This paper summarizes an investigative study done to evaluate the feasibility of a Ford Duratec engine in 2.0 L Touring Car Racing. The investigative study began in early 1996 due to an interest by British Touring Car Championship and North American Touring Car Championship sanctioning bodies to modify rules & demand the engine be production based in the vehicle entered for competition. The current Ford Touring Car entry uses a Mazda based V-6. This Study was intended to determine initial feasibility of using a 2.0 L Duratec V-6 based on the production 2.5L Mondeo engine. Other benefits expected from this study included; learning more about the Duratec engine at high speeds, technology exchange between a production and racing application, and gaining high performance engineering experience for production engineering personnel.
In order to begin the Duratec feasibility study, an initial analytical study was done using Ford CAE tools. Additional analytical work was done with respect to the basic effects of bore, stroke, and per cylinder displacement on the air speed, filling capability, piston speed, and friction of the engine. Benchmarking and other considerations were given to surface to volume ratio, compression ratio and combustion chamber shape, overall engine package, etc.
Though the resulting paper studies yielded a basic indication that the Duratec engine would not be competitive in 2.0L form for Touring Car Racing, many lessons were learned about the limits of the engine. This paper describes the results of the actual development program and their correlation to the analytical work.