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BMW 3-Series (E90 E92) Forum > E90 / E92 / E93 3-series Powertrain and Drivetrain Discussions > N54 Turbo Engine / Drivetrain / Exhaust Modifications - 335i > FIRST (well 2nd really...) AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION COOLER for E9x (pics & Diagrams)



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      11-08-2012, 11:20 PM   #1
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FIRST (well 2nd really...) AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION COOLER for E9x (pics & Diagrams)

So for quite some time I have been determined to get my car road track worthy. Many of you may know I have spent a lot on "reliability mods" since AT 335i tend to have overheating problems at the HPDE track. About 7 weeks ago (after tons of research) I had personally custom designed an AT cooler. There is not one currently available for purchase and this has never been done before (Actually, ...AR design did the 1st and only other one but never marketed it) So, I met with the Frank Benevento at PSI Tuning (Precision Sports Industries) in Winter Park, FL. (407) 617-0372 to have them do the work. 2 days after that my car was hit by a lady in a motorcyle while I was stopped at a light. She hit me so hard my bumper, fog light and driver side oil cooler were crushed. I had plans for HPDE at Sebring exactly 3 weeks after that accident. My car was in the shop for the next 3 weeks. I almost did not make it to Sebring but Frank at PSI really pulled through for me and got my AT cooler and all mechanical work done in time. The delay was in the design of the cooler and how to mount the cooler. Frank spent HOURS getting it right. I must say he really did a great job and spent much more time than I expected to make sure the job was done right!!! AWESOME Customer service by Frank...I highly recommend him for any work on your E9x.

Part of the issue is the appropriate size cooler. I had chosen the largest transmission cooler that I thought would fit. I initially chose the B&M 70274 Supercooler because this is what most Corvette guys were running and most people say its nearly impossible to over cool your tranny fluid. (Most data also says the transmission fluid lifespan decreases by 50% every 6 degrees F over 200 F. Some say the ideal ATF temp is about 180-200 F.) This cooler will NOT FIT in front of the radiator. It could possibly fit if placed in a wheel well but I did not have that option given my Dual ER Oil coolers. The reason it would not fit was because there is a power steering cooler that is about 18" x 2.5" x 1/2" that is just above the intercooler (See pic 1 & 4) and hidden by the front bumper and plastic shroud that diverts air to the radiator area (I really never knew there was a PS Cooler on our cars). In the end we had to go with the slightly smaller B&M 70272. Next problem was how to mount it. The cooler should NOT touch the radiator as this would transfer heat to the radiator and diminish the radiator's cooling ability. There should be a gap of about 1/4-1/2" between the 2. Also the cooler should NOT block air flow to my Cyba ducts for the DCI. The guys at PSI made a custom mount for this. We had to cut a portion of the rubbery plastic shroud that diverts air to the radiator area. See pics 1 & 4 below. The cooler is mounted as low as possible to allow the hoses to come off from the top of the cooler. Hoses should always mount to the top or come from the side to the cooler and never from below. Running hoses from below increases the risk of air pockets and poor cooling. We chose to mount the hoses to run behind the Cyba scoops. See pics.

I chose to use a T-stat to allow the tranny fluid to warm on cold starts and only divert flow to the new cooler when above 180 F. I chose an Earl's 501 ERL 180 F T-stat. See pic 2. I also chose to mount the T-stat AFTER the heat exchanger. The BMW E9x M3 has this same setup with the same heat exchanger as our cars. In fact they use the same part number as our factory oil cooler for their tranny cooler. The only difference is that the M3 plumbs the transmission cooler in parallel and I designed this in series for ease and because that is what most have done on Corvettes and other big V8s with good success. In addition there is really good data to prove that in series is more efficient than in parallel. I chose -6 AN nylon braided hoses and black anodized AN fittings because I wanted less weight that SS lines and my ER dual oil coolers had nylon hoses... so for continuity of looks as well. I left the fittings to Frank to decide since he would have to figure out which ones he needed. Frank @ PSI custom made a mounting bracket for the T-stat and this mounted perfectly to the chassis behind the waterpump. See 2nd & 3rd pic. The heat exchanger's top hose (#2) in the diagram below (See pic #6) is the outlet from the heat exchanger and return line to the transmission. This line was intercepted to T-stat and the inlet to the cooler. The cooler return line goes back to the heat exchanger return line back to transmission. (See pic in pdf file)

