Frosty Freight – Transmission Cooler for 2019+ Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra 1500
For truck enthusiasts and professionals alike, ensuring continued performance is crucial. One of the most prominent threats to a truck’s performance is heat—especially when it comes to the transmission. An overheating transmission can cause serious damage, particularly when the truck is working hard while towing or off-roading. That’s why we’ve been hard at work developing our Transmission Cooler for the 2019+ Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra 1500.
Mitch, our engineer, set out to design a transmission cooler that would outperform stock. He opted for a tube-and-fin core design, which is less prone to develop air pockets as fluid moves through the system and more resistant to pressure drops. Mitch’s direct-fit design was drastically larger than its stock counterpart, boasting these improvements over stock:
| Type of Increase | Increase Percentage |
| Core Volume | 266% |
| Frontal Area | 83% |
| Internal Tube Area | 339% |
| External Tube Area | 274% |
| External Fin Area | 322% |
These huge improvements over stock meant Mitch’s design offered seriously improved heat dissipation properties and cooling capacity.
To compare our transmission cooler against stock, Mitch performed bench tests to simulate a loaded transmission and eliminate variables like airflow and fluid flow rate. He heated a reservoir of transmission fluid to a temperature typical of a transmission hauling a heavy load and pumped fluid through the coolers at a controlled rate. Fans were also used to maintain a consistent airflow and produce results under uniform conditions.
Temperature testing revealed a significant increase in our cooler’s inlet-to-outlet temperature drop compared to stock, indicating superior cooling properties and improved performance.
Next, he tested pressure drop levels between our transmission cooler and the stock unit. Higher levels of pressure drop indicate reduced efficiency in overall system, so our aim to reduce pressure drop was a crucial part of outperforming stock. Testing revealed that Mitch had succeeded with his design, as our cooler experienced lower pressure drops and further confirming our system’s improved efficiency.
In addition to these performance improvements, the direct-fit nature of our transmission cooler’s design allows for a straightforward installation process. It also features factory quick disconnects and precision CNC-machined -6ORB adapters to make it easy to connect to either stock or AN fluid lines.
