CorkSport is happy to announce the release of our new Skid Tray for the 2011+ Mazda 2!

The newly engineered CorkSport Mazda 2 Skid Tray will provide solid protection against rocks and road debris to prevent damage from occurring on key components of the vehicles undercarriage. The one piece design offers a more complete seal to handle harsh conditions and improve the aerodynamics of the engine bay.

The CorkSport Mazda 2 Skid Tray has been made from anodized aluminum to provide maximum protection while adding minimal weight to the body of the vehicle and includes metal support brackets that bolt to the vehicles structure for added rigidity.

“The CorkSport Mazda 2 Skid Tray provides much needed protection to the undercarriage of my Mazda 2,” said CorkSport customer Brendan Hughes, “This is a must have for any Mazda 2 owner that may experience harsh driving or weather conditions. If you’re lowered or plan on lowering your Mazda 2, This skid tray is an absolute must!”

As with all CorkSport products, the CorkSport Mazda 2 Skid Tray comes with all of needed installation hardware, full color installation instructions and video installation support, knowledgeable telephone support and a full two year warranty. It can be purchased today for $229.00 from CorkSport’s online catalog at http://www.corksport.com

CorkSport began our new financing program in partnership with GE capital just two months ago and is pleased to announce our new special financing offer just in time for event season! Our new financing program provides customers with the option to purchase with zero down payment and 0% interest for six months on all purchases over $299!

CorkSport is now making it even easier to purchase and experience the power of some of our most popular products like the CorkSport 2010+ Mazdaspeed 3 Exhaust (back in stock), CorkSport Mazdaspeed 3 Downpipe, our new CorkSport Mazdaspeed 6 FMIC for SRI or any combination of performance products for your car with the ease of being able to split it up into affordable monthly payments!

Six months no interest means that you can take your purchase and spread the payments out over several months and it is the same as cash. Here is quick breakdown to give you an idea of what your payments would look like on our CarCareOne six months no interest payment program:

As always, CorkSport wants you to mod responsibly, so keep in mind that as with any retail financing card that you might come across, after the six month promotional period has ended, the interest rate jumps to 29.99%. We highly recommend using the six month interest free period to pay off each of your purchases, but for each purchase you make of $299.00 or more, you will always get the six month grace period to pay it off before you accrue interest!

Approval is quick and easy. Simply fill out an online credit application. It takes three seconds or less to obtain approval and once approved, you will receive a line of credit immediately. You can place your order by phone or online with your new Car Care One Credit card.

The new Car Care One CorkSport credit card is accepted at a number of national retailers including Tire Factory, Discount Tire, and Summit Racing making this not only a practical but versatile addition to your wallet.

Questions about the program? Just ask! gwynne@corksport.com

Gwynne –

The time has come again to find out whose car will reign supreme this month for CorkSport’s Featured Car of the Month!

Last month we had a face-off between Sam’s Speed3 and Katsu’s Mazda 6. This month we had some more great submissions! At random, the following two were chosen to face-off. Christian Prichard’s 2011 Mazdaspeed 3 and Edward Loeffler’s 2009 Mazda 3S 5 Door Hatchback!

Christian’s car was featured last year in the CorkSport booth at Mazfest and includes a CorkSport FMIC, CorkSport Downpipe, CorkSport Racepipe,Cat Back Exhaust, BBS rims and much much more.

Local CS customer, Edward is just over the river in Portland. Some of his many mod’s include a CorkSport Power Series Intake, CorkSport Sway Bar, an OEM MazdaSpeed3 Exhaust Straight Pipe to Tip w/ 1st Cat Delete & Resonator Delete, Carbon Fiber Front Tower Brace, and again, much, much more!

Vote for your favorite today on our Facebook page or commenting right here on our blog!

Want to face-off for one of our monthly features? Submit a pic of your car and list of mod’s to
gwynne@corksport.com

Gwynne-

CorkSport is happy to announce another addition to our suspension performance line-up for Mazda 3 and Mazdaspeed 3 vehicles with the CorkSport Underbody 4-Brace Set.

The CorkSport underbody 4-Brace Set for Mazda 3 and Mazdaspeed 3 will reduce undesirable chassis flex and increase control during hard cornering and acceleration.

The lightweight double wall I-bean construction will increase rigidity without adding unnecessary weight to the vehicle.

