Our Newly Updated ECU Relocation Battery Box

[CorkSport]

Introducing, the newly updated CorkSport ECU Relocation Battery Box designed for the 2007-2013 Mazdaspeed 3. Protect your ECU, retain your OEM size battery, and provide clearance for up to a 3.5” intake! Exploring new manufacturing processes allowed us more flexibility in the design of the updated CorkSport ECU Relocation Battery Box. The new box features […]

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[littleloogy]

Not bad @CorkSport;
I have to be honest, I gave your old battery box away. It worked well once it was installed, but for as often as I am taking my engine apart I needed something that was faster to remove.

Can this battery box be removed just as fast as the stock box, or at least close to?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[MS3Shadow]

Would be awesome if they can make 51R battery box.

sent from my Nexus 6P

[Castillo817]

Damn I just got yalls previous battery box last month

[Yatta]

Originally Posted by Castillo817 Damn I just got yalls previous battery box last month

yeah... this....

[Djohns]

Seriously guys.....no hints to this at all? I literally just got the other box like 4 days ago. You're killing me.

[littleloogy]

Originally Posted by Djohns Seriously guys.....no hints to this at all? I literally just got the other box like 4 days ago. You're killing me.

The hint was when it went on clearance.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Yatta]

Originally Posted by littleloogy The hint was when it went on clearance. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hindsight being what it is, yes... as I sit here looking at the box (not installed yet).

[Djohns]

Originally Posted by littleloogy The hint was when it went on clearance. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yea probably shoulda put a little bit more thought into it but oh well. What's done is done. I'll just eat my Wheaties when I need to pull my battery out.

[ToyCop]

Originally Posted by littleloogy The hint was when it went on clearance. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That is precisely why I didn't order when we I ordered my intake and fp internals last week. I think I'll be ordering the new one soon.

[CorkSport]

Originally Posted by littleloogy The hint was when it went on clearance.

The 2010-2013 box is $55 off right now for the few that we have left. When we put them on clearance at that much of a discount we left it to you guys to draw the lines.

-Derrick

[faeker]

sidenote; the music. ouch. who's making it for you? I'm about to send you guys some tracks on the free just to have something easy to listen to.

[ryguy 3]

Originally Posted by faeker sidenote; the music. ouch. who's making it for you? I'm about to send you guys some tracks on the free just to have something easy to listen to.

The music reminds me of the movie Grandma's boy.

[zjnspeed3]

Now I'm glad I didn't get this for Christmas!!

[Cujo]

Yeah had problems with my wiring and the battery being too close to the ECU with the old box and it started to melt my ECU...

Battery Terminal Fuse Melted

[AwAfrican]

Airvent at the back and removeable front panel? God dam I wish I had that removable front panel, its a bitch to take the battery out, I put in an airvent myself, I do prefer the finished front of the old box to the embossed front of the new box though. Over some excellent improvements

Sent via tapafail.

[ToyCop]

I installed mine yesterday. Nice piece, but I could see a couple of improvements. I took some pics, but am out of town for a few days.

[Enki]

I'd like to make a recommendation to improve the current battery box.

The thing is, when you go to racing events, tech usually wants to inspect the battery to make sure it won't come out of the car and potentially start a fire.

The problem is, removing the top cover will allow the front plate (which holds the ecu) to fall out, potentially damaging it in the process.

For a dollar or two more per box, you could add some small steel brackets, held in with double-sided tape and some magnets, like in the attached image (which, by the way, is being held up in the air).

[RACER_X]

Oh nice the ecu goes on the inside.

sent from the batcloset in the batcave on the batphone

[Shwaykid]

Finally got my box, and got it in...

For future purchasers, if you have the JBR TRU 3.5 Aluminum intake, you're going to struggle.

I had to remove the white ECU harness clippy thingy, (CS instructions state this might be necessary) then hack off the bottom corner closest to the intake, and also the adjacent corner of the front plate where the ECU goes. Additionally, I had to slot the mounting holes an additional 1/2" to slide the entire box closer to the driver side strut tower.

As was reported in the thread about the 1st generation box I was not able to bolt the intake back onto that little stud near the HPFP bracket. However, as was also mentioned, the intake ain't going anywhere.

