Tuning the Ford Ecoboost

"Building the best modified Ford Ecoboost engine!"

Carref prides itself on providing the latest tips and guides to your modification project.

The Ford Ecoboost provide a fun base for your project and with the best upgrades like ECU maps, turbo improvements and camshafts you will really maximize your driving experience.

The ecoboost engines were direct injection and manufactured to help meet the ever more stringent emissions regulations. There were quite a few variations even within similar engine sizes in terms of power and design, so we can't assume all Ecoboost engines have the same features, it was more of a working concept for a direct injection engine.

We saw the engines developed in Volvo's and Mazdas and other makers, such was the flexibility of this design.

Let us look at Ecoboost tuning and outline the ultimate upgrades.

We rely on our visitors to pass on tips and tell us about their projects and what worked on their car, and this article is the culmination of the feedback we have received. First let us look at the history and specs of this engine and then consider which tuning modifications work best on it.

History of the Engine

Fox EcoBoost 1.0 DOHC i3 2012-

84 hp

• 2012-  Ford Focus
• 2012-  Ford C-Max
• 2012-  Ford B-Max
• 2013-  Ford Fiesta
• 2013-  Ford Ecosport

123 hp

• 2012- Ford Focus
• 2012-  Ford C-Max
• 2012-  Ford B-Max
• 2013- Ford Fiesta
• 2013-  Ford EcoSport
• 2013-  Ford Mondeo

Ford Duratec EcoBoost 1.1 DOHC i3 2017-

69 hp

• 2017-  Ford Fiesta 1.1 Ti-VCT 70

84 hp

• 2017-  Ford Fiesta 1.1 Ti-VCT 85

Dragon EcoBoost 1.5 DOHC i3 2018-

150 hp

• 2018-  Ford Focus

180 hp

• 2018-  Ford Focus
• 2020-  Ford Escape

200 hp

• 2018-  Ford Fiesta ST

Ford Sigma EcoBoost 1.5 DOHC i4 2014-

181 hp

• 2014 - Ford Fusion
• 2015 - Ford Focus

179 hp

• 2017–2019 Ford Escape

160 hp

• 2017–2019 Landwind X7

158 hp

• 2015 - Ford Mondeo

148 hp

• 2015 - Ford Focus
• 2015 - Ford C-Max

Ford Sigma EcoBoost 1.6 DOHC i4 2010-

118 hp

• 2013— Volvo V40

148 hp

• 2010— Ford C-MAX
• 2010— Ford Focus
• 2010—2018 Volvo S60
• 2010—2018 Volvo V60
• 2012— Volvo V40

158 hp

• 2011— Ford Mondeo
• 2011— Ford S-Max
• 2011— Ford Galaxy

178 hp

• 2010 — Ford Focus
• 2013—2016 Ford Escape
• 2014—2016 Ford Transit Connect

182 hp

• 2010— Ford C-MAX
• 2010—2018 Volvo S60
• 2010—2018 Volvo V60
• 2011— Ford Focus
• 2011—2016 Volvo V70
• 2011—2016 Volvo S80
• 2012— Volvo V40
• 2013— Ford Fiesta ST all
• 2013−2014 Ford Fusion

197 hp

• 2016—2017 Ford Fiesta ST200

Mazda L EcoBoost 2.0 DOHC i4 2010–2014

200 hp @5500 rpm, 221 lbft @1750-4500 rpm

• 2010– Ford S-MAX
• 2010– Ford Galaxy
• 2010– Ford Mondeo
• 2010–2011 Volvo S60 2.0T
• 2010–2011 Volvo V60 2.0T
• 2010–2011 Volvo V70 2.0T

240 hp @5500 rpm, 270 lbft @1900–3500 rpm

• 2010– Ford Mondeo
• 2010–2013 Volvo S60 T5
• 2010–2013 Volvo V60 T5
• 2011–2015 Ford Explorer
• 2011–2014 Ford Edge
• 2011– 2017 Range Rover Evoque
• 2011– Ford S-MAX
• 2012–2016 Ford Falcon
• 2013–2015 Ford Escape / Ford Kuga
• 2013–2015 Land Rover Freelander 2
• 2013–2016 Ford Fusion
• 2013–2017 Ford Taurus
• 2013–2015 Lincoln MKZ
• 2015–2017 Land Rover Discovery Sport
• 2015–2018 Lincoln MKC

