Editor-in-Chief | Zhang Kehuan
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Author | Steamy Jun
Reports from The GreatAuto
Not long ago, in order to expand the scene adaptation ability of its products, Jiangxi Isuzu launched a gasoline-powered version of the Suzuto pickup truck and mu-X Ranger off-road vehicle. Surprisingly, Isuzu entered the gasoline car market and did not choose to develop its own engine alone, but chose the EcoBoost series turbocharged engine of old friend Ford Motor...
As a Japanese brand known for its diesel engines, Isuzu wants to develop a gasoline engine alone, not to say, but at least it is not very difficult. However, why did is isuzu's gasoline version choose a Ford engine? In addition to reducing research and development costs, the more important reason is that Ford's engine technology has always been very strong!
Ford's emphasis on technology
From Ford's grandfather
Before talking about Ford's engine technology, I would like to tell you a story:
Before Henry Ford started ford motor company, the old man was a racing driver and automotive engineer. After having the desire to start a car company, Henry Ford's first thought was to go to the "ring"! Speaking of people is to defeat the old strong in the field of automobile racing, so as to drain and inject funds into themselves!
At the beginning of the twentieth century, there was really a "racing stage" in the United States: the Detroit Driving Club launched a car race, which was recognized as the largest automobile race in the United States at that time. At the time, however, Alexander Winton from Cleveland was a "roadblock" for Henry Ford to enter the auto industry.
Winton, the most successful car manufacturer at the time, was able to build a car with a maximum power of 52 kW, and before he could compete, he booked a championship seat in the race. Even the organizing committee of the event at that time also found Winton before the start of the competition: "Brother, what shape trophy do you want, directly give me a squeak, make sure you are satisfied!" ”
Although Henry Ford's car, the maximum power is only 19kW, the odds are slim. But Ford didn't give up, and he soon found the shortcomings of winton cars, which was that the fuel injection system of winton cars was unreliable. He himself, on the other hand, invented the earliest ceramic spark plug and modern fuel injection system in the history of the automobile, solving the problem of insufficient engine reliability.
In the end, Ford also staged a reversal. In the main race, Winton racing was far ahead of the first few laps. However, in the back, Winton's car malfunctioned, and in the last moment, the well-run Ford car overtook... As for the story behind it, it is natural that Ford successfully started its own Ford Motor Company, and Winton joined General Motors.
"Thank you for the trophy sent by the old iron and help me start the Ford company!"
With technology
Time and time again, Ford staged earth-shattering counterattacks
When Henry Ford successfully founded the Ford Motor Company, the first car he built was the Ford Model T.
As the world's first mass-produced model, the Ford Model T broke the monopoly of the wealthy class on the car, with a low price of $850, allowing the car to enter the homes of ordinary people.
From before its birth to its birth, Ford has been staging a "counterattack" drama, it is like a hero from ordinary people, becoming the national automobile brand of the United States.
Adhering to the concept of "what people want, I will build, the price is still low", in the 1940s, Ford developed a "flat-head engine".
The story goes like this, Ford built the Model T, although it pulled down the price of the car. However, models equipped with V8 engines are still expensive and still out of reach of civilians. The rebellious Ford, in order to let more people enjoy the fun of the V8, set out to develop a cheaper but equally excellent V8 engine.
Henry Ford, who was born an engineer, was also personally involved in the development process, and finally developed a flathead V8 engine with extremely low cost but excellent power and reliability. The outstanding part of this engine is not the use of advanced technology, but the first time Ford has adopted modular thinking, which has greatly reduced development costs and manufacturing costs.
With the arrival of this engine, the "American Big V8" has also entered the life of ordinary car enthusiasts. Until a few decades later, there are still many avid mechanical enthusiasts and car players, still modifying the flat-headed V8 engine, squeezing the remaining performance of this engine.
With the passage of time, the story of Ford's "counterattack" continues. At Le Mans, the "Ugly Duckling" GT40 defeated the "White Swan" Ferrari with the Ford Big Block large-block V8 engine. The Europeans also revised the rules for Le Mans to limit engine displacement to 5.0L.
However, this did not stop Ford's counterattack. "Big cylinder" can not be used, we use 5.0L displacement of "small cylinder" V8 engine, the same can defend the championship!
In fact, compared with the previous 7.0L V8 engine, after the launch of the 5.0L V8 engine, Ford also abandoned the thinking of "displacement is justice" and "force brick flying" at the level of engine technology research and development, but to think about how to use more advanced technology to improve the efficiency of the engine. As a result, OVH (bottom valve), cross crankshaft, supercharging and other technologies continued to innovate, and Ford began to make some achievements in the field of small displacement.
