Trans cooler all fitted...

[charles charlie]

I've been tracking my GTR for 3 years and as many will know, the ruddy transmission temps drive you nuts.

So, I've been looking for a sensible solution and every one I looked at didnt suit me completely.

So I decided to pick the best bits from several key providers of colling solutions and put my own together.

My kit involved the following..

- SSP front mounted cooler, fan and hosing.

I liked the position of this cooler, it's large cooler core, and the twin fans. I also liked the gear pump as it should be more reliable than a diaphragm type. SSP produce a deep trans pan which requires cutting of the undertray and at over £1000 for that, I looked elsewhere.

- Japspeed trans sump

At £314 delivered it's as cheap as they come and has attached inputs/outputs for a trans cooler, as well as a 3rd hole for attaching a temp switch (like Forge do with theirs). It arrived with plenty of parts including sump plug/extension tube, attachments for the OEM magnets etc.

- Temp switch

This isnt a necessity but I wanted my cooler to come on when required so I found an M16 sized radiator switch (on at 95, off at 85) and attached this to the sump (with a bonded seal). The switch is earth type, normally open, so we will use it to earth the pump and cooler fans when it hits 95 deg c.

Here's the AN8 fittings and the temp sensor fitted to the sump



I was fortunate to have the guys at Vanquish fit me in today for the install and the quality of the install was flawless. I rolled up towards the end of the day and grabbed some snaps of the process..

Cooler core fitted nicely behind the bumper..



Viewed from above, really neat place to put a cooler imho..



Pump attached to the front crash bar, really high quality connectors and hosing from SSP




Fluid hoses covered in heat shield where necessary



The in/outs were attached to the sump, I would prefer the return to feed into the trans filler port but we're trying this setup first and it's easy to swap round. Paul has a rear mounted SSP cooler attached this way and it works great for him so we will see.





The pump and cooler fans are set to turn on at 95 and off at 85 without any input from the driver but I also have an override switch in the cabin should I wish to turn it on sooner.

I cannot thank Paul and Lee enough for their hard work today as the install is as perfect as I could have wished for.


The best bit is the cost of the parts.

SSP cooler £960 delivered + £50 import duties

Japspeed Trans sump £314

OEM gasket £30

Wiring, switch, wiring tubing and heat shield £40

Parts therefore cost me around £1500.

Gotta get this mother on track now!

[paul__k]

Looks like another CC quality job!
Get it round Spa that should test it...

[SamboGrove]

My. My you have been a busy boy! This and a new zorst

Looks like a quality set up. Hope it gives you good results

[charles charlie]

Thanks for the kind words gentlemen.

The proof will be on track and that'll happen as soon as I can get the time.

Cant wait for Bruntingthorpe now!

[Adamantium]

this looks like a small neat solution that wasn't a mammoth event to install.

Any idea why the forge option is so much larger and more time consuming to install, and why did you dismiss it?

[sin]

Great write up CC.

I take it the house is finished.

[charles charlie]

Good questions Adam.

The Forge unit is a well designed piece of kit with the added advantage of the temp switch and is very comprehensive in the bits and pieces supplied.

I dismissed it for several reasons.

1. Cost. Cheapest I could find was £1900.

2. The pump is a diaphragm type and I wanted a gear driven version.

3. Install was quoted at 10 hours which adds significantly to the cost.

4. Installation of the cooler core would prevent adding another oil cooler at a later date should I so wish.

5. No fans supplied and the area behind the cooler is obstructed by the washer bottle in particular.

6. The pump is mounted on the front sub frame and I wonder about longevity in this area and is close to the very hot downpipes/y-pipe junction.

The SSP version's install location I felt was superb and had the benefit of a top notch pump (Mocal gear driven which I couldnt find in the UK).
The supplied Setrab core is a dual pass version with 2 fans which means I can get the trans temp down without having to keep doing cool down laps (and hopefully bring temps back down faster during those laps)

SSP were happy to provide everything without the trans pan so I could find my own and design the wiring to suit my purpose, and only £950 delivered for the key components.

So to my mind I have the best of both worlds.

Great pump, gear driven, 10-12 litres per minute
Great cooler location
Cheaper sump
Still retaining a temp switch
Manual override in the cabin

I should also add that when I looked into getting the SSP parts separately I couldnt beat their combined price.

So all in all, it combined the well thought out part of the Forge idea (temp switch) combined with I believe, a better cooler location which also has fan assistance.

I may end up eating my words when I hit the track, but several NAGTROV guys have shown good results.

[charles charlie]

Originally Posted by sin

Great write up CC.

I take it the house is finished.

Nope. This cooler and exhaust is instead of a bathroom.

Cool my car may be, smelly I certainly am!

[mindlessoath]

great mod man! will u make the review at nagtroc also? i like this location alot. a long while back i remember ssp offered a custom lower sump pan. but i think the larger one gets more cooling due to air flow under the car (i dunno if there's data for that tho). the one you got and the setup with the temp sensor looks great tho!

the reviews showed great results only a few deg give or take differences from the hks and greddy kits. shows its a good kit. and ive read you can't hear the pump like some of the other kits.

[SamboGrove]

What are the pros/cons of the geaer driven pump vs a diaphragm type?

[nick the tubman]

great work CC.
cant wait to see the results.
when you next going to Spa?

i assume you have had the pedestrian bumper mod done as well?

[charles charlie]

Good question Sam.

I'd read a lot of opinion on the relative merits of each type of pump and there were strong views on the longevity of diaphragm pumps when they're pumping fluid at an elevated temp. The Mocal unit is rated to be able to run at a constant 130 so it may be fine but I felt the gear type seemed a more robust solution. I would doubt that a diaphragm type pump would be used in a Motorsport setting too.

Nick, pedestrian bumper thingies still intact. For now!! The guys at Vanquish can reset the bonnet ECU if it goes off so not overly concerned.

Should also add my sincere thanks to Kris and Jeremy at SSP whose service was extraordinary. They answered emails over their Memorial Weekend holiday within minutes and were happy to provide lots of info to my numerous questions. Great people to deal with.

[Anders_R35]

Nice install, I'm still interested in the AMS solution but will give this some thought also.

Anders

[Anders_R35]

Did some posts disappear from this thread? I made one that's vanished?

Anders

[charles charlie]

You posted it in my exhaust thread where it's sitting all alone and looking out of place and odd....