So how good does it work? So far I have limited data and probably will be unable to get really good temps until early next week (was hoping this weekend but does not look promising). I have a temp sensor mounted to the Earl's T-stat for the inlet hose and outlet hose. The inlet hose will give me an idea of how efficient the factory heat exchanger is since one temp sensor is mounted after the exchanger and before the cooler. If the heat exchanger is efficient enough then the AT cooler should barely come into use as the T-stat will close when temps go below 180F. The reason for limited data is I picked up the car at 9:00pm Friday and drove directly to Sebring for the Sat/Sun HPDE. I had no time to hook up the temp sensors to the PLX gauge I have. So on my way to Sebring that night I pulled over and measured the inlet and outlet hoses temp with an IR temp sensor. They were 176 F inlet and 154 F outlet after 1 hour of normal highway driving. I am sure the fluid temp inside the hoses are higher. The next day at Sebring I expected to get some time to install the temp sensors but my car developed an electrical problem. Long story short,...it seems the accident caused a loose connection and an electrical short. The car went crazy and the car was now at the dealer for nearly 3 more weeks to fix this electrical problem. Thankfully it was an easy fix albeit time consuming to diagnose. So, I got my car back yesterday and everything seems fine. I will plan on hooking up the temp sensors as soon as I can but it looks like it will be early next week before I can compare these to water temps and give more detail.
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      11-08-2012, 11:25 PM   #2
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      11-09-2012, 12:34 AM   #3
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Awesome job...saving the AT folks! but looks like people with AA intercooler(Me!) might have problem fitting that cooler where you put it...
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      11-09-2012, 12:52 AM   #4
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Awesome job...saving the AT folks! but looks like people with AA intercooler(Me!) might have problem fitting that cooler where you put it...
haha took the words out of my mouth...
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      11-09-2012, 01:03 AM   #5
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Sweet! It takes a leap of faith to do something like this. I'm sure the entire AT community will be be very grateful to you...bunch of pansies that you are j/k

Nice new M3 bumper btw. I was trying to look up your accident thread, but all the pictures are gone. You had the standard oem bumper before you got hit, correct?
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      11-09-2012, 01:38 AM   #6
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great mod, looking forward to som temp data!
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      11-09-2012, 02:09 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by creaminz View Post
Awesome job...saving the AT folks! but looks like people with AA intercooler(Me!) might have problem fitting that cooler where you put it...
There are other coolers to entertain in your case. You could use a shorter one but the ones that are smaller in height have less BTU heat dissipation unless they are thicker. But this cooler is 1.5" thick. Any thicker and you sacrifice not getting any air to the cooler because it will abut the radiator shroud. It really is a tight fit. I would recommend using one of the wheel wells if you have that available.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Laguna Seca Blue View Post
Sweet! It takes a leap of faith to do something like this. I'm sure the entire AT community will be be very grateful to you...bunch of pansies that you are j/k

Nice new M3 bumper btw. I was trying to look up your accident thread, but all the pictures are gone. You had the standard oem bumper before you got hit, correct?
Well I didnt post up all the detials of my electrical problem because I thought it would bore everyone. The reason I deleted many of the pics from old posts about the accident is that when my car was at the dealer the dealer orginally told me they could not help me. Part of the problem was the OBD 2 port was not connecting to the ECU. They could not read codes to diagnose the problem. The car was completely unusable and the battery would die every day. The car was essentially a brick.

They even told me to come pick up my car and tow it away. I was concerned that I would be in for a massive fight with the insurance company and BMW to total my car because of this accident causing an electrical problem which rendered it unusable. Turned out that with a bit of coaxing they did their job and figured it out. I had a short in the fuse box. The car thought it was in a rollover and the jolt from the accident knocked something loose to disallow power to the CAS, DSC, ABS, and multiple other things. When I thought my car may never be returned to me I deleted pics just in case BMW or anyone was going to make it difficult for me to make a claim like that. Now that I feel confident the car is back and working well I am not concerned.

