You are here: Home | News, Events & Advice | 1.6 EcoBoost Bulletproof Engine Block

1.6 EcoBoost Bulletproof Engine Block

Why have Pumspeed gone for Engine Liners ?

The Ecoboost 1.6 Block has a very thin  'cast in' liner, in other words there are 4 tubes of iron suspended in the middle of your alloy engine block that have pistons running up and down inside them. They are stronger than the surrounding alloy and allow the pistons to run with very little bore wear. We have documented why the block shims were required many years ago ( CLICK TO SEE ) but now with these cars getting older and more worn and power outputs going above 400bhp the life of the stock Ford liner rather than the deck area is now comming into question.

Over the final weeks of August 2018 Pumaspeed inspected some 7-8 engines with varying mileage and failures. The findings were quite disturbing, 75% of the blocks were techinacally scrap, appox 50% had cracks down one, two or even three stock Ford liners and all bar one had the terminal deck ovalling problem.  From all the blocks we had only 1 was deemed suitable to be rebuilt as a stock bore motor.

Something had to be done to enable the 1.6 EcoBoost engine to survive the under engineering that Ford put into it.
The tried and tested solution of putting a deck plate into the top of the deck and a shim between each cylinder wouldl never  solve the issue we were seeing.
The only solution would be the tried and tested liner system very similer to the Darton Liners system we have used on the Volvo and Honda motors we know.

Liner devolpment and installation has to be completed by very accurate machinery so pumaspeed have employed a state of the art CNC system to accurately machine the old thin liner away and install the new unit.

After pressing the liner down to a stop lip, the block is then honed to size to suit which ever piston you require from the omega which is 2 thou under sized to some huge 1.5mm over sized we are looking at for added cc. The deck is then skimmed to ensure a fully flat surface to work from. We take the bare minimum off the blocks and heads to ensure compression is maintained at the desired rate.

The new liner is way thicker than stock and more importantly the cast iron liner now sits flush with the deck top and head gasket so is way stronger than the old thin liner and alloy deck. we feel that this system is a massive step forward in developing the power potential from the 1.6 ecoboost and for all the Pumaspeed Blue Top motors we are including this system as standard equipment.

All Competition spec motors unless totally new block from ford will be built using this system from now on, it is the only way to guarantee total reliability.
Our Grey car has been the test bed for one of these units and with the New X57R turbo plus a set of injectors and our uprated fuel cam kit has hit 412 bhp reliably on and off track.

 

TECH SPEC -  PUMASPEED FIESTA Mk8 EcoBoost

POWER OUTPUT-  503bhp @ 29 Psi Boost and 22 degrees Ignition.

ENGINE -
                1.6-1itre four-cylinder EcoBoost GDI from ST180 Mk7
                Pumaspeed Ductile Linered Engine Block Sleeved to suit pistons
                Omega Pistons (2-thou undersized)
                Sainz lightweight Connecting Rods
                Area 6 Ported Cylinder Head with Standard 1.6 valves
                Piper Stage 2 cams with Piper uprated Single Valve springs
                OE Ford Engine Bearings
                R-Sport Cross braced Baffled Sump System

Fuel System -
                Bosch Uprated DI Injector Set with approx. 35% extra flow – Modified with double
                seals to suit OE tip position.
                Pumaspeed High Flow Fuel Camshaft adaptation
               

Turbo System -
                Pumaspeed G25-550 External Wastegate with Unique Reverse-Rotation to promote spool          from short runner design and lower angle pipework.
                Tial 44mm External Wastegate and Screamer Pipe

ECU System -

                SCS Delta GDI Stand Alone ECU Specific for Mk8 Can Data.

Clutch Kit -
                Pumaspeed ST200 Plus Clutch and Stock Flywheel 
                (We will be upgrading to Pumaspeed Single Mass Flywheel and Sprung Centre Plate  in                 January 2020)

Induction System -
                Air Filter System - R-Sport Fiesta 1.6 ST180 Stage 3 Cold Air Induction System
                Intercooling –  R-sport Pro 400 Gen 2 Intercooler Kit
                Boost Pipe kit –  Pumaspeed Racing silicone hose kit plus 63mm Alloy Hot Side and Custom                                          Alloy Cold Side
               
Exhaust system -
                R-sport 3 inch DeCat Downpipe.
                Modified Milltek ST180 70mm exhaust system;

Cooling System -
                Pumaspeed Racing silicone hoses  R-Sport Triple-Pass Alloy Radiator
 
Transmission -
                 Stock IB6 Gearbox fitted with Gripper Diff with Custom Drive shafts and custom Mk7 Gear         Linkage.

Suspension & Brakes -
                Bilstein B14 Coilover kit
                Pumaspeed Racing 330mm Front Kit with DS3000 Pads – Rear Stock Mk8 Callipers and Pads
 

Wheels and Tyres-
                 8x17in Ultralite wheels fitted with 235/40 x 17 Conti Sport 5
 

Exterior-
                Pumaspeed Graphics Package,

Aero -
                MGC-designed High-Line Rear Spoiler
                Pumaspeed Low-Line front Splitter lip and Side Skirts

  There have been many sporting variants of the  Fiesta , the Mk1 of course ( testing- the-water 1.3 SuperSport, and subsequently the original XR2), but it was the Mk2 XR2 that was the real cruise culture icon, and Ford of Europe just kept on pushing the envelope, each new generation bringing a more exciting, desirable, resolved and aspirational performance variant:  from the RS Turbo and

RS1800 through the ST150 and beyond, into the ST180 Mk7, it's a truism that fast Fiestas are always winners.

