merica

  1. We Get Around - Catch Can R&D, Part 6: Cadillac Field Trip

    We Get Around - Catch Can R&D, Part 6: Cadillac Field Trip

    Though the winter continues to perpetuate chilly weather and monotonous gloom here on the east coast, the future is looking bright for our Mishimoto 2013+ Cadillac ATS catch can kit. After a nice visit to the local Porsche dealership (yes, you read that correctly), armed with some anomalous 50◦ January sunshine, several delicious sandwiches, and our final ATS prototype catch can kit, we've determined that our fitment is just about spot on.

    For those of you just catching up with us now (I crack myself up), this ATS kit is largely the same as our Camaro 2.0T catch can kit, which is now on pre-sale"don't worry, the ATS pre-sale is not far behind!

    However, to properly fit the Caddy, we needed to design a bespoke set of ATS-specific brackets and hoses.

    _MG_1817

    You may have seen an earlier post detailing the ultra-high-tech way we laid out the initial designs, and that method proved to be an effective one. The layout we determined through those methods was mapped onto a 3D-drawing, and we used that

    Continue Reading »
  2. American Workhorse - Part 3: Looks that Kill

    American Workhorse - Part 3: Looks that Kill

    So far, we've examined chassis flex on the 6.4 Super Duty trucks and we've taken a look at our solution in its construction, design, and testing. As our Mishimoto 6.4 Upper Radiator Support Bar pre-sale comes to an imminent close, I've got just a bit more to share!

    upper radiator support bar

    Namely, I think it's time we show you some trucks! As I've mentioned before, we've been working with numerous 6.4 owners to test this bar out, and things have gone great so far. The bars have seen many thousands of miles, and we've had some of our satisfied testers send in some cool shots of their support bars installed on the trucks.

    Check them out below, and don't forget to take advantage of that discount... and act fast; the pre-sale will be ending tomorrow!

    Mishimoto 6.4L Powerstroke Upper Radiator Support Bar Pre-Sale!

    400-MMUS-F2D-08_1_4
    400-MMUS-F2D-08_2_4
    400-MMUS-F2D-08_4_1
    300-MMUS-F2D-08_2_1

    Special thanks to the people at KEM South, Lead Foot Diesel Performance, and Powerstroke Help, for sending along pictures!

    Thanks,
    -Gardiner
    Continue Reading »
  3. Makin' Our Camaro Purr - Catback R&D, Part 1: Stock Review

    Makin' Our Camaro Purr - Catback R&D, Part 1: Stock Review

    Here I stand, firmly within the land of people who spend egregious amounts of money on car parts, as I look back and wonder how in hell I got here. Those of us in my position often place the blame on a nasty little creature called the "mod bug."

    The mod bug, as they say, is a tricky little bastard. Though you may think most damage-imposing biting insects live in Australia, I can assure you, this one is alive and well in the Americas. I've had firsthand experience as a victim, and it isn't pretty - just ask my bank account.

    The feeling of that bug biting for the first time is unforgettable. At the beginning, you say "just an exhaust and springs, and then my car'll be perfect". Enter mod bug. Before you know it, you're dropping a Ferrari engine in your wide-body FR-S.

    Continue Reading »
  4. Eliminating the Eyesore - Expansion Tank R&D, Part 4: Final Form

    Eliminating the Eyesore - Expansion Tank R&D, Part 4: Final Form

    They say that good things come to those who wait, and we'd certainly say that's the case with the Mishimoto 2016+ Camaro expansion tank. Note that I did not specify "SS" here. This tank also fits on the 2.0T, but we haven't gotten a change to test it out on a V6 model yet, though it should fit. If any V6 owners are local to the Philadelphia area and want to come on by for a test fit so that we can be 100% sure, please reach out!

    We've tested the tank on both of our Camaros, and we've gone through several stages of refinement, ultimately ending up with quite the fine-looking aluminum piece. Oh, and did I mention it's already on Pre-Sale?

    Mishimoto 2016+ Camaro Expansion / Overflow Tank Pre-Sale

    Let's take a gander at how the final product came out!

    Expanding on the Stock Design

    camaro expansion tank

    As a reminder for those of you who have been following along the whole time, and as a quick catch-me-up for those of you who are just joining us, the stock tank design in this car actually comprises two different

    Continue Reading »
  5. American Workhorse - Part 2: Putting Innovation to the Test

    American Workhorse - Part 2: Putting Innovation to the Test

    Welcome to the second blog post detailing the development of the Mishimoto 6.4L Powerstroke upper radiator support bar. Last time, we looked at why front-end chassis flex in the 6.4 Super Duty has the potential to exceed a safe magnitude, using our advanced American architecture as a comparison. We learned that too much flex spells possible consequences, so we made it our goal to stiffen things up. But how did we do it?

    We did it in the most American way possible - through innovation.

    The Mishimoto 6.4 not only serves as an engineering platform, but also as a useful tool during construction of our new R&D center.
    The Mishimoto 6.4 not only served as a great testing and engineering platform, but also as a useful tool during construction of our new R&D center.

    Our Founding Fathers did not tear everything down and begin anew; they met in Philadelphia, just forty minutes north of the Mishimoto R&D Center, and took their existing European systems of law and order, threw out the things that weren't working, and stuck to the tried-and-true principles as a foundation.

