Mishimoto universal oil cooler kit questions

Originally Posted by Oso

I was gifted a 10 row mishimoto universal oil kit. I was banking on ordering one from Z1 but i figured give this one a try. I am very grateful for the gift but after stalking the forum and searching through threads it seems like there are a lot of mixed reviews in terms of oil cooling. I am all over texas and my temps usually stay around 210-220 which is annoying in the 100 degree heat when you really want to have some spirited driving because the temps just shoot up.

I am almost for sure the 10 row wont cut at this point. I have seen people raving about the 34 row kits but I see complaints with people saying they have to block it off to allow temps to get warm enough and also the nightmare with the thermostatic plates failing. I found the mishimoto thread with the failed gaskets. My kit came with the non-thermo plate, so i a bit better in regards to that.

My plan is to just order in a 25 row radiator only, (sweet spot between 19-34 row, I guess) and get an aftermarket bracket to keep it nice and clean. I would assume universal radiators are interchangeable so i can still use the kit for all the plumbing. So I'm looking at probably $250 out or pocket for radiator and bracket hardware to make this work. I would hate to invest all this and find out i went down the wrong rabbit hole.


TLDR: Gifted an oil cooler - wasnt the one i planned on buying but should I try to make it work?