Compatible: (6.2L-LS3/L99)

2010 – 2015 Chevy Camaro SS

An engine oil cooler is a great way to maintain optimal oil temperature and provide the best possible protection for the high-power LS3 or L99 engine in your 2010-2015 Camaro SS. Our Mishimoto engineers have gone one step further than the factory liquid-to-liquid setup and came up with a direct-fit liquid-to-air oil cooler kit that mounts behind the front bumper on a bracket designed specifically for your 5th Gen Camaro.

This 25-row stacked-plate oil cooler will take full advantage of all that air flowing through the front end of your car. The cooler is available in Sleek Silver or Stealth Black and comes with pre-assembled stainless steel braided oil lines with durable AN fittings, a thermostatic or non-thermostatic 6061 aluminum CNC-machined oil sandwich plate, custom mounting bracket, and all of the fittings you need for installation weve thought of everything to make this kit a direct fit.

With a test-proven 35F temperature drop, you dont have to worry about overheated engine oil even during long periods at full throttle. Rest assured that with the Mishimoto Direct Fit Oil Cooler Kit, you can drive your Camaro the way it was intended to be driven, having confidence that your oil is under control. Additionally, as with any other product we offer, your part is protected by the Mishimoto Lifetime Warranty!

• Direct fit for the 20102015 Chevrolet Camaro SS
• Reduces oil temperatures by up to 35F
• Minimal pressure drop
• Application-specific mounting brackets
• Premade braided stainless steel oil lines with durable -AN fittings
• Includes billet aluminum oil sandwich plate or thermostatic oil sandwich plate
• 25-row stacked-plate oil cooler for optimal reduction in fluid temperature
• Cooler available in Sleek Silver or Stealth Black
• Increases oil capacity by 0.75 qt
• Mishimoto Lifetime Warranty

PRODUCT SPECS

PURCHASE INCLUDES

(1) Application-Specific Mounting Bracket
(1) 25-Row Oil Cooler (Sleek Silver or Stealth Black)
(1) 65″ Stainless Steel Braided Hose with 90 -10AN Fittings
(1) 54″ Stainless Steel Braided Hose with 90 & 45 -10AN Fittings
(2) Banjo Fittings with Bolt M20 x -10AN + Dowty Seals, Black
(1) M22 Oil Sandwich Plate (Thermostatic or Non-Thermostatic)
(1) CNC Sandwich Plate Spacer, M22, 15mm
(1) Stainless Steel Sandwich Plate Adapter, M22, 15mm
Mishimoto Lifetime Warranty

A COLD HEART FOR THE CAMARO OIL COOLER R&D PART 1: STOCK REVIEW & PLANS

For the past seven years the 5th Gen Camaro SS has been a staple of track days at Willow Springs, Road Atlanta, Laguna Seca and just about every other road course in America. Another staple of those track days has been a spike in mild heart attacks as those Camaro SS owners glanced down at their oil temperature gauge to find temps in the 290+F range. Even off the track, though, a hot day mixed with a heavy foot can lead to oil temp related heart problems for both you and your Camaro.

Everything in Balance

When it comes to modern engines and driving, oil temperatures are a balancing act between hot and cold; thin and thick. When straight-weight oil, also known as single-weight oil (like SAE 30), is cold, its thicker and more viscous. Higher viscosity means that the oil flows slowly and sticks to surfaces longer. This also means, however, that on cold start-up, its much harder for the engine to move the oil and thus bearings and wear surfaces dont always get the oiling they need until the engine warms up. Oil that is too thick in cold conditions greatly increases engine wear and makes it harder for the engine to start.

The modern solution to reduce engine wear on cold start-up, while maintaining proper oiling when at operating temperature, is mixed-weight oil. This is the oil you normally find on your auto-parts store shelves with a number such as 5W-30 on the bottle. That W in the middle stands for winter and denotes how easily the oil flows in cold conditions.

Mixed-weight oil starts out life as a straight-weight oil. In order to make the oil mixed-weight, viscosity-improving additives are then introduced. These additives allow the oil to remain viscous at higher temperatures, keeping the bearings and other wear surfaces lubricated. Put simply, a 5W-30 oil flows like an SAE 5 (very thin) oil in cold conditions, but maintains the viscosity of an SAE 30 (thick) oil once the oil reaches operating temperature. Mixed-weight oil allows lubrication to reach the bearings and wear surfaces of the engine quickly when cold and stay there when at operating temperature.

A Thinning Issue

As engines become more powerful and more efficient, their tolerances become very strict. Most modern engines, like our 2016 Camaro SSs engine require very specific oil.

So, what does all of this have to do with Mishimoto and your Camaro SS? Well, it all comes down to the second number on the oils bottle. The engineers at GM carefully crafted the LS3 and L99 engines tolerances to play nicely with 5W-30 oil. Whats most important about the 30 is that the viscosity is measured at 210F. As weve determined, oil thins and becomes less viscous as it gets hotter. While the Camaros engine is happy with a 30-weight oil at 210F, at temperatures above 210F those viscosity-improving additives we talked about earlier begin to lose their effectiveness.

As oil temperature begins to climb into the 290F range, the oil in the engine begins to shear down closer to a 20-weight oil or less. As this happens, the bearing and piston clearances are no longer filled with effective oil. GMs engineers planned for the eventuality that their vehicles would be driven hard and oil temps would climb above 210F, but theres only so much they could do. Thats where Mishimoto comes in.

Heating and Cooling . . . and Heating

A standalone oil cooler provides two benefits to a vehicle. It both cools oil more efficiently than most factory coolers, and it takes some stress off of the main cooling system.

