FiST 1.6L Engine Used In Formula Ford Racing- Almost Stock

[Capri to ST]

This came up in another thread, but I thought it was great because it indicates that these are tough engines if they can stand up to racing, so I started a new thread. On the 2018 Next-Gen thread TrickSTer and M-Sport fan said they thought our engine was used in Formula Ford. I got curious and found a Ford Press Release confirming it. Then I sent an email to Ford's Director of European racing, who said that our engines are used stock in the series with only a dry sump added, and that they are detuned a little to meet series requirements. Here's an excerpt from the Ford document-

Formula Ford evolution
In 2012 the lightweight turbocharged 1.6-litre EcoBoost engine found in the highly acclaimed Fiesta ST was adopted by Formula Ford along with a raft of safety measures which have led to the chassis we see racing today.
Formula Ford is to adopt the FIA Formula 4 Regulations and guidelines in Britain from 2015 onwards.The cars will be powered by the potent and durable 1.6-litre Ford EcoBoost engine which has been successfully race-proven in Formula Ford during the last three seasons of competition.
Ford?s 1.6-liter, four-cylinder EcoBoost engine is very much involved in competition. The British Formula Ford Championship currently runs the 1.6 in essentially stock tune?the same 197-horsepower engine US consumers will be able to buy off the showroom floor in the 2014 Ford Fiesta ST.

http://performance.ford.com/series/...dopts-fia-formula-4-regulations-for-2015.html
http://epub.performanceracing.com/ar...3/article.html

 

[Spaceman_Spiff]

Well. That's good to know. If they can beat up on it and still rely on it, that makes me feel better about the longevity of my little economy car! I have over 203k on my 02 crown victoria with the 4.6. I'm hoping this one will be just as durable.

Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk

 

[Capri to ST]

I was just really impressed that they use our engines in Formula Ford racing.

 

[MKVIIST]

Nice job on contacting Ford.

 

[haste]

Did you ask what the most common failure point was on the engines?

 

[Capri to ST]

Nice job on contacting Ford.

Thanks. The Ford Racing guy was very helpful, and said the whole idea is to take a stock engine and go racing. Formula Ford as I understand it is intended to be an entry-level racing series for aspiring Formula 1 racers. Some very famous drivers like Ayrton Senna got their start there.

 

[haste]

I found an article the engines are tuned to 163 hp/ 163 ft lbs...pretty weak if you ask me.

http://blog.caranddriver.com/ecoboost-goes-racing-new-2012-formula-ford-powered-by-turbocharged-1-6-liter/

Of course, the Formula Ford?s new turbocharged, direct-injected 1.6-liter four is fair game, but it is limited to 163 hp and 162 lb-ft of torque.

 

[jeffreylyon]

Most of the lessor formulas use sealed production spec. (or less) engines, FF, FR, FBMW (motorcycle engine). In reality, racing engines are far, far better maintained than street car engines and are refreshed far more often. Some of the SRF3 guys (non-turbo 1.6 Fiesta engine) are hoping to see 4-5 seasons between refreshes at club-level racing. F4 is serious racing; these engines won't see more than a season between refreshes.

I think that it's more impressive to see a 250 whp FiST with > 60K miles, and there are some of those in the wild.

 

[Capri to ST]

Did you ask what the most common failure point was on the engines?

I did,but don't have an answer yet. The Ford guy was nice enough to give me the contact info for the race series engine tuner, Sodemo Moteurs in France, if I wanted more specific information. All the engines are prepared by the same tuner to reduce cost and prevent anyone from having a power advantage. I asked Sodemo how the durability of the ST engine in the race series had been and whether there were any areas that might need improvement on a street driven one based on their racing experience. I'll post if I get the info from them.

 

[Capri to ST]

Just for fun, this is Ayrton Senna in his first championship in Formula Ford, in 1981-

 

[RAAMaudio]

Just a friendly reminder, Ayrton started in karts far before going to FF as nearly all F1 drivers have to these days, as soon as they can crawl get them racing and have a lot of money to burn over the years.

FF used the old Pinto era engine for many many years but it got pretty pricey for expensive builds, Loyning (spelling) in Portland built the best for many years but a buddy of mine in the 70s' build his own and a few others in his garage nearly as fast and strong. It probably cost far more back then than what the ST engines cost now.

