ecoboost torture test

[.FoMoCo.]

Not sure if this has been posted already...

http:// http://news.pickuptrucks.com...ooks-like.html

The 3.5 litre ecoboost V6 was randomly selected from the ford production line, run on the dyno for 300 hours to simulate the equivalent of 150,000 miles driving, including repeated temperature shock runs where the engine was cooled to minus 20, then heated to 235 degrees.
Ford then sent the engine to be installed in an F150 4x4, where it was used on a logging site and used as a log-skidder, hauling 110,000 pounds of logs across the ground.
From there, the truck was driven across the country to Homestead Miami Speedway, where it was hooked up to a trailer carrying two of Richard Petty’s Ford Fusion racecars, a load of 11,300 pounds, and run continuously around the track for 24 hours, averaging 82 mph and covering 1,607 miles.
Finally, the 3.5-liter twin-turbo EcoBoost engine was shipped to Mike McCarthy’s race shop in Wickenburg, Ariz., and installed in his 7,100-pound F-150 race truck. McCarthy practiced locally for 1,200 miles and raced the truck in the SCORE Baja 1000, the toughest off-road race in North America, finishing first overall in the new Stock Engine class after 1,062 race miles.
McCarthy said the engine’s fuel economy was so good compared with his previous V-8 engines that he was able to skip two planned fuel stops during the Baja event, which helped him win the class.

After Baja, the thoroughly thrashed and raced engine was shipped back to Ford headquarters in Dearborn, Mich., and dyno-tested once again. It was found to produce 364 horsepower and 420 pounds-feet of torque, just one horsepower less than its rating and exactly the same output as its nominal torque rating, according to Ford.

A leakdown test was performed to measure how well the engine’s 24 intake and exhaust valves and piston rings were still able to seal the cylinders. One cylinder was found to have a cautionary 13 percent air loss past the combustion chamber’s seals, while all other cylinders were acceptable with single digits of air leakage.

The same engine was then sent to the Detroit auto show where it was totally stripped in front of a live audience of over a thousand people. The engine was found to be well within tolerances for valve lash, timing chain tension, cylinder bore wear, turbo wear, bearings, etc, etc.

The only thing I noticed was a bit of carbon build up in the cylinders. There may be an issue with these DI engines and carbon, but looking at this test, I think it held up fairly well.

This is after 163,000 miles of tough endurance testing!

Incredible!

First off, what an amazing marketing exercise by ford. The scale and depth of what the testing involved is just astounding.

And how about the quality of these engines? I hope that the ecoboost 4 will be just as good...