Thread: Tranny cooler
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Old 01-23-2011, 08:39 AM
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Huskymaniac Huskymaniac is offline
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Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Corning, NY
Posts: 1,872
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Re: Tranny cooler

There is a recent long thread on this subject. Tranny cooler is nice but why is under debate. Many people believe the biggest benefit is the reduced flow resistance relative to the internal radiator based cooler. If that is true and heat is more a symptom than a cause, one doesn't need a high capacity cooler. The radiator cooler is probably in the area of 2000-4000 GVW. In fact, if you go too high, your torque converter will be slow to lock up. Also, a high capacity cooler will have a large footprint which, I believe, to be undesirable since most people place it in front of the radiator. Everything restricts airflow, even if just a little. So I went with a 10,000 GVW cooler from flex-a lite. It has low flow resistance and a small footprint. It is larger than the stock cooler but not as high capacity of some of the monster coolers other have used.

Other nice items are:

1. Synthetic fluids in the tranny AND differentials is a great idea. I like Redline because it is ester based and esters are wetting agents that improve heat transfer. Tom like BG which also make nice products. Mike likes Subaru dino ATF with Lubegard in the red bottle. Lubegard is a great additive which is based on esters.
2. Mike's TCU upgrade. He can describe the advantages better than I can.
3. Mike's valve body upgrade.
4. A cheap alternative to #2 is to increase the dropping resistor's resistance slightly. From my understanding, it helps a little but not as much as #2.
5. Some people have argued that driving in 3rd gear around town helps. The main arguments have been that the car does not hunt between 3rd and 4th, the strain on the tranny's parts is reduced and the fluid pumps harder/faster. The last point is the one that is most debated based on the pump design.
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Tony

1996 Polo Green Subaru SVX LSi, 168,XXX miles, Redline D4 ATF, Redline 75W90 gear oil, K&N HP-4001 Oil Filter, Mobil 1 5W50 FS (3qt) and 5W30 High Mileage (4qt) Oil Blend, Motul RBF600 Brake Fluid, AC Delco A975C Air Filter, NGK BKR6EIX-11 plugs, Centric Rotors, Power Stop Evolution Carbon Fiber Ceramic Brake Pads
2005 Gray Acura RL, 165,XXX miles, Redline D4 ATF with Lubegard Platinum Protectant, Mobil 1 5W20 High Mileage Extended Performance Oil
2009 Red Toyota Venza, 123,XXX, Mobil 1 5W30 High Mileage Oil
1992 Red Ferrari 348 ts, 82,XXX, Redline everything
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