252 hp @5500 rpm, 270 lbft @2000–4500 rpm

• 2012–2018 Ford Focus ST

301 hp @5500 rpm, 366 Nm @2500 rpm, Ford-RPE Radical Performance Engines

• 2011– Radical SR3 SL

Clean-sheet engine block EcoBoost 2.0 twin scroll DOHC i4 2015-

245 hp, 275 lbft

• 2015– Ford Edge
• 2015– Ford Everest
• 2016– Ford Tourneo
• 2016– Ford Escape / Ford Kuga
• 2017– Ford Fusion
• 2016– Lincoln MKZ
• 2019 Lincoln MKC

250 hp, 280 lbft

• 2019– Lincoln Nautilus
• 2020– Lincoln Corsair

Mazda L EcoBoost 2.3 DOHC i4 2015-

270 hp  @5500 rpm, 310 lbft @3000 rpm

• 2019– Ford Ranger

280 hp @5600 rpm, 310 lbft @3000 rpm

• 2016–2019 Ford Explorer

285–295 hp @5500 rpm, 305–310 lbft414– @2750 rpm

• 2015–2019 Lincoln MKC
• 2020– Lincoln Corsair

300 hp @5500 rpm, 310 lbft @3500 rpm

• 2020– Ford Explorer

310 hp @5500 rpm, 320–350 lbft434– @3000 rpm

• 2015– Ford Mustang EcoBoost

350 hp @6000 rpm, 350 lbft @3200 rpm

• 2016–2018 Ford Focus RS
• 2016- Zenos E10 R

276 hp @5500 rpm, 310 lbft @3000–4000 rpm

• 2019– Ford Focus ST 2020
• 2021– Ford Bronco

Nano EcoBoost 2.7 DOHC V6 2015-

325 hp  @5750 rpm, 375 lbft @3000 rpm

• 2015–2017 Ford F-150

335 hp @5500 rpm, 380 lbft @3000 rpm

• 2016–2018 Lincoln MKX
• 2017– Lincoln Continental

335 hp @5500 rpm, 380 lbft @3250 rpm

• 2019– Lincoln Nautilus

315 hp  @4750 rpm, 350 lbft @2750 rpm

• 2015–2018 Ford Edge Sport

335 hp  @5000 rpm, 380 lbft @3000 rpm

• 2019– Ford Edge ST

325 hp  @5500 rpm, 380 lbft @3500 rpm

• 2017–2019 Ford Fusion Sport

Tuning the Ford Ecoboost and best Ecoboost performance parts.

What are the most effective Ecoboost tuning parts

Just because particular upgrades are popular with Ecoboost owners it doesn't mean you should fit it, so we'll greatest upgrades that will give your Ecoboost the best power gain for you spend.

Altering your Ecoboost camshaft will make a dramatic difference to the engine power band. Choosing a higher performance camshaft profile raises the power band accordingly.

Fast road cams normally increase the torque through the rev range, you may sacrifice a little low down power but the top end will be lifted.

Competition cams, increase the top end band but as a result the car will not idle smoothly and low end power nearly always suffers.

A Competition camshaft makes it harder when in heavy traffic.

You should ideally match your engines power to your usage of the car so for a road car stick with a shorter duration Ecoboost camshaft

Each engine responds better to more or less aggressive camshaft durations so set your engine up on a rolling road.

The map and fuel pump and injectors also have a large bearing on the power gains you'll achieve.

Longer valve durations can alter the power band and on most engines the exhaust and intake durations do not need to match, although most cams and tuners use matched pairs there are some advantages to extending the intake or exhaust durations.

Please watch our introduction Video tutorial to car tuning. Be sure to subscribe and support our new channel.

Modifying to Stage 1:

 Remaps/piggy back ECU, Fast road camshaft, Panel air filters, Intake headers, Drilled & smoothed airbox, Sports exhaust manifold.

Modifying to Stage 2:

 high flow fuel injectors, fuel pump upgrades, induction kit, Fast road cam, Sports catalyst & performance exhaust, Ported and polished head.

Modifying to Stage 3:

 Engine balancing & blueprinting, Competition cam, Adding or Upgrading forced induction (turbo/supercharger), Twin charging conversions, Internal engine upgrades (head flowing porting/bigger valves), Crank and Piston upgrades to alter compression.

A remap should help to to establish the full potential of all the parts you've done to your Ecoboost.

It will usually give around 30% more power on turbocharged vehicles and you can expect to see around 15% on NASP engines, but your results may rely on the parts you've done and the condition of your engine.

Pushing air and fuel into your Ecoboost is vital to any car tuning task.

