Executive Action - BMW F1X/F9X M5/M6 Performance Oil Cooler R&D, Part 2 - Production Sample
The executive level is cut-throat. It's always portrayed as a world full of like-minded, power-hungry individuals desperately looking to get ahead of their fellow man. Every achievement is paraded as a victory over others, and everyone has a weakness that's exploited. While this might be more of Hollywood's representation of the corporate world's upper crust, the performance executive segment is that competitive. Auto manufacturers have been duking it out for decades to climb the ladder of the segment that BMW practically invented with the M5. Now in its sixth generation, the progenitor of physics-defying luxury sports cars has a weakness open for exploitation in the form of mismanaged oil temperatures and a vulnerably mounted oil cooler. Luckily we're already on a mission to reinforce this weak link.
When we last left off, our F1X/F9X oil cooler went from a digital design to a physical manifestation of this model. We used this fabricated framework to triple-check the fitment before kicking off full-scale production. Our first oil coolers are in, and we're eager to show them off.
Our new design started with the core. We wanted to make sure this new cooler was tough enough to shrug off any potential road hazards or parking barriers while properly keeping oil temperatures in check. So, we swapped out the flimsy tube-and-fin core replacing it with a much more robust bar-and-plate design. This core construction uses more heavy-duty fins and fluid passages, making it tougher than its tube-and-fin counterpart. To further protect the S63's lifeblood, we also updated the end tanks on this cooler from thin stamped steel to a much more solid CNC-machined billet aluminum design.
Strength is only one component of our new oil cooler design, and we wanted to make sure that this new heat exchanger lives up to the class of vehicle it's designed to fit. To do this, we started with expanding our core's thickness by 10mm, which increased the system's fluid capacity, plus a 24% bump in core volume. Our engineer, Dan, also made sure to pack even more fins into this cooler resulting in a 40% increase in external fin surface area. Combined, these characteristics are ideal for improving heat dissipation characteristics for maintaining proper oil temperatures.
A revised oil cooler is just what the F1X and F9X platforms needed to get a leg up over the fierce competition. Better oil temperature management and a robust core turn this vehicle's greatest weakness into a valuable asset and poised for the chief executive sports sedan position. Want to help your M5 or M6 succeed? Grab a Mishimoto oil cooler today:
Performance Oil Cooler, fits BMW M5/M6, 2012+
Thanks for Reading!
-Nick
