Transmission Coolers

[burly]

I have a 2003 Malibu with the GM 4T40-E transmission. I do quite a bit of mountainous driving and bumper-to-bumper city traffic, though a majority of my overall mileage are highway miles. I am looking at doing some mild performance upgrades on my 3.1 SFI V6. In current stock form it makes 170HP/190lb-ft - I'm looking to go to about 200HP/220lb-ft or thereabout. In an effort to bolster both transmission performance and durability I was planning on installing an auxiliary transmission cooler and switching to a synthetic ATF (more than likely, Mobil 1 ATF, as Amsoil is about 40% more expensive - a big difference when you are talking ~24quarts). I also plan on either using a standalone AT module like the autotrans interceptor or if Jetchip emails me back saying that they do indeed have a module/programmer for my car, I may go that route - the bottom line being that I plan on upping the line pressure for firmer shifts.

Anyways, my questions are as follows:

Does the 4T40-E have places to hook up an auxilary tranny cooler ? If so, do you happen to know the fitting size?

Can anyone recommend a good transmission cooler for an application like mine ?(btw, I am Not racing the vehicle)

Has anyone used synthetic transmission fluid (regardless of brand) that can share their results?

Like I said, I am trying to bolster the current transmission for some future upgrades. The vehicle is still under warranty so all the modifications I am doing must not void the warranty. This includes Swapping the transmission or doing any sort of valve job or anything like that (not to mention, I couldn't afford it anyways). From what I understand, a transmission cooler and synthetic fluid will not affect the warranty since the fluid is Dexron III approved.

[quaddriver]

1) yes, either cut a line and clamp on proper hydraulic hose or unscrew it, dont know fitting size offhand.

2) hayden 404/405/406 - take your pick.

3) yes - its harder to burn up and shift quality does seem to be better. and its 12qts, not 24

the 40 series tranny is the weakest one, it will be the weak link in any mods you use

[burly]

Well, its 13 quarts for a full flush including torque converter yes. However, several shops that have the machine to do the full flush said that I should bring them 24 qts, as it generally takes a more than the amount in the tranny to ensure a full flush, but that any extra clean fluid they would give back to me. Even with 13quarts, $5 a quart Mobil 1 versus $8 a quart Amsoil is a big difference.

Thanks for the reply. I'm going to look into the hayden's you suggested now.