What I've been doing for the past 3 years...

Not exactly Grassroots, but for sure auto related.

Thanks to releases in the past week, I can finally talk about what I've been working on for the past 3 years! Here's what Ford's been releasing at the auto shows- http://media.ford.com/mini_sites/10031/2009NAIAS/

Near the bottom, there are a series of articles on the EcoBoost. I've been on the calibration team for the past 3 years on this powertrain. Pretty interesting project, and I'm really happy with how the cars are turning out.

First up is the MKS, which was out last year, but the new engine increases power by about 80hp and lb-ft, with no loss in fuel economy. This car is darned quick, and the turbo really shines up in the mountains. All the development trips in Colorado were a blast!

I think the second release will be either the Flex or the MKT. They are very similar platforms, but thankfully, the styling of the MKT looks nothing like that of the Flex. Nice to see that there's some actual product differentation now. Both drive nothing like a full sized van or SUV, although they are both quite big. Again, the new turbo DI enigne really helps move a large vehicle like this. And before you bash the cars as being too large, bear in mind that these are the only products we seriously market that will seat more than 5. And both do it quite well.

There's one more product that the EcoBoost will go into, but as far as I can see, the actual release hasn't happened. But it will revive an old model, probably not make everyone happy, but for sure, it's faster than previous versions of this car.

Sorry if this sounds like an ad, but I'm really happy how these cars turned out, especially with the hard work that I know that have been put into them.

BTW, I mainly calibrated the emissions for it. Which I'm quite pleased with, as we came up with a few industry leading tricks that have patents pending to reduce the emissions. We signed off the emissions just last week.

Anyway, one of those times where it's actually fun to work in the auto industry.

Eric

The last release is the Taurus SHO. Pics surfaced last week. I'm actually excited to see that come out!

alfadriver wrote: There's one more product that the EcoBoost will go into, but as far as I can see, the actual release hasn't happened. But it will revive an old model, probably not make everyone happy, but for sure, it's faster than previous versions of this car.

Mustangs must have V8's. As long as that doesn't change, you're golden.

BTW - Congrats! It's fun to see the secret stuff you've been playing with revealed to the world.

EDIT - Reading the article. Holy schnikey - GT15's. That thing must spool instantly.

So that means the Pinto is coming back.

Cool stuff on the EcoBoost!

DILYSI Dave wrote:

alfadriver wrote: There's one more product that the EcoBoost will go into, but as far as I can see, the actual release hasn't happened. But it will revive an old model, probably not make everyone happy, but for sure, it's faster than previous versions of this car.

Mustangs must have V8's. As long as that doesn't change, you're golden. BTW - Congrats! It's fun to see the secret stuff you've been playing with revealed to the world. EDIT - Reading the article. Holy schnikey - GT15's. That thing must spool instantly.

Pretty much, they do. One of the major goals of the powertrain was instant torque, all the way down to 1500 rpm. They work pretty well, that's for sure.

(as for the Mustang, we had a prototype, since it was an easy install for this powertrain, not for real evaluation- it was really quick. I don't think there will be 2.).

E-

Jensenman wrote: So that means the Pinto is coming back.

Aww...you beat me to it

Pinto, meh. Now Edsel would be something.

DILYSI Dave wrote:

alfadriver wrote: There's one more product that the EcoBoost will go into, but as far as I can see, the actual release hasn't happened. But it will revive an old model, probably not make everyone happy, but for sure, it's faster than previous versions of this car.

Mustangs must have V8's. As long as that doesn't change, you're golden. BTW - Congrats! It's fun to see the secret stuff you've been playing with revealed to the world. EDIT - Reading the article. Holy schnikey - GT15's. That thing must spool instantly.

because if there's one thing we know, it's that DILYSI Dave buys new Mustangs!

oh, and back to the topic: Nice work alfadriver!

