budgie
Mar 21 2007, 11:44am
Here is an article from Ford on the 2.3 Duratec engine--it gives a lot of info about the engine: http://media.ford.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=13626
New Family of Global I-4 Engines Blends High Efficiency, Performance
“Our new global I-4 engine gives us unmatched flexibility to meet and exceed consumer expectations. From the same basic architecture, we can build a super-efficient engine to meet stringent pollution standards, a quick-revving engine for sporty performance, or a larger-displacement version with enhanced torque – and we can do all three in the same engine plant. This offers us tremendous efficiencies.”
— Rudi Menne,
Director, Inline Gas Engines
http://media.ford.com/images/large/Powertrain/New_I4_Engine.jpg
* The partial-zero emissions (PZEV) Ford Focus, which goes on sale in California in January, takes full advantage of the inherent combustion efficiency of Ford Motor Company’s new global I-4 engine to offer world-class emissions performance.
* The dual-overhead cam, all-aluminum inline four-cylinder engine will be built at four plants on three continents, including: Ford’s Chihuahua (Mexico) and Dearborn (Mich.) engine plants; Mazda’s plant in Hiroshima, Japan; and Ford’s plant in Valencia, Spain, where production began this fall.
* First introduced in the 2002 Ford Mondeo in Europe and the 2002 Ford Ranger in the U.S., the new I-4 engine eventually will power a broad range of Ford products such as the new PZEV Ford Focus and Hybrid-Electric (HEV) Ford Escape.
* Eventually Ford expects to build up to 1.5 million of these engines per year, representing 20 percent of its global annual engine production.
When the new 2.3-liter, PZEV Ford Focus goes on sale in California in January, it will represent the latest return on Ford Motor Company’s investment in its global I-4 engine family.
A year later, the all-new 2.3-liter I-4 engine will be introduced in all Ford Focus models in the United States.
The PZEV Focus illustrates one of the inherent strengths of the I-4 engine design, its combustion efficiency. Through careful design of the combustion chamber, coupled with sophisticated electronic controls – rather than elaborate exhaust after-treatment technologies – Ford engineers were able to meet California’s stringent emissions standards in a vehicle that doesn’t require sacrifices on the part of its owners. The PZEV Focus will retain the driving characteristics that have made the Ford Focus the best-selling car in the world.
Specific emissions actions include close placement of the catalytic converters to the exhaust manifold to allow them to reach operating temperatures more quickly, and electrically controlled exhaust gas recirculation that recycles inert gas into the combustion chamber to reduce NOx emissions and improved fuel economy.
The new 16-valve I-4 engine can displace from 1.8 liters up to 2.3 liters using different bore and stroke combinations, with potential for up to 100 different derivatives.
Global Development, Production
Ford Motor Company’s new global family of four-cylinder engines, developed with Mazda Motor Corp., represents both the future of Ford’s small powertrain lineup and the future of engine manufacturing.
The I-4 represents Ford’s first truly global engine development program, which drew on the company’s engineering, design and manufacturing skills worldwide. In a measure of its global significance, the new I-4 engine will be built in four plants on three continents.
Wide-range of cars and trucks
As an example of the new engine’s flexibility, a variety of Ford and Mazda brand vehicles currently offer or will offer the new engine in both “east-west” and “north-south” configurations for front- and rear-drive applications. In addition to the new PZEV Ford Focus, they include:
* The Ford Mondeo in Europe with 1.8- and 2.0-liter versions, built at Ford’s Chihuahua Engine Plant in Mexico.
* The Ford Ranger pickup with a 135-horsepower 2.3-liter variant built at the Dearborn (Mich.) Engine Plant in the United States.
* The restyled Mazda MPV minivan – introduced in April and built at Mazda’s Hiroshima plant – was the first Mazda vehicle with the new engine.
* The all-new Mazda6 midsize sedan, sold in North America, Europe and Asia (as Atenza), offers three displacements: 1.8-liter, 2.0-liter and an advanced 2.3-liter with Mazda's Sequential Valve Timing (S-VT), which improves performance efficiency.
* Many more products set to be introduced around the world over the next few years, such as Ford Escape hybrid-electric vehicle (HEV), to debut in late 2003.
Engine specifics
The new I-4 engine family is designed to provide dependable performance and high levels of driving quality throughout its service life. The objective for the I-4 engineering team was to give customers more of what they want – performance, drivability and smoothness – with reduced fuel costs, lower emissions and minimal maintenance requirements.
