[beardrobot]

In 2017, there were several companies that bragged that they were working on viable aftermarket performance upgrades for the 2014-2017 Mazda 3. OVTuning had performance cams, tunes and (I think) headers on the market. There were also rumors of turbo tunes and forced induction upgrades. CorkSport also mentioned having a supercharger in the works for the 2.5.

Then...

Silence.

Towards the end of 2017, OVTuning started removing their performance upgrades for both the 2.0 and the 2.5. Tunes that were removed from their product page are back live, but this all makes me wonder - What's going on? What are some obstacles these companies are running into? Why haven't we been able to get any performance gains out of the Skyactiv engine? Why has there been market silence for the Mazda 3?

:sneaky 1:

 

[CerealKiller]

Corksport announced that they were working on a complete turbo kit for the 3 back in November...

BBR said over 6 months ago that their director was driving a turbo charged 3 and that they should be releasing something soon...

If we keep demanding it, eventually someone will supply it. There already a good amount of Mazda 3 Axelas with Skyactive engines out there on the road that would benefit from a turbo. This means that there is already a line of potential buyers to entice an aftermarket company to make one.

I know that I am one of those people waiting. I'm just hoping that I will have my suspension and handling fully upgraded by the time one does roll out, so that I can fully enjoy the added HP and torque.
CK

 

[M3Nitro]

For me.....it is materiel price changing world wide. In the last 5 years I have literally dropped off the market several parts that I feel need to be a higher quality to manufacture and that raises the end cost to the buyer to the point that sales drop. If I stay US for quality it cost more if I go outside US unless I personally inspect everything I dont know how well the integrity of the quality remains. The last thing I want to read a post on a vehicle forum talking quality control resulting in a bad product.
I hate to break it to so many but 75% of the parts you "think" work... don't. Endless CAI, Catch cans,suspension parts, ECU "cartoons",etc. The DIY "butt" DYNO is an amazing and free advertising aide that many after market suppliers rely on to sell their products. Carefully worded website ads imply things and the end users often reports more positive results then what reality was ever R&D for a given part or product. If everything worked as claimed from performance aftermarket suppliers everyone would be driving A class performance cars.
I also often see performance aftermarket parts manufactures that will prematurely offer a part and then later realize they better remove it until all bugs are worked out.

 

[zs_3]

I'm still staying hopeful that 2018 is the year that more performance parts come out. Corksport just released a Versatune kit through their website at about the same price that the Gen1/Gen2 Speed boys pay for an AP. So pretty excited to get that. Just remain hopeful and tweak everything else in the meantime.

 

[arathol]

Corksport announced that they were working on a complete turbo kit for the 3 back in November...

BBR said over 6 months ago that their director was driving a turbo charged 3 and that they should be releasing something soon...

If we keep demanding it, eventually someone will supply it. There already a good amount of Mazda 3 Axelas with Skyactive engines out there on the road that would benefit from a turbo. This means that there is already a line of potential buyers to entice an aftermarket company to make one.

The problem is that the ECU has proven notoriously hard to access, and tuning for FI applications even harder. A couple major tuners were looking into this, but its proven very difficult to make much power even with complete access to the ECU. Lots of firewalls and torque limiters in place to prevent possible engine damage. The SA system is quite complex, so if you change one thing just a bit a whole slew of other things can change accordingly with unintended results. OVTunes for instance has been chasing it around for a very long time, at least a couple years now, and still hasn't got everything figured out. Not to mention any physical limitations of the engine design - thin castings, plastic cylinder walls, etc.
The BBR car may work, but its a single prototype, made to explore possibilities. Its most likely a cobbled together piecemeal set-up, not even close to being ready for release.
As for actually releasing something, there has to be a break even point. The market isn't really big in all reality compared to many other cars. If the cost of development is seen too high to be profitable it doesn't really matter whether or not it can be done, it won't be done.