Fast-forward to 2019, however, and things start to get a little confused. The now-discontinued Mk7 Fiesta ST180, with its 1.6-litre EcoBoost motor, was a universally acclaimed creation, winning more awards than you could shake the proverbial stick at. And the current Mk8 ST, with its three- cylinder motor?  That dinky triple may boast similar figures to the Mk7, and the car is unquestionably excellent, as the trophy cabinet at Ford HQ demonstrates... but is this the first time that a hot Fiesta hasn't been quite as good as the model it replaced or has it ?

The simple answer is, er, no actually.
 

We're deliberately leading you up a dark alley. But that hasn't stopped Pumaspeed from tearing the new Mk8 champ apart and retrofitting some older power under the bonnet to turn it into the car Pumaspeed think it should have been from the start.
What you're seeing here is the first and only Mk8 Fiesta to be running a four-cylinder EcoBoost from the revered Mk7. And we at Fast Ford Mag think that's quite a bold move.

The Pumaspeed name will require little introduction to regular readers;  suffice it to say this powerhouse of Ford tuning is no longer focused solely on Pumas. In the twenty years since the company was founded, they've grown into an aftermarket colossus, covering all models and developing into a market-leading authority on EcoBoost tuning. Covering everything from Zetec S models all the way up to the Mk3 Focus RS, they produce many of their own parts and supply premium quality components from around the world. The company's work speaks for itself, and numerous Pumaspeed builds have appeared in these pages over the years, with their parts and advice influencing countless more. So how did this particularly outlandish creation come about? After all, tearing down a new car with the bullish position that you think you can do better is a pretty outrageous game to play.
 

"A lot of people can't believe we've done something like this to such a new car," grins company founder Tony McQuire. "It all started back in February 2018, when we collectively decided to build a one-of-a-kind car simply because we could. The following month, this Fiesta was found on a well- known online salvage auction site; it had a broken strut, front hub and driveshaft, and the rear axle was bent. It also had minor body panel damage, and required new bumpers at each end." But Tony could see straight through the damage and looked only at the massive potential within, and those little cogs in his head started spinning furiously. The Mk8 was duly snapped up, and immediately stripped down to assess what level of repairs were required before the team could start building it up into something sensational. The goal was to have it running and ready by the time Ford Fair rolled around, so there was little time to lose.

"We started by carrying out the repairs necessary for it to run and drive first," Tony continues, "and then in April we took it down to SCS Delta for explorative ECU development after many, many discussions about the engine! And by June we were in-depth in the creation of a very expensive one-of-a-kind motor..."

                The specs are formidable, as it was never the intention to simply fit a stock ST180 four- pot in the Mk8 and leave it at that. This was always going to be a radical headturner of a car, a master of the double-take when the bonnet was lifted, so the Pumaspeed team were keen to ensure that this particular four-cylinder EcoBoost pushed all the right emotive buttons. The firm's proprietary ductile liner conversion prepared the internals for 2-thou undersized Omega pistons, while a set of Sainz lightweight rods were fully balanced to suit the 8,750- 9,000rpm redline. A set of Stage 2 cams from Piper were popped in the top among the ported head, and fuelling was improved via a set of larger injectors along with the Pumaspeed 'Full Flow' modification to allow 20% extra fuel delivery. You'll also spot a variety of goodies from R-Sport, namely the air filter, triple-pass alloy radiator, Pro 400 GEN 2 intercooler, and de-cat - the latter of which working with a Milltek exhaust system that's been mildly modified to fit.
                After all of those long and complex Conversations, SCS Delta's ECU solution has been fully integrated into the stock Mk8 loom, meaning that all the functionality of the standard dash has been retained, and all of the ones-and-zeroes have been corralled to result in a mighty 440bhp on medium boost, or 503bhp on high boost. These are staggering figures, and this is thanks in large part to Pumaspeed's supremely clever reverse-rotation G25-550 turbo setup. "This was designed from the ground up to lower spool times with its unique reverse-rotation exhaust housing," Tony explains. "It enables shorter primary pipe runs from the cylinder head to the exhaust housing, So we're looking at 2-bar of boost at only 3,500rpm and a massive rev range of up to 8,250."

                Naturally there's more to this car than just an engine; while the extra cylinder may be the party piece, the entire car has been engineered to cope with the huge power and deploy it effectively. The transmission (with its custom gear linkage) has been augmented by a Gripper LSD, helping apportion power logically through the custom driveshafts, while the factory suspension has been ousted for high-end Bilstein B14s.
                The spectre of the Mk7 ST walks tall throughout the build too, with the older model donating its front brakes initially ( now replaced by Pumaspeed’s own 330mm 4 Pot Kit as well as ST180 front seats, and while it would have been fun to wrap all of this magic up inside a sleeper shell, it makes far more sense as a demonstrator to look suitably outrageous - hence the almighty rear wing and full Pumaspeed graphics package.

                "The Mk8 ST platform is an absolute dream to own and drive" Tony assures us, "and dare I say its way better than the Mk7 in every regard and now that it has the four-cylinder engine at its heart it has the muscle to go with the chassis. We use its 440bhp as a daily driver as well as a track toy, and it's perfect for both. “
               
                What Pumaspeed have created here is, in essence, a very appropriate continuation of the long, Iong line of hot Fiestas:  a scene-shifting monster it may be in some respects, but it's very much a trailblazer, its the first Mk8 road car to run a four-cylinder EcoBoost but given the performance and evident potential on display here, we don't imagine it'll be the last.

Fast Ford Magazine  - November 2019

 

 

 

https://www.2skin.co.uk/product/stronger-sweatshirt-black/