Automatic Transmission Fluid Cooler. ??

[MmmHamSandwich]

Originally Posted by Sithspawn

I got the transmission cooler hooked up

What cooler did you end up going with?

[cdrazic93]

I'm going to guess the setrab

[snidd111]

@Sithspawn
I have one of the p3cars gauges that lets me hook up a couple aux sensors. How'd you setup your tranny temp sensor? And did you just use the Innovate water temp gauge?

[Sithspawn]

Originally Posted by MmmHamSandwich

What cooler did you end up going with?

We went with a Setrab Series 6 19row oil cooler.

Originally Posted by snidd111

@Sithspawn
I have one of the p3cars gauges that lets me hook up a couple aux sensors. How'd you setup your tranny temp sensor? And did you just use the Innovate water temp gauge?

For R&D purposes, we put one pair of sensors (temp and pressure) in the transmission line going to the factory cooler and one pair of sensors in the line returning to the transmission. This way, we could measure the delta across the factory core in the before testing. With the auxiliary cooler added in the circuit, we could measure the total delta across both cores.

UPDATE: For starters, we plumbed our auxiliary cooler before the factory cooler. The idea is to allow the factory heat exchanger to warm up the fluid to operating temperature quickly. If we have the auxiliary cooler after the factory heat exchanger, then any heat added by it would promptly be removed by the auxiliary cooler.

At the track, temperatures are lower than stock, but still not quite ideal. We did hit 233 degrees Fahrenheit at the end of the third session. While that is 11 degrees cooler than the stock cooler and not quite in the danger zone, it is a little higher than we would like to see. I would prefer temps to be in the 220 range at the end of the third session.

Next we did some airflow modifications to get air moving through the core more effectively. We added a series of louvered vents to the back side of the fender liner and cut out the "T" pattern in the factory bezel on the lower passenger side of the FR-S. A quick test on the mountain showed a noticeable improvement as temps peaked out at 203 degrees coming out of the transmission and 189 degrees after both coolers. This was after a 21 minute run to the top of the mountain.

Now, while I would like for the temps to come up quickly (especially in winter), the current configuration shows that the factory heat exchanger is adding heat when we want it to be cooling. The only way to have our cake and eat it too is to add an inline thermostat to the system and plumb the system so that it goes: transmission -> factory heat exchanger -> thermostat -> air/oil cooler -> transmission. When the fluid is below operating temperature, the air/oil cooler will be bypassed so that temps can come up as quickly as possible. Then, when you are on the track and pushing the car, the thermostat will open for maximum cooling and the fluid going back to the transmission will be as cool as possible.

Hopefully I'll have a thermostat in hand before next Tuesday so I can get it installed in time for track testing.

This all said, for a mostly street driven car with occasional canyon runs, the airflow modifications are not necessary and the cooler size/configuration we selected will be perfectly fine.

For automatics that see track use, the additional airflow modifications and thermostat would be a very good idea, but it is best to monitor your transmission fluid temps to see if they are necessary for the track(s) you frequent. If the car is strictly a track car, then a thermostat is not necessary and the air/oil cooler should be plumbed after the factory heat exchanger.

As you can see, what your car needs depends heavily on how it is used. Be sure to take a moment and reflect on how it is driven and decide on your configuration accordingly.

Stay tuned for more testing.

[snidd111]

Originally Posted by Sithspawn

We went with a Setrab Series 6 19row oil cooler.



For R&D purposes, we put one pair of sensors (temp and pressure) in the transmission line going to the factory cooler and one pair of sensors in the line returning to the transmission. This way, we could measure the delta across the factory core in the before testing. With the auxiliary cooler added in the circuit, we could measure the total delta across both cores.

UPDATE: For starters, we plumbed our auxiliary cooler before the factory cooler. The idea is to allow the factory heat exchanger to warm up the fluid to operating temperature quickly. If we have the auxiliary cooler after the factory heat exchanger, then any heat added by it would promptly be removed by the auxiliary cooler.

At the track, temperatures are lower than stock, but still not quite ideal. We did hit 233 degrees Fahrenheit at the end of the third session. While that is 11 degrees cooler than the stock cooler and not quite in the danger zone, it is a little higher than we would like to see. I would prefer temps to be in the 220 range at the end of the third session.

