MENUGuide to performance tuning the Duratec engine from Ford
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Tuning the Ford Duratec and best Duratec performance parts.
The Duratec was born. A solid flexible range of 4 5 and 6 cylinder engines with inline and V configuration units among the lineup.
Originally the V6 Duratec engine was a collaboration between Ford and Porsche.
It was offered on many different setups and states of tune, proving the flexibility and solidity of the original block design.
We consider Duratec tuning and highlight the ultimate upgrades. Ford Duratecs make awesome project cars and with the right uprated modifications you can greatly improve your driving enjoyment.
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 Duratec Engine
- Duratec 8v 60 PS Kent (Endura-E)
1.3 L OHV i4 1995–present - Duratec 8v 70 PS Ford Sigma engine (Zetec RoCam)
1.3 L SOHC i4 2000–2014
1.6 L - Duratec Ford Sigma engine
1.25 L 2002–present
1.4 L
1.6 L - Duratec Ti-VCT Ford Sigma engine 1.5 L 2013–present
- Duratec Ti-VCT Ford Sigma engine 1.6 L 2004–present
- Duratec-ST Ford Zeta engine DOHC i4 1998–2004
- Duratec RS Volvo Modular engine 2.5 L turbocharged DOHC I5 2003–2010
- Duratec Mazda L engine
1.8 L DOHC i4 2001–present
2.0 L
2.3 L
2.5 L - Duratec SCi Mazda L engine
1.8 L DOHC GDI I4 Ti-VCT 2003–2007 - Duratec-HE 1.8 L
- Duratec FFV Mazda L engine 2.0 L DOHC i4 2005–present
- Duratec-HE Ti-VCT Mazda L engine 2.0 L DOHC GDI i4 2010–present
- Duratec V6/VE/25 Ford Duratec V6 engine 2.5 L DOHC V6 1993–2002
- Duratec 30 Ford Duratec V6 engine 3.0 L DOHC V6 1996–2012
- Duratec 33 Ford Cyclone V6 Engine 3.3 L DOHC V6 2018–present
- Duratec 35 Ford Cyclone V6 Engine 3.5 L DOHC V6 2006–present
- Duratec 37 Ford Cyclone V6 Engine 3.7 L DOHC V6 2008–present
What are the most effective Duratec mods
The best tuning mods on an engine are in our opinion the ones that give the best value for money.
We won't be swayed by popular Duratec tuning mods, they need to be cost effective.
The camshaft profile plays a big part in the engines power output so camshaft upgrades make quite a large difference. The intake and exhaust durations will alter depending on the chosen camshaft profile, so large bhp gains are on offer for camshaft upgrades.
As the Duratec is an OHC design, the camshaft directly. Focus more on lift than duration on the Duratec engine for maximising your power mods, modern fuel injection systems can deliver a precisely measured amount of fuel and time the ignition spot on.
Fast road camshafts usually increase the bhp and torque across the rev band, you might lose a little low end power but your high end rpm power will be better.
Motorsport camshafts, increase the high end rpm power band but as a result the car will not idle smoothly and low end power nearly always suffers.
On a car driven daily you need to optimize your power band to your cars usage.
I'd be surprised if you find a Race camshaft is a pleasure to live with when driving around busy urban areas.
Some Duratec engines respond better to mild camshaft durations with higher lift, thanks to the large port sizes, but we suggest you set your engine up on a rolling road tweaking the camprofile and mapping to suit your requirements.
Duratec power limits for a 2.0 liter unit seems to be around 235bhp whereat you should strengthen the pistons rods and possible even the already strong crank. The 1.8 liter units, need stronger parts around the 200bhp mark.
The ecu map and fuelling also will make differences on the torque gains you'll achieve.
A longer valve duration can alter the torque 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 but on the Duratec units, focus on lift, to get as much work out of those valves as possible.
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How to tune your car
- Improve the handling
Focus on Suspension improvements, such as coilovers and make sure the bushings are in good order and that the alignment is correct. Then focus on improving the brakes, with a big disk brake conversion kit and fast road brake pads.
- Remove restrictions
Focus on the intake and exhaust with filters being the common point of restriction in a tuned car. Intercoolers may also become restrictive on turbo engines so this may also need to be uprated.
- Burn more fuel & air
Increase the fuelling so it matches the air coming into the engine. The ratio is important so you need to improve the fuel pump and injectors, so the head mods, big valve conversions, fast road camshafts and forced induction upgrades extra supply of air is adequately met.
