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  1. Cooling is Coming- Intercooler R&D, Part 1: Stock Evaluation

    Cooling is Coming- Intercooler R&D, Part 1: Stock Evaluation

    We have been working on the Titan XD for quite some time now. We have gone through a variety of products like the intercooler pipe kit, coolant filtration kit, and exhaust. Now we are down to the bread and butter of our Titan XD parts: the intercooler.

    When we begin projects, we like to start by evaluating the stock component and looking for areas where we can make improvements. The stock intercooler in the Titan is fairly sizeable and features cast aluminum end tanks, which we don't normally see on stock intercoolers. Nissan has started off on the right foot with this intercooler. Still, we are confident that we can take it a few steps further with our intercooler design.

    Stock Nissan Titan XD intercooler
    Stock Nissan Titan XD intercooler

    Stock Nissan Titan XD intercooler end tank
    Stock Nissan Titan XD intercooler end tank

    Stock Nissan Titan XD intercooler end tank
    Stock Nissan Titan XD intercooler end tank

    After having a look at the stock unit, we began work on our upgrade. The first step was to take some measurement with our CMM (coordinate measuring machine). This would give us data points to use

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  2. The Rise to Power - Downpipe R&D, Part 1: Stock Review

    The Rise to Power - Downpipe R&D, Part 1: Stock Review

    I think we can all agree that the past couple weeks have been quite eventful here in the United States.

    Regardless of which political candidate you supported, it's time to move on and unify now that our election has concluded. Whether or not we're happy about the outcome, we - as a society - need to be working together now. But certain Facebook friends can't seem to figure that out. You all know the one(s). Regardless of their political allegiances, they flood our news feeds with statuses high in pressure and often full of hot air. It's utterly exhausting - if only there were some way to get these people to pipe down.

    The Camaro downpipe connects to the back side of the turbo.
    The Camaro downpipe connects to the back side of the turbo.

    Well here's an unpopular opinion for you" let's find a good, level-headed automotive engineer and elect him or her as the next president! Because if our goal is to exhaust the high pressure and hot air out of our system, they've already got that figured out - it's called a downpipe, ladies and gentlemen, and there's

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  3. Removing the Rubber - Induction Hose R&D, Part 2: 3D Print

    Removing the Rubber - Induction Hose R&D, Part 2: 3D Print

    Just the other week, we all went to sleep with an extra hour on our hands, and now we rise each morning only to find that the rest of the world has beaten us to the punch. Early-morning sun shines through blinds where only darkness fell at the same hour, merely a couple weeks ago. It's a bit of a shame that the day's light departs early in the evening, but there's something energizing and uplifting about waking up to sunlight.

    Mornings like these pair well with a nice breakfast to begin the day. For this reason, it's probably a good call to keep the waffles in the kitchen, and rid them from under the hood of your 2016 Camaro SS. We're here to help with that - you've already seen our Camaro induction hose 3D models, so let's take a look at how we brought them to life.

    Part of this not-so-balanced breakfast
    Part of this not-so-balanced breakfast

    3D Printing a Better Breakfast for your SS

    The world is arguably witnessing an unprecedented age of technological innovation. We are living in a time when I can literally ask my phone

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  4. Any Cooler You Like - Oil Cooler R&D, Part 2: Data and Pre-Sale!

    Any Cooler You Like - Oil Cooler R&D, Part 2: Data and Pre-Sale!

    Well, our SS and our 2.0T have quite the sibling rivalry, and as a fellow older brother, I can empathize with how the SS must feel to be challenged by this little 2.0T. However, older siblings are also often blessed with an innate ability to do things far better than their younger siblings (my sisters don't read car blogs, so I've basically got free reign here). As such, I'm sure the SS has some confidence in its oil cooling ability, and rightly so. But how will the 2.0T stack up?

    Younger siblings, ungrateful beneficiaries of free-ridership, often enjoy the ability to hop on the coattails of big bro and whisk themselves away into a world of PG-13 movies, unearned responsibilities, and other undeserved privileges. The 2.0T is no exception, as it's already been able to finagle itself this oil cooler. And guess what! You don't need to wait any longer to also benefit from this, because the pre-sale for the Mishimoto 2016 2.0T Camaro oil cooler begins today.

    2016+ 2.0T Camaro Oil Cooler Pre-Sale
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  5. Keep your Cool- Transmission Cooler R&D, Part 3: Test Results

    Keep your Cool- Transmission Cooler R&D, Part 3: Test Results

    The yellow GT is back in our R&D facility to show us a thing or two about testing trans coolers. Upon the GT's arrival, we wasted no time getting the pony car saddled with our testing rig.

    Mustang GT on the dyno for transmission cooler testing
    Mustang GT on the dyno for transmission cooler testing

    Mustang GT on the dyno for transmission cooler testing
    Mustang GT on the dyno for transmission cooler testing

    We couldn't have asked for a better day for our Mustang transmission cooler testing. We began testing on a beautiful fall afternoon with an ambient temperature of 70°F and 40% humidity. However, this would be no easy day for this brightly-colored beast. With the GT fiercely perched on our Dynapacks, we began testing by applying a constant load to the Mustang. The car was run on the Dyno at 70 MPH in 6th gear, with the dyno producing 60% load, for a grueling 5 minutes in order to ensure the transmission cooler was heat-soaked. We then reduced the load to 36% for another 5 minutes to complete our test.

