THE ECOBOOST ENGINE: COMBINING VARIABLE VALVE TIMING ...

Neil Debski
Seth Kahanov
levels of torque at low levels of consumption, the engine will
perform at higher efficiency by using less fuel. Economic
analysis has proven that “drivers will recover the additional
initial cost of the [EcoBoost] in an estimated 30 months,
which is significantly shorter than the estimated seven years
for diesel engines and 12 years for hybrid engines” [17].
Despite its high initial price, the EcoBoost will allow the
driver to earn back their initial investment in gas savings
quicker than they would with another engine model.
ECOBOOST PUT TO THE TEST
To prove the EcoBoost engine is a viable option in the
engine market, it has been compared to other competing
engines, and proves to have the highest efficiency. Ford has
not been the only automotive company with the idea to
better their engines fuel economy. The models for “Hyundai
. . . BMW . . . [and] Chrysler’s 2013 Ram 1500 pickup” high
end cars all have added the feature of “eight-speed
transmission” in order to improve the fuel economy of the
car [20]. However these models have only considered the
economic benefit for the customer, and have not touched
upon the environmental impact that the efficiency of the
engine will have. The result of these other companies’
efforts has been that their models with “transmissions with
more gears aren’t as fuel efficient as some of the other
systems [that consider their environmental and economic
impact, such as the EcoBoost] being offered by automakers”
[20]. These competitors for the Ford EcoBoost have not
combined the same technology that Ford has in order to
improve both the environment and economy that their
engine must live in. Only Ford’s combination of direct fuel
injection, variable valve timing, and turbocharging is able to
benefit the engine’s fuel economy and the driver’s
environment. The companies that Ford is now competing
with are the same companies that, upon the realization of
their loophole around the EPA’s approval, were forced to
“disclose any features on their engines that they know would
increase actual pollution” [4]. The fact that these companies
continued to manufacture an engine that they knew would
not decrease emissions compared to their previous models
proves that the Ford EcoBoost engine has been kept up to
date on the necessities of the society in which it functions.
Ford has chosen to grow with its surroundings, instead of
fight them the way that their competitors have.
One of the original Ford models with the EcoBoost
engine, the 2010 Lincoln MKT, was tested against Audi Q7
SUV. The comparison proved that the Lincoln’s “3.5 liter
twin-turbo V6 cranks out 355 horsepower – more than many
larger V8s, including the Audi Q7 SUV” [21]. This proves
that the EcoBoost engine can perform more efficiently than
other engines in a more manageable size. This smaller
engine size demonstrates how the EcoBoost engine does not
waste the space it occupies within a vehicle and optimizes
the amount of work it does in the space it is provided. In the
same test, after speeding from zero to sixty miles per hour
faster than the V8 Audi, “The Lincoln [delivered] roughly
twenty-five percent better mileage than the Audi, at an EPAestimated
16/22 mpg in city and highway” [21]. The
Environmental Protection Agency has approved the
impressive performance of the EcoBoost engine, which was
initially designed to better the environment. This
performance has also proved more cost efficient compared
to other engines, given its better mileage.
Other than its more efficient conventional performance,
the EcoBoost proves to have the best environmental effects
compared to other companies’ efforts to reach the same goal.
Provided General Motors’ “eAssist” technology, Mazda’s
“Skyactiv” approach and BMW’s “Efficient Dynamics”, the
Ford EcoBoost has “delivered the [environmental] benefits .
. . consistently across a broad product line-up . . . and
managed to create a salient sub-brand that showcases the
benefits of the technology” [22]. After the environmental
effects of these top competitors’ efforts to better the
environment were compared, the EcoBoost proved more
beneficial than any other model in the running.
Designs of other engines are made unique to one specific
automobile, which requires automakers to design new
engines for new cars without utilizing the benefits from past
successful designs. However, the EcoBoost engine has
proven to “deliver better fuel economy and performance on a
full range of vehicles, from small cars to large trucks” [19].
The wide range of applicable automobiles for the EcoBoost
engine has demonstrated that the design is much more
sustainable than other engine designs in terms of applying
the engine to any car that needs a better fuel economy or
environmental impact. The versatility of the engines
applications prove that the EcoBoost engine can be sustained
for automobile designs for years to come.
SUSTAINING ECOBOOST BENEFITS
FOR THE FUTURE
In order to entice drivers to choose the EcoBoost engine,
they must be ensured that the style of the car they enjoy is
still providing the benefits they desire in a vehicle. With gas
prices in the United States averaging four dollars a gallon,
the EcoBoost engine is a step towards a more fuel efficient
engine. Ford Motor Company increases efficiency and fuel
economy while not sacrificing the horsepower of the engine,
proving to be a lucrative benefit to many consumers. Truck
owners especially have taken a fancy to the EcoBoost and its
powerful yet smaller engine. "People are amazed at the
power," the owner of a car dealership in South Carolina
explained. “Several customers traded in diesel-powered
Super Duty pickups--used mainly for transportation instead
of towing--for the F-150 EcoBoost. They are pleased with
the fuel economy and the power.” [23]. Ford’s numbers
show that the 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 available in the F-150
exceeded 100,000 sales in less than one year on the market.
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