Using the latest in computer aided technology, the CorkSport Underbody 4-Brace Set has reinforced machined brackets that tie load points together for reduced flexing and distortion of the chassis to improve both the stability and responsiveness of the vehicle.

“Reinforcing the chassis is often an overlooked performance enhancement, especially on vehicles with lots of modifications,” said Rich Harris, President of CorkSport Mazda Performance, “Adding an underbrace set will reduce twisting of the chassis by linking the frame to the sub-frame, locking the front sub-frame in place.”

The CorkSport Underbody 4-Brace Set for Mazda 3 and Mazdaspeed 3 has been anodized black and includes an etched CorkSport logo for added durability, longevity and a genuine CorkSport look.

As with all CorkSport products, the CorkSport Underbody 4-Brace Set includes a two-year warranty, full color installation instructions, all of the needed installation hardware, and knowledgeable telephone installation support. It can be purchased today at CorkSport.com for $249.00.

In our annual pilgrimage to the East Coast, we attended the All Mazda Meet at Orange County Chopper this year on April 21st. The event was organized by Storm who works at OCC and drives a Mazdaspeed 3 (thanks Storm!).

This year had a record turnout of people with 262 Mazdas and 496 people signed up. The OCC parking lot and a chunk of the adjacent Hilton parking lot were full the entire day along with the overflow parking in the grass at OCC. You can get a good idea of the crowd size with the line to get the good bags.

We saw a wide range of cars in attendance this year but the most popular by far was the 2010+ Mazdaspeed 3′s. They were the singles largest group of Mazda model which attended overall.

Enough talking for now, here are the pictures…

Domii’s Mazda 2 repping in the CorkSport display

I hear the A-team theme playing in my head when I look at this Mazdaspeed 3

69,000 original miles on this Rx2 and it looked great!

At the end of the day CorkSport had two awards to give away. The first was the CorkSport choice award (Unicorn trophy) which was given to Kevin F who has a great looking 2012 white Mazdaspeed 3.

The second award we gave away for the CorkSport Senior Citizens Award which was given to Steve K. Check out the video of the award presentation below,

Big thanks to Storm for putting on the show again this year and to all of you who showed up to the event and we got to meet.

Derrick-

Want more pictures? Check out our CorkSport Facebook page.

Sometimes projects take a lot longer than expected to get to release. After several design changes, lots of simulations, and plenty of mounting revisions, we are happy to announce the release the CorkSport Oil Catch Can for Mazda and Mazdaspeed vehicles.

Oil catch cans are designed to separate the water, oil and other contaminants from your PCV system. The PCV system feeds directly in the intake manifold causing all these contaminants to be pushed to the back of the valves then into the engine cylinders. As cars wear, we see more and more contaminants in the PCV system and then into the engine.

Many of you have followed the development as we moved through our design revisions beginning with our first concept, a titanium oil catch can that used stainless steel wool to separate out the oil and several versions in-between before we came to the design that we are happy to be releasing today.

Unlike other catch cans on the market that simply expect the contaminates to fall out of the PCV vapors, our newly released oil catch can has a unique cyclonic vacuum design that forces contaminants to the walls of the can before the air can move back into the intake system. This Solidworks simulation shows how the system was designed. You can see that the air swirls around the outside of the can trapping the contaminants at the wall. This allows them to fall through a disk that is welded between two chambers used to separate the PCV vapors and the contaminants. Once the contaminants are separated you can view them with a sight tube located on the side of the catch can.

We were particularly surprised to see how much water vapor builds up in the crank case of these cars. After a few miles of driving with the catch can on our shop Mazdaspeed 3, we could really see what separates our catch can from the competition. After only 500 miles we had separated out a great deal of contaminants from the PCV system. Most of which was water vapor that had been trapped in the PCV lines and engine block. This alone should ensure that oil doesn’t break down quickly on our DISI MZR engine.

After 3000 miles we performed our first oil change. The results were exactly what we expected, a much smaller concentration of water but a noticeable amount of oil. MZR engines are notorious for slight amounts of blow by getting back into the engine. As you can see from the picture this is something you don’t want getting back into your engine. We took this sample and sent it out for particulate analysis. The results really prove that you don’t want this in your engine. Along with a large amount of oil, which can be seen, there was metal and water present in the oil. All of which we don’t want to be reburned in our engine or stuck to the back of our valves.

