I’m a big car guy, always have always will be. For the past couple of years I’ve been “Out” of the game per say. When I bought my 10’ Coupe in October of 2012 I finally felt more inclined to show up to car meets and scratch my itch with modding my vehicles. I was presented with the opportunity to help out my fellow Gen Coupe Enthusiasts, and being the super nice guy that I am I figured I would help out a company who needed a Genesis Coupe for some R&D and test fitting of some parts.
Mishimoto contacted me about coming down and letting them borrow my car for a two day test fit for an Oil Cooler Kit for our 3.8 Coupes. Mishimoto is located in Delaware right over the Bridge in New Castle; I initially went down in January of 2013 to drop off the Coupe. The team down there is super nice and was awesome to work with. John Petty was the guy in charge of coordinating the work and dealing with the people who brought their cars in to be used, being a fellow enthusiast we talked about what was getting done to the coupe. He showed me the Kit that was going on the car explained a little bit about the R&D that went into making it work with our application, one of my favorite parts was the change over from cartridge style oil filters to being able to have a spin on style filter (The work they did to make that piece work was pretty impressive) using a thermostatic sandwich plate and a 19 Row Cooler. He then personally drove me to the rental car place so I had a way to get home (this process was a little odd to me at first but after all said and done it wasn’t a big deal) I got a sweet Kia Rio to rent for the next day and a half in which Mishimoto fully compensates you for doing, they mailed me the check within a week of me being down there.
When I went back down to pick up my Coupe it was pouring rain, and John came again personally to pick me up from the rental car place and take me back to Mishimoto. He told me the install went great and everything was done and working as it should. The best part about this entire process was the fact that Mishimoto gives you the Kit they are test fitting and doing all this research on to launch and sell, for free. No questions asked, no gimmicks…I think it’s awesome that they do that as a way of compensating you for your time and using your vehicle. I went over the car when I got home and nothing was scratched or out of place, the car was in the same condition as when I gave it to them, just with free car parts on it!!
Having done the original install in January they couldn’t get any hard data with the effects of how well the kit was working, and since it is an oil COOLER kit they asked if I wouldn’t mind coming back down during the summer months to have them get some better data off the car. I obliged and took a day off work to go down and hang out at Mishimoto for the day. John again coordinated the day and when I got there he ran down what was going to happen and how long (roughly) it would take. I got to meet a few people who work at Mishimoto and talk shop with John about some neat stuff they work on day in and day out. They treated me to lunch and even offered me a Silicone Hose Kit for the Coupe to say thank you for letting them use my car a second time to collect the data.
You really can’t ask for a better experience. Overall I was super impressed with how well they run things and I highly recommend to anyone, If you own a vehicle on the list they have posted with what they are looking for with the test fitting process, Email them and let them know because if you are close enough to drive there and work with them you won’t regret it…Plus you get some sweet ass parts that for a while at least with me…I was the only 3.8 Coupe with the Mishimoto Oil Cooler Kit on my car in the world. Anyone looking to purchase one for their car, the quality of this kit is top notch, they don’t use cheap parts at Mishimoto and they take pride in putting out a quality product.
Who doesn’t love penguins? They gave me a free Chilly to!!
Here are some pictures of my car at Mishimoto…
I had a great experience and just wanted to share it with everyone so if there is anyone out there who isnt sure what entails you letting them use your car.
Cheers and happy modding!!