FFTEC Engine Build in Progress

Hello Everyone!

I'm about to start assembling the next built FFTEC EcoBoost engine so I thought I'd take a few pics and share the details you'd find inside a built EcoBoost engine. Some of you may remember the photos we posted back when we installed the first built EcoBoost motor in our shop car last February. Just in case you missed it, have a look, there's some cool photos in this thread;
http://www.mustang6g.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12744

The development engine in our shop EcoBoost has been working great! Just recently we went to the track and posted an incredible trap speed at our local 1/4 mile dragstrip. Check out the results here, http://www.mustang6g.com/forums/showthread.php?t=26389&highlight=fftec

This engine is significantly better than our first. It's getting a deck guard/cylinder support system to eliminate the weakness of the open deck block and hold the cylinders stable at high power levels. The cylinder head is ported. Of course there will be numerous details, tricks and secrets to improve durability while allowing room to grow as this platform continues to advance. Naturally we'll be using our proven FFTEC forged piston/rod assembly just like the assembly we use on our record setting shop car. More details on this page;
http://www.fftec.com/item/1848/FFTE...and_Connecting_Rod_2015_Mustang_EcoBoost.html

I will be updating this thread regularly so check back for more.



Onto the pics! The first step begins with mounting the block on an engine stand and performing the final cleaning.
The first pic shows the upper block with the cylinder support reinforcement installed.



2nd pic shows the crank girdle on the underside, an excellent one-piece design.

Subbing

Hi David some questions if you don't mind
I like that crank girdle! is that oem?
Will you be keeping the balance shaft?
I read the stock rods are forged but thin, have you noticed any bending or warping and at what power levels?
On this engine I assumed the cast pistons are the first weak link, but now I'm thinking it would be the head gasket, your thoughts on that?
Why oh Why ford would you use an open deck on a Turbo Engine?:frusty:.

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Subbing for free porn at work.

Glenn G said:

Hi David some questions if you don't mind
I like that crank girdle! is that oem?
Will you be keeping the balance shaft?
I read the stock rods are forged but thin, have you noticed any bending or warping and at what power levels?
On this engine I assumed the cast pistons are the first weak link, but now I'm thinking it would be the head gasket, your thoughts on that?
Why oh Why ford would you use an open deck on a Turbo Engine?:frusty:.

Click to expand...

Hi Glenn,
Good questions! The crank girdle is OEM. This engine will have the balance shaft assembly deleted. The stock rods are forged, but not a high quality forging. It's hard to see in pics but the finish and grain of the stock rods is coarse and cheap. Here's a stock piston/rod;


The stock headgasket is nice, it's a multilayer steel gasket (MLS) with an extra layer that only surrounds the cylinders. I'll see if I can take a pic. Overall the headgasket is a good design.

The stock open deck design on this engine has a few features that help add strength. Ford raised the floor of the waterjacket so it supports the lower half of the cylinders, similar to the BMW N54 engine which has proven to hold 143 HP per cylinder (861 RWHP) on the stock engine. Check this out if you want to see the current record holding stock block BMW 335.
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1104103&highlight=world+record

David@FFtec said:

Hi Glenn,
Good questions! The crank girdle is OEM. This engine will have the balance shaft assembly deleted. The stock rods are forged, but not a high quality forging. It's hard to see in pics but the finish and grain of the stock rods is coarse and cheap. Here's a stock piston/rod;

The stock headgasket is nice, it's a multilayer steel gasket (MLS) with an extra layer that only surrounds the cylinders. I'll see if I can take a pic. Overall the headgasket is a good design.

The stock open deck design on this engine has a few features that help add strength. Ford raised the floor of the waterjacket so it supports the lower half of the cylinders, similar to the BMW N54 engine which has proven to hold 143 HP per cylinder (861 RWHP) on the stock engine. Check this out if you want to see the current record holding stock block BMW 335.
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1104103&highlight=world+record

Click to expand...