    Results

    The Mishimoto trans cooler was able to reduce temperatures by 18°F when compared to

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  6. Cool to the Core - Radiator R&D, Part 1: Stock Review and Renderings

    Cool to the Core - Radiator R&D, Part 1: Stock Review and Renderings

    One of my favorite things about working for Mishimoto is the sheer breadth of our many different projects. We're working on much more than only Chevy parts! Our garage always contains some interesting combination of trucks, hot hatches, muscle cars, and more. With all that fun stuff just meters away (separated from me by nothing more than a thin layer of clear glass, no less), it's a small wonder I get anything done around here.

    All this considered, I still occasionally receive some form of the following response after telling people where I work. "Oh yeah, I know Mishimoto. They make radiators, right?"

    "...we engineer an array of Camaro parts that encompass everything from oil coolers to intercooler pipes."

    This would be like calling Google a search engine company" is it? Yes. But that doesn't account for the tremendous success of all its other products, from email clients to artificial neural networks and self-driving cars. (Though, I'm sure the automotive arm of Google would be even

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  7. Hot and Cold - Intercooler Pipes R&D, Part 1: Stock Review

    Hot and Cold - Intercooler Pipes R&D, Part 1: Stock Review

    When I was young, I had a serious tendency to become fixated on a specific item or experience. Starry-eyed and captivated, I'd stubbornly obsess over my desire-du-jour at the expense of appreciating what was going on in the moment - something that was lost on me at the time, but hardly seems unique now, among my generational peers (or even those decades my senior). It's a fault upon which I've improved vastly with age and "wisdom", but I regularly notice reflections of the same tendency beyond the scope of my own experience, even regarding one's attitude to something as simple as Chevy parts.

    You see, although this phenomenon tends often to be associated with my generation, I would argue that its application extends much more broadly to human nature.

    If I had a nickel for every time I heard my aunts, uncles, and parents rehashing their college days, often followed by "I wish I had taken advantage of X opportunity or done Y thing - I was just too focused on Z!", I'd have enough money to

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  8. Sounds from an American Muscle Car - Exhaust R&D, Part 4: Sound Check

    Sounds from an American Muscle Car - Exhaust R&D, Part 4: Sound Check

    A Gaggle of Pipes,

    Hello everyone! You may remember from our previous 2016 Camaro SS Exhaust post that we have decided to move forward with five different systems for this car. It is my pleasure to let you know that all our Camaro exhaust prototypes have been completed. We've been busy testing and re-testing for fitment, sound, durability, and performance - and fun, of course. Our on-road testing process usually begins a little something like this:

    Rob, the project manager: "Hey Gardiner, I need you to take the SS home tonight to put some miles on the pro system."

    Me: "Ugh, if you insist."

    They really have to twist my arm.

    So many options - which one to choose!
    So many options - which one to choose!

    Exhaust systems are a complex endeavor in any regard, but this dual-mode Camaro exhaust is particularly intricate. This bear has demanded myriad engineering-hours, but we've readily progressed through the trials and tribulations of the R&D process. Now, I would like to show you a particularly cool piece of the system that came to

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  9. Overflowing with Style - Overflow Tank, Part 2: Pre-Sale

    Overflowing with Style - Overflow Tank, Part 2: Pre-Sale

    Hello everyone, and welcome to the long-awaited second chapter in the saga of the Mishimoto BRZ expansion tank! I know it's been a little while since our first update, and you all have waited patiently, so I am excited to share some good news about these BRZ parts (or FR-S parts).

    Mishimoto's 2013+ BRZ Expansion Tank Pre-sale

    You might remember from my last update that the stock, ghostly-looking overflow tank that haunts the engine bay of your BRZ, GT86, or FR-S really spooked us. So much so, in fact, that we felt obligated to provide you with an alternative - a way to absolve the BRZ of negative energy and transform your engine bay into something inspiring, rather than terrifying.

    scared
    The stock BRZ expansion tank is a horrifying sight!

    Though Halloween may be approaching and ghosts or monsters seem to be appearing everywhere (even around our office), we at Mishimoto don't think that anything so scary looking should ever be in your engine bay. That's why we've decided to begin the pre-sale

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  10. Getting into the Thick of It - Intercooler R&D, Part 1: Stock Review

    Getting into the Thick of It - Intercooler R&D, Part 1: Stock Review

    As a writer, the relationship between words and ideas has always interested me. Often, the same idea, expressed the same way, can have wildly different implications in different contexts.

    An idea may be exceptionally positive in one instance, while equally negative in another. For example, let's take the word "quick." I think anyone who ended up on this blog post can agree that a quick Camaro is a good thing, right? But what about a quick job interview? "They must have really loved me!" Maybe"

    job

    Let's look at another word, "thin." We love thin phones and tablets; with every Apple keynote, we're once step closer to replacing the phrase "paper cut" with "smartphone cut." But when it comes to intercoolers, thin is generally not ideal. GM's engineers apparently didn't get this memo when they designed the 2016 Camaro 2.0T intercooler, but that's where we come in: We are developing an intercooler to try to squeeze some more power out of that LTG.

    We've got numerous ideas on how to improve, but

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