Next we did some airflow modifications to get air moving through the core more effectively. We added a series of louvered vents to the back side of the fender liner and cut out the "T" pattern in the factory bezel on the lower passenger side of the FR-S. A quick test on the mountain showed a noticeable improvement as temps peaked out at 203 degrees coming out of the transmission and 189 degrees after both coolers. This was after a 21 minute run to the top of the mountain.

Now, while I would like for the temps to come up quickly (especially in winter), the current configuration shows that the factory heat exchanger is adding heat when we want it to be cooling. The only way to have our cake and eat it too is to add an inline thermostat to the system and plumb the system so that it goes: transmission -> factory heat exchanger -> thermostat -> air/oil cooler -> transmission. When the fluid is below operating temperature, the air/oil cooler will be bypassed so that temps can come up as quickly as possible. Then, when you are on the track and pushing the car, the thermostat will open for maximum cooling and the fluid going back to the transmission will be as cool as possible.

Hopefully I'll have a thermostat in hand before next Tuesday so I can get it installed in time for track testing.

This all said, for a mostly street driven car with occasional canyon runs, the airflow modifications are not necessary and the cooler size/configuration we selected will be perfectly fine.

For automatics that see track use, the additional airflow modifications and thermostat would be a very good idea, but it is best to monitor your transmission fluid temps to see if they are necessary for the track(s) you frequent. If the car is strictly a track car, then a thermostat is not necessary and the air/oil cooler should be plumbed after the factory heat exchanger.

As you can see, what your car needs depends heavily on how it is used. Be sure to take a moment and reflect on how it is driven and decide on your configuration accordingly.

Stay tuned for more testing.

I would love to see pics of the air flow modifications if you have any.

[nlowell]

Me too! I have the cooler in place and see good results but it's supposed to be 100 degrees at Buttonwillow next Saturday so I want to give the transmission as much help as possible.

[Tye300]

What size fittings did you guys use for the cooler? What kind of hoses did you use? @Sithspawn and @nlowell, you guys could be AT heroes if you could post pictures of your setups!

[snidd111]

Originally Posted by Tye300

What size fittings did you guys use for the cooler? What kind of hoses did you use? @Sithspawn and @nlowell, you guys could be AT heroes if you could post pictures of your setups!

I've read that just the generic 3/4" fittings that come with the universal kits work fine

[nlowell]

Sithspawn will do a much more thorough job but I used a small 3/4" thick plate and fin B&M cooler (I'll post the model number when I'm not at seaworld). I purchased 20 feet of Edelbrock -6AN stainless steel braided hose. I went with braided to eliminate kinking since it was going to be run through some decent bends. I went to the hose store and pieces together a 1/2 inch to 3/8 reducer that also had a 1/4 inch hole for my temp gauge sensor. I also purchased a straight 1/2" to 3/8" barb reducer for the connection back.

I cut the hose exiting the stock transmission cooler, inserted my custom reducer, ran the braided hose down the drivers side, across the crash beam, to the passenger fog area where the cooler is, then back the same way and back into the transmission using the 3/8 to 1/2 barbed adapter and the existing stock hose still connected to the transmission inlet. I put hose clams on every connection and used tons of zip ties to make sure nothing was going to move or get in the way of anything else. I then cut the braided hose on the return line on the crash beam and inserted a filter. Wired up the temp gauge, added 1/2 quart of WS fluid into the transmission using a fluid pump and done. The gauge isn't the best placement since it's already after the stock cooler but I was lazy to splice it before the cooler. Word of warning, wear gloves with the stainless hose - the ends can hurt

[snidd111]

@nlowell that setup is awesome. Do you have after market fog light housings? Mine don't allow air through them

[Tye300]

@nlowell, thank you! Awesome setup!

[nlowell]

Thanks guys! I don't have fog lights so I just cut holes in my fog light covers. Most can put the cooler in front of the radiator but I already have an intercooler, oil cooler, SC oil cooler, radiator, and condenser all fighting for air up there.

[nlowell]

I had the car up in the air today doing some prep for Buttonwillow and took a picture of the oil cooler connection points. This is looking from the front towards the stock cooler.



I also decided to cut some slits in my fender liner like suggested. I just cut some horizontal lines with some small vertical cuts on the end. The middle part ended up popping out which provides protection from debris while letting air escape out the top and bottom. Not the prettiest but hopefully functional. Again, Sithspawn's work is no doubt going to be better

[snidd111]

Just got myself a transmission temp gauge to go with all this when I put it in. Was that T connector essy to find?