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Monthly Archives: May 2021

  1. Soul Transplant - Baffled OIl Catch Can R&D, Part 1 - Stock Review and Prototyping

    Soul Transplant - Baffled OIl Catch Can R&D, Part 1 - Stock Review and Prototyping

    The news of the departing Ford hatchbacks left a hole in many enthusiast's hearts. For us here in the States, that means no more compact speed demons, finished with bulging bucket seats and manual gearboxes. The balance of power and practicality bearing the blue oval is gone. Or is it?

    Enter the Explorer ST. Ford didn't delete the ST line. They just matured it a bit and crammed the essence of a hot hatchback into a full-sized, family-friendly SUV. It's a combination that shouldn't work, but the 400 hp and surprisingly nimble handling is sure to fill the void left by the hot-hatches departure.

    No matter the vehicle segment, however, any and all internal combustion engines suffer from the same nasty side-effect - blow-by, Explorer ST included. To put it simply, blow-by is when oil

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  2. Heavier Breathing - Race Intake Kit R&D, Part 2 - Prototyping

    Heavier Breathing - Race Intake Kit R&D, Part 2 - Prototyping

    The FK8 Civic Type R is bred for the track. Sure, you see these auspiciously styled Civics roaming the streets and highways, but you don't set front-wheel-drive lap records at the Nurburgring being developed for comfort. If the performance brakes and tires, styling, and big shot K20C1 weren't already enough, enthusiasts are still demanding more from their CTRs. A demand that we're here to fulfill.

    In our last post, we covered our plans for the new race intake, but no design is complete without a round of prototyping here at Mishimoto. While the 3D modeling process gives us precision designs, we still need to double-check the fitment in the vehicle.

    The

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  3. Ultimate Induction - Performance Intake Kit R&D, Part 1 - Stock Review

    Ultimate Induction - Performance Intake Kit R&D, Part 1 - Stock Review

    BMW's M division is renowned for delivering the utmost pinnacle of automotive performance. That's no secret. For decades, the letter M has become synonymous with the perfect distribution of performance and luxury, with the M3 topping the charts in the compact class. It's the benchmark in terms of enthusiast vehicles. Being a driver's car means, though, means that we enthusiasts can't keep our hands out of the engine bay. We need to fiddle and tweak even the likes of the G8X M3/M4 until it perfectly matches our tastes. That tinkering typically starts with the intake system.

    BMW designed the S58's intake system to work independently and in perfect harmony within the engine ecosystem. Simply put, both turbos get their own intake. Before we can make our updates to the system, though, we

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  4. TrendSetter - Baffled Oil Catch Can R&D, Part 2 - Production Sample and Test Results

    TrendSetter - Baffled Oil Catch Can R&D, Part 2 - Production Sample and Test Results

    Subaru designed the Crosstrek for daily practicality while always being on standby for adventure. Our donor Crosstrek did just that, adventuring and making short work of our 1000-mile test period. Before we look at the blow-by collection, let's take a look at the final kit.

    The bracket is the star of the show in this kit. We design our catch can kits for a form fit into your vehicle, and that's due to our bracket design. Thanks to the open real estate under the hood of the compact crossover, our engineering team was able to keep things simple in terms of design. Our bracket design features 3mm thick steel, specifically designed to mount directly to the firewall. This gives us prime access to the PCV port to link our can.

    When it comes to tying in our catch can,

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  5. Air Metering 101: Maf vs. Speed Density

    Air Metering 101: Maf vs. Speed Density

    Every internal combustion requires air and fuel to run correctly. No matter how complex the engines can get, the perfect mixture of oxygen and gas or diesel is needed to continue the series of controlled explosions that ultimately propel you to work in the morning. In the days of yore, otherwise known as the time basically before the 1980s, this mixture is achieved with the lost art of carburetor tuning. We're no longer in the stone ages, so modern engines rely on electronic fuel injection or EFI to accomplish the perfect fuel mixture. The vehicle's computer sorts it out. How exactly? I'm glad you asked!