Yes new M3 bumper. I had the stock bumper with the lower skirt. They cost about the same.

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Originally Posted by enrita View Post
great mod, looking forward to som temp data!
Hopefully these next few days. I really want to know just as much as you guys.
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      11-09-2012, 03:13 AM   #8
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I am sure we can find different location to mount that cooler. Can't wait for your final review after testing!
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      11-09-2012, 08:07 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by creaminz View Post
I am sure we can find different location to mount that cooler. Can't wait for your final review after testing!
How hard would it be to fabricate a bracket to mount the tranny cooler on the driver side (just like the OP's dual oil cooler setup)? I'm sure the guys over at LTMW could make that happen.
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      11-09-2012, 09:38 AM   #10
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Wouldn't be an issue at all to mount it in the driver side wheel well...OP just stated that he has that location blocked because of his dual OC setup.

This is really awesome! I limp due to coolant temps every time I hit the track after about 2 sessions (I'm AT also). Very curious about the results you are getting.
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      11-09-2012, 09:45 AM   #11
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Way to go PSI!
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      11-09-2012, 06:33 PM   #12
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Wow, that electrical issue you had turned out not be boring at all. Awesome that they managed to figure it out!
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      11-09-2012, 09:26 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BoostedE90 View Post
How hard would it be to fabricate a bracket to mount the tranny cooler on the driver side (just like the OP's dual oil cooler setup)? I'm sure the guys over at LTMW could make that happen.
Should be fairly easy for people who doesnt have dual oil cooler...problem is i do have dual oc...but still it should be easy to find alternative location. Woot!!
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      11-09-2012, 11:41 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by creaminz View Post
Should be fairly easy for people who doesnt have dual oil cooler...problem is i do have dual oc...but still it should be easy to find alternative location. Woot!!
When I was looking into the sizes and types of coolers as well as where to place it I contemplated cutting out a window section of the ER dual OC shroud. In fact when I was at the local Ferrari dealership for a promotion they had I noticed that one of the Ferrari race cars they had there had a set up for an OC or tranny cooler done this way. See the section in my Pic #1 & 3 of the OC shroud that is angled and funneling air toward the wheel well? Well that would be a good place to put one. Just cut window out of this. You could use dual tranny coolers this way too. Plumb them in series just like the ER Dual OC are plumbed in series.
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      11-10-2012, 12:52 PM   #15
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Thanks for the kind words, sir! We're always glad to be of service for custom and one-off projects. I am sure we will be impressed with the track day results!

For anyone wondering about fitment with such-and-such brand intercoolers, there are PLENTY of different dimension coolers that can be used.

Any questions, or for someone looking for us to replicate something similar on their car, please feel free to PM, e-mail, or call me at the shop to discuss!
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      11-14-2012, 06:57 PM   #16
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So I tried to hook up the temp sensors to my PLX gauge a few days ago. It comes with 2 Molex connectors and you have to connect them by crimping. I did not have the appropriate crimping tool for Molex so one of the connectors came loose and broke off before I got good temps. However, I was able to solder instead of crimp the other connector. So that one worked. I am waiting for a new connector to solder from PLX Devices to finish off the job.

The good connector I chose to hook up to the outlet sensor to get readings from the RETURN LINE BACK TO the transmission AFTER the cooler. (So I do not yet have one for the temps BEFORE the cooler.) On a cold start, temps as expected slowly creep up to 140F and plateau for about 5-7 min there. Then they rise to 160F a bit faster (presumably when the T-stat is opening). They plateau there around 160-165 for another 10 min or so and then start to rise again. With driving for about 40 min or more temps range 165F-185F with an average temp of about 172F. Max temps I have seen are 199F over the last 3 days. This is in stop and go traffic in 77F degree FL weather. Since I do not yet have an inlet temp BEFORE the cooler I used the IR temp sensor again to compare. The INLET hose temp measures 165F and the OULET temp measures 135F when the temp sensor reads 195F. So, this suggests at least a 30F drop in transmission fluid temps through the cooler and that the hoses are reading about 60F LOWER than the actual fluid temp (outlet hose = 135F and actual oulet fluid temp = 195F).

