10th November, 2005
- New 250 hp 3.5-litre V-6 key to Ford’s future, powering one in five of the
company’s North American products by the end of the decade
- New engine offers better performance, fuel economy and emissions
- New V-6 debuts next year on the Ford Edge and Lincoln Aviator crossover
utility vehicles
- Mated to new 6-speed automatic for up to a 7 percent improvement in highway
fuel economy
- Engine designed with the future in mind – capable of super-clean PZEV
emissions, hybrids, direct-injection and turbocharging
Ford yesterday unveiled its new 3.5-litre V-6 engine, a more powerful
and cleaner engine that, eventually, will be under the bonnet of one in five Ford
products in North America, including the new Ford Edge and Lincoln Aviator
crossover utility vehicles (CUVs) debuting next year.
“Our new 3.5-litre V-6 is a key component in Ford’s global powertrain
strategy, which is to provide what customers want, when they want it,” says Barb
Samardzich, Ford vice president of Powertrain Operations. “This powertrain is an
innovative solution to answering the call for better fuel efficiency, more
refinement, more power and clean emissions, without any sacrifices.”
The new engine will be mated to a new 6-speed automatic transaxle in the Ford
Edge and Lincoln Aviator. The combination will deliver improved fuel economy of
up to 7 percent and improved sustained acceleration compared with a typical
4-speed automatic.
Power in a Compact, Modern Package Ford’s new V-6 produces 250
horsepower and 240 pound-feet of torque with a 3.5-litre displacement unit with
a height and width that is the same as Ford’s smaller Duratec 30 V-6. This
enables Ford to install the engine in a wide variety of current and future
products.
In developing the new engine, Ford engineers targeted excellent performance,
fuel economy and low exhaust emissions. In addition, engineers designed the
engine to work together in harmony with Ford’s new 6F 6-speed automatic. By
analysing the transaxle and engine together, noise, vibration and harshness
characteristics of the powertrain were optimised to ensure a quiet, trouble-free
driving experience.
The all-new 3.5-litre V-6 architecture provides significant flexibility to
incorporate additional engine technologies. The 3.5-litre engineering team
included extra provisions to make upgrades relatively simple. These upgrades
include such potential features as hybrid capability, petrol direct injection
and direct-injection turbo charging.
A Solid Foundation – Durability and NVH Every world-class engine
starts with a solid foundation. To optimise the base engine structure to provide
outstanding durability and NVH, the lower-end design of the 3.5-litre engine
features a forged-steel, fully counterweighted crankshaft with
induction-hardened journals, fractured-split, powder metal-forged connecting
rods and high-temperature alloy, cast aluminium pistons. These components are
housed in a High Pressure Diecast (HPDC) aluminum cylinder block featuring
six-bolt mains with cast in cast-over iron liners.
The engine’s cylinder block design represents the first application of a
high-pressure die-cast block for a V-configuration engine for Ford Motor
Company. Ford chose HPDC over more conventional semi-permanent and sand casting
processes because:
- Reduced raw material requirements (lower weight than if designed for
conventional sand casting)
- Tighter casting process control capability
- Better and more consistent casting qualities
- Elimination of reliance on casting processes that have byproducts requiring
strict environmental controls
- Reduction of expensive post-casting processing (cleaning, heat treating,
machining and assembly) requirements
Ford deployed extensive CAE modeling to reduce lead-time, optimise die design
and simulate critical process parameters to help ensure a consistent, robust
casting.
High Airflow, Optimised Combustion – Performance, Fuel Economy and
Emissions The 3.5-litre V-6’s upper-end was designed as a system, all the
way from the throttle body to the exhaust manifolds, to create the optimum flow
for peak power and a broad torque curve. CAE analysis was used to fine-tune each
component to deliver the required airflow without the need for intake flaps or
butterfly valves in the system. Advanced throttle-control software enables
precise tuning of engine response to fit the character of each vehicle
application while setting the engine to run at its peak efficiency for optimal
fuel economy.
The 3.5-litre V-6 uses a compact, lightweight dual-overhead cam valvetrain
for peak power capability and smooth operation at high RPMs. The engine also
incorporates intake variable cam timing (iVCT) to optimise valve timing for a
smooth idle, optimal part-load driving and an impressively broad torque curve
with good power. The iVCT system uses a hydraulically actuated spool valve that
can rotate the intake camshafts up to 40 degrees within a half-second. A
low-friction, roller-chain cam drive contributes to fuel efficiency.
Optimised Cylinder Head Produced with Flexible Machining The
aluminium cylinder heads in Ford’s new V-6 are designed for high airflow and
optimised combustion to support performance, fuel economy and low emissions. CAE
was used extensively to develop the airflow and combustion system performance
for this cylinder head design. This efficient combustion is enhanced by
incorporating a centrally located spark plug and a high 10.3:1 compression
ratio. The cylinder heads also were designed to accommodate fuel-efficient
technology upgrades such as petrol direct injection.
Low Emissions Capability Ford’s new 3.5-litre engine is PZEV
capable right out of the box. Careful design consideration for the combustion
system and catalysts provide an engine that can meet stringent emissions
standards without the need for expensive add-on technology.
“The 3.5-litre V-6 is capable of achieving PZEV certification by delivering
low cold-start emissions and enabling rapid catalyst light-off, which is a
significant accomplishment for a larger displacement V-6 engine,” says Tom
McCarthy, engine systems manager for the 3.5-litre V-6 engine programme. This is
accomplished with low heat-loss exhaust manifolds and close-coupled catalysts
for fast light off during cold start. Optimised fuel injector targeting
minimises cold-start emissions before the catalysts reach operating temperature.
2006 Lincoln Zephyr (foreground) and a
sneak look at 2007 Lincoln Aviator (background)
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