Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Ford Mustang V-6 Aims to Run 1000 Laps of Bristol Speedway on Single Tank of Gas


Ford’s 2011 Mustang V-6 recently became the most fuel-efficient pony car in the segment, but in order to publicly display its fuel economy, the automaker is aiming to complete 1000 laps at the Bristol Motor Speedway on a single tank of fuel.

“We all know how much fun it is to drive a Mustang, but in today’s market, it’s also about fuel economy,” said Jaimie Allison, director of Ford’s North American motorsports activities. “By going 1000 laps on one of NASCAR’s most popular tracks, we expect to show that Mustang can be mean and green.”

The Mustang V-6 is no stranger to Bristol -- it served as the pace car during the Food City 500 at the track this past weekend -- but this event will truly test the car’s green mettle. 1000 laps at Bristol roughly equates to 533 miles. Assuming the Mustang achieves its EPA-rated 31 mpg highway figure, it has an estimated range of 496 miles on a single tank (16 gallons) of fuel. In order to extend that range an extra 40 miles, the car will need to average at least 33 mpg.

Consumers won’t be able to pilot the car around the track on June 23, but Ford is giving them a chance to be involved with the stunt. Ford is holding a competition to guess how many laps the Mustang will make on a single tank of gas. A winner -- randomly drawn from those who guess correctly -- will receive a brand-new 2011 Mustang V-6. Register your guess at Mustang1000LapChallenge.

Source: Motortrend

Ford's EcoBoost Continues to Downsize



Fiesta, Focus to Get 0.9-Liter Three Cylinder, 1.2-Liter EcoBoost Options

The new-generation Ford Focus... read full caption

The new-generation Ford Focus is set to be unveiled at the 2010 Detroit show.Ford will adapt its Ecoboost concept to a three-cylinder 0.9 and 1.2-liter engines for the Fiesta and upcoming Focus. At 1.2-liters, the engine will be capable of about 135horsepower and 135 lb-ft of torque from about 1500 rpm.

The engine will be available in the Fiesta from its mid-cycle facelift around three years from now. In Europe it will eventually go into the Focus too, replacing the current 1.6 and 1.8-liter four-cylinder gas engines, but it will probably be considered too small for a U.S. Focus.

Ecoboost works by combining three critical technologies: dual variable valve timing for the twin-cam head, direct gas-injection and a turbo. The direct injection means a higher compression ratio of 10 to 1 can be used for much greater efficiency than regular turbo engines. There is no possibility of knock because the fuel is injected late in the cycle, and less NOx is created because the evaporating fuel cools the piston.

The overall result is an engine with an impressive power and torque curve, good throttle response and great efficiency because the downsizing means less friction and mass, and more efficient light-throttle running.

Using small engines with fewer cylinders also improves handling by cutting front-axle weight. This is especially important in small cars such as the Fiesta.



The three-cylinder Ecoboost will reportedly need dual balance shafts to reduce vibration, but otherwise will share most components with the four-cylinder.

Ford is introducing the 2.0-liter Ecoboost four-cylinder in the Galaxy minivan and Mondeo sedan this spring. It makes 200-250 horsepower, and will replace five-and six-cylinder engines across the European and U.S. Ford ranges.

In mid-year the new C-Max (which is coming to the U.S. as part of the Focus family) will launch the 1.6-liter Ecoboost. This motor replaces 2.0 and larger four-cylinder engines and is central to the 2011 Focus range.

Source: AOL Autos

Friday, March 5, 2010

2011 Ford Shelby GT500



Shelby GT500 finally gets aluminum engine, loses 120 pounds

Ever since Ford introduced the modern Shelby GT500 four years ago, almost no one has complained about the prodigious power levels produced by its supercharged 5.4-liter V8. With as much as 540 horsepower and 510 pound-feet of torque in the 2010 model, there was no shortage of grunt. No, the issue was an excess of mass.