So it's a stopper type headgasket which is good but you still decided to go with cylinder bracing to fill in the open head, is that because toy are concerned more about distortion in the unsupported parts of the cylinder or to better distribute the clamping force on the head.
I come from Supras and Skylines both using closed decks, and we always used to make fun of the boosted Honda guys when their headgaskets let go because of warped heads from the open decks when they increased torque on the headstuds to prevent head lift at high boost. I won't even get into sunken sleeves as I'm sure you probably know more about it than me!

I like the idea of closing the deck for the sake of improved head gasket sealing, if nothing else. When I did a full fill on my closed deck 4g63, head gasket sealing improved a lot. Unfilled a felpro MLS would push around a cup of water per pass at ~45 psi boost. I ran it that way for years. After the fill, the same gasket/stud setup would hold all the way to 60 psi with no issues and not a drop of water pushed. 60 psi plus a 100 shot was the limit though, major gasket failure and torched head ~700 feet out every time. So I had to change gasket/stud setup, weld the deck on the head, and have inserts installed in the headstud holes. Long story short, closing the deck seems like a step in the right direction with these motors, so I'm having one built now with the CNCwerx CSS and a truck load of FFtec parts.

Kjewer1 said:

I like the idea of closing the deck for the sake of improved head gasket sealing, if nothing else. When I did a full fill on my closed deck 4g63, head gasket sealing improved a lot. Unfilled a felpro MLS would push around a cup of water per pass at ~45 psi boost. I ran it that way for years. After the fill, the same gasket/stud setup would hold all the way to 60 psi with no issues and not a drop of water pushed. 60 psi plus a 100 shot was the limit though, major gasket failure and torched head ~700 feet out every time. So I had to change gasket/stud setup, weld the deck on the head, and have inserts installed in the headstud holes. Long story short, closing the deck seems like a step in the right direction with these motors, so I'm having one built now with the CNCwerx CSS and a truck load of FFtec parts.

Click to expand...

Yeah the cup of water on a pass is classic head lift, What did you fill with hard blok? I never trusted open deck deck design because they always have issues with the massive stress differences so close together on the head,

When I eventually have to rebuild mine I will probably contact fftec for this peice:clap2:

I think the cup of water per pass was just the block squirming around, since filling it with no other changes stopped that. If it had been lifting, it would still have lifted after the fill. Either way, it was some type of commercial product made for this purpose. I believe there are two out there and I forget which was used. Hard Blok is one. My machinist has been doing it for me since we first tried it.

The CSS insert is a really nice piece. Top quality work.

So glad I subscribed, learning so much

This is actually my engine that Dave and the guys at FFTEC are putting together. I'm super excited to see it all coming together and can't wait to drive it. I can't say enough about the support and professionalism I've witnessed working with FFTEC. I've bugged them with a ton of questions on this build and they've been very understanding and helpful with their timely answers.

In no particular order a big thank you to Dave, Mike, Sean, and Anthony over there!

Same here, those guys have been very helpful in our build.

David@FFtec said:

Hi Glenn,
Good questions! The crank girdle is OEM. This engine will have the balance shaft assembly deleted. The stock rods are forged, but not a high quality forging. It's hard to see in pics but the finish and grain of the stock rods is coarse and cheap. Here's a stock piston/rod;

The stock headgasket is nice, it's a multilayer steel gasket (MLS) with an extra layer that only surrounds the cylinders. I'll see if I can take a pic. Overall the headgasket is a good design.

The stock open deck design on this engine has a few features that help add strength. Ford raised the floor of the waterjacket so it supports the lower half of the cylinders, similar to the BMW N54 engine which has proven to hold 143 HP per cylinder (861 RWHP) on the stock engine. Check this out if you want to see the current record holding stock block BMW 335.
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1104103&highlight=world+record

Click to expand...

I am impressed with the BMW-that's about 1,000 hp on a stock block N54.

I predict we'll be seeing 1000 hp Ecoboosts by next year-if not this year. Can't wait!

Billy1 said:

I am impressed with the BMW-that's about 1,000 hp on a stock block N54.

I predict we'll be seeing 1000 hp Ecoboosts by next year-if not this year. Can't wait!

Click to expand...

Hey, its definitely more impressive than my A4, which the current max is around 450whp

I always point out how its only been around for basically less than a year and look at what its capable of!