Even though it took a little longer than we expected to release this, I’m sure everyone will agree that there are certain things you want done right and somethings are worth the wait. When it comes down to it there are just some contaminants that you never want entering your motor. Most of them are listed on the sheet to the right.

The CorkSport Oil Catch Can will enhance the reliability of your engine and improve performance and fuel economy. It is made from high-grade aluminum with a pressed annodized top cap and includes a chemical resistant sight tube. It comes with a complete mounting kit and can be purchased from CorkSport for $139.00.

For more information about this product or to purchase one today, please visit our product page on our online catalog at http://www.corksport.com

Our first CorkSport featured car of the month selected by our Facebook fans and blog readers, for our Facebook fans and blog readers, Derek aka “Katsu” submitted his 2004 Mazda 6 Five Door Sport. It was a tight race between his 6 and the Sam’s sleeper Mazdaspeed 3, but he won out in a last minute landslide.

From Honolulu Hawaii, Derek spent several years in California where he was exposed to what was known back then as “West Coast JDM Style” ” which wasn’t really an authentic JDM look and is what evolved into what’s called “rice” now days, but it sparked an interest in authentic JDM styling that translated into a passion for modifying his car into a full JDM look.

With the help of CorkSport, Derek was able to achieve this, including the aero body kit from Kenstyle of Tokyo and all the parts needed to convert the front and rear of the USDM Mazda 6 to accept the JDM body kit.

In addition to the body kit, Derek bought several authentic accessory parts to further dress up his ride including Custom Two –Tone Leather Seats, JDM OEM Two-Tone Steering Wheel, JDM OEM Two-Tone Gear Selector, OEM MT. Leather Shift Boot, CCFL Footwell Lighting, JDM Aluminum Non Slip Pedals, LED Lighting Throughout Interior, JDM OEM Aux Fog Light Switch19” x 8.5” JDM WORK Super Wheels “Schwert” SC1’s w/ Optional Red Center Caps and Falken Tires (made in Japan).

Derek’s passion for working on and building show cars has won him two best in shows, five 1st places in Mazda category, 1st places in best vehicle category and two 3rd place showings in the VIP category in events such as Spocom, HIN, Remix, WEKFEST, MazdaFest and Streetcar Supreme.

“It is an honor that both Mazda Corp. USA, and Mazda Corp. Japan have given my car such high praises, calling her the most beautiful Mazda” said Derek, “And the funny thing is, all I wanted to do was build something different.”

What’s next for this steelworker and best in show winner? Maybe a SkyActiv 6 if they come out with one. I look forward to seeing what he will do with his next Mazda, so let’s hope they release one soon!

Gwynne-

“Thanks to Samson Mak from Revision Audio, Shin Okamoto from ACC AirRunner Systems of Japan, Scott Miyata of Cutter Mazda Waipahu, TeamRevision, PIMPLUX, and last but certainly not least, Derrick Ambros and everyone else at CorkSport who helped make my JDM dreams come to life!” – Derek