Before the contemporary GT500 was born, Ford had a blown aluminum block 5.4-liter V8 in the short lived GT supercar. However, when the engineers at Ford's Special Vehicle Team developed the GT500, they opted to mount the GT's cylinder heads on the cast iron block used in the big F-Series pickup trucks. After debuting a visual refresh for the Mustang a year ago, Ford has spent the last two months announcing fresh new powertrains for the base and GT models. That process has now come full circle with SVT rolling out a heart transplant for the Shelby GT500. The 2011 model finally has the aluminum powerplant we all wanted when it debuted, and the effect is absolutely en-lightening.

The SVT engineers actually had a reason for going with the iron block in the first place. Mustangs like the GT500 and its Cobra ancestors often end up being heavily modified for use at drag strips and race tracks, and the SVT crew wanted to make sure the standard block could stand up to the rigors of those significantly higher outputs. They chose not to use an aluminum block until they had a chance to develop one with the same strength as the iron version, and that time has now come.

We recently had a chance to sit down with GT500 chief nameplate engineer Jamal Hameedi in his office at SVT's headquarters to learn more about what's new for 2011. Switching to an aluminum block was a bit more complicated than simply digging out the casting molds that were used for the GT. The engine in that 200+ mph supercar used a dry sump lubrication system and featured iron cylinder liners. The new GT500 engine is derived from the structural design of the older block but retains the wet sump system used in other Mustangs. The real magic is something that most owners will likely never actually see.



Last June we learned about an award that several Ford researchers had received for a cylinder bore coating system they developed called the Plasma Transferred Wire Arc (PTWA) process. The Ford press release at the time framed the award in terms of fuel efficiency and gave no real hint about what was about to come. It now turns out that the first production Ford to use the PTWA process will be the 2011 GT500.

The heart of the PTWA process involves feeding a steel wire into a device that heats it up to 35,000 degrees Fahrenheit and then sprays it onto the aluminum cylinder bores. Ford is not actually the first company to use a process like this. Similar mechanisms have been used to coat the fan blades in jet engines for a number of years. One of the primary differences is that Ford is using PTWA with a conventional steel alloy rather than some super exotic aerospace material. Ford isn't even the first automaker to use this specific coating process. That honor falls to Nissan, which actually licensed the technology from Ford for use on its V6 engine in the GT-R.

Hameedi believes that Ford has an important advantage over Nissan. Anyone that has ever used a teflon-coated pan is familiar with the problem of the non-stick coating peeling off over time. In the past BMW has also had issues with the nickasil coatings prematurely separating on some of its aluminum blocks. Getting any dissimilar materials to adhere to each other is always a problem, so the initial surface has to be specially prepared in order for the coating to have something to hang on to. Nissan licensed Ford's coating technology but used its own surface preparation process. According to Hameedi, Ford's surface preparation works so well that even after engines have gone through a full durability cycle the bores still look like new.

Using the PTWA process allows the block to have a thinner surface coating – only 150 microns deep – that is just as tough as one with cast or pressed-in iron or steel liners. However, using less material results in lower weight. According to Hameedi, the GT500 block is 8.5 pounds lighter than the sleeved GT version. Overall, the complete engine is 102 pounds lighter than the 2010 cast iron engine. The steel coating has also helped Ford reduce the internal friction of the engine, aiding both efficiency and power production.

Hameedi explained that some drag racers complained of power drop off on humid summer days, which was attributed to reduced heat transfer efficiency. SVT addressed this with a larger intercooler that helps the engine deliver more consistent power over its entire operating range as well as under different environmental conditions. Hameedi tells Autoblog that the new aluminum block engine should be able to survive "at least" as much maximum power in modified form as the iron block equivalent. Also aiding breathing is a larger exhaust system with 2.75 inch header pipes like those on the new 5.0-liter in the Mustang GT. Out of the box, the new powerplant delivers 10 more horsepower bringing the tally up to 550 hp with the same peak torque of 510 pound-feet. Eighty percent of that torque is available everywhere between 1,750 rpm and 6,250 rpm.

For 2011, Hameedi tells us "We're at the top of the power heap, we're the fastest accelerating vehicle, so this really wasn't about going any faster in a straight line. This was about improving the weight distribution and handling of the vehicle." The new engine contributed to a 120 pound overall weight reduction with most of that coming off the front axle. Most of the rest of the weight loss came from new lighter weight wheels that are part of the SVT Performance Package. The front wheels that come with the Performance Package remain 19 inches in diameter but are 4.7 pounds lighter. The rears grow to 20 inches but are still 2.8 pounds lighter. Cutting unsprung mass is never a bad thing when it comes to both ride quality and handling. Along with the extra rear grip provided by the larger Performance Package wheels and tires, SVT has added a 3.73:1 rear axle ratio.



