Formula Ford - Engine

Engine

Formula Ford racing cars can be fitted with different engines. After some very early races with the 1500 cc Ford Cortina GT engine, the formula rapidly adopted the OHV 1600 cc Ford Kent engine, using production blocks with little special preparation. In 1993 Ford replaced its Kent block engine with the more modern and more powerful 1800 cc 16-valve Zetec. The advent of the Zetec created a new class of Formula Ford cars popular in some countries, although the increased weight of the engine was felt to adversely affect the handling of the cars. The formula originally mandated production gearboxes, wheels and tyres (and a maximum cost for the rolling chassis, although this was long since abandoned), but Formula Fords later used racing gearboxes and, in some championships, slick tyres.

For the 2006 season the Zetec engine was superseded by the 1600 cc, DOHC 16v Duratec engine. The Zetec was criticized by engineers and designers as less than ideal because of its bulk and weight. The move to Duratecs brought Formula Ford back to using 1.6 L capacity motors. Despite the capacity decrease, at up to 160PS the newer engines were more powerful than the Zetecs, and weigh 20 kilograms (44 lb) less, reducing overall weight and increasing performance significantly.

For 2012 the fourth engine generation is launched with the Ecoboost 1600 direct-injection turbo engine. By far the most technologically advanced engine in the history of the Formula, it uses controlled engine mapping to deliver around 165 bhp for all cars. As a modern, high performance engine, the engine runs well within its manufacturing tolerances, which should ensure greater reliability and lower maintenance costs than any of its predecessors. It also means, for the first time in the history of the Formula, that all of the engine's internals will be standard production parts.

The Sports Car Club of America approved Honda's 1500cc Fit engine for use in Formula Ford, or Formula F as it must be called, in 2010.