Project EVO X, Keeping the engine oil and SST tranny cool!

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To supplement the stock oil cooler, we used this Setrab heat exchanger.  We plumbed this cooler completely independently of the stock cooler.  This additional cooler more than doubles the transmission cooling capability.  We mounted the cooler to the front bumper beam and core support with some simple brackets.  The new cooler is directly in the air stream in front of the radiator.

Good quality plumbing is essential for any car project, especially when it is coolant or critical lubricants.  We used Earl’s Pro Lite 350 hose.  It is a high quality hose that can take 500 psi and is much lighter than braided steel hose.  It is covered with a tough braided nylon jacket.  We like this hose because the cover does not abrade everything it touches like braided steel does.  For fittings we used Earl’s Swivel-Seal AN hose ends and aluminum adapters.  Earl’s uses forged aluminum for their hose ends, not like the cheap import hose ends others sell.  The Swivel Seal is unique in that it can be moved after assembly due to a unique o-ring swiveling seal.

The same dual clutch technology is found on several other cars from Volkswagen/Audi, Porsche, BMW, Volvo, the Nissan GTR and even the Bugatti Veyron.  The transmission’s potential to have the slip free efficiency of a manual transmission with the ease of automating it will see its use increase through the years as nearly every OEM has plans for adopting this technology in some models.

We used a Genesis Technologies GC111 viton seal pump to pump the hot oil from the transmission, through the cooler and back to the transmission.  Since our cooler is on a completely independent circuit, the additional cooling can be turned off for street driving and turned on at the track.

In the case of our EVO, since the car is a daily driver for a long, over one hour daily commute, the transmission is a blessing allowing stress free driving even in bumper to bumper traffic.  For fun driving, the transmission’s easy paddle shifting and auto rev matching makes sporty driving effortless and fun as well.

Once the oil is cooled by the cooler, it is returned to the transmission via the oil fill hole.  We used an Earl’s adapter and Swivel Seal fitting to make this a painless hookup!.

The transmission’s issues rear their ugly head under extreme conditions on the street and anytime the car is driven, even briefly on the track. The issue is the transmission creates a lot of heat and has trouble shedding it as fast as it is produced.  The transmission has a large oil cooler but it simply isn’t enough for sports driving on hot days or track use.

Hot oil is pumped from the drain on the sump and fed to the cooler.  Earl’s fittings come to the rescue to make this easy.