Like other 2011 Mustangs, the GT500 gets a new electric power assist steering (EPAS) system that Hameedi describes as "extremely precise." At parking lot speeds, he describes the steering effort as Lincoln-like but it rapidly builds up as you drive more aggressively and it supposedly has excellent on-center feel, something that is often tough to achieve with EPAS. We'll have to wait a few more months to find out just how precise that is since we won't get to drive the car until Spring.

Getting any high-powered car to accelerate, stop or turn is highly dependent on the adhesion between the tire and the road surface, especially when it's wet. SVT has adopted the latest generation Goodyear F1 supercar tires for the 2011 GT500, which Hameedi says are "a major step" beyond the previous version in both wet and dry grip. With the reduced mass on the front axle, SVT has also modified the spring and damper rates on both base and Performance Package models. The latter version gets 20.5-percent stiffer front springs and 9.5-percent tighter rears that also bring the front end 11 millimeters closer to the road and the rear 8 mm lower.

One of the main criticisms of the Mustang convertible ever since the S197 debuted for 2005 (actually ever since pretty much forever) is a lack of structural integrity. Because of that flexibility, the 2010 model GT500 convertible was actually considered more of a cruiser model and was thus tuned more for ride comfort than handling. Thus the old convertible was only available with 18-inch wheels. For 2011, SVT took the lead on developing an upgraded body structure for the convertibles that should help keep the corners of the car from moving relative to each other. The effort was successful enough that the changes are being implemented across the board on all 2011 Mustang convertibles. The 2011 GT500 convertible also gets bumped up to the 19-inch wheels and offers handling that is supposedly much closer to the coupe without degrading the ride comfort.

For those who want the sun to shine but still want the extra stiffness of the coupe, the GT500 is now available with the glass roof that has been available on regular Mustangs for the past two years.



Regardless of the roof type, Hameedi tells us that the GT500 has "a very different driving experience driving an '11 from a '10, they're much more nimble, they feel more alive, the steering is quicker." The straight-line acceleration was improved by about 1/10th of second, but overall drivability and handling are said to be vastly improved. The upgrades are far more apparent on a road course than they are at the drag strip. According to SVT spokesman Patrick Hespen, the 2011 GT500 model is three seconds a lap faster than the 2010 around a certain un-named 2.3-mile-long, northern California racetrack that happens to play host to a big historic racing event every August. Closer to home at Grattan raceway in west Michigan, the 2011 GT500 is also about 2.5-3 seconds a lap faster. Given the relatively modest power increase, those are some big numbers.

The Performance Package also gets some modest visual differentiators including narrower racing stripes down the center of the body along with the new wheel design. Inside the car, the shift knob on the Performance Package model lacks the stripes found on the base model.

While most GT500 drivers are unlikely to be too concerned about fuel efficiency, it is a political and commercial reality that Ford does have to deal with. The EPA rated the 2010 GT500 at 14 mpg city and 22 mpg highway and slapped a $1,000 gas guzzler tax on the hood. The addition of EPAS, reduced mass and reduced friction all helped to improve the 2011 GT500's EPA numbers to 15 and 23 mpg and cleared the GT500of the dreaded guzzler label.

Finally, just like the new 2011 V6 and GT Mustangs, the GT500 will go into production this Spring with an on-sale date before Summer. We'll be anxiously awaiting our first time behind the wheel of the 2011 Ford Shelby GT500.

Source

2011 Ford Mustang V6

2011 Ford Mustang V6 rated 31 mpg highway, most efficient 300+ HP car ever


2011 Ford Mustang V6 at the 2009 LA Auto Show

The pony car wars are about one-upsmanship if nothing else. The Ford Mustang held court for years while Chevrolet and Dodge had their horses on hiatus, but times have changed. The new Camaro has been whaling on the Mustang ever since its return, beating the Ford in sales for nine months straight and offering a range engines that are at once more powerful and efficient than the Blue Oval's aging mills. Advantage: Camaro.

