Can anyone give me information in regards to installing one of these, do the auto's already have one, are there any benefits etc. ? I'm not looking to make the car any faster with one (duh), I'm more wondering if it would help my car on some of our more aggressive drives where the tranny really takes a beating, I've noticed driving mine that after a while and doing some really agressive driving that it really feels like it's struggling. I'm assuming it's probably getting pretty toasty and the heat might be a factor in something, but maybe not. Anyways, just looking for some info/feedback on maybe doing something to help it run a little cooler if possible, thanks.

 

Thought about this also. Cant make up my mind on another oil cooler in the rt. duct or a trans cooler. Had my trans flushed with Redline ATF, hope it helps.

 

does anyone offer one for our car, or is this just something generic I can rig up somewhere?

 

We have one. It's in the radiator, which is why all the aftermarket radiators say MT only. As far as aftermarket, they are all pretty much universal. Just have to figure out where you want to mount it.

 

ahh okay, now that all makes sense. So adding another one would seem kind of redundant then. Maybe I'll just try the Mazsport mod instead

 

I would suggest Automatic Transmission Cooler and new Transmission fluid (RedLine or Royal Purple). Get an ATF cooler that mounts in front of your radiator and NOT where your 2nd oil cooler should go. Even if you don't get the 2nd oil cooler right away, you still give yourself the option in the future.

The default ATF cooler in the Autos, don't work as well, as many 3rd party ones. This was a mistake on Mazda's part. They could have done a lot by putting in a really good ATF cooler and high performance AT Fluid. This and some other changes may have allowed them to offically raise the red line to 8,000 rpm.

I noticed a big difference in how cool my Auto Transmission feels. You can feel the difference with your leg and hand, while sitting in the car. I also had my ECU flashed, so my rev limit is cut, I often go to 8,000 to 8,500 rpm and have had NO PROBLEMS. I think there is a little more in the RX-8 Auto Tranny than people know. There is also a little more power to be had up to around 8,000 rpm on the Autos.

Heat and cheap/bad AT fluid are a KILLER on your Auto Transmission. The combination will shorten the life of your Auto Transmission and if you really push it, KILL IT. The more you push the red line, the more protection your Auto Transmission needs. If you drive like an old lady, than your fine. If you drive fast, race, etc... I highly suggest you get some mods done for your Auto Transmission.

I got mine from Re-amemiya and it was custom fit to the front of the radiator, so that I could have 2 oil coolers (I have a 4 port and now have 2 oil coolers and the ATF cooler). Re-amemiya's ATF cooler or 2nd oil cooler is too expensive for me to recommend to other people. You should be able to get a good ATF cooler (locally), including install, for between $200 to $300 dollars. Do a search, as I think I've read about some vendors in a thread or two.

Also, if you don't have a 2nd oil cooler on your 4 port Auto or 5 speed MT, than I suggest you get one. Especially, if you live in a warm climate.

Mazsport fan mod is a good one to get, with or without the ATF cooler (radiator front mount). I would recommend BOTH.

 

[QUOTE=canaryrx8]ahh okay, now that all makes sense. So adding another one would seem kind of redundant then.

No it's not. The factory trans cooler is cooled with the hot radiator water not the cool air.

 

I really need to post a DIY on my tranny cooler. If you guys can wait till tomorrow I'll post Directions.

I did notice after I installed mine it didn't seem to struggle as much during our drives through the Az mountains.

It's a B&M 19,000 GVW trans cooler. Took about 2 hours to install. Cost was $60 !
I also found a pressure riser to make our shifts firmer.
www.superior-transmission.com under the electronic problem solver and the part # is PR234 It works for the 3rd gen 7 and Rx-8 tranny.
Going to try it when..... well thats a secret for now. Pics to come soon.

 

I really need to post a DIY that i did for my tranny cooler.
I noticed that during our runs through the Az mountaing it dosen't struggle as much and shifts better.
If you guys can wait till tomorrow I post the DIY w/ pics.

Also it was $45 http://www.jegs.com/webapp/wcs/store...17689_-1_10535
its the 19.000 GVW cooler.

Also I plan on using a pressure riser (www.superior-transmission.com) Prat # PR234 around $70

when I ......well thats a secret for now but soon I'll post pics.

 

awesome, thanks for the info, looks like my next round of mods will be to help keep things cool etc.

 

I haven't forgotten about the tranny cooler install. it's been really busy lately for me..

 

I have been in contact with the people at Royal Purple and they do not, DO NOT make a auto trans fluid for the 6sp tranny. So just be careful about what you do with them.

 

I asked mazda if i should add an ATF and they said that my car already has one.

 

yes we do, but its attached to the bottom of the radiator and is cooled by the engine coolant.
For logentivity and a little better preformance of the transmission it would be better to have a seperate tranny cooler.

 

Good choice of brand, they really do research and testing before selling their products so you will always have a peace of mind.

Another thing is what would happen if the intercooler was blocking the front??

 

I went through the same process of considering additions to cool the tranny. Then I decided that it is cheaper to simply go with High Temp Synthetic ATF from Red Line. Sure, the tranny will run at the same temperatures as before (or even slightly higher due to increase ATF viscosity), but that fluid is so much more stable, it just does not matter any more. Shifts are strong all the time, regardless of temp or of how long you drove the car. 20,000 miles of hardish driving later, the fluid still looks as new.
Same idea for engine oil: running 10W40 in summer and 5W30 in winter. The 5W20 all year round is nonsens in most of the US climates...
Do not miss: change the differential oil after ~1 year. There are a lot of metal shavings in there, and a good quality oil goes a long way...

 

i am from malaysia, tranny is a big issue i guess, but i didn't go for an ATF cooler. but i don't have space for it. unless someone sell brackets. RE one is too expensive for me. i like it tough. so i decided to pay for Lubegard. it doesn't only stabilised the tranny oil, but also smoothen the ride when gear change.

 

In terms of installation, was the new ATF cooler installed in line so that it works as an additional cooler along with the stock ATF cooling system or did you guys reroute the cooling and take the stock ATF cooling out of the equation. Also regarding the fluid change, even if you drain it a lot of the old fluid remains in the tranmission and torque converter, read somewhere that it can be as much as half the total, so did you guys drain what you could and topped it off with new fluid or did you take it to the shop where they got the machine that could extract all the old oil? And finally how many bottles or volume of Redline oil did you need?

 

I had my trans flushed at the dealership where I work(Nissan/GM ).
Took 13qts of redline.

 

RE Amemiya offers one with custom hose just plug and use. check out japanparts.com

 

when i almost click buy in japanparts.com my friend call me up and told me that.

having another oil cooler might cause unsmoothness of gear shift. because the atf might not be hot enough. is this true?

basically the only problem with our 4AT is that the atf cooler "volumn" & "surface" is not sufficient to produce a cold gearbox.

but it is good for racing when the gearbox heat up fast because it produce faster gear shift. however no one of us know how much heat the gearbox can take. so when u are driving agressively will the gearbox crack? thats another issue.

pro & con?

so what ever u decided to do. there will be effects both way.

Pros out there please teach me something here.

 

Matbe if its snowing outside. My 8 runs fine in the early morinings when everythings coolest so at least for me I cant see any problems.

How does your 8 run in the morinings? Even with the largest cooler your trans will never be as cool as first start ups.

 

Thanks Silver for the info. i will install one today. let u know when i get it on my car.

 

Where can I go to get my trans flushed with new redline ATF?

 

I purchased my redline atf at a auto pars store and took it into the shop where I work. Any good repair/service shop should be able to perform a trans flush.