Full List of Mods:
Authentic JDM Kenstyle Aero Kit w/ Foglights
JDM/OEM Bumper Crash Bars
JDM ABS Eyelids Mounted Inside Headlight Housing
JDM OEM Hyperblack Headlight Housing
JDM Power Folding Mirrors w/ J.P. Warning Decals
JDM OEM front License Plate Mount
JDM OEM Rain Guards
JDM Garage Vary Roof Spoiler
JDM OEM Atenza Badge
USDM Mazdaspeed Badge
Clarion ProAudio Multimedia H.U.
PAC Steering Wheel Audio Interphase
Image Dynamics Separates Front/Rear
Viper 2-way Security w/ Remote Start
JDM Voice Module
Custom Two –Tone Leather Seats
JDM OEM Two-Tone Steering Wheel
JDM OEM Two-Tone Gear Selector
OEM MT. Leather Shift Boot
CCFL Footwell Lighting
JDM Aluminum Non Slip Pedals
LED Lighting Throughout Interior
JDM OEM Aux Fog Light Switch
19” x 8.5” JDM WORK Super Wheels “Schwert” SC1’s w/ Optional Red Center Caps
Matching Red Spline Drive Lug Nuts
Falken Tires (Made in Japan)
ACC Digital Air Suspension Pressure Gauge
AutoMeter Liquid Filled Mechanical Pressure Gauge
AccuAir e-LEVEL Control Pad
AccuAir e-LEVEL Air Suspension Management System
JDM ACC AirRunner Mazda 6 Prototype Air Suspension System (application not listed on their catalog yet)
FDesign Strut Tower Brace
R1 Concepts Dimpled & Slotted Rotors
JDM Endless Brake Pads
Coated & Badged Calipers
Modified JDM OEM Lighting Harness & Relays
PIAA Crystal Ion Bulbs in Upper Fog Lights
PIAA Hyper-White Bulbs in High Beams
6000K Digital HID in Low Beams
3000K Digital HID in Kenstyle Fog Lights
“Chrome” Amber bulbs
Umnitza “Daylight Demon Eyes”
Full LED Board Modification to JDM OEM Taillight Housing
LED Modification to Third Brake Light
Smoked Lower Reflectors w/ LED’s
Under Car LED Lighting
CAI
Chromed Intake Pipe
ECU Modifier, Tunable “On The Fly”
“Dog Bone Motor Mount”
B&M Transmission Cooler
JDM APEXi World Sport 2 Exhaust System
Kartboy Urethane Hangers

CorkSport began development of the new SkyActiv intake as soon as the technology was made available in the United States and today is happy to be the first Mazda aftermarket performance company to add a short ram intake for the 2012+ SkyActiv Mazda 3 and 2013+ Mazda CX-5 to its catalog of Mazda performance parts.

Engineered with exacting tolerances, the CorkSport Mazda SkyActiv Intake includes our precision machined MAF housing made from billet aluminum, durable dry flow air filter and custom reinforced silicone connector. In initial testing on the SkyActiv Mazda 3, the CorkSport SkyActiv Short Ram Intake netted peak gains of +5 HP and +6 lb torque.

“Sales for Mazda’s new SkyActiv product line-up have shown tremendous potential and we have had several product requests for a SkyActiv intake,“ said Rich Harris, President of CorkSport Mazda Performance, “Our engineering staff really stepped up to the plate to get our new SkyActiv intake to market quickly in order to fully support the Mazda community.”

CorkSport has already confirmed the fitment of the single exit Mazda 3 exhaust for the SkyActiv Mazda 3 and made it available to the public and is happy to be able to add a second performance offering designed for the SkyActiv technologies developed by Mazda to increase fuel efficiency and engine output.

As with all CorkSport products, the SkyActiv Short Ram Intake comes with a two year limited warranty, full color installation instructions and CorkSport service and support. For added support, this kit also has a complete installation video.

The new addition to the CorkSport catalog is priced at $179.00. The CX-5 SkyActiv intake can be purchased separately in our newly added CorkSport CX5 catalog and the Mazda 3 SkyActiv Intake can be purchased as an option that has been added to the CorkSport Power Series 2.0 Liter Mazda 3 intake.

CorkSport is pleased to add the License Plate Relocation Kit to its growing line of styling products for the Mazdaspeed 6!

An easy upgrade to boost the look of your Mazdaspeed 6, the newly released license plate relocation kit will allow you to move your license plate to the OEM tow hook location on your vehicle allowing you to improve the overall look of the front bumper of your vehicle without requiring any permanent modifications.

The CorkSport Mazdaspeed 6 License Plate Relocation Kit is made from impact and temperature resistant ¼” lexan with a billet machined mounting base for added strength. The hardware is made from stainless steel and the base is anodized black for added protection against the elements.

“Our Mazdaspeed 3 License Plate Relocation Kit has been a huge success so it only made sense when we got a couple customer requests for this product, to develop it for the Mazdaspeed 6 as well,” said Rich Harris, President of CorkSport Mazda Performance, “I think our Mazdaspeed 6 customers will be impressed with the quality and fit of the CorkSport License Plate Relocation Kit on their vehicle.”

As with all CorkSport products, the Mazdaspeed 6 License Plate Relocation Kit comes with a two-year limited warranty, full color installation instructions and CorkSport service and support. For added support, this kit also has a complete installation video.