The Mustang, however, received a nicely executed redesign for its 2010 model year and, as is Ford's way, the automaker waited another model year to introduce its new range of engines. You already know all about the return of the storied 5.0 moniker on this year's new Mustang GT. You also know that the V6 model is replacing its Civil War era 4.0-liter engine with a more powerful and efficient 3.7-liter. Powerful as in 305 horsepower, but how efficient? We didn't know before but we do now. The 2011 Ford Mustang V6 will achieve 19 miles per gallon in the city and, more noteworthy, 31 mpg on the highway.

The V6 model's rating of 30 mpg highway (when paired with the six-speed auto mind you, the manual version achieves 30 mpg) is noteworthy because, well, it's 2 mpg more than the slightly less powerful 304-hp Camaro V6. Also, it's a record for being the first 300+ hp vehicle to be officially rated at 30 mpg or more. Wow, think about that. It's never been done before. Sure, the new Mustang V6 is only marginally more powerful and efficient than its Camaro counterpart, but clawing above that 30 mpg mark will no doubt get Ford's thoroughbred some extra ink in the press.

Follow the jump for Ford's official press release on the matter, in which it explains a little more how those magic numbers were achieved (Spoiler: aerodynamics, super smart six-speed auto and electric power assisted steering).

New 2011 Ford Mustang V-6 final fuel economy certified by EPA this week at 31 mpg on the highway and 19 mpg in the city
On sale this spring, Mustang with new 3.7-liter V-6 achieves 305 hp with available six-speed automatic transmission; first car ever to achieve 300-plus horsepower and 30-plus mpg
New Mustang already has more than 11,000 orders, half for the new V-6

DEARBORN, Mich., March 4, 2010 – The 2011 Ford Mustang today breaks new ground, cracking the record books as not only the most fuel-efficient Mustang ever, but also the first production car in history to produce more than 300 horsepower and more than 30 mpg highway.

The Mustang's official EPA ratings – completed this week – certify that models equipped with the 305-hp 3.7-liter V-6 and available six-speed automatic transmission achieve 31 mpg on the highway and 19 mpg in the city. The standard six-speed manual transmission is rated at 30 mpg on the highway and 19 mpg in the city.

Mustang is powered by a lightweight, all-aluminum 3.7-liter dual-overhead-cam (DOHC) V-6 engine that uses advanced engineering to deliver its combination of power and economy. Twin Independent Variable Camshaft Timing (Ti-VCT) adjusts the valvetrain in microseconds depending on driver inputs, further contributing to the engine's overall efficiency.

The fact that Mustang achieves its top fuel economy rating with the convenience of an automatic transmission also marks a shift in conventional wisdom. Ford engineered a modern six-speed automatic transmission with carefully calibrated gear ratios and shift programs to maximize economy, while still delivering high-horsepower driving fun.

"Advanced powertrains like our Ti-VCT V-6 and six-speed automatic really speak to the future of Mustang," says Barb Samardzich, Ford vice president of Global Powertrain Engineering. "We've proven that, using technology, Ford can deliver both power and fuel economy."

In addition to engine improvements, upgrades to Mustang's body, powertrain and chassis design contribute to the higher fuel economy numbers for 2011. Examples include:

New Electric Power Assist Steering (EPAS) system eliminates the drag of an engine-operated hydraulic power steering pump

Six-speed manual and automatic transmissions allow lower cruising revs without sacrificing off-the-line performance

Aerodynamic changes include improvements like a new front fascia, tire spats on the rear wheels, modified underbody shields, a taller air dam and an added rear decklid seal

The new 2011 Mustang already has more than 11,000 orders. Half of all the nationwide orders are for the car's fuel-efficient 3.7-liter V-6 engine. The 2011 Mustangs are also being equipped with record levels of technology, giving customers the option of choosing navigation, high-intensity discharge (HID) headlamps and rearview cameras.

The new 2011 Mustang goes on sale this spring and will be built at the AutoAlliance International Plant in Flat Rock, Mich.

Source
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