The new I-4 engine family makes extensive use of lightweight aluminum components, which offer both a weight savings – approximately 40 pounds compared with the equivalent Zetec I-4 engine – and chassis dynamics benefits, such as improved weight distribution front-to-rear, and higher power-to-weight ratio.
Cylinder head and valve train
The cylinder head’s Dual Overhead Cam (DOHC) design uses Direct Acting Mechanical Bucket (DAMB) tappets and an aluminum alloy (AA319) “high flow” cylinder head with press fit valve seats, which helps to improve long-term sealing.
Valves and tappets are individually graded for consistency. This assures their ability to maintain proper valve clearances over the engine’s entire life, without the use of shims. Lobes on the chain-driven cast-iron double overhead camshafts are chilled during manufacture to harden them. These actions help to eliminate valve adjustments throughout a service life of 150,000 miles or 10 years in use. Each cam runs in five cam bearings, for smooth and quiet operation.
Intake valves are 35 millimeters, with 30-millimeter exhaust valves. They are mounted at an included angle of 29 degrees to each other in an asymmetric arrangement – the intake valves are 19 degrees from vertical and the exhaust valves are 10 degrees from vertical. This allows the spark plugs to be mounted near the center of the “pentroof” style combustion chamber, promoting circular flame propagation and improved fuel economy, especially under partial load.
The camshafts run directly in the aluminum cylinder head and are driven by a “silent” chain, which provides quieter operation. A spring arm maintains proper tension, and a hydraulically activated composite damper controls chain movement. The camshaft cover is made of cast aluminum alloy to contain valve train noise and assure warp-free sealing for life.
Along with durability and silent running, engineers worked to make engine components as fuel-efficient and lightweight as possible. A good example of this is the new, highly durable piston, ring and connecting rod assembly, which provides about 15 percent weight advantage vs. other modern engines, thus resulting in lower overall weight, superior NVH, lower friction (or parasitic losses) and a free-revving engine characteristic.
To enhance fuel efficiency, the engine uses 5W20 SAE (ILSAC GF-3) grade oil for reduced resistance to flow, and operates at a relatively low idle speed of 700 rpm. Maximum engine speed is 7,000 rpm.
Engine noise, vibration and harshness
A host of low-noise features enhance engine refinement. These include a single, service-free poly-V accessory-drive belt made of composite rubber, an automatic belt-tensioner, an alternator with low-noise, dual internal cooling fans and a fully length-symmetrical intake manifold.
The deep-skirted, closed-deck sand casting of the block features cast-in-place, cast-iron bore liners with tightly controlled geometry. A die-cast aluminum bearing beam and cast structural aluminum oil pan provide a strong and stable bottom end.
Engine assembly contributes to quiet operation, as components are select-fit to more exacting tolerances. In an example of attention to detail during construction, all 10 bolts that secure the lower bearing beam are tightened simultaneously, to assure even torque over the entire structure every time. This assures that the bearing beam isn’t warped during assembly.
Electronic distributorless coil-on-plug ignition includes an optimized cylinder knock-control system that continuously adapts the engine’s operating parameters in real time to optimize performance and economy.
New intake manifold
The computer-designed intake manifold is a prime example of the attention to detail that went into engineering the new engine. It is fully symmetrical, lightweight and made of friction-welded plastic to reduce flow friction and stay cooler than cast metal. This design allowed engineers to “sculpt” the sound of the 16-valve engines to be sporty yet refined.
Within each of the intake manifold’s four runners is a butterfly valve that restricts the air passage at low speed. This improves low-speed efficiency through inducing a “tumble” or turbulence by accelerating the air/fuel mixture into the combustion chambers. At higher speeds, the butterfly valves open fully, to meet the engine’s requirement for air flow. At these higher flow rates, the port shape itself ensures proper “tumble” of the air/fuel mixture for best combustion.
The intake system also features a new, solid-state temperature and pressure sensor, which makes more precise air mass measurements. These are constantly relayed to the electronic engine management module for efficient engine operation.
Fuel-injection system
A new four-hole fuel injector design delivers a highly atomized-spray pattern directly toward the twin inlet ports of each cylinder, for more spray penetration, better atomization and less cylinder wall wetting than a single-hole injector. This in turn translates into good drivability and low emissions. Sequential electronic fuel injection (SEFI) control injects precisely measured quantities of fuel into each cylinder individually, at the optimum point in each combustion cycle.
