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Is the Duratec 30 a good engine?

G

GaryST220

New CEG'er
Joined
Nov 10, 2008
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England
As an observation, I have noticed the Duratec 30 engine (even in 220bhp form) seems to be lacking in every area against the competition, and as a result I can’t help but think Ford could have made a better engine?

If you compare it against engines of similar power outputs, the Duratec V6 seems to be behind in fuel economy, emissions, torque and ultimately its power band. The only aspect I think wins hands down is with its reliability (as far as I know) and soundtrack.

Is this the case, if so why - if not; what am I missing?
 
Keep in mind that the Duratec 2.5L and 3.0L engine architecture dates back to the 1995 Contour launch, and at the time, they were extremely competitive. The Contour SVT version of the 2.5L with 200hp had one of the highest hp/L of any car short of the exotics like the Acura NSX at the time. Here we are 14 years later, and really only a displacement bump, and some minor tweaks and its up to 220hp in "regular" trim. And this year, a new update was done on the 3.0L in the Escape pringing output to 240hp. Not too bad at all, 80 hp/L, especially considering the Duratec has been relegated to the "old workhorse" role since the demise of the Vulcan V6.

Ford has really split since then, and is going a little higher w/ the V6s, with the D35 and the EcoBoost version of it, and filling the lower gap with larger I4s like the 2.3L, and now the 2.5L.
 
Rara said:
Keep in mind that the Duratec 2.5L and 3.0L engine architecture dates back to the 1995 Contour launch, and at the time, they were extremely competitive. The Contour SVT version of the 2.5L with 200hp had one of the highest hp/L of any car short of the exotics like the Acura NSX at the time. Here we are 14 years later, and really only a displacement bump, and some minor tweaks and its up to 220hp in "regular" trim. And this year, a new update was done on the 3.0L in the Escape pringing output to 240hp. Not too bad at all, 80 hp/L, especially considering the Duratec has been relegated to the "old workhorse" role since the demise of the Vulcan V6.

Ford has really split since then, and is going a little higher w/ the V6s, with the D35 and the EcoBoost version of it, and filling the lower gap with larger I4s like the 2.3L, and now the 2.5L.
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Yes they have been out for some time now which is must be taken into consideration, I was under the impression that the Duratec V6 was on the draw boardings back in 1990.

Over here there is a chap with an ST200 with 250BHP, admittedly it's not standard but it didn't take much to get to that stage, thats 100bhp per litre which even today is incredible. I would also like to point out that Fords own dyno testing of the ST220 during its development stage revealed that the engine actually produces 237PS as opposed to the advertised 226PS.
 
GaryST220 said:
Yes they have been out for some time now which is must be taken into consideration, I was under the impression that the Duratec V6 was on the draw boardings back in 1990.
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Right. My statement was referencing when it was first available to the public, not the design time frame.

Over here there is a chap with an ST200 with 250BHP, admittedly it's not standard but it didn't take much to get to that stage, thats 100bhp per litre which even today is incredible. I would also like to point out that Fords own dyno testing of the ST220 during its development stage revealed that the engine actually produces 237PS as opposed to the advertised 226PS.
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Most certainly you can increase power significantly with aftermarket, or "non standard" parts. There have been 2.5L engines here making even more than 250, some referenced as high as 290hp for competition versions.

The bottom line is that as an engine design goes, the D25/D30 family is pretty stout and has stood the test of time, and has at least a few years left in it as a production engine at Ford. Technology, and design techniques get better and better as time goes on, so there will certainly be better engines replacing it (D35 is a good example), but to answer your original question simply, Yes, the Duratec 30 is a good engine.
 
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