The Impossible Evo X: Part 3 – The Cooling System

The steady, albeit slow, march of progress continues on the Impossible Evo X. The car is nearly ready for a baseline track experience, but as the car was optioned with the sensitive dual-clutch SST transmission, I must take all reasonable precautions to keep it alive. Today we’re doing it by dramatically increasing the car’s cooling capacity and thermal rejection ability!

Starting with engine cooling

First things first, I wanted to upgrade the radiator due to the Dodson transmission sump. Why? Because of the sump, the OEM radiator cooling circuit is not only tied into the engine but the transmission as well. This means the radiator has to reject more heat than it was originally designed for. There are plenty of great options, but one company ‌stood out to me. Not only did they offer an upgraded radiator, but silicone hoses AND a trick oil cooler setup as well. I liked the idea of working with one company’s parts rather than piecemealing together a system, so I used contact of mine to put me in touch with Mishimoto. Did anyone else feel that? It’s the harsh glare of elites as they look down their noses upon me.

Yes, I’ve heard all the negative things about Mishimoto products in the past, but putting my hands on some of their more recent offerings and talking with a few competitors that use their products, I figured it was worth revisiting. In full transparency, Mishimoto provided me with a radiator, oil coolers, hoses, and coolant to give my honest review on MotoIQ.

Here’s the X-Line radiator that was installed in the Impossible Evo X. Build quality seems on par with other quality radiator offerings in the aftermarket. Install was a breeze and after we hit the track, we’ll offer up data on its performance.
I wanted to include a close-up image of the welds for our readers to examine. All constructive feedback is welcome in the comments section!
I also wanted to replace the 140k mile factory coolant hoses with something that could handle the increased heat and pressures of track usage. Mishimoto offers a silicone hose kit for the 4 primary lines. As with the radiator, the installation was a breeze. I counted 4 layers of reinforcement within the hoses. I didn’t see the need to grab a picture, but I also replaced the OEM, high mileage plastic filler neck for peace of mind. I initially went with an aluminum aftermarket part, but did not like the fitment and went back to OEM.
Mishimoto also included their Liquid Chill coolant. I will run coolant instead of straight water as this car sees usage on and off-track, as well as below freezing temps. I’ll report back with data on how the coolant performs.
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3 comments

  1. I have issues with Mishimoto when they blatantly rip off another company’s design even leaving tracks like ordering a part to rip off on their own PO. It’s not even reverse engineering but a blatant copy of another company’s stuff like they did with Improved Racing. That just rubs me the wrong way.

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  2. I’ve run that oil cooler on my X for about 6 years without any issues. I did the exact same with the lines, and its worked out very well. Very interested on the oil sensor as I agree….running the sensors (especially with extension lines) is a massive PITA.

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    1. I am working with Turn in Concepts on the wiring soon with a dedicated datalogger. I’ll report back soon with how everything works out but we have used that same sensor in a different location on the Pro Awe Time Attack Evo VIII with good luck.

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