Who could forget the SVO Mustang with its single turbo 2.3-L inline 4 and cool European styling? The SVO was an attempt to match the sports cars that European makes were offering in the 1980’s. The car had quite a following, to bad Ford killed it in 1986 after a two year production run. Over 15 years later, Ford returns with a turbocharged engine program called the EcoBoost and we believe it's destined to be in a Mustang. With the base 2010 Camaro V6 rated at 300 horsepower, we bet the market will demand something from Ford to match.
The 2010 Lincoln MKS is the first Ford vehicle to introduce the twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter EcoBoost V-6 engine. By 2013, Ford is saying more than 90 percent of their North American lineup will be available with EcoBoost technology. The 3.5-liter EcoBoost V-6 is expected to attain fuel economy numbers of 16 mpg city and 25 mpg highway in the all-wheel-drive 2010 Lincoln MKS. Power output is an estimated 355 horsepower at 5,700 rpm and 350 lbs.-ft. of torque at 3,500 rpm. That’s 55 more horsepower than the 2010 Mustang GT’s 4.6L V8!
The 3.5-liter’s twin parallel turbochargers are water-cooled and combine with a direct-injection fuel system to produce instant power. The high-pressure fuel pump operates up to 2,175 psi – more than 35 times the norm seen in a conventional V-6 engine. The high-pressure pump is a cam-driven mechanical pump, no electronics here, with a single piston and an electronic valve that controls how much fuel is routed into the fuel rails and injectors.
Gas Direct Injection, A First for Ford
The EcoBoost fuel injectors are located on the side of the heads combustion chamber. When the fuel is injected into the cylinder, it evaporates and cools the air that’s been inducted into the cylinder. A benefit of direct-injection is that it cools the air right where its going to burn improving the air/fuel mix and minimizing knocking.
“Because the fuel is directly introduced into the combustion chamber, you don’t get fuel wetting the combustion wall like with port fuel injection, you don’t saturate the ports and you don’t get droplets that might recombine and add to saturation,” said Brett Hinds, EcoBoost design manager. “By injecting fuel directly into the combustion chamber and under high pressure, the fuel can be directed to exactly where we want it to be for a given combustion cycle.”
The spray pattern for the fuel was optimized after extensive computer modeling work, with the angle of how the fuel is sprayed key to the process. “The better combustion process is a big advantage of direct injection,” Hinds said. “In a port fuel system, at ignition key off it’s possible to have fuel on the walls of the intake port, which migrates to the top of the valve and puddles. So when you key on, you get that emissions spike. Direct injection is much cleaner from that standpoint.”
Turbo Lag Virtually Eliminated
The new EcoBoost V-6 uses two Honeywell GT15 water-cooled turbos. The simultaneous turbocharger operation paired with the direct-injection system help to virtually eliminate turbo lag, one of the main reasons turbocharger technology was not previously used. The turbochargers are about the size of an orange, but help provide a big performance advantage.
The dual-turbocharger setup has several advantages over previous turbocharging systems, including:
The turbochargers are smaller, resulting in more-compact exhaust manifolds, which don’t generate as much heat.
Turbochargers are packaged adjacent to the cylinder block and have improved mounting providing NVH (noise, vibration, harshness) improvements
The dual turbochargers spool up quicker, allowing the 3.5-liter EcoBoost V-6 engine to reach peak torque faster. The turbochargers spin at approximately 170,000 rpm. By comparison, the redline for the engine is approximately 6,500 rpm
“The two turbochargers both operate identically over the speed range of the engine – one is responsible for the left bank of the engine and the other is responsible for the right bank,” Hinds said. “Both spin immediately and produce boost, even at low engine speeds.”
For those of you that like to know your driving a turbo car, sounds like you might be disappointed in the factory EcoBoost settings. The turbocharger “whoosh” is diluted by a electronically controlled anti-surge valve, which proactively relieve the boost in the intake, which can range up to 12 PSI.
Careful software calibrations manage the pressures in the intake manifold. “We control the boost to make sure that customers don’t recognize when the boost is building,” Hinds said. “As the turbochargers spool up, the electronic control system takes over. Our active waste gate control along with the throttle controls the boost and torque levels very precisely and the customer perceives a continuous delivery of torque.”
We can't wait to get a chance to drive or ride in a Eco-Boost powered Ford to feel and the acceleration and drivability. It will be interesting to see what the aftermarket and Ford Racing has in store for the engine that’s poised to be in 90% of the Ford models in a few years.
Below is a Eco-Boost Engineer Discussing the Engine.
Interview with Corey Weaver, EcoBoost Systems Engineer
Last edited by Johnny Johns; 04-16-2009 at 02:01 PM..
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