Yes its an inline cooler, mostly a factory w-body setup because the police impala's came with this trans cooler package. I live in NJ so i did it inline as well because our winters can be just as cold. There is a noticeable difference in how long it takes for the fluid to actually warm up even with it inline with the radiator. I also modified my coolant to 70% water 30% coolant setup with RP purple ice, which brought down my average coolant temps by about 10* which also played a factor in how hot the trans fluid gets given that its an inline setup. Although with how far north you are id recommend staying with 50/50 but the purple ice could help you out.