Ive never been a big fan of the blue oval, but given the last 5 years or so (especially the most recent 10 months give or take), my vote is swaying. Ford has at keast been trying to stay out front of their problems rather than grovelling with their hands out. While this technology isnt in a platform I would buy (read FR eng/RR wheel), the journey must start somwhere. At least Ford is interested in pursuing a technology that could blossom into a line of cars people actually want to drive...a fleeting idea these days in Michigan. Work well done!

Now, if they re-did the Pinto Pangra, that would rock!

Yeah, the return of the Pangra would be pretty cool.

The EcoBoost appears to have a predecessor in this Pangra as well.

So... Can you talk about what you did to solve the sooting problem that is usually associated with direct injection?

I have a Solstice that has the 2.0l EcoTec engine that uses direct injection, so I'm a bit curious.

Not trying to rain on the parade, but Mercedes and Isuzu were both using DGI about 4 years ago. The soot problem appears to have already been worked out.

alfadriver wrote: There's one more product that the EcoBoost will go into, but as far as I can see, the actual release hasn't happened. But it will revive an old model, probably not make everyone happy, but for sure, it's faster than previous versions of this car.

Great swammi sez...Mercury Capri.

When can we expect a press release?

yay turbos.

Jensenman wrote: Not trying to rain on the parade, but Mercedes and Isuzu were both using DGI about 4 years ago. The soot problem appears to have already been worked out.

Those companies may have solved it too. I'm curious as to how. It could be as simple as the cat burns them off... Or maybe there are multiple injections per cylinder cycle that create alternating rich and ultra lean burn areas that don't let soot form.

Really cool sounding project. I wonder how one of those GT15 turbo's will work out in other applications....

Although I'm almost sure it's the SHO, I'd love to see it in a Fusion.

Can you help convince Ford to bring us either of these beasts?? 362hp/405lb-ft. Wow.

alfadriver wrote: There's one more product that the EcoBoost will go into, but as far as I can see, the actual release hasn't happened. But it will revive an old model, probably not make everyone happy, but for sure, it's faster than previous versions of this car.

How about a 1.6L or better yet 2.0L Fiesta? I would sell my Focus to get either of those.

DILYSI Dave wrote: Mustangs must have V8's.

Unless it's an SVO...

ReverendDexter wrote:

DILYSI Dave wrote: Mustangs must have V8's.

Unless it's an SVO...

Nope. My statement stands.

Jensenman wrote: Not trying to rain on the parade, but Mercedes and Isuzu were both using DGI about 4 years ago. The soot problem appears to have already been worked out.

PM is sort of an issue for DI engines, especially now that the EPA lowered the standard to 10mg/mi for everyone. So while Mercedes and Isuzu (and Mitsubishi) may have taken care of the visible soot, they may have needed to do more for the stuff you can't see, but is measureable.

None the less, it turns out not to be much of a parade to be rained on. For the most part, injection/piston design and timing will reduce any particulates to a small enough value that it's not an issue.

The way I see it, as long as you avoid hitting any surfaces directly, you will not get smoke. The physics being that hitting things both condenses some of the drops together, and also prevents evaporation due to thin film physics. That leads to drops being present during combustion, thus getting PM.

PM is still a much larger problem for diesel, since their core design is to burn drops.

Eric

Hal wrote:

alfadriver wrote: There's one more product that the EcoBoost will go into, but as far as I can see, the actual release hasn't happened. But it will revive an old model, probably not make everyone happy, but for sure, it's faster than previous versions of this car.

How about a 1.6L or better yet 2.0L Fiesta? I would sell my Focus to get either of those.

There are some ideas, but at the moment, the only thing that I CAN say is that the one V6 pronoucment that is extra is correct. Being concerned for my job, I'm not going to go any farther than that until it's fully public... ;)

+1 to the Auzzie RWD Fords They need a 4 door car with a manual rwd transmission. I dont care if they make it the size focus or P71, just make it a sports car! (Okay, they can have an econo engine/option too for the bean counters)