Air Intake manifolds transmit the air during the suck phase from the air cleaner and allow it to be sucked into the engine cylinders with fuel for the squish phase.

Design and flow characteristics of the Headers can make a noticeable effect on to fuel engine efficiency on the Ecoboost.

It's not uncommon that headers are ripe for aftermarket parts, although a few makers provide reasonably good headers.

Increasing the Ecoboost valve size, doing a bit of port work and head flowing will also increase bhp and torque, and more importantly will permit increasing the bhp and torque increase on other tuning parts.

Which turbo upgrades are best?

NASP engines need quite a lot of work when you add a turbo, so we have a separate guide to help you take into account the pros and cons of going this route on your Ecoboost

The more air you can get into an engine, the more fuel it can burn and uprating the induction with a turbocharger upgrade makes major power gains.

If your car is fitted with a turbocharger upgrades are more reliable and you'll see that turbo charged engines are made using stronger components.

There are tuning limits for every engine, with some being very over engineered and some just sufficiently able to handle stock power

We recommend you find these limits and fit higher quality crank and pistons to handle the power.

We see many people spending a loads on turbo charger upgrades on the Ecoboost only to suffer the indignity of watching the motor literally blow up on it's first outing after it's first rolling road session.

Bigger upgraded turbo units often suffer low end lag, and smaller turbo units spool up much more quickly but do not have the high rpm torque gains.

Thanks to new tech the market of turbo units is always moving on and we now see variable vane turbo units, where the vane angle is altered according to speed to lower lag and increase top end torque.

Twin scroll turbo units divert the exhaust flow into 2 channels and feed these at differently profiled vanes in the turbo. They also increase the scavenging effect of the engine.

It is common that there is a limitation in the air flow sensor (AFM/MAF/MAP) on the Ecoboost when considerably more air is being drawn into the engine.

We note 4 bar air sensors coping with quite large power gains, whereas the OEM air sensor was restricting bhp at a much lower level.

Adding a supercharger or additional turbo will make large performance gains, although more complex to get working. We have this article covering twinchargers if you want to read more.

Fuelling

When you lift the bhp and torque you will need to uprate to the fuel delivery.

More bhp and torque needs more fuel. It is important to over specify your injector capacity.

The rule of thumb is to add 20% to the flow rate when fitting an injector, helps cope with injector deterioration and provides a bit of spare capacity should the engine need more fuel.

We think this one is common sense, but you'll need to match your fuel injector to the type of fuel your car uses as well.

All the following flywheel power targets will assume an injector duty cycle of 80% and a base of 58psi of fuel pressure at idle.

4 Cylinder turbocharged engines

• 58 PSI 340cc/min 200hp
• 58 PSI 511cc/min 300hp
• 58 PSI 682cc/min 400hp

4 Cylinder NASP engines

• 58 PSI 285cc/min 200hp
• 58 PSI 426cc/min 300hp

4 Cylinder supercharged engines

• 58 PSI 312cc/min 200hp
• 58 PSI 468cc/min 300hp

Choosing the right performance exhaust

One of the most common mistakes and problems we see in tuning projects is usually down to the exhaust, or rather a poorly chosen exhaust for your engine.

You should look to improve your exhaust if your exhaust is actually causing a restriction in flow.

On most factory exhausts you should find that the flow rate is good even on modest power gains, but when you start pushing up the power levels you will need to get a better flowing exhaust.

Sports exhausts can usually air flow from the engine but do not go too wide or you may end up will reduce the flow rate. Stick to 1.5 to 2.5 inches for best results.

Common exhaust restrictions can be traced to the filters installed, so adding a better flowing sports alternative will help avoid this restriction.

Weak spots Issues & problem areas on the Ecoboost

The Ecoboost engines are generally reliable and solid as long as they are regularly serviced and maintained.

Regular oil changes are vital on the Ecoboost, especially when tuned and will help extend the life and reliability of the engine.

For more information on Tuning your Ecoboost engine please join us in our friendly forum where you can discuss tuning options in more detail with our tuning articles to get a full grasp of the benefits and drawbacks of each modification.

Please help us improve these tips by sending us your feedback in the comments box below.

We love to hear what our visitors have got up to and which upgrades work best for them on each model of car. Comments are used to improve the accuracy of these Ecoboost articles which are continually updated.

This article was written by Waynne Smith on TorqueCars, and I appreciate your feedback and suggestions. This entry was filed under Ford. You can leave a response below or join TorqueCars forum to discuss this article and car modification in detail with our members.

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