Toyota / Scion

Toyota's toughness isn't just limited to the multifaceted pick-up trucks in their lineup. Some of these trucks developed super-specific skills like navigating challenging terrain without breaking a sweat. Enter the FJ Cruiser. This towering off-roader might not share the same skeleton as its pick-up cousin, the Tacoma, but both of these trucks share the same beating heart dispersing power and traction to dominate dunes, crawl through crevasses, and ford raging rivers, all of which are not places you'd want your transmission to give out.

Unlike the utilitarian-based Tacomas, the FJ Cruiser lacks the external support for maintaining transmission fluid temperatures. Both platforms utilize a heat exchanger built into the radiator's cold-side end tank, which manages the automatic transmission fluid, or ATF, temperatures on both extremes. Still, the FJ is missing the additional liquid-to-air cooler that provides a cooling boost when the vehicle is under heavy load. Make sure to head back to our

The toughest trucks on the planet are typically sporting a Toyota badge. The Hilux might be the model responsible for Toyota's rugged reputation, but that same DNA runs through the oil passages of the trucks we see on and off the roads here in the States. Specifically, the multifaceted Tacoma has become our crowd favorite, from commuting to the office to hauling you and all of your things across the wilderness. While plenty of things make all of this possible, the transmission is the driving force to accomplishing these tasks, so keeping the drivetrain in good health is imperative.

Extreme heat is the enemy to any component driving the Tacoma, especially the transmission. The fluid running through the planetary gears and clutch packs pulls double duty between cooling and lubricating the long list of components whirling around inside the casing. Like any other lubricant, the automatic transmission fluid, or ATF, works best at its specified operating temperature, achieving the optimal balance

Just the mere utterance of the word "Toyota" drums up thoughts and first-hand anecdotes related to the brand's reliability. Everyone knows someone who's owned a Camry or Corolla with enough miles to circumvent the earth a few times and still won't quit. Of course, this rugged dependability is something that we'd expect to find in Toyota's line of trucks and SUVs, and while it's mostly there, we found in our *last post* that the Tundra's cooling system pokes some holes in these stories, along with the radiator itself.

The cooling system is vital to the operation of any vehicle, but especially to the full-sized trucks that are hauling heavy loads. Unfortunately, cracked and crumbling inlet pipes is less than ideal for daily commuting, let alone when the need arises for hauling or towing. Luckily, we have the fix.

Plastic seemed to be the root cause for most of the stock design's issues, so we ditched just about every bit of plastic for our final design, especially when it comes to our end

Toyota continues to be a rising star in the truck world. It might be hard to top the big three behemoths, but the Tacoma's mid-sized off-road ready attitude continues to make it a crowd favorite around the world. As this middle-weight machine continues its world domination, we've been hard at work on its newest hit single, which comes in the form of an improved radiator.

There needs to be a relentless rehearsal for any live performance to be perfect. Practice makes perfect, right? That's the same concept that we took with our fitment prototype. While our digital workspace and modeling software is precise, we still wanted to triple-check our work by generating a physical framework form of our latest radiator design. This practice also allows us to consider different tolerances as our engineer, Ye, installs this prototype on our donor truck.

With rehearsal complete, it's time for the real thing. Our new design is here and ready for its new home at the front of our donor Tacoma. Before the

No matter what brand is plastered across the front of your truck, the key proponent for purchasing it was rugged dependability. Toyota has long bolstered its name as one of the most unstoppable truck manufacturers out there. Toyotas are the preferred machine for traversing these environments from desolate deserts, swampy jungles, or just across the construction site. Toyota's quest for tough trucks didn't' stop with their full-sized Tundra, but as the miles rack up, there are some chinks appearing in this truck's armor, precisely when it comes to the cooling system.

A dependable cooling system is vital for the Tundra's workhorse status, which might hold up for most drivers. However, the harder these trucks work, the more stress is added to the factory radiator. Over time, the constant heat cycles of hot coolant degrade the plastic end tanks, which we saw firsthand on our donor truck.

Picture this: You've just bought tickets to one of your all-time favorite artists. They've done nothing but top the charts for decades, and now it's your chance to see them live. You've queued all day for the front row spots, but the time has finally come. The lights dim, and the music starts. It's the opener. A smaller, much less known act that's much more popular overseas. They steal the show. You find yourself with their songs stuck in your head and following them closer than the main act you adore.

What does this have to do with trucks? Well, think of the show as truck shopping. The Big headliner is the F-150, and the opener is the Tacoma. Toyota might not have been in the pickup truck game quite as long as Ford or other brands, but their trucks have become a crowd favorite around the world, and for a good reason. They're tough as nails, and the mid-sized options give them much more flexibility than larger trucks. The Tacoma is a capable truck, but it still could use some help in the

"Supra" is a name that evokes all types of tuner fantasies. These days, it's more uncommon to find a MKIV Supra that isn't hugging the asphalt or pushing 800+ horsepower to the wheels. Modifying a Supra is an enthusiast tradition. When the A90 finally came along, plenty wanted to carry on that tradition. However, with more power, stronger bolt-ons are needed, which is why we're focusing on the GR Supra's charge pipe.

It's beyond old news at this point that BMW pulled most of the weight when it came to the development of the A90 Supra, basing it on the G29 Z4. The tag-team effort means that the MKV ain't no slouch in terms of performance and quality. Like any mass-produced vehicle, there will still be some shortcomings for the sake of cost.

The B58 that powers the Supra is unique in that BMW integrated the air-to-water intercooler into the intake manifold. This union works wonders for reducing pressure loss by eliminating the cold side of the intercooler pipe system. The half that remains,

PERFORMANCE HEAT EXCHANGER, FITS TOYOTA GR SUPRA 3.0L, 2020+

The GR Supra is a showoff. This is not news. No one is going out to buy one of Toyota's most revered sports cars because they're looking for something sensible. Nope, they're looking for a shouty straight-six, all wrapped in a sleek, low-riding 2-seater body. They're likely looking to turn the A90 into their next mod-machine as well. If you've been following our R&D, you'll already know that our new heat exchanger design, on paper, is also quite the showoff. If you don't already know that aspect, make sure to head back to our last post, which outlines the new design features.

What we want to know now is, sure, our heat exchanger can talk the talk, but can it walk the walk? To find out, we arranged a torture test that allows us to record the air-to-water intercooler system's performance under the harshest conditions.

Our heat soak test is performed on our Dyna Pack system. The test consists of a series of 6 consecutive power-pulls