- Test and replace any weak parts
Weak areas are commonly the clutch, the turbocharger and pistons and crankshaft in a highly tuned engine. Makes sure these components will cope with your power aspirations.
- The Tune or Remap
A cars ECU controls the fuel, timing, spark and even the turbo in some cases, so to fully extract your gains you should remap the car last and this will fully release the power. Some cars are easy to map, and others require piggyback ECU's or aftermarket ECU's but this is the most vital step of your tuning project.
Modifying to Stage 1:
Intake headers, Fast road camshaft, Drilled & smoothed airbox, Panel air filters, Sports exhaust manifold, Remaps/piggy back ECU.
Modifying to Stage 2:
induction kit, Fast road cam, Sports catalyst & performance exhaust, high flow fuel injectors, Ported and polished head, fuel pump upgrades.
Modifying to Stage 3:
Competition cam, Internal engine upgrades (head flowing porting/bigger valves), Crank and Piston upgrades to alter compression, Adding or Upgrading forced induction (turbo/supercharger), Engine balancing & blueprinting, Twin charging conversions.
Remaps allows a tuner to fully realize the full potential of all the tuning mods you've done to your Duratec.
It will usually give around 30% more power on turbocharged vehicles and 15% on NASP engines, but you mileage will vary depending on the tuning mods you've done and the condition of your engine.
It is the whole point to any engine modification project to force more fuel and air into your Duratec
Intake manifold carry the air from the filter and allow it to be drawn into the engine and mixed with fuel.
The size of bore and shape and flow rate of the Intake manifold can make a substantial effect on to fuel atomisation on the Duratec.
It's not uncommon that plenum chambers are crying out for motorsport parts, although a few OEM provide fairly well optimized plenum chambers.
Big valve conversions on the Duratec, doing a bit of port matching and head flowing will also increase torque, & importantly will raise potential for raising the torque increase on other upgrades.
Duratec turbo upgrades - which are best?
The more air to get into an engine, the more fuel it can burn and uprating the induction with a turbocharger upgrade makes massive power gains.
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 Duratec
If your motor has a turbocharger parts are giving better power gains and turbo charged engines are built using many forged and stronger components.
There are tuning limits for every engine, with some being incredibly solid and some only able to handle stock power
It is important to find these limitations and install better pistons and crank to survive the power.
There are many people spending a a stack of money on turbo upgrades on the Duratec only to experience the engine literally blow up just after it's been completed.
Large turbos tend to suffer a bottom end lag, and little turbos spool up quickly but won't have the high rpm bhp gains.
Thankfully the selection of turbochargers is always moving on and we are seeing variable vane turbochargers, where the vane profile is altered according to speed to lower lag and increase top end bhp.
Twin scroll turbochargers divert the exhaust gases into two channels and direct these at differently angled vanes in the turbocharger. They also help the scavenging effect of the engine.
You'll commonly see there is a limitation in the air flow sensor (AFM/MAF/MAP) on these engines when a lot more air is being sucked into the engine.
We see 4 bar air sensors coping with quite large power gains, whereas the OEM air sensor limited performance at a much lower level.
Adding a supercharger or additional turbo will make large power gains, although more difficult to configure. We have a twincharger power adding guide if you want to read more.
Fuelling
You will need to ensure that the engine is not starved of fuel so should look at the fuelling when you start exceeding 20% of a bhp increase.
We would recommend you to over specify your injectors flow rate.
The accepted safe increase is to add 20% capacity when fitting an injector, this takes into account injector deterioration and affords some spare capacity should the engine require more fuel.
Duratec Exhaust
You only need to to upgrade your exhaust if the current exhaust is creating a restriction in flow.
On most factory exhausts you should find that the exhaust flow rate is still fine 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 help increase the flow of air through the engine.
But if the exhaust pipe is too large, ie: over 2.5 inches bore, you will lose a lot of the flow rate and end up losing power and torque.
Common exhaust restrictions can be traced to the emissions filters installed, so adding a freer flowing race alternative will help avoid this restriction.
Weak spots Issues & problem areas on the Duratec
The Duratec engines are generally reliable and solid as long as they are regularly serviced and maintained.
Regular oil changes are vital on the Duratec, especially when tuned and will help extend the life and reliability of the engine.
The Aluminum and Tin bearings don't like high RPM or big power, so upgrade these with larger power gains.
For more information on Tuning your Ford engine please join us in our friendly forum where you can discuss Duratec tuning options in more detail with our Duratec owners. It would also be worth reading our unbiased Ford 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 parts work best for them on each model of car. Comments are used to improve the accuracy of these articles which are continually updated.
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