Most annoyingly however, was that [some] aftermarket batteries don't fit. I had a cheapy Walmart, EverStart 35 series battery, and due to the design (it has a lip on the bottom for stability) the battery would not fit inside the box with the tie down rods.

Ever the optimist, I saw it as an excuse to get a yellow top, which fit much better. The Optima, being physically shorter than the EverStart, is also a much better setup for the ridiculous wiring I have anyway.

TLDR; If you have a JBR TRU 3.5" Wale Penis, you're gonna have to cut some stuff.

Oh, and shout out to @Silaramic; for his certified dremel skills.

[UnknownReagent]

I installed this box in my '13 MS3 a couple weeks ago. I have a JBR 3" silicone intake.

The Good:
The box looks great and almost OEM. The basic idea of relocating the ECU while retaining the factory battery is solid and makes a lot of sense to me. I like that the ECU and its wiring harness are covered and protected. That part of the engine bay now looks much cleaner and less cluttered. I'm sure working in that area will be much easier now. And it really does free up a lot of room for bigger intakes. Now that it's installed, I don't think it will cause problems.

The Bad:
The plastic feels thin and brittle. I don't think it will fail on its own but it seems like a solid hit would shatter it, whereas most of the OEM plastic would just deform. I'm not going to test this, of course, but that's my gut feeling about it. I could be wrong.

The use of L-hook tie downs is just inexcusable at this price point. They WILL fall through the bottom of the box when you stand them up, they make installing the battery far harder than such a trivial task should be and honestly, they just look cheap. The OEM box had studs molded in and CS should have gone that route as well.

The hole for the positive cable that feeds the fusebox on the drive fender is too small. Even after removing the split loom on the cable, I still needed to enlarge the hole to make getting the ECU plate into place feasible. Wires this big don't want to bend and the original hole on the box required a pretty sharp bend.

The last issue is that the sides of the box want to bow inward and so the thumbscrews are too short to reach the threaded insert. The solution is to install the ECU plate with its edge inside the box rather than outside so that it forces the box to stay square. See pics.

Conclusion:
The overall idea is great, but the implementation is just not good. This would have been an A+ product, but as it stands it's about a C-. If I had paid $50 or $60 for it, I would have no complaints. But at almost $170? I expect a lot better than what I got.

[ToyCop]

Originally Posted by UnknownReagent I installed this box in my '13 MS3 a couple weeks ago. I have a JBR 3" silicone intake. The Good: The box looks great and almost OEM. The basic idea of relocating the ECU while retaining the factory battery is solid and makes a lot of sense to me. I like that the ECU and its wiring harness are covered and protected. That part of the engine bay now looks much cleaner and less cluttered. I'm sure working in that area will be much easier now. And it really does free up a lot of room for bigger intakes. Now that it's installed, I don't think it will cause problems. The Bad: The plastic feels thin and brittle. I don't think it will fail on its own but it seems like a solid hit would shatter it, whereas most of the OEM plastic would just deform. I'm not going to test this, of course, but that's my gut feeling about it. I could be wrong. The use of L-hook tie downs is just inexcusable at this price point. They WILL fall through the bottom of the box when you stand them up, they make installing the battery far harder than such a trivial task should be and honestly, they just look cheap. The OEM box had studs molded in and CS should have gone that route as well. The hole for the positive cable that feeds the fusebox on the drive fender is too small. Even after removing the split loom on the cable, I still needed to enlarge the hole to make getting the ECU plate into place feasible. Wires this big don't want to bend and the original hole on the box required a pretty sharp bend. The last issue is that the sides of the box want to bow inward and so the thumbscrews are too short to reach the threaded insert. The solution is to install the ECU plate with its edge inside the box rather than outside so that it forces the box to stay square. See pics. Conclusion: The overall idea is great, but the implementation is just not good. This would have been an A+ product, but as it stands it's about a C-. If I had paid $50 or $60 for it, I would have no complaints. But at almost $170? I expect a lot better than what I got.

I ran into some of the same issues, but came up with different fixes. For the J bars, I took the smallest o-ring I had and doubled it on the rod. I slid it to bottom of the rod before the bend and it allows the bars to stand without slipping through the holes.

As far as that side slipping in making the screw too short. I used the protrusion on the battery hold down to force that side to stay open. I had to move the battery over a small amount, but I've had the cover off a few times now and the side stays in place.

