RoadRunner999 Posted February 15, 2010 Author Share Posted February 15, 2010 Thanks for all of your responses guys. It's been an education and had a few laughs along the way As my budget dictates Zetec, I'll stick to my original understanding 'they go bang when pushed' (unless expertly modded / tuned as NikPro pointed out). Makes me feel better about constraints of my future purchase anyhow When does the meet & blat season tend to kick off again? Starting to get fidgety as I'm still Westy-less and looking.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nikpro Posted February 15, 2010 Share Posted February 15, 2010 If you strip a Duratec it looks 'all race' inside but this is just for show that has to be the funniest quote I have heard for ages. the internals of a Duratec engine are designed for show! come on No; not really - the pistons have very short skirts and 'look' just like race pistons but they are cast and not forged! Likewise the con rods look like proper race items and are lightweight but they are not incredibly strong! If you lay the parts on a bench you would think they came from a 'proper' race engine however they are only designed for normal power outputs and revs. They make the reciprocating internals lightweight in standard tune which helps emissions (I accept not just for show; but might as well be for what we are interested in!) but NOT power increases. HTH explain my comment. Duratec = extremely good cylinder head design let down by a bottom end that was designed for emissions and production costs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GINGESEIW Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 I love a factual response. Makes for interesting reading. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Seabrook Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 Lets face it how many can actually use more than 220bhp or for that matter have genuinely have more than 220bhp? Zetec is the future Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blatman Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 I can. Not that well but I can... And the sprinter has genuinely more than 220bhp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Seabrook Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 Mine too mate doesn't mean I can use it properly though I would love to watch the Stig drive my car round the Top Gear track and see how fast it really could do a lap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CedricTheBrave Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 Accepted the pistons and con rods are not designed for power and are pretty much the first items to be changed but doubt if the design was because they wanted then to look like race items. However the whole engine is designed for emissions and build costs including the casting of the block and the head design. On the whole the Duratec is a pretty simple engine to work on the reason for it being more expensive than the Zetec is just its age but I still believe that 22kg is a fair bit of weight advantage. I think the figures quoted are 12% less weight and 12% more power draw your own conclusions. My old 205hp Zetec was a great car to drive and on public roads was as good as it gets, on a track however my Duratec has the edge and as yet hasn't gone bang (fateful mistake to say that I know especially after winter upgrades!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nikpro Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 Accepted the pistons and con rods are not designed for power and are pretty much the first items to be changed but doubt if the design was because they wanted then to look like race items. However the whole engine is designed for emissions and build costs including the casting of the block and the head design. On the whole the Duratec is a pretty simple engine to work on the reason for it being more expensive than the Zetec is just its age but I still believe that 22kg is a fair bit of weight advantage. I think the figures quoted are 12% less weight and 12% more power draw your own conclusions. My old 205hp Zetec was a great car to drive and on public roads was as good as it gets, on a track however my Duratec has the edge and as yet hasn't gone bang (fateful mistake to say that I know especially after winter upgrades!) It may be 22kgs lighter in 'Ford' fitment but our corner weight scales showed it to be only 11kgs lighter (block & head- no accesories) than a 2.0ltr Zetec. Power wise; a standard 2.0ltr Zetec on 130 cams is circa 165 bhp and a Duratec 172bhp - again not a massive difference in a spec we are interested in! Fitted with their respective intakes from Ford the Duratec is approx 30 bhp more powerful and much lighter but seven owners aren't interested in this fitment as they are normally fitted with aftermarket intakes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephenh Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 I have no idea what a Zetec is good for, but I do know what my 2.0 litre duratec does. It produces 237 bhp and could do 240 if we cut a hole in the bonnet for the air intake. It pulls smoothly from very low revs for road use, and runs up to 8,000 