New Family of Global I-4 Engines Blends High Efficiency, Performance
“Our new global I-4 engine gives us unmatched flexibility to meet and exceed consumer expectations. From the same basic architecture, we can build a super-efficient engine to meet stringent pollution standards, a quick-revving engine for sporty performance, or a larger-displacement version with enhanced torque – and we can do all three in the same engine plant. This offers us tremendous efficiencies.”
— Rudi Menne,
Director, Inline Gas Engines
http://media.ford.com/images/large/Powertrain/New_I4_Engine.jpg
* The partial-zero emissions (PZEV) Ford Focus, which goes on sale in California in January, takes full advantage of the inherent combustion efficiency of Ford Motor Company’s new global I-4 engine to offer world-class emissions performance.
* The dual-overhead cam, all-aluminum inline four-cylinder engine will be built at four plants on three continents, including: Ford’s Chihuahua (Mexico) and Dearborn (Mich.) engine plants; Mazda’s plant in Hiroshima, Japan; and Ford’s plant in Valencia, Spain, where production began this fall.
* First introduced in the 2002 Ford Mondeo in Europe and the 2002 Ford Ranger in the U.S., the new I-4 engine eventually will power a broad range of Ford products such as the new PZEV Ford Focus and Hybrid-Electric (HEV) Ford Escape.
* Eventually Ford expects to build up to 1.5 million of these engines per year, representing 20 percent of its global annual engine production.
When the new 2.3-liter, PZEV Ford Focus goes on sale in California in January, it will represent the latest return on Ford Motor Company’s investment in its global I-4 engine family.
A year later, the all-new 2.3-liter I-4 engine will be introduced in all Ford Focus models in the United States.
The PZEV Focus illustrates one of the inherent strengths of the I-4 engine design, its combustion efficiency. Through careful design of the combustion chamber, coupled with sophisticated electronic controls – rather than elaborate exhaust after-treatment technologies – Ford engineers were able to meet California’s stringent emissions standards in a vehicle that doesn’t require sacrifices on the part of its owners. The PZEV Focus will retain the driving characteristics that have made the Ford Focus the best-selling car in the world.
Specific emissions actions include close placement of the catalytic converters to the exhaust manifold to allow them to reach operating temperatures more quickly, and electrically controlled exhaust gas recirculation that recycles inert gas into the combustion chamber to reduce NOx emissions and improved fuel economy.
The new 16-valve I-4 engine can displace from 1.8 liters up to 2.3 liters using different bore and stroke combinations, with potential for up to 100 different derivatives.
Global Development, Production
Ford Motor Company’s new global family of four-cylinder engines, developed with Mazda Motor Corp., represents both the future of Ford’s small powertrain lineup and the future of engine manufacturing.
The I-4 represents Ford’s first truly global engine development program, which drew on the company’s engineering, design and manufacturing skills worldwide. In a measure of its global significance, the new I-4 engine will be built in four plants on three continents.
Wide-range of cars and trucks
As an example of the new engine’s flexibility, a variety of Ford and Mazda brand vehicles currently offer or will offer the new engine in both “east-west” and “north-south” configurations for front- and rear-drive applications. In addition to the new PZEV Ford Focus, they include:
* The Ford Mondeo in Europe with 1.8- and 2.0-liter versions, built at Ford’s Chihuahua Engine Plant in Mexico.
* The Ford Ranger pickup with a 135-horsepower 2.3-liter variant built at the Dearborn (Mich.) Engine Plant in the United States.
* The restyled Mazda MPV minivan – introduced in April and built at Mazda’s Hiroshima plant – was the first Mazda vehicle with the new engine.
* The all-new Mazda6 midsize sedan, sold in North America, Europe and Asia (as Atenza), offers three displacements: 1.8-liter, 2.0-liter and an advanced 2.3-liter with Mazda's Sequential Valve Timing (S-VT), which improves performance efficiency.
* Many more products set to be introduced around the world over the next few years, such as Ford Escape hybrid-electric vehicle (HEV), to debut in late 2003.
Engine specifics
The new I-4 engine family is designed to provide dependable performance and high levels of driving quality throughout its service life. The objective for the I-4 engineering team was to give customers more of what they want – performance, drivability and smoothness – with reduced fuel costs, lower emissions and minimal maintenance requirements.
