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Dropping Focus ST Oil Temps! Mishimoto Oil Cooler R&D

60K views 188 replies 57 participants last post by  NimbusST 
#1 ·
Hey guys,

We are pleased to be a part of this wonderful community, we appreciate the warm welcome provided within our other threads here on focusst. As noted previously, we've started development of a few ST-specific components, the first being a direct-fit oil cooler solution. Check out our development progress on our blog or posted within this thread!

Ford Focus ST Direct Fit Oil Cooler Kit 2013+ | Mishimoto Engineering Blog

Dropping Focus ST Oil Temps! Mishimoto Oil Cooler R&D, Part 1: Project Introduction and Initial Fabrication



After knocking out some projects for Japanese turbocharged vehicles and European sports cars, we finally freed up some garage space and engineering time to begin much needed development on one of the hottest hatchbacks on the market.

As general gearheads, we have been keeping a close eye on the Focus in terms of aftermarket product support as well as how the enthusiast world accepted this new vehicle. We found numerous gaps in product support for cooling, yet a very active and enthusiastic community of Focus addicts.

We have a ton of awesome plans for the ST, the first of which is a direct-fit oil cooler solution. Throughout the past few years we have had numerous requests for this component. It seems that extensive track use puts serious stress on the stock cooler setup, necessitating a solution for those pushing their ST hard. Sticky tires, engine power output modifications, and long-duration track runs will certainly play a part in rising oil temperatures.
Stock Oil Temperature Regulation

Being a factory turbocharged vehicle, we can assume that Ford has equipped the ST with some form of oil cooling system. For a majority of models we encounter, this is the case. That said, if you checked out our coverage on the Mustang EcoBoost oil cooler development, you would have seen that the Mustang is void of any oil cooler from the factory.

Luckily, the ST does indeed have an oil cooler setup from the factory. Like many other stock setups, this is a liquid-to-liquid heat exchanger, which uses engine coolant to effectively heat and cool engine oil.

Notice I mention heat and cool. The rapid warmup of oil is key to raising fluid temperatures as quickly as possible. This will reduce engine wear over time.

Check out a shot of the stock oil cooler setup!


Stock Focus ST oil cooler

The image below shows the oil filter, oil filter housing, and the coolant lines running into the heat exchanger.


Stock Focus ST oil cooler

Although these heat exchangers are typically reasonably efficient, they are designed for stock vehicles that are mostly street driven. This is not a track solution, and many ST owners are beginning to find that out. One reason for this is the installation of a larger front-mount intercooler (FMIC). A larger heat exchanger blocks airflow to the radiator, which has an impact on coolant temperatures as well as oil temperatures.

Now, we aren’t saying the stock setup is poorly designed or that it needs to be replaced in every case. For most folks, seeing track time is a pipe dream and they use weekend autocross events to get their speed fix. For these owners, the stock system is likely efficient.

For those seeing frequent track time, or who would prefer additional peace of mind during all driving conditions, we want to offer a bolt-on oil cooler setup that provides proven decreases in fluid temperature while appearing to be a stock option.

Initial Inspection

Enough talk, let’s get right into our plans. To start this development, we needed to select a location to place our liquid-to-air heat exchanger. Obviously we needed a location with appropriate airflow, but we would also need to consider aftermarket components such as intercooler upgrades. Fighting for front-end real estate can be a challenge on some of these projects.

First, we needed to find out what we were working with in terms of grille area. Off with the bumper!


Removing Focus ST bumper


Removing Focus ST bumper


Removing Focus ST bumper

We then selected our first choice for cooler location.


Mishimoto oil cooler mock-up


Mishimoto oil cooler mock-up

As you can see, we selected the upper grille portion for our heat exchanger location and yes, that is a gold oil cooler! We are experimenting with a few new finishes on our coolers, and this color looks quite nice against the blue of the ST. Check out a closer look of this cooler with the stock shrouding in place!


Mishimoto oil cooler mock-up

Cooler Bracket Fabrication

After verifying ample airflow to this portion of the grille, we could begin fabrication of our prototype cooler mount. We elected to move the cooler to the passenger side of the grille for access to the mounting-bolt location. Check out the beginnings of fabricating our cooler bracket.