 

[M3Nitro]

^^^ good response...:grin2:

I might add that with any reputable ECU/EFI Performance calibration programming or OBDII ECU access device for calibration assessment and changes a trained or well experienced calibrator will make small adjustments in several if not dozens of cells based on specif needed DATA information recorded by the engine. "CANNED" tunes are what most are a custom to and easily digested on forums by a majority of members. It is VERY HARD to self learn EFI/ECU Performance Calibrating and be successful at doing it.

As for companies and "marketing", releasing products unless you have personally have or have had or planning on doing so...its not as simple as.....logically thought. That's why it helps to take a coarse or two to learn market skills and economics or simply hire a marketing company. I did both! :smile2:

 

[arathol]

Corksport just released a Versatune kit through their website at about the same price that the Gen1/Gen2 Speed boys pay for an AP.

Link? I don't see it?:dunno:

 

[zs_3]

Link? I don't see it?:dunno:

Here you go, as requested.

https://corksport.com/versatuner-tuning-solution.html

 

[arathol]

Here you go, as requested.

https://corksport.com/versatuner-tuning-solution.html

Yeah I know about that one. However, the only SkyActiv it works with is the current MX-5 ND. Different ECU, not compatible.

Vehicle Fitment

• 2006-2007 Mazdaspeed6, Mazda 6 MPS or Mazdaspeed Atenza (all regions)
• 2007-2013 (1st and 2nd generation) Mazdaspeed3
• Mazda 3 MPS or Mazdaspeed Axela (all regions)
• 2007-2013 (1st and 2nd generation) Mazda CX-7
• Turbocharged gasoline engine editions only
• 2003-2011 (1st and 2nd generation) Mazda RX-8 (all regions)
• 2016- (4th generation, ND) Mazda MX-5 Miata (2.0l SkyActiv-G engine only)

 

[Lanny]

I hate to break it to so many but 75% of the parts you "think" work... don't. Endless CAI, Catch cans,suspension parts, ECU "cartoons",etc.

So true. I've been active in the Miata community since 1997, and seen young owners buy mountains of shiny crap because they hope all their friends with Hondas will be impressed by the bling factor. A pathetic fraction of Miata forum threads are from kids who put silly things on their cars (cone filters, cheap "lowering" springs, e.g.) without doing the research first, and wonder what went wrong. I'm sure this has been going on since the first teenager's parents let him drive the family Hupmobile, but kids today have the benefit of free searching on the internet. Don't fall into a marketing trap! "I Want To Believe" is not the same thing as a dyno plot.

No cone filter adds power on a car with a stock intake that easily flows more air than the engine can pump. K&N "filters" don't flow any better than the cheapest generic paper cartridge from Wal-Mart, but in independent testing they pass orders of magnitude more dirt into the engine. Why would a sane person want that? If you want to spend a lot of money to make a temperamental car with marginal reliability, save up for a turbo. Or just buy a Mustang. Don't screw up your 3 just because all your friends are screwing up their Civics.

If you really want to improve your Mazda3's performance, start by losing 10 pounds of unsprung weight per corner, and replace those boat-anchor wheels with lighter ones. If you must go for more power, stick with vendors who can prove their claims, and back them up with quality support.

 

[zs_3]

Yeah I know about that one. However, the only SkyActiv it works with is the current MX-5 ND. Different ECU, not compatible.

Sure enough, you're correct. I misread the blog post itself about it. What they said was this:

OVER THE PAST FEW MONTHS, CORKSPORT HAS HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO WORK CLOSELY WITH VERSATUNE TO FURTHER DEVELOP AND GROW THE SUPPORT FOR SEVERAL VEHICLES IN THE MAZDA LINEUP. INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE 3RD GEN MAZDA 3, 2ND GEN RX-8, AND THE NEW 4TH GEN ND CHASSIS MIATA.

Looks like I took it for face value and thought support for the 3rd Gen Mazda 3 was here already. That's my bummer for the day. :/ But the plus side is that they're developing support for the Gen3 MZ3, so not all hope is lost at least.