HKS have announced their own transmission cooler for the Nissan GT-R this week just prior to Tokyo AutoSalon. The front mounted oil cooler design goes up against some already strong entries in the market, one from regional affiliate HKS Kansai. The difference here is that HKS have seemingly chosen to directly cool the transmission fluid by way of pumping it through a front mounted, 15 row, oil cooler. The core dimensions of the cooler are 220mm x 220mm x 48.5mm.

In contrast, the HKS Kansai item cools the engine coolant that the GT-R pumps through the transmission to cool it before it reaches the transmission by way of a water cooler in the same location. Which is best?

Anyways, the core is fed cold air from the front bumper by way of ducting that mirrors the ducting to the factory oil cooler, a slight modification to the standard front bar to open the airflow to this duct will be required.

In testing at Fuji Speedway, over a 15minute full on session, HKS saw the transmission temp level out at 127 degrees with the HKS DCT Cooler fitted. In comparison, with the standard setup they had to abort the run at the 11 minute mark as the transmission fluid temp hit 135 degrees celsius and showed signs that it would continue to climb.

Cooler transmission fluid temps increase fluid lifespan, offer smoother shifts on the track and decrease the chances that you’ll hit the inbuilt safety limp mode of the TCM. One other side effect of cooler transmission temps that HKS noticed while testing is that the engine coolant sees a subsequent drop in temperatures as well. I guess it’s job is made a little easier by not having to cool a 135 degree gearbox down.

Theres a few other details to note, and we should be able to clear up all the how’s and why’s on Friday at TAS.

Price is set at 262,500 yen in Japan.

Link: HKS Website