163 HP and ft lbs in a FF is still a quick race car due to weight and aero drag, solid engine mounts, monoball suspension, tiny clutches, button flywheels......

 

[jeffreylyon]

The original (and current club) FF formula used (uses) the 1.6 Kent in a tune very similar to the USDM MK1 Fiesta but balanced and blue printed. I don't think that anyone bought the 71-73 Pinto with the 1.6 - it was a real dog. The current formula is a monster in comparison - lighter, more power, wings-and-things, sequential gear box. etc.

A club formula FF chassis (no aero) with a 1.0 Ecoboost in a ~ 200 HP tune owns the number 11 spot on the Nurburgring record book. Open wheel and sports racers are a different type of quick than street/GT cars.

 

[Intuit]

Racing engines are torn down and rebuilt quite often; possibly every race for the most expensive competitions like Formula One.

A multitude of commercials from auto manufacturers claim to have engines that are "race inspired". Many if not all of the recent advancements in passenger automobile engine design and technology debuted on a racing track... which is a positive because it seems like the battlefield used to be the chief inspiration for technological advancement.

 

[RAAMaudio]

You are correct and even better is nearly all the advancements to make cars better, safer, etc come from racing.

 

[Capri to ST]

I heard back from the Formula Ford race series engine tuner for our engine, Sodemo Moteurs in France, concerning my questions about its durability in racing and whether there are any areas that might need improvement on a street driven one.
His answers were-
1- The race engine is good to do 10,000 kilometers.
2- For a street driven car, he described the engine as "perfectly reliable."

 

[RAAMaudio]

Great info, thanks!

Another really good thing is they are easy to find used and cheap, I have been planning on buying a spare.

 

[Siestarider]

Interesting thread for track hounds. I have 20 track days in my log, have never kept mileage, but probably at least 100 miles per day, so at least 2000 miles. 10,000 km is 6200 miles. So according to these metrics I need to figure on a refresh somewhere around 60.

Also, they are likely running less hp than I at Cobb S3, still have Cyborg on shelf, but it is going in, so my estimated engine life is probably less. Makes me wonder if I should start running a used oil analysis every 10 track days to examine wear.

On the other hand, I am not trying to compete in an identical stock class, so a little drop off in compression and valve seating is not a big deal. Bearing wear should show up in oil analysis.

Just run it till it breaks? Nah, too obsessive to that.

Can't wait to tell wife I need more garage space for spare short block. Nah, better to ask forgiveness. She might not notice if I stash it under our dive gear.

Hmmm, wonder about tranny wear and Quaife. Not so easy to buy spares for them. Nevermind, this has taken a bad turn.

 

[Capri to ST]

Great info, thanks!

Another really good thing is they are easy to find used and cheap, I have been planning on buying a spare.

Interesting- how much does a used 1.6l ecoboost cost, and is that a whole engine or part of it?

 

[Capri to ST]

Interesting thread for track hounds. I have 20 track days in my log, have never kept mileage, but probably at least 100 miles per day, so at least 2000 miles. 10,000 km is 6200 miles. So according to these metrics I need to figure on a refresh somewhere around 60.

Also, they are likely running less hp than I at Cobb S3, still have Cyborg on shelf, but it is going in, so my estimated engine life is probably less. Makes me wonder if I should start running a used oil analysis every 10 track days to examine wear.

On the other hand, I am not trying to compete in an identical stock class, so a little drop off in compression and valve seating is not a big deal. Bearing wear should show up in oil analysis.

Just run it till it breaks? Nah, too obsessive to that.

Can't wait to tell wife I need more garage space for spare short block. Nah, better to ask forgiveness. She might not notice if I stash it under our dive gear.

Hmmm, wonder about tranny wear and Quaife. Not so easy to buy spares for them. Nevermind, this has taken a bad turn.

You're correct that the Formula Ford versions of our engines have less power. See Post #7 above where haste found a Car&Driver blog reporting the race version had 163 hp and 162 lb/ft of torque.

 

[jeffreylyon]

Race engines are build "loser" than production engines to avoid a long break-in period at the expense of a shorter life.