- Feb 25, 2005
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The greenies seem to have a pretty good, but somewhat biased, article about Ford's "EcoBoost" technology. It's pretty much direct injection with turbos and a higher than normal compression ratio due to the last second direct injection of fuel.
http://www.autobloggreen.com/2...direct-injection-engi/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgwvQtU4MW4
http://www.autobloggreen.com/2...direct-injection-engi/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgwvQtU4MW4
Now that all the major automakers have acknowledged the reality of both climate change and the need for increased fuel efficiency, they are all looking for ways to address the problems. Speaking at a preview prior to the 2008 Detroit Auto Show Ford Global Product Development VP Derrick Kuzak made it clear that in order to have any real impact, improvements need to start happening quickly and on a large scale. With a U.S. vehicle fleet approaching 200 million vehicles and only about 16 million new vehicles on the road each year, it takes 15-20 years to turn over the fleet to cleaner, more efficient vehicles.
In order to meet the total fleet CO2 reductions that will be needed over the next several decades, millions of vehicles per year need to cleaned up - a few hundred to a few thousand vehicles won't have an impact. To achieve that, economically efficient solutions will be required so that car buyers can afford to buy. The first steps toward that for Ford will be weight reduction and gasoline-turbocharged-direct-injection (GTDI) engines. GTDI? Yes. Read on past the jump to learn more.
Gallery: Detroit 2008: Ford EcoBoost GDTI engines
Gallery: Detroit 2008: Ford Explorer America concept Gallery
[Source: Ford]
Over the next five years Ford plans to have at least 500,000 cars a year powered by GTDI engines. Many of new models coming in that time frame will be using GTDI power-plants in place of larger, normally-aspirated engines. First up will be the Lincoln MKS, which in 2009 will get a 3.5L GTDI V-6 as the optional engine. When the original MKS concept appeared at the 2006 Detroit show it used the Volvo-Yamaha 4.4L V-8 from the XC90.
At the 2007 Detroit Auto Show, Ford showed the Lincoln MKR concept using this new configuration. The Twin-Force name used for the concept has now been replaced by EcoBoost to play up the fuel economy aspect of the technology. The second application for the GDTI V-6 will be the new Ford Flex CUV followed by the next-generation Explorer which is being previewed with this year's Explorer America Concept. The V-6 in the SUV will improve mileage by more than 2mpg compared to the current 4.6L V-8 while providing more power and torque and it will save 150-200lbs. The base engine in the Explorer is expected to be a 2.0L four cylinder EcoBoost model.
When discussing GTDI technology, Kuzak gave a run-down on the payback times based on fuel savings for various technologies. Disregarding any tax credits which are becoming unavailable on some vehicles as sales increase, a four cylinder hybrid drive-train has a pay-back time of about 11.5 years. A comparable four cylinder diesel has a 7.5 year payback. A four cylinder GTDI will save enough fuel to recover the extra cost in 2.5 years. Those figures are based on gasoline at $2.87/gallon, diesel at $2.90/gallon and 15,000 miles per year of driving.
The V-6 will be just the first of many GTDI engines from Ford. The 2.0L four cylinder GTDI will likely supplant the current 3.0L V-6 in the next few years offering a 5mpg improvement over the larger engine with less weight. A smaller 1.4L GTDI will also replace larger, normally-aspirated fours much as Volkswagen has done with their TFSI engines in their European lineup.
In all cases the use of direct injection will offer multiple advantages. Engines will be able to run at higher compression ratios with less risk of engine damaging knock because the fuel is injected just before ignition. Because the fuel is not included in the intake charge, the timing of the valve opening and closing can be optimized to allow for extra exhaust scavenging. This results in lower intake air temperatures in the cylinder and reduced risk of pre-ignition. The combination of the higher compression ratios and turbocharging results in much improved torque at all engine speeds giving better low speed drivability of the smaller engines. The effect is a feeling more like a diesel engine. The low inertia turbochargers and direct injection also contribute to eliminating that bugaboo of old-time turbo engines, the lag between pressing the accelerator and getting actual forward motion.
All of Ford's GTDI engines will eventually be flex-fuel, although the first 3.5L won't be at launch. The variable boost control and variable valve timing will allow for greater control flexibility and allow the engines to get closer to parity on mileage and have improved performance when running on ethanol as well.
One of the other major advantages of EcoBoost is that it provides efficiency benefits at under all driving conditions, not just urban stop and go or just highway. The GTDI V-6 in the MKS will be rated at approximately 340hp and 340lb-ft of torque when it's introduced, which puts it well past either the Volvo 4.4L V-8 or Ford's own 4.6L. In the transverse engine configuration of the MKS, the transmission and the rest of the drivetrain are actually the limiting factor in performance. When the GTDI V-6 goes into longitudinal configurations like the Explorer, it will be able to have an even higher output.
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