The new addition to the CorkSport Mazdaspeed 6 line is priced at $88.00, making this an easy and inexpensive way to boost the look of your Mazdaspeed 6. Installation for this parts takes only about a half hour and will significantly improve the look of your front bumper.

For more information about these products, please visit the CorkSport online catalog at www.corksport.com

As some of you have read of the last few years I really like the Mazda 2. Before it was released in the US I had written several blog posts on my thoughts. When we picked up the first Mazda 2 delivered in the US we set out to develop a range of parts for the 2. We have also had a chance to drive 2 in autocross events and down lots of winding roads.

Once you get to the point of completing the parts you need developed on a shop car what happens next? In the case of the CorkSport Mazda 2 you turn it into a B-Spec racecar. Why would you want to do that to a new car I am sure some of you are asking? If you have read the blog about my participation in the SCCA driving school you know that I am working towards my alter ego race car driving dream and the B-Spec racecar gives a good way to approach this being cost effective.

This leads us back to the CorkSport Mazda 2. To make it a B-Spec racer requires some work. Make that a lot of work. The first thing to building the car is to install a roll cage which is it probably one of the most time consuming parts of the job. First you start off with your stock interior and take it out.

Once you finish up that easy task you need to remove all of the sound deadener Mazda installed in the chassis. There are two methods to do this. #1 is with an air chisel and being very careful to not punch a hole through the floor of your car and #2 use dry ice. The dry ice method is something I had not done before but it sounded easy enough. That and if you have left over dry ice a plastic 2 liter bottles can be lots of fun. Check out the video below of me using the dry ice to remove the sound deadener.

If I can offer a tip while doing this is to get 2-3 blocks of the dry ice so you can have several sections cooling down and keep working so you do not have to stock between the freezing of the sound deadener.

Once you completely remove of the insulation you get to start on the roll cage. This takes time and precision to get done. If you have never done this work before, I strongly recommend taking it to a professional to get done. The materials, welds, and design all need to meet the specifications of the racing sanctioning body you will be participating with. In this case we used the specs from the SCCA GCR (General Competition Rules) which are accepted by other road racing sanctioning bodies.

We went with a nascar style door bars to give the driver more space in case there is a side impact and a bit of an angle for easier entry into the car while climbing over the cage.

After all of the hard work is done with the cage getting installed you need to paint it. We wanted the color to match the exterior so we ordered up several cans of the 38P paint code color from an online supplier and got to work. After taping up the interior to limit overspray we got to work with the color and the clear coat. The finished product looks good. The picture below shows the rear section painted with the base coat.

The final product looks great and matches well with the exterior paint of the 2.

Once the paint had dried we got to work installing the safety gear for the car. We went with a set of Sparco 6 point harnesses and a Sparco Circuit Seat.

Mounting the harnesses takes some planning. After getting a good idea of where we were going to mount the seat we got to work on the mounting points for the harness. In the Mazda 2 there is only 1 factory bolt location that we could use for the lap belt. The other side of the factory seat belt mounts to the original seat. The rules require you to have a 4 inch square backing plate for the harness on the back side of the car body to make sure the anchor points for the bolts do not tear through if you are involved in a wreck. We had to do this in three locations on the 2, one for the lap belt on the tunnel side and the two for the sub belt. After planning the hole locations and making sure there was no interference (make sure when you are drilling hole into your car you look at the other side of the panel) parts on the bottom of the 2 which there was since the brake lines and fuel lines pass under the drivers seat, we got to work with drilling the holes and mounting the eyelets. The actual installation of the harnesses is easy, they simple snap onto the mounting eyes and feeding the harness around the cage bar behind the seat.

The seat is a 1 piece FIA approved bucket which is a side mount style. With the Mazda 2 being out on the market for a short time we found there were no mounting brackets available which meant we got to build them ourselves. Thankfully this is a pretty straightforward task in the Mazda 2. After sourcing some inch and a quarter steel we pressed the shapes we needed and mounted up the seat. We set the seat up so there is a slight bend in the drivers legs when the pedals are pulley depressed. This allows you to have leverage and keep a comfortable seated position when driving. We also mounted the seat as low as we could and still give the driver good visibility of the track. A lower position means lower center of gravity in the car and the best handling of the car.

This is where we are at for the moment with the 2. I will be updating the build in the next few weeks to show the final result of the car.

Derrick-