rpm on track as smooth as a sewing machine. That is on standard crank, rods and pistons. Except that the pistons have to be pocketed of course for the high lift cams, and the rods have arp bolts. It isn't cheap to do that of course, but I do think that is partly because of the fact that it is much newer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nikpro Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 I have no idea what a Zetec is good for, but I do know what my 2.0 litre duratec does. It produces 237 bhp and could do 240 if we cut a hole in the bonnet for the air intake. It pulls smoothly from very low revs for road use, and runs up to 8,000 rpm on track as smooth as a sewing machine. That is on standard crank, rods and pistons. Except that the pistons have to be pocketed of course for the high lift cams, and the rods have arp bolts. It isn't cheap to do that of course, but I do think that is partly because of the fact that it is much newer. …and if used regularly for racing at this spec would probably do Durrrraaaa…BANG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephenh Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 I have no idea what a Zetec is good for, but I do know what my 2.0 litre duratec does. It produces 237 bhp and could do 240 if we cut a hole in the bonnet for the air intake. It pulls smoothly from very low revs for road use, and runs up to 8,000 rpm on track as smooth as a sewing machine. That is on standard crank, rods and pistons. Except that the pistons have to be pocketed of course for the high lift cams, and the rods have arp bolts. It isn't cheap to do that of course, but I do think that is partly because of the fact that it is much newer. …and if used regularly for racing at this spec would probably do Durrrraaaa…BANG To be fair, I dont circuit race, the only competition I do is Speed Series events, so very short bursts at those sort of revs. I do maybe a couple or three trackdays a year, but try and change up by the time the first red shift light comes on on trackdays (7,600 rpm). On the road most of the time I run at quite modest revs, but might momentarily go up to 7,600 when overtaking etc. The engine is so well balanced and smooth as standard, it is difficult not to light up the lights now and then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nikpro Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 I agree Stephen - without doubt the Duratec engine is the next step up the ladder from the zetec and does have huge potential for tuning but it is expensive at the moment. Prices will come down for the neccessary modifications and then the engine will be fantastic. As Matt has stated 220bhp is more than enough in a lightweight car and personally 160-200 is ideal; to this spec I feel the Zetec currently offers better value for money. ...............BUT then we have the Ford Sigma engine - a genuine 25kgs lighter in Westfield Spec, very and easily tuneable to 180bhp and absolutely bomb proof, doesn't posses the torque to mash an IL200 gearbox.............I can see the spec of my next Westie already. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 QUOTE ...............BUT then we have the Ford Sigma engine - a genuine 25kgs lighter in Westfield Spec, very and easily tuneable to 180bhp and absolutely bomb proof, doesn't posses the torque to mash an IL200 gearbox.............I can see the spec of my next Westie already. Pah! Duratecs, Sigmas, they're for girls, fit a man's engine, go Pinto! ....well it takes a man, or men to lift one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nikpro Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 ...............BUT then we have the Ford Sigma engine - a genuine 25kgs lighter in Westfield Spec, very and easily tuneable to 180bhp and absolutely bomb proof, doesn't posses the torque to mash an IL200 gearbox.............I can see the spec of my next Westie already. Pah! Duratecs, Sigmas, they're for girls, fit a man's engine, go Pinto! ....well it takes a man, or men to lift one. .............and is living proof you don't need the latest and greatest to have a very fast Westfield (I encourage anyone that hasn't already to watch Andrew's videos to see how quick a 'Pinto Powered' Westie can be when well driven!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffC Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 ...............BUT then we have the Ford Sigma engine - a genuine 25kgs lighter in Westfield Spec, very and easily tuneable to 180bhp and absolutely bomb proof, doesn't posses the torque to mash an IL200 gearbox.............I can see the spec of my next Westie already. Pah! Duratecs, Sigmas, they're for girls, fit a man's engine, go Pinto! ....well it takes a man, or men to lift one. .............and is living proof you don't need the latest and greatest to have a very fast Westfield (I encourage anyone that hasn't already to watch Andrew's videos to see how quick a 'Pinto Powered' Westie can be when well driven!) agreed the old anchor will show most things how its done but just imagine how quick the captain would go in something designed in this century Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.