Originally posted by: Cheesehead
Originally posted by: thedarkwolf
The block maybe aluminum but the cylinders will be sleeved. Aluminum wears out too quickly with the rings rubbing on them. Think the old 70s chevy monza was the last aluminum engine that tried it without sleeves and they didn't last too long.
How is it, then, that
none of the Foci I have ever sat in have this problem? Or my dad's Mazda3?
Originally posted by: Elganja
fyi... on my 03 cobra I made 635rwhp and 589rwtq... that was on a completely stock block. point being, power can be made...
Well, yes. I'm guessing that you used parts with lower tolerances, reduced weight, and greater strength. My point is that there's nothing wrong with the Modular V8 - they could just build it a little better.
I would think that if you used the weight-reducing tricks they've applied to the LS7 (plastic air bits, mostly) and built the engines to the same tolerances as, say, Audi, you could get a very light engine capable of producing quite a lot of power.
Focus have used three vastly different motor designs, widely available, and two variants which were much rarer.
(1)- 2.0L SPI ~105HP, this is old Ford motor, pretty close to the old Ranger motor IIRC.
(2)- 2.0L Zetec ~130HP, newer Ford motor, despite the name does not have Variable Valve timing or anything similar to Vtec.
(3)- 2.0L SVT Tune Zetec, ~170HP, lots of upgraded internals, etc, (pretty rare).
(4)- 2.0L Duratec, 136, 140, or 143HP depending on year. Best match of fuel economy/power as of yet for Focus.
(5)- 2.3L Duratec, 148 or 153HP, depending on PZEV or not. Very rare. Same design as 2.0 with different head I believe.
I have a 2.0L Duratec in my '08 Focus, and using Mobil SuperSyn, the thing is eerily quiet at idle, and revs smoothly. Duratec sometimes have hanging revs though, and I see that from time to time.