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Ford's New Big Gun in Small Car Engines
By March 25, 2011 
Ford invited media this week for a deep dive on the new Duratec 2-liter gasoline direct injection (GDI) 4-cylinder engine that is the standard powerplant for the just-coming-to-showrooms 2011 Focus. Ford is clearing out the prior-generation Focus – despite its 11-year-old platform, for moved more than 172,000 Focus' last year – to make room for the all-new 2012 version and the Duratec 2-liter GDI is a key feature for the Focus, but this small engine will be a big player in a fuel-efficiency initiative started a half-decade ago.
The company claims it owns the leading model for fuel economy in 12 segments (we didn't have the time – or the attention span – to obtain a rundown of all 12). Ford also says it now sells four models that are rated at 40 mpg or better. "It's inevitable that long-term, fuel prices can only go in one direction: up," said Bob Fascetti, Ford's director of large gasoline and diesel engine engineering. And yes, Fascetti said in aligning what seems like a mismatch between his title and the Duratec, a 2-liter engine soon will be considered "large" in the global scheme of things.
More Than A New Injection Strategy
The Duratec 2-liter GDI is Ford's first direct-injected (DI) engine not carrying the Ecoboost designation that indicates the coupling of turbocharging with DI. Scott Makowski, manager of North America I-4 engine programs, said the Duratec GDI – a derivation of the port fuel-injected 2-liter 4-cylinder in the outgoing Focus – isn't just about that 2,000-psi direct-injection setup that markedly improves efficiency while delivering a 20-horsepower boost (to 160 total horsepower) and 146 pound-feet of torque.
Both camshafts feature variable timing control, GDI enables an economy-optimizing 12:1 compression ratio on regular-grade (87-octane) unleaded and there are oil jets to cool the undersides of pistons, curbing the potential for "knock." The latest Duratec is an oversquare engine, with a bore of 87.5 mm and stroke of 83.1 mm. Don't fret about deposits on the back of the intake valves that have plagued some other manufacturers' direct-injected gasoline engines, said Stephen Russ, the Duratec GDI's technical leader for combustion.
Although he called intake-valve deposits "a fact of life" for GDI engines because the lack of raw gasoline sucked in over the intake valves of a conventional port-injected engine to "wash" the valves, Ford's figured out the proper injection-timing calibration to help eliminate the problem. But he also said the technology of injection components – particularly the high-pressure solenoid injectors – has quickly matured, meaning excess valve deposits should be a thing of the past.
Russ said Ford's using the latest-technology high-pressure fuel pump – it's a single-piston unit driven by its own lobe on the exhaust camshaft – and new, 6-hole injectors that play a big role in avoiding intake-valve deposits. The system runs pressures 50 times that of conventional port fuel injection.
The 2012 Focus is EPA-rated at 28 mpg in the city and 38 mpg on the highway with Ford's new dual-clutch 6-speed Powershift automatic and the SFE economy-optimized version ekes out a 28/40 score. Go with the standard 5-speed manual transmission and you have to wear the shame of a 28/36 rating.
The Duratec 2-liter GDI is built at Ford's Dearborn Engine Plant in Michigan, the Focus nearby at the newly renovated Michigan Assembly Plant that boasts one of the largest solar-power arrays in Michigan. The high-tech Powershift 6-speed automated manual transmission comes from Germany. Despite once being a compact-car staple, manual transmissions will be only about 5 percent of the new Focus' production mix, said Makowski. "That's what the customer asks for."
Coming later this year is the Duratec 2-liter GDI adorned with a turbocharger and thus earning the Ecoboost designation to match the twin-turbo Ecoboost V6s already introduced. The 2-liter Ecoboost will make a reputed 247 horsepower for the Edge and Explorer crossovers.
Edmunds' AutoObserver.com Senior Editor Bill Visnic joined Edmunds.com in 2007 and has for two decades covered and analyzed automotive technology and business.