The new I-4 engine family makes extensive use of lightweight aluminum components, which offer both a weight savings – approximately 40 pounds compared with the equivalent Zetec I-4 engine – and chassis dynamics benefits, such as improved weight distribution front-to-rear, and higher power-to-weight ratio.
Cylinder head and valve train
The cylinder head’s Dual Overhead Cam (DOHC) design uses Direct Acting Mechanical Bucket (DAMB) tappets and an aluminum alloy (AA319) “high flow” cylinder head with press fit valve seats, which helps to improve long-term sealing.
Valves and tappets are individually graded for consistency. This assures their ability to maintain proper valve clearances over the engine’s entire life, without the use of shims. Lobes on the chain-driven cast-iron double overhead camshafts are chilled during manufacture to harden them. These actions help to eliminate valve adjustments throughout a service life of 150,000 miles or 10 years in use. Each cam runs in five cam bearings, for smooth and quiet operation.
Intake valves are 35 millimeters, with 30-millimeter exhaust valves. They are mounted at an included angle of 29 degrees to each other in an asymmetric arrangement – the intake valves are 19 degrees from vertical and the exhaust valves are 10 degrees from vertical. This allows the spark plugs to be mounted near the center of the “pentroof” style combustion chamber, promoting circular flame propagation and improved fuel economy, especially under partial load.
The camshafts run directly in the aluminum cylinder head and are driven by a “silent” chain, which provides quieter operation. A spring arm maintains proper tension, and a hydraulically activated composite damper controls chain movement. The camshaft cover is made of cast aluminum alloy to contain valve train noise and assure warp-free sealing for life.
Along with durability and silent running, engineers worked to make engine components as fuel-efficient and lightweight as possible. A good example of this is the new, highly durable piston, ring and connecting rod assembly, which provides about 15 percent weight advantage vs. other modern engines, thus resulting in lower overall weight, superior NVH, lower friction (or parasitic losses) and a free-revving engine characteristic.
To enhance fuel efficiency, the engine uses 5W20 SAE (ILSAC GF-3) grade oil for reduced resistance to flow, and operates at a relatively low idle speed of 700 rpm. Maximum engine speed is 7,000 rpm.
Engine noise, vibration and harshness
A host of low-noise features enhance engine refinement. These include a single, service-free poly-V accessory-drive belt made of composite rubber, an automatic belt-tensioner, an alternator with low-noise, dual internal cooling fans and a fully length-symmetrical intake manifold.
The deep-skirted, closed-deck sand casting of the block features cast-in-place, cast-iron bore liners with tightly controlled geometry. A die-cast aluminum bearing beam and cast structural aluminum oil pan provide a strong and stable bottom end.
Engine assembly contributes to quiet operation, as components are select-fit to more exacting tolerances. In an example of attention to detail during construction, all 10 bolts that secure the lower bearing beam are tightened simultaneously, to assure even torque over the entire structure every time. This assures that the bearing beam isn’t warped during assembly.
Electronic distributorless coil-on-plug ignition includes an optimized cylinder knock-control system that continuously adapts the engine’s operating parameters in real time to optimize performance and economy.
New intake manifold
The computer-designed intake manifold is a prime example of the attention to detail that went into engineering the new engine. It is fully symmetrical, lightweight and made of friction-welded plastic to reduce flow friction and stay cooler than cast metal. This design allowed engineers to “sculpt” the sound of the 16-valve engines to be sporty yet refined.
Within each of the intake manifold’s four runners is a butterfly valve that restricts the air passage at low speed. This improves low-speed efficiency through inducing a “tumble” or turbulence by accelerating the air/fuel mixture into the combustion chambers. At higher speeds, the butterfly valves open fully, to meet the engine’s requirement for air flow. At these higher flow rates, the port shape itself ensures proper “tumble” of the air/fuel mixture for best combustion.
The intake system also features a new, solid-state temperature and pressure sensor, which makes more precise air mass measurements. These are constantly relayed to the electronic engine management module for efficient engine operation.
Fuel-injection system
A new four-hole fuel injector design delivers a highly atomized-spray pattern directly toward the twin inlet ports of each cylinder, for more spray penetration, better atomization and less cylinder wall wetting than a single-hole injector. This in turn translates into good drivability and low emissions. Sequential electronic fuel injection (SEFI) control injects precisely measured quantities of fuel into each cylinder individually, at the optimum point in each combustion cycle.