    This same workflow can be found at the beginning of most

    Continue Reading »
  6. Catch A Wave (of Blow-By) - Part 5: Wait, How Many Cans?

    Catch A Wave (of Blow-By) - Part 5: Wait, How Many Cans?

    Happy 2017, people! I hope you all had wonderful experiences throughout the holiday season and you welcomed in the New Year with a glass of something delicious. I know I did! Whatever you had, I'm sure you enjoyed it much more than your Camaro 2.0T enjoys drinking blow-by. So to begin the year on the right foot, we're going to give you the opportunity to pick up a Mishimoto 2016+ Camaro 2.0T Catch Can kit.

    In my last post, I gave all of the ATS owners a little love and showed you how we route catch can hoses with our loaner Cadillac. Today, it's time to pivot back and take a look at the final setup as it will appear on the Camaro 2.0T. We've been working on a surprise addition to this design that you might want to check out.

    singlebracket

    Most everything that you read here will also apply to the ATS kit, but, as many have inferred, the Camaro project is a little bit further along in R&D than the Cadillac project (although not by THAT much). The Camaro kit is so close to ready, in fact, that it is now

    Continue Reading »
  7. A Real F-150'n Beaut'! - Intercooler R&D, Part 4: Final Aesthetic Form

    A Real F-150'n Beaut'! - Intercooler R&D, Part 4: Final Aesthetic Form

    As we approach the holidays, I want to get into the giving spirit by sharing some photos with you of how our final 2015+ F-150 EcoBoost intercooler will look. But first, I'd like to thank you all for your patience. This is a busy time of year, and the R&D for this intercooler has been an iterative one, but quality takes time and we've got a part on our hands that looks fantastic - I'm sure you'll all agree. You can see evidence of this by checking out our 2011-2014 EcoBoost Intercooler!

    Last time, we 3D-printed some EcoBoost intercooler end tanks and sized up some foam to represent our intercooler core. For all our projects, this step in the process serves not only to save resources, but also to give us some flexibility in changing our design quickly and experimenting with numerous philosophies. Let's dive into the 2015+ F-150 EcoBoost Intercooler project a little bit to find out why this is important.

    Laying the Foundation for LOTS of Testing

    With any project, the name of the game during

    Continue Reading »
  8. The Rise to Power - Downpipe R&D, Part 1: Stock Review

    The Rise to Power - Downpipe R&D, Part 1: Stock Review

    I think we can all agree that the past couple weeks have been quite eventful here in the United States.

    Regardless of which political candidate you supported, it's time to move on and unify now that our election has concluded. Whether or not we're happy about the outcome, we - as a society - need to be working together now. But certain Facebook friends can't seem to figure that out. You all know the one(s). Regardless of their political allegiances, they flood our news feeds with statuses high in pressure and often full of hot air. It's utterly exhausting - if only there were some way to get these people to pipe down.

    The Camaro downpipe connects to the back side of the turbo.
    The Camaro downpipe connects to the back side of the turbo.

    Well here's an unpopular opinion for you" let's find a good, level-headed automotive engineer and elect him or her as the next president! Because if our goal is to exhaust the high pressure and hot air out of our system, they've already got that figured out - it's called a downpipe, ladies and gentlemen, and there's

    Continue Reading »
  9. Little Caddy - Catch Can R&D, Part 4: ATS Hose Routing

    Little Caddy - Catch Can R&D, Part 4: ATS Hose Routing

    Hello to all my wonderful Camaro 2.0T and Cadillac ATS owners! In our last update, we made the big reveal of our patent-pending blow-by tap. We drilled down into the details of how we plan on mining that nasty vein of oil vapor out of your LTG and transporting it to a catch can, instead of into your intake manifold.

    Today, we're going to take it back to basics a little bit and look specifically at that whole "transport" element. To go even further back to basics, check out our technical section to see why blow-by is so bad for your engine over time. You know all about the complex, unique parts of this Camaro catch can project, but what about something as simple and ubiquitous as the hoses?

    camaro catch can

    There are many ways to skin a cat, and there are many ways to route a hose. However, as they say, all you really need to know, you learned in kindergarten. Steve took us back to circle time with a clever new way to route houses in a way that's more visually representative of how the final product will

    Continue Reading »
  10. Removing the Rubber - Induction Hose R&D, Part 2: 3D Print

    Removing the Rubber - Induction Hose R&D, Part 2: 3D Print

    Just the other week, we all went to sleep with an extra hour on our hands, and now we rise each morning only to find that the rest of the world has beaten us to the punch. Early-morning sun shines through blinds where only darkness fell at the same hour, merely a couple weeks ago. It's a bit of a shame that the day's light departs early in the evening, but there's something energizing and uplifting about waking up to sunlight.

    Mornings like these pair well with a nice breakfast to begin the day. For this reason, it's probably a good call to keep the waffles in the kitchen, and rid them from under the hood of your 2016 Camaro SS. We're here to help with that - you've already seen our Camaro induction hose 3D models, so let's take a look at how we brought them to life.

    Part of this not-so-balanced breakfast
    Part of this not-so-balanced breakfast

    3D Printing a Better Breakfast for your SS

    The world is arguably witnessing an unprecedented age of technological innovation. We are living in a time when I can literally ask my phone

    Continue Reading »