Page 49 - Engineering

UPDATE: This catch can is now on pre-sale! Check out the installed & kit photos below and be sure to check out the website to purchase this kit: Mishimoto Direct-Fit 2010-15 Camaro SS Catch Can Pre-Sale

An engine is a lot like a human body. It's full of moving parts and fluid. It breathes in and out, just like you or I. Except instead of lungs and a heart, it has cylinders and a crankshaft. Its blood may have an octane rating, but like your body, an engine needs fresh air to survive. Blow-by finds its way into your engine's lungs, compromising its airways, and choking the power out of it. Imagine having a chest cold, but instead your lungs are full of oil and unburned fuel; I bet you wouldn't run well either.

Many of you have been asking about the status of this project, and I have concrete information and data for you to look over as you make your decision on an intercooler for summer 2017. In the last update (which, I know was a while ago), we left you with what the final design of the core looked like, complete with renders and studio shots of the physical production sample.

The project's lead engineer knows that any intercooler design should be able to live up to the demanding performance these trucks require during, off-road or work use, daily driving, and even towing vehicles. Our engineer tested three cores, all with slightly different design aspects, so our R&D bases would be covered. Each core consisted of a bar-and-plate construction, as they are much stronger by design and go with the tough theme of these trucks.

The core we decided to go with gave us a 77% increase in core volume and a 163% increase in external fin surface area - not a mild improvement by any means.

The movement on the 2016 Ford Focus RS intercooler project may seem slow, but it couldn't be more alive. Our lead engineer for the project, at my request, has completed a plethora of testing configurations to get the most detailed amount of data possible. For the past three months, we have been rocking out on testing, testing, and more testing for the RS, the primary objectives being movement on the upcoming diff cooler and this front-mount intercooler. We know that the RS crowd loves their data, so we want to overload you with what's finally available.

I won't sugarcoat anything here. The update is going to be very data-intensive. I don't have any entertaining anecdotes, interesting fun-facts, or puns about staying focused to fluff this piece with. Today's discussion will be about our Nitrous Blue hatchback and the focus on data.

Get a silicone induction hose for your LTG powered Camaro or ATS today:

Mishimoto Camaro/ATS 2.0T LTG Silicone Induction Hose PreSale

The quality of the airflow is essential for any vehicle boasting a forced induction system. You would think with a compressor literally sucking volumes of air that it would sort itself out, but that's not always the case. Turbulence, and the resulting inconsistent airflow, is the enemy. Any sort of change in the airflow can cause pressure differentials and ultimately keep your turbocharged engine from rising to its full potential. As laid out in the stock review of the Ecotec LTG induction hose, between the couplings, bends, and the muffler, the stock hose isn't exactly the most efficient design. If you recall, GM engineers have certain criteria to meet in their design process and have to consider a broader consumer

These intercooler pipes are now available!
Click here to buy them from our website!

As the old cliché goes, some things just go together like peas in a pod. Peanut butter and jelly. Cold beer and tailgates. Intercoolers and intercooler pipes; you just can't have one without the other. If you followed along with our 2011-14 F-150 EcoBoost intercooler thread, you've probably been waiting for an update on our intercooler pipes for a while now. Well, the wait is over.

Fabrication

In the last post, fabrication ended for our prototype cold-side pipe. Since then, we've been busy fabricating the hot-side piping and testing. Steve and Mike whipped up a hot-side prototype using the same process as the cold-side

Enlarging charge pipes for your turbocharged engine must be a detailed and accurate process. Think about it. It's not like companies make a charge pipe kit that is well-designed, well-documented, direct-fit and requires no modification to, let's say, a twin-turbocharged LS1 V8 engine fitting 1995-1998 Nissan 240SX's. You are going to need a fabricator for that, a very good one. It will be a one-off kit specifically for the car brought into the shop, not able to be mass produced due to the unique setup.

You can't design good intercooler piping that fits a particular application for wide-scale production willy-nilly. Without the use of the proper tools, time, and R&D, the resulting product will be met with negative feedback from the surrounding automotive community. With the overall tight engine bay clearances of this 2016+ Honda Civic 1.5L Turbo, working around the space to design piping that will fit with a larger diameter than stock is a priority. Even slight miscalculations

Bigger is better. This is the American ideal that has been the foundation of many in the automotive world. However, in modern times, it's all about consolidation; next-level vehicle technology comes in smaller packages, but broadens the ranges of performance potential. Our engineers shared the modern vision when designing an intercooler for the 2016 Honda Civic 1.5L Turbo. You can't just throw a huge core on this car and call it a day. With a cramped engine bay and the factory intercooler, radiator, and air conditioning condenser tightly bundled together, it's vital we get crafty. It's time to take the road less traveled with the core design to properly surge the maximum amount of cooled air into your Earth Dreams motor.

Success in engineering is rarely the result of one attempt. Our products go through revision after revision before they ever see the light of day (or darkness of your engine bay). This goes for complex products, like oil cooler systems and intercoolers, to seemingly simple catch can brackets. Our engineers must consider every situation that could occur in a vehicle, then design our products to handle them. The development process for our 5th Gen Camaro SS direct-fit oil catch can is no exception to that rule.

Success is also rarely the product of one person's efforts. Teamwork plays a major role in every product here at Mishimoto. From conception to release, our projects are touched by just about every Mishimoto employee. When it comes to designing and developing a catch can kit, more ideas create a better product. That's why our engineer, Jason, brought in one of our draftsmen, Josh, to help with this kit's design.

This wasn't Josh's first time designing a product, however.