Mishimoto oil cooler bracket mock-up

First we created the bracket on a cardboard template. This provides the needed flexibility and ease of modification while finalizing the design.


Mishimoto oil cooler bracket mock-up

After a couple revisions our basic bracket shape was complete.


Mishimoto oil cooler bracket template

Coming Up!

Check back next time for a look at the conclusion of our bracket fabrication, our sandwich plate installation, and the routing of our lines.

We will also be conducting on-road tests to evaluate temperature comparisons with the stock oil cooling system.

Thanks for reading!
-John
 
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#7 ·
Looking sweet!

Any chance I could make a request? Would we be able to move the location over to the left. The location you have for those of us with snorkels will not work. Notice the air intake location at the top? A few companies make little snorkels to get air in more directly from the front bumper and your oil cooler would prevent those of use with them from using it.

It does look like you were planning on shifting it with your bracket mock up, but not with the original positioning. Just want to double check that it'll be a little clear of that so I can benefit from an oil cooler :)
Thanks guys! As noted in our "Cooler Bracket Fabrication" section, we will be moving the cooler to the passenger side of the upper grille area. This kit should be applicable with the snorkels mentioned!

Thanks for the input!

Subscribed
Thanks!

Is this going to run in tandem with the factory system and have some type of regulation/thermostat flow control? Have been wanting to build one of these for a while now, looks nice.
Correct! We will be retaining the stock liquid-to-liquid system and will be adding on our liquid-to-air exchanger. We will likely offer this with and without a thermostatic sandwich plate. We do recommend the thermostatic option for those who experience cool climates or DD their vehicle. The non-thermostatic setup is more applicable for race-oriented vehicles.

Running our liquid-to-air coolers in conjunction with stock systems has proven to be very successful with past kits (WRX, STi, etc.) so we should have similar results with this particular vehicle. As noted, we will be performing on-road testing to ensure proper temperature reduction.

Thanks for all of the interest!

-John
 
#3 ·
Looking sweet!

Any chance I could make a request? Would we be able to move the location over to the left. The location you have for those of us with snorkels will not work. Notice the air intake location at the top? A few companies make little snorkels to get air in more directly from the front bumper and your oil cooler would prevent those of use with them from using it.

It does look like you were planning on shifting it with your bracket mock up, but not with the original positioning. Just want to double check that it'll be a little clear of that so I can benefit from an oil cooler :)
 
#5 ·
Is this going to run in tandem with the factory system and have some type of regulation/thermostat flow control? Have been wanting to build one of these for a while now, looks nice.
 
#12 ·
Thanks for the kind words!

You guys should pick up a ford racing cold air intake to make sure it fits with your cooler.

Sent from another galaxy.
Thanks for the recommendation! I see a cold-air system that places a duct on the driver's portion of the grille. Is there a second setup with a snorkel heading to the passenger side? As noted in the final portion of our writeup, we will be moving the cooler to the passenger side of the grille.

Thanks again!

Glad you guys are sponsors and looking into new stuff like this, anything direct fit is a great contribution.

Intercoolers in the near future?
Thanks Quantim! Yes, we are certainly exploring some options in terms of intercooler development. More on this R&D coming soon.

Thanks again guys!
-John
 
#19 ·
That would be great! Thank you.

The cold air kit is only on the driver side.

Sent from another galaxy.
Got it! That was what I found to be true as well.

The snorkel that they're referring to can be seen here. It's a fairly common mod so I can see the concern that it'll be in the way of the new oil cooler. Hope this helps.
Silly internet didn't post my pic.. I'll try round 2
Thanks for posting this up! Our new cooler location (passenger side of the grille) will clear this snorkel without issue.

The thermostatic edition of the cooler bypasses this cooler if the temps are too low or how does that work?
Figuring I live in Pennsylvania, we get both horrid cold weather AND this is a Daily driver lol.
Correct! The thermostatic sandwich plate will restrict flow to the heat exchanger until appropriate temperatures are reached. Our sandwich plates typically include a 185°F thermostat. These thermostats are removable and interchangeable with our 160°F and 200°F options depending upon your preference.

Being in PA (right around the corner from us!), a thermostatic setup is going to be the best option for you.