Let's shift our attention to Europe on the other side of the "big pond", where cars and small displacement engines are a paradise.
Ford's Kent engine is a "generation of divine machines" that affect the development of European racing, and the displacement is limited to 1.0L-1.6L.
Thanks to the solid and solid cylinder structure, coupled with the advanced gas distribution mechanism, the 1.0L displacement four-cylinder Kent engine can actually explode at 5000 rpm, bursting out nearly 40 horsepower power, at the time, it can almost be described as crazy.
This generation of engines has also deeply influenced the development of European racing. From the 60s to the 80s, Formula 2 and Formula 3 cars generally used Kent engines; Cosworth, a famous engine modification factory, started by modifying the cylinder heads of Kent engines...
Enter the turbo era
EcoBoost is still the king
In fact, in more than a hundred years of development, the displacement of Ford engines has been shrinking, technology has continued to advance, and performance has been continuously improved... Today, the Ford and Lincoln models that we can buy in China have long since adopted large-displacement naturally aspirated power, but are fully equipped with the world-famous EcoBoost series direct injection supercharged engine.
In fact, if we want to understand the EcoBoost engine more thoroughly, we can't get around its predecessor, the DURATEC engine.
As early as 1969, Ford developed the DURATEC V6 engine in Europe together with Porsche, becoming the world's first large-scale mass production V6 model.
In the later period, the DURATEC V6 also became an engine series, called DURATEC. In addition, in addition to the six-cylinder version, the DURATEC covers most models from 4 to 12 cylinders, and even the Aston Martin flagship has adopted this series of models.
As for how does DURATEC have to do with the current EcoBoost? The story has to start ten years ago.
Around 2010, Ford realized that the traditional large-displacement multi-cylinder engine could not adapt to the trend of environmental protection and low emissions, so Ford simply studied the direct injection and turbo technology in the cylinder, so that the small displacement turbocharged engine became the main force of the future. Therefore, on the basis of the DURATEC engine block, the first Ford EcoBoost engine was born by integrating technologies such as variable valve timing, direct injection in the cylinder and turbocharging.
In fact, today, the EcoBoost engine has undergone several generations of development, covering 2.0T L4, 2.3T L4, 2.7T V6, 3.0T V6 twin-turbo and 3.5T V6 twin-turbo engines, and the earliest EcoBoost is no longer the same thing.
If we take the product out to see, it is not difficult to find that these engines have the advantages of high performance and low fuel consumption. For example, the EVOS equipped with the 2.0T EcoBoost engine has a 6.5-second zero-hundred-hundred-speed acceleration time, but also reduces the comprehensive fuel consumption of 100 kilometers to about 7.5 liters; even the Lincoln Aviator, which is equipped with a 3.0T V6 twin-turbo engine, has a comprehensive fuel consumption of only 9.5 liters per 100 kilometers.
In fact, the name EcoBoost already tells you that this series of engines combines the dual advantages of fuel saving low emission (ECO) and powerful performance (Boost).
Back to the technical level, inside this series of engines, we can also see a lot of different things.
For example, the most immediate reason is that the EcoBoost engine has been greatly reduced. With aluminum alloy cylinder blocks, fewer cylinders, and fewer parts, the Weight of the EcoBoost 2.0T engine can be significantly reduced. This engine has the same power as the original 3.5L V6 self-priming engine, but the fuel consumption is reduced by 20%, and the cost savings are naturally needless to say. The new Mondeo equipped with this engine can even be controlled within 160,000 yuan!
In addition, detailed technologies such as direct injection in the cylinder, integrated exhaust pipe at the cylinder head, and variable VVT structure of the double vortex supercharger inlet and exhaust valves also help EcoBoost to further reduce fuel consumption and emissions while improving performance.
However, it is worth noting that while improving engine efficiency, Ford is also very focused on the impact of economy. For example, inside these engines, the traditional Alto cycle is still used, whether it is an EVOS with a 2.0T engine or a pilot with a 3.0T V6 engine, they can be filled with No. 92 fuel, and they are quite leather and reliable.
epilogue
If we look back at the history of ford engine change, it is not difficult to find that from a hundred years ago to today, Although Ford's engine technology has been innovating, its core has not changed. It's about translating technology as much as possible to truly deliver a better experience for users. It is precisely in this way that in the constant balance and trade-offs, the technical maturity of Ford engines and the grasp of stability and economy can always reach the top level.
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