Therefore, I BELIEVE the transmission fluid BEFORE the cooler is a whopping 225F (165F + 60F hose to fluid discrepancy) in stop and go traffic and averaging about 202F (172F avg + 30F drop across cooler) with everyday highway cruising. What I think makes this even more impressive is that my INLET temp sensor and transmission cooler are plumbed in series after the factory heat exchanger. So the exchanger has already done its cooling. It is also important to know that most widely acceptable temps for a transmission fluid is between 180-200F. The BMW factory setup seems to be significantly lacking here. You could argue that my cooler is TOO efficient by reducing temps to an avg 172F with daily driving which is below the 180-200F range I just described. However, I should mention that I did these series of temps with NO TUNE in the car. I am FBO currently but without tune since I took it out when I had my electrical problem I mentioned earlier. This is also with daily driving and only mildly spirited driving. I plan to push the car a bit more and see if temps rise much. I do not expect that they will since temps actually decrease as I go faster because there is more airflow across the cooler. Also, I will put the Procede back in and see if that changes things. I will also have to see how the temps compare on the track. I will likely not make it to Sebring before the year is over so this will unfortunately have to wait.

I know this is still somewhat preliminary data but I thought it was important enough to update anyone interested in this mod. I should know for sure when I get the new Molex connector and solder it in. It should arrive this week or early next week.

Lastly, you may be wondering how this compares to the Oil and Water temps. The oil temps never rise above 240F in my car with DD since I have the ER dual oil cooler. The Oil temps do actually seem to be about 7-10F lower since install of the transmission cooler but this may be just wishfull thinking. My Oil temps at the track run 250-255F max. Water temps run 204F - 214F with DD and avg 208F. With the transmission cooler these have not changed. At the track they avg. 215F and reach occassional bursts as high as 231F. This all suggests that the AT cooler I have installed should go a long way to helping the ATF stay cool at the track.

More data to come as I get it.

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      11-15-2012, 06:59 AM   #17
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      11-15-2012, 07:02 AM   #18
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more interesting would be to see the water temps and not engine oil temp. seems a very good mod though.
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      11-15-2012, 09:34 AM   #19
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Your estimations for the ATF temp exiting the stock cooler make sense when you consider they correspond with the 108C and 95C temps of two of the operating modes for the cooling system. I have noticed 108C temps in stop and go driving, and around 95C temps in normal driving with my driving style, which is on the slightly more aggressive side. This is the temperature of the water exiting the head. Of course the temp of the water entering the water to oil heat exchanger will be lower because it has just passed through the radiator, but you can't expect the heat exchanger to bring the ATF temp all the way down to match in inlet temp of the water. That is unreasonable.

I also would not expect your oil or water temps to change with your setup because you are cooling the ATF after the stock heat exchanger, so the same amount of heat is being transferred to the water as before. The only difference is the AFT returning to the transmission is now cooler. However, if you are putting cooler fluid into the transmission, the fluid coming out should be a little cooler as well, which may translate into slightly cooler water temps. Time will tell.

I am curious to see what happens at the track with your setup. Obviously your ATF temps will be lower. You said in the other thread that you've never had a problem with limp mode, and I wouldn't expect you to this time especially considering it is November, and ambient temps, and more importantly, track temps, will be lower than in July during a sunny day.

Component protection starts at 117C (234F) so as long as your water temp at the heat outlet is below that, you should be fine. After this the engine output is reduced, which is not what you want at the track.

Regardless, have fun.
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      11-15-2012, 02:47 PM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by enrita View Post
more interesting would be to see the water temps and not engine oil temp. seems a very good mod though.
I stated that the water temps were solid at 204-210 F with this mod. They did not change with this mod.
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      11-15-2012, 04:32 PM   #21
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I stated that the water temps were solid at 204-210 F with this mod. They did not change with this mod.
ok thanks how much oil did you need to add in the trans?
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      11-15-2012, 04:40 PM   #22
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I wonder if any of the higher torque guys have any type of AT tranny cooler and if so, do they still get the tranny probs..
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