    It all boils down to the means of metering the amount and quality of the air entering the engine. From there, the engine control unit, or ECU, can instantly adjust the air to fuel mixture, with no need to break out the flathead screwdrivers with a sudden temperature change. For many vehicles on the road today, there are two main strategies for engine tuning, MAF and Speed Density.

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  6. Steady Flow - Performance Turbo Inlet R&D, Part 1 - Stock Review and Design Plans

    Steady Flow - Performance Turbo Inlet R&D, Part 1 - Stock Review and Design Plans

    When it comes to airflow, consistency is key. Whether it's a 1000 horsepower supercar or a nimble hot-hatch, keeping a smooth airflow is vital to every engine's performance. We're already on the case with maintaining flow consistent with the rest of the MK7 Golf GTI/R's intake, but we wanted to keep our improvements flowing after the intake.

    Our quest for optimized airflow on the EA888 2.0T continues with the turbo inlet. Before we dive into how we plan to Mishify the MK7's inlet, we first need to look at Volkswagen's design from the factory.

    Well, it's plastic, for starters. Plastic is not necessarily a bad thing, though. Volkswagen utilized their plastic injection molding with high-density

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  7. Trendsetter - Baffled Oil Catch Can Kit R&D, Part 1 - Stock Review and Design Plans

    Trendsetter - Baffled Oil Catch Can Kit R&D, Part 1 - Stock Review and Design Plans

    In 2012, Subaru became a significant contributor to the automotive trend that would take over the entire market: the crossover. Sure there were some before, but once we Americans laid eyes on the XV Crosstrek, we were smitten. The practicality of an SUV with the efficiency of a hatchback, all wrapped up in a lifted all-wheel-drive hatchback. Subaru designed the Crosstrek to tackle the mundane with the option for adventure. It's not hard to see why the Crosstrek caught on.

    Trends come and go, but one that has stuck around since the dawn of internal combustion is the nasty side-effect of blow-by. For those unfamiliar with the concept you can read our full explanation of blow by, but the short answer is that blow-by is a mixture

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  8. Mega Duty - Aluminum Radiator R&D, Part 1 - Stock Review and Design Plans

    Mega Duty - Aluminum Radiator R&D, Part 1 - Stock Review and Design Plans

    When you think of a heavy-duty truck, what comes to mind? It's a gigantic land ship that's capable of taking on every hauling or towing task that arises, right? Glad we're all on the same page. If we're honest, there's not really much disparity between that thought and real life. GM designed its 2017-2019 Silverado and Sierra HD Duramax to embody the essence of a workhorse, tackling every job without breaking a sweat. The trouble is, though, sometimes it will break a sweat, which is where we come in.

    Before we dive into our design plans, we first need to look at the stock cooling system for the 6.6L L5P Duramax. The engineers at GM went big. Really big. Our initial reaction to this truck radiator was that it's huge. Then again, this isn't much of a surprise given the amount of work these trucks are designed to handle. From the factory, the L5P's radiator measures in at 33" x28" x2.4", making it one of the largest radiators

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  9. Practically Cool - Performance Intercooler R&D, Part 3 - Production sample

    Practically Cool - Performance Intercooler R&D, Part 3 - Production sample

    Honda inadvertently morphed the Accord into an enthusiast car when the turbocharged variants took over. That means drivers are sure to push the 10th generation Accord to the limits in all walks of life. Whether you're picking up groceries, laying down lap times, or setting a new personal best time for your work commute, the turbo mounted to either engine variant adds a practical boost and economical speed to your family-oriented sedan. That is, of course, until the intercooler soaks with heat.

    As we covered in our last posts, no matter your driving style, it's never practical for the intercooler to fill with heat. We covered why this happens with the stock cooler, and our plans to combat the issue. Now, those plans have come to life, and we're eager to show them off.

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