Thanks!
-John
 
#15 ·
The snorkel that they're referring to can be seen here. It's a fairly common mod so I can see the concern that it'll be in the way of the new oil cooler. Hope this helps.
 
#18 ·
The thermostatic edition of the cooler bypasses this cooler if the temps are too low or how does that work?
Figuring I live in Pennsylvania, we get both horrid cold weather AND this is a Daily driver lol.
 
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#22 ·
Exactly what I was talking about, was trying to find a picture from that thread haha ^^^
 
#28 ·
I saw somone put it right on the crash bar painted the bar and the cooler black and shaved back the grill so it doesn't get in the way of the radiator
 
#37 ·
Great questions! We are building this kit with our 19-row oil cooler. We should see right around .75 qts of additional fluid capacity once this kit is installed.

Hopefully we get a start on our R&D thread for the radiator within the next couple weeks. That particular project is a bit behind our oil cooler and catch can system.

Thanks for the interest and kind words!

-John
 
#39 ·
Thanks for the interest! It is rather tough to put even a range of pricing on this kit, assuming our current stage in development. That being said, we are planning to launch a discounted pre-sale rate for forum members in the very near future, assuming we have positive testing results. Once we get a bit closer to completing this kit we should have a better idea of pricing information (probably within 2-3 weeks).

Thanks
-John
 
#41 ·
I didn't read any post other than the first so this has already been brought up yet, but I do not like the idea of throwing yet another object in front of our radiators. For those of us running aftermarket CAI's, we're already covering the radiator up a bit more than the stock CAI. Some of us have even seen this result in cooling issues at the track. I'd encourage you to find another location if possible.
 
#51 ·
@Mishimoto: In this community there are many members looking for a good catch can solution. We have as you probably know a simple no-check-valve hose up top by the cowl between the inlet pipe and the valve cover, and a second proper PCV valve attached to an oil separator plate behind the intake manifold which vents into a port on the back of the manifold.

My guess is you might find a ready market if you made a Focus ST bracket for your Evo 3-port can -- especially if you used the Ford click-to-attach ends for the PCV-Manifold hoses.

Welcome again, and the oil cooler looks really slick! (yes, I really did say that...) :)

All the best,
Mark
 
#56 ·
Project update! Check out the completion of our prototype below!

Dropping Focus ST Oil Temps! Mishimoto Oil Cooler R&D, Part 2: Prototype Completion



Continuing with our progress last time, we were set on constructing a prototype bracket so that we could fully install our system and collect some on-road data.

Cooler Bracket Fabrication

When we left you our team had selected an appropriate cooler location and had started making a bracket template for the heat exchanger. Once we had a general idea of the size, bends, and hole location, we started making a bracket from plate steel.


Oil cooler bracket fabrication

A couple of bends were needed to properly locate our mounting points!


Oil cooler bracket fabrication

Getting closer!


Oil cooler bracket fabrication

Additional measurements were taken, and the bracket was trimmed to its final shape.


Oil cooler bracket fabrication

The four holes on this mounting bracket attach directly to the oil heat exchanger.

Next, we mounted this into position on the car!


Oil cooler bracket prototype mounted

A look at the core of this cooler through the air duct.


Oil cooler bracket prototype mounted

Auxiliary Bracket

Although this bracket provided reasonable rigidity for the cooler, we wanted to add an auxiliary bracket to the base of the cooler for additional strength. We followed a similar process to fabricate this component!


Auxiliary bracket template

A few welds and we had our second bracket complete!


Auxiliary bracket fabrication


Auxiliary bracket fabrication

Sandwich Plate and Line Route

To complete our kit we would need to install our sandwich plate and oil lines. First, the oil filter is removed.


Oil filter removed

We then installed our thermostatic sandwich plate and routed our lines.


Sandwich plate installed

We are placing the lines behind the crash beam to conceal them from view once fully installed.


Oil cooler line route

Fully Installed Kit

Check out our finalized kit ready for road testing!


Mishimoto oil cooler kit installed


Mishimoto oil cooler kit installed

A close-up looking through the grille!


Mishimoto oil cooler kit installed

Coming up!

Next week we will have details from our testing as well as additional information about our upcoming presale for this kit!

Thanks for reading!
-John
 
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