The holes were a bit tight, but I just manhandled the harness and didn't have to enlarge any holes.

[UnknownReagent]

Originally Posted by ToyCop As far as that side slipping in making the screw too short. I used the protrusion on the battery hold down to force that side to stay open. I had to move the battery over a small amount, but I've had the cover off a few times now and the side stays in place.

That's a really good idea. I'll give that a try.

The holes were a bit tight, but I just manhandled the harness and didn't have to enlarge any holes.

Yeah, I just feel like the main ECU harness is something you should be gentle with. Breaking a wire or causing an intermittent short would be a bad time.

[Ma77]

I just installed the battery box today and only ran into one problem, my costco battery (same size/type as stock) had a little bit of a fitment issue with one of the rods. It is ever so slightly wider then the OEM battery, which caused it to rub with rod closer to the firewall. Simple fix, I just drilled the whole a little wider so the rod could could sit closer to the sidel. After that everything fit perfectly.

Not holding this against the battery box what so ever, I don't expect Corksport to have tested fitment with every single battery out there and the fix was easy enough.

[UnknownReagent]

Also, you pretty much will have to remove the white bracket that holds the wiring harness in place. This is Mazda's fault, not Corksport's. With the harness attached to the bracket, it just can't move very much. The engine looks much cleaner without it, and I don't think there's any real danger to the harness. I also removed all the plastic tabs that held the wires to the OEM box.

[AveryPlaysBass]

Would this battery box better shield the ECU and battery from the elements, mainly humidity? I have been getting a lot of corrosion on my positive terminal recently whenever it rains and due to the summer heat its been humid as fuck.

[ToyCop]

Originally Posted by AveryPlaysBass Would this battery box better shield the ECU and battery from the elements, mainly humidity? I have been getting a lot of corrosion on my positive terminal recently whenever it rains and due to the summer heat its been humid as fuck.

It definitely protects from rain, but I doubt it will do much for humidity. I'd just grease the battery terminals.

[AveryPlaysBass]

Originally Posted by ToyCop It definitely protects from rain, but I doubt it will do much for humidity. I'd just grease the battery terminals.

I figured. Ive been trying to prevent this intermittent CEL and short that i assume is linked to the battery terminal and corrosion.

[cshunter]

Do not have it installed yet and won't for a while, but I am rather bummed that it feels much cheaper and is thinner.
Though it seems getting things in and out may be a bit better.
The 1st Gen box was pretty durable seeming, thicker, and felt much stronger.


Sent from my SP-G246279105748201337P

[Shwaykid]

Originally Posted by cshunter Do not have it installed yet and won't for a while, but I am rather bummed that it feels much cheaper and is thinner. Though it seems getting things in and out may be a bit better. The 1st Gen box was pretty durable seeming, thicker, and felt much stronger. Sent from my SP-G246279105748201337P

It's decently rigid once it's installed and the lid is screwed on.

[ToyCop]

I had one of the thumb nuts rattle out of mine somewhere on the road. I noticed when I went to remove the box to put my TMM in. I think I'm going to either buy a bag of them or make a little wire tether for them.

[CorkSport]

Originally Posted by ToyCop I had one of the thumb nuts rattle out of mine somewhere on the road. I noticed when I went to remove the box to put my TMM in. I think I'm going to either buy a bag of them or make a little wire tether for them.

Give me a call if you get a chance, I have a question for you on your install.

360-260-2676 xt 101

-Derrick

[ToyCop]

Originally Posted by CorkSport Give me a call if you get a chance, I have a question for you on your install. 360-260-2676 xt 101 -Derrick

On way to China now, but will give you a call next week. In flight wifi is great.

[74te27]

Anyone running BNR S4/HTP 3.5 combo with this battery box on Gen1?

[ZERO 03]

Im assuming this box is made of plastic. It looks great and love how it cleans up the engine bay

[g00s3y]

Originally Posted by ZERO 03 Im assuming this box is made of plastic. It looks great and love how it cleans up the engine bay

"The box is manufactured via thermoforming from durable ABS plastic for a near OEM look and finish."

[ZERO 03]

Originally Posted by g00s3y "The box is manufactured via thermoforming from durable ABS plastic for a near OEM look and finish."

Sorry, I am on my work computer and it blocks just about everything except this forum lol

Thanks!