the housings removed, the CHRA of the dynamic pressure turbo is very simple & standard. Oil feed in the top, two-bolt oil drain in the bottom, and standard crossflow engine coolant ports. The compressor wheel is a cast 6×6 unit and the turbine wheel is a basic 11-blade unit.

Mazda 6 Turbo Turbine

We are looking forward to waking up the Sky-T in the coming months and making the 2018+ MZ6 into something a little closer to a Speed. Stay tuned, there’s much more fun to be had from the 2.5T!

-Daniel

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