Monthly Archives: October 2018

In Capable Hands - Transmission Cooler R&D, Part 1: Stock Review

Posted: October 31, 2018

Categories: Ford F-150 Transmission Cooler 2011-2014

When most people imagine a truck built for towing, they probably imagine a huge, lifted diesel billowing black smoke out of the exhaust. But, it doesn't take a behemoth to tow, just ask anybody who owns a 2011-2014 F-150 with a tow package.

While the F-150 is one of the smallest trucks on the road today, it's also one of the most capable. We've said it in almost every F-150 post on our blog because it's true: The F-150 is at home anywhere from the work site to the grocery store. Select the appropriate combination of engine, cab, gearing and tow package, and the F-150 can tow up to about 11,000 pounds. That's a lot of groceries.

_MG_0416

Towing that kind of weight requires a little more cooling than the standard

Old Dog, New Tricks - Intercooler R&D, Part 5: Dyno

Posted: October 29, 2018

Categories: Ford 6.7L Powerstroke Intercooler 2011+

Power feels different for everybody. For some, it's the feel of freshly printed money. For others, power feels like the blinding camera flashes of paparazzi. But for many automotive enthusiasts, true power is the shove you feel in your back as you push your right foot to the floor.

The enthusiast's quest for power can be never ending (just ask the participants of TX2K) and Mishimoto has been working on an air-to-water intercooler for the 2011-2016 Ford 6.7L Powerstroke to aid in that journey. We've looked at the stock 6.7L intercooler's faults in depth and followed the development of our stronger, higher-flowing replacement; now it's time to put it to the test on the dyno.

Everyday Hero - Direct Fit Catch Can R&D Part 2 - Production Sample and Testing

Posted: October 29, 2018

Categories: 2018+ Honda Accord 2.0T Direct Fit Catch Can

"It's an investment in the future" is a phrase that I'm sure everyone has heard at some point in their life. That statement could be used for your savings account, taking out a staggering amount in student loans, or even be said about that 2018+ 2.0T Honda Accord that's getting you around. With all of this future investment, what exactly is protecting it?

052918_NLT_Acrd_BCC_WEB_5

Before, just the name Accord was enough to suggest that this car would keep going. There's a reason we still see ancient Hondas cruising around today. We want to make sure that the latest version of your daily commuter stays up to those standards. If you take a look back to our last post, you'll see why the 2018+ Accords might have a little challenge with

The Gang Goes Retro - Radwood Makes its East Coast Debut

Posted: October 26, 2018

Categories: Lifestyle

Two weeks ago the City of Brotherly Love took a jump to the left, step to the right, and then fell right through a time warp. Just a stone's throw away from Gritty's icy lair in the Wells Fargo Center, the Philadelphia Navy Yard was the site for the inaugural East Coast Radwood car show, an event teeming with the sights and sounds of the 80s and 90s.

Radwood started in LA and is a celebration of all things from 1980-1999 with a little more focus on how people

21st Century Cooling - Radiator R&D, Part 1: Design to Delivery

Posted: October 19, 2018

Categories: Dodge Ram 1500 5.7L Aluminum Radiator 2004-2008

This 2004-2008 Dodge Ram 5.7L Hemi Radiator is now on sale! Check it out here!

Chrysler's Hemi engine has been an icon of innovation for almost 75 years. Since its first test runs in the P-47 Thunderbolt fighter plane and stint powering the M47 Patton Tank, the Hemi has been evolving to become one of the most widely used engine designs. The Hemi is the chosen design for engines in top fuel dragsters, just about every insanely powerful MOPAR car, and our subject, the 2004-2008 Dodge Ram 1500 5.7L.

While the 5.7L Hemi under the hood of the 3rd Gen Ram 1500 is the result of decades of innovation and evolution, some of the components supporting it are still stuck in the past. The plastic end-tank radiator, for example, hasn't quite caught up to the times. The stock 5.7L rad was enough for stock trucks from 2004 to 2008, but ten years of use has taken its toll. Not to mention, the Hemi platform was designed to make power, and more power means more heat.

For the past

Respiration Aspirations - Intercooler Pipe R&D: Complete Design

Posted: October 19, 2018

Categories: Ford F-150 3.5L EcoBoost Intercooler Pipes 2017+

Breathing: something that is unanimously regarded as important. Trees breathe, you breathe (I hope), even cars and trucks breathe.

If you're an auto-enthusiast, you don't think too much about those first two facts, but you're always thinking about that last one. After all, an engine in its simplest form is an air pump. That means the amount of power an engine makes is largely determined by how much air it can pull in and push out. There's a reason that intakes and exhaust are often the first modifications on cars and trucks.

Intakes and exhausts aren't the only way to increase the power and efficiency of an engine. If your vehicle has forced induction, you know there are a lot of components between the outside air and the engine's cylinders that can have major effects on power. If there are two turbos in that equation, like the 3.5L EcoBoost found in the 2017+ F-150, those components are even more critical to your engine's respiration.

Western Expansion - Aluminum Expansion Tank R&D - Concept to Completion

Posted: October 19, 2018

Categories: 2017+, Honda Civic Type R Aluminum Expansion Tank

Just from looking at the Civic Type R, you can tell that it's built to perform. The exterior styling is aggressive, yet functional. Every grill, opening, and spoiler incorporated into the design is there for a purpose, and that purpose is speed. Even with the amount of legwork that went into making this Civic the cream of the crop, everyone is still after increased performance.

When most think about the performance of any vehicle, they think of how fast they can make it. Dreams of tunes, intakes, intercoolers, and exhausts are what drift through every enthusiast's mind when it comes time to start modding. Performance should really come from the car's ability to keep performing every time you push the start button. Making sure all the components under the hood are doing their job is a good first step.

Hot-Blooded - Oil Cooler R&D, Part 1 - Concept and Design

Posted: October 16, 2018

Categories: Honda Civic Type R Direct Fit Oil Cooler Kit, 2017+

The Type R badge is something that's had a significant history under the red Honda emblem. Since the adoption of anything Type R in the US, the release of the FK8 was almost like the modern reboot of a cult classic sports flick. This time around we get one of the Hemsworth brothers instead of Patrick Swayze much like an added turbo and over the top aero styling. Some things stay the same though. We still get the conspicuously red seats and Foreigner makes an appearance on the soundtrack.

Check it and See

By most accounts, the FK8 is in fact hot blooded. It's strange to see a car that was engineered both on and for the track unable to take the heat of a few laps. Even just the swelter of a summer day on a spirited drive is enough to cause the engine oil temps in the K20C1 to rise.

Poster Boy - Performance Intercooler R&D, Part 2 - Design Plans

Posted: October 11, 2018

Categories: Volkswagen GTI/Golf R Performance Intercooler

As the temperature drops and the leaves begin to change, we start to enter prime boosting season. That's correct, as the weather gets spookier, the efficiency of your charged air system improves. The cooler, denser outside air is much easier to cram into your GTI's cylinders than the thick muggy summer air. However, just because the outside temperatures are dropping, that doesn't mean the heat is leaving your stock intercooler.

If you recall from our review of the stock components, VW shrouded the base of a good intercooler design in the support system for the creature comfort we all enjoy, and put it in close proximity to the radiator. To make matters worse, mostly in our case and not so much for climate change, the adaptation of the PremAir system limits the build envelope even further. We have our work cut