track

When you're hurtling towards a concrete-walled turn at over 90 MPH, you'd better know that every nut and bolt in your car is torqued to spec.

Photo: Nick Thomas

We've all had to prepare for something before"a date, an interview, a test. It's always a stressful experience. Now imagine you were about to go on a date with somebody you were pretty sure is trying to kill you. Or, imagine that your desk would be pushed off a 100ft cliff if you failed that test. Preparing for a track day is a lot like that.

About a week before our Focus RS was set to tear up Raceway Park's road course, Dan and Eric were neck deep in tasks. We would be pushing the RS to its limits to test our rear differential cooler; every box had to be checked and every part ready. A week isn't a lot of time to install diagnostic equipment, maximize the car's performance, finalize prototypes, and safety check the entire vehicle, but it all had to be done before 6:00 AM on Tuesday.

Before they could start prepping the mechanical,

At Mishimoto we are big fans of our little blue car. Over the past few months you could say we have formed a bond that only burnouts and track days can build. In testing various Focus RS parts (and maybe doing a few donuts, for science) we noticed that it is very easy to make the rear differential in the RS angry, and you won't like it when its angry. The rear diff makes the rules. Overheat it, and you're likely to end up parked for the day. When the rear diff heats up, the ECU in the RS pulls power in an attempt to cool it down. Therein lies the problem: We have a car that begs to be driven to the absolute limits and rear diff that is programmed to shut down when it reaches a certain temperature. Don't get us wrong, the problem doesn't seem to be with the diff itself, but rather with its inability to dissipate heat fast enough to keep up with this blue bat out of hell.

Focus RS rear differential

Focus RS rear differential

Focus RS rear differential

As a peace offering, we decided to

Update: Check out this awesome video of our track testing for this oil cooler!

What more could a company filled with automotive enthusiasts want than a track day as a workday?! If it were up to me, I would start building our offices adjacent to my favorite tracks and have every meeting in the infield, because I can't think of a more excellent way to spend the day.

I have to begin by thanking you all for collectively pushing for track data. While the type of testing we normally conduct is sufficient for learning how well our products perform under most conditions, nothing instills confidence at the track like pushing your creation to the ragged edge. Because, after all is said and done, that is where it counts. I am no stranger to racing of all sorts, and I can't think of anything more frustrating than working all week, or month even, just to break down at the track.

For proof, here is a picture of my pride and joy that only made it to the pit entrance before exploding a power steering pump

In our last post, we took a look at the stock Mustang automatic transmission cooler and our plans to make it even better. We designed the cooler in Solidworks, based off the measurements obtained from both the GT and the stock cooler. We will be doing our R&D with this bold yellow GT, but based on our research, this cooler will fit all models of S550 Mustang including the EcoBoost and V6. But enough about fitments, the prototype is complete! It is time to see how well our digital design translated into a real-life prototype.

Mishimoto Mustang trans cooler

So far the trans cooler is looking good. It is much larger than the stock cooler, 50% larger to be exact. The stock cooler comes in at 10 rows, where the Mishimoto cooler doubles its size at 20 rows.

Mustang Trans Coolers

Mustang Trans Coolers

With the stock cooler removed, we must now check the fitment of our trans cooler in the GT. Dan, our engineer, removed the bumper for better access to the cooler and lines.

Mustang GT donor vehicle

Over the past year we have been getting acquainted with our Mustang GT, and in the process we've developed an entire line of cooling products for it. In the spirit of staying cool, we are on to our next project, the Mustang GT Automatic Transmission Cooler.

Donor vehicle for Mustang GT trans cooler testing

Heat is generally the enemy of an automatic transmission. In fact, the Ford factory service manual notes that when the GT's computer senses the transmission overheating, it will limit RPMs until the temperature returns to a normal range. There is nothing worse than a track day ending early due to high temps of any kind, including in the transmission. Whether you are taking your GT to the track or doing any sort of hard driving, you may have considered the addition of a trans cooler. Ford certainly did. For this generation of Mustang they included an air-to-oil cooler rather than the water-to-oil coolers of older generations.

Mishimoto's Design Plans

Our game plan is to go with the design

From its conception, the RS was designed to be an enthusiast's dream. The car is beyond agile and begs to be driven within inches of its limits, and assuming its driver is alive and breathing, they are more than happy to oblige. If you have driven a Focus RS, you know that it is happiest heading into a corner, hunkered down, with the RPMs up. With the aggressive driving style that the RS demands, comes the dark art that is heel-toe. Only the best can tame the RS with properly executed downshifts, and in return it will reward you with the exhilarating feeling of powering through a corner.

Mishimoto's Focus RS

At Mishimoto, we love driving our RS, and in the process of testing various parts on our engineering vehicle, the idea for the pedal spacer was born. We noticed that the gas pedal sits low in respect to the brake pedal which makes for difficult heel-toeing. By bringing the gas pedal higher, it will sit even with the brake pedal, allowing the driver to roll their foot more easily.

Prototype

High oil temperatures can shut down a track day faster than you can scream your favorite four-letter word. Unfortunately, high oil temps are already sidelining RS owners at the track. Not to worry, Team Mishi is on it!  In our last post, we took a look at the stock cooler and our plans to create a larger one. Now it's time to construct and test our prototype.

Prototype Focus RS oil cooler bracket

Prototype Focus RS oil cooler bracket

We began with constructing our prototype bracket for fitment testing. After cutting the bracket on our waterjet, we tack-welded it together and bolted up our cooler to take a better look at fitment. We will be using one of our larger bar-and-plate coolers designed for our Mustang GT oil cooler project for the RS oil cooler kit.

Prototype Focus RS oil cooler bracket

Prototype Focus RS oil cooler bracket

Prototype Focus RS oil cooler bracket

You may have noticed the scoop on our prototype above, or in our render from our previous post. When designing the bracket,

In our last post we took a look at our plans for the Mustang radiator and how we were designing it in Solidworks. Thanks to the speedy design, our first functional prototype is complete and ready for some test fitment!

Straight out of the box, it is quite a hefty unit and should provide some much needed cooling for this GT. Check out some installed photos of our functional prototype.

Mustang radiator installed

Mustang radiator installed

Comparison of stock and Mishimoto Mustang radiator

As you can see, the Mishimoto aluminum Mustang radiator is much larger than the stock unit. The end tanks on our Mishimoto unit are around the same width, but we have increased the size of our core to 52mm. This is a significant increase over the stock 25mm as well as the 36mm performance pack.

Mustang radiator installed

There were no issues with clearance, even with our beefy core in place. All Mustang parts, both Mishimoto and stock, fit nicely with our radiator.

Test-fitting Mustang parts

Test-fitting