Ford's EcoBoost engine proves fuel efficient at higher altitudes
17 Sep 2008
Mumbai: Ford Motor says that its turbocharged Ford 3.5-litre EcoBoost V-6 engine keeps going strong, producing full torque, even at one mile above sea level although auto stats show that the performance of most car engines decreases as a vehicle climbs to higher altitude. Infact the high performing V-8 engine will produce up to 15 per cent less torque when climbing up steep hills, says a Ford technical expert.
The beauty behind Ford's EcoBoost engine technology is that it provides improved fuel efficiency without sacrificing performance. In simple terms this means that V-6 engines with EcoBoost will have the performance of a V-8 and the fuel economy of a small V-6 engine.
Likewise, the technology allows a 4-cylinder engine to deliver significant fuel savings while delivering performance figures better than many V-6 engines on the road today.
The automaker plans to introduce this exclusive Ford technology next year on the Ford Flex, Ford Taurus and Lincoln MKS and, overtime, will be applied across Ford's engine product lineup.
Ford is driving its vehicles with EcoBoost engines at higher altitudes to ensure that customers are ware of the fuel savings , even at a steep altitude. Ford's early engine testing shows that the 3.5-litre EcoBoost V-6 is capable of maintaining peak horsepower at up to approximately 2,000 feet above sea level. In comparison, a naturally aspirated engine loses an estimated 3 to 4 percent of its horsepower per 1,000 feet above sea level.
Turbocharged engines perform better than naturally aspirated engines at higher altitudes because the turbocharger can maintain the air density in the intake manifold as the atmospheric pressure drops off, allowing the desired torque to be maintained. In a normally aspirated engine, the reducing pressure means that the engine gets less air into the intake manifold, less fuel is available to burn, and therefore, less torque and power is produced.
For high-altitude inhabitants wondering if there are other possible remedies for this loss in vehicle performance, Ford's Brett Hinds, advanced engine design and development manager, adds, ''The only real option that a customer has to compensate for the dropping atmospheric pressure is with a boosting device such as a turbocharger or supercharger. Changing from regular to premium fuel, for example, would not produce very much benefit.''
Honeywell Turbo Technologies, a technology leader in engine boosting and modern turbo technologies, estimates that the global turbocharger segment will grow from 30 percent of the overall automotive market to more than 38 percent by 2013 as automakers look to boost engines to help increase fuel efficiency, deliver great performance and reduce emissions.