Mishimoto is excited to share that weve begun the process of designing an oil cooler for the 2010-2015 Camaro SS. Now that weve gotten the scary technical realities out of the way, lets look at the Camaros stock oil cooler and how we plan to improve on that system.

The stockoil cooleron the 5thGen Camaro SS is a common, liquid-to-liquid design that utilizes the engines coolant to regulate the oils temperature. This system serves two purposes: to heat the oil to operating temperature quickly, and to cool the oil to the temperature of the coolant once the engine is at operating temperature. The first half of that process is a very important one. The engines coolant heats up much faster than the oil would on its own. This is another measure, on top of mixed-weight oil, that allows the oil to flow throughout the engine quickly on cold starts and reduce engine wear.

The second half of the stock oil cooler process is where it tends to fall short. To save weight, time, and money, manufacturers utilize the already-existing heat exchanger that is the cars radiator to perform the work of cooling both the oil and the coolant. While oil does not directly flow through the radiator, the coolant and oil both flow through separate chambers of the oil cooler. From the oil cooler, the coolant carries heat away from the oil and dissipates it through the radiator (if all of this is a little hard to follow, check out the diagram below for a visualization of how the stock system works). While this may sound like a simple and efficient means of regulating oil temperatures, the stock oil cooler has its advantages and disadvantages.

While the Camaro SS factory oil cooler is attached to the oil pan and block, instead of the oil filter housing, its function is the same as this diagram. (Click to Enlarge)

Pros and Cons

One advantage, as we discussed earlier, is that the coolant heats the oil much faster than it would just circulating through the engine. It also means that the oil remains at operating temperature throughout normal driving, keeping wear surfaces properly lubricated. The main disadvantage, however, appears when the engine is pushed beyond normal driving conditions.

At the track or during spirited driving, or even just sitting in traffic, the coolant temperature can increase beyond 210F, the temperature at which the oil viscosity is tested. The main purpose of coolant is to carry heat away from the head, block, and cylinders of the engine to prevent damage. Problems occur when the stock radiator and oil cooler cannot dissipate the heat generated by the engine. That is where a standalone oil cooler comes into play.

Plan for the Worst, Cool like the Best

For the 5thgeneration Camaro SS we plan to retain the factory liquid-to-liquid oil cooler but also introduce a liquid-to-air oil cooler, similar to the factory radiator. Incorporating the stock oil cooler will mean that the oil will still warm up quickly and should make cold starts as easy on the motor as stock. Once the oil warms up, the Mishimoto oil cooler will take over the duty of cooling the oil within operating temperature.

An oil filter sandwich plate allows us to tap into the oil source of an engine quickly and cleanly, without any drilling or tapping.

We plan to mount our oil cooler behind the grill for maximum air-flow and efficiency, while still leaving room for forced-induction intercoolers. In order to tap into the flow of oil, we will be incorporating an oil filter sandwich plate to divert oil into the cooler. To help regulate the oil temperature once hot, we will be offering the oil cooler with both a thermostatic sandwich plate, for those who will both daily-drive and race their cars; as well as a non-thermostatic sandwich plate, for those who plan to primarily race their cars. Finally, as with all of our direct fit oil coolers, this kit will be bolt on, with everything you need to install and go (except oil).

A COLD HEART FOR THE CAMARO OIL COOLER R&D PART 2: PROTOTYPE & TESTING

Theres nothing quite like the feeling of powering down the long straight, your right foot trying to turn the throttle into dust, hurtling towards the first turn. As the engine RPM climbs into the red you tell yourself not to lift, keep that foot down until the last second. Youve put your heart and soul into your Camaros engine, and youve placed your trust in your Mishimoto oil cooler. All you need to do now is keep your foot down and let them both do their jobs.

Combating high oil temperature is something that almost every 5th Gen Camaro SS owner has experienced. The factory liquid-to-liquid oil cooler that we examined in the last post is just not up to the task of cooling the engines oil during high-stress driving, or even idling in traffic on a hot day. For the past couple of months, our project engineer, Jason, has been working on a direct-fit oil cooler that will let the Camaro run cooler, even if your palms get a little sweaty behind the wheel.

With the bumper off, Jason could find a clean spot to mount our oil cooler core. Jason also wanted to let the Camaro know that it rocks.

Let the Work Begin

Deciding where to begin starts with pulling the front bumper off the Camaro. Once the large bumper was peeled off, we found a cavernous amount of space to work with. While the core that we planned on using was only 11 by about 7, we wanted to be sure that it was positioned to allow the use of a front-mount intercooler for turbo and supercharged vehicles, as well as keeping it in the flow of air through the bumper. The most important goal remained, which was finding a way to mount anoil coolerthat doesnt require drilling or modifying the body of the vehicle. With all of this in mind, our options quickly became limited.

Chevy was kind enough to provide us with two threaded holes in the radiator support for mounting our core.

Most front-mount intercoolers mount low, utilizing airflow through the large opening at the bottom of the bumper and take up a lot of space laterally. That left only the space above the crash bar (the large rectangular beam in the photo above). Luckily, the 5th Gen Camaros aggressive, open grill provides ample air-flow through the upper half of the front end as well, so we had some space left to work with. All that was left was to find a place to mount a bracket without drilling or cutting. As if Chevy knew we were going to need a place to mount an oil cooler, the upper radiator support provides two perfect, already tapped holes, right in the center of the grill where the air flows through. With the proper measurements taken, Jason was ready to start working up the model for the oil cooler core bracket.