Tuning the Ford 2.0 Duratec

"Comprehensive guide to performance tuning the Ford 2.0 Duratec engine!"

We are frequently seeing threads requesting information on the ultimate 2.0 Duratec power upgrades. So let us look into Ford 2.0 Duratec modifications and outline the best modifications on this great engine and point out some potential pitfalls along the way.

Therefore we detail the best approach to 2.0 Duratec tuning and show the optimum modifications. Ford 2.0 Duratec are awesome to work on and with the best uprated tuning mods like remaps, turbo improvements and camshafts you will really improve your driving experience.

Just because particular parts are popular with 2.0 Duratec owners it doesn't mean it is good, we shall concentrate) on the top parts that will give your 2.0 Duratec the best power gain for you money.

The Duratec 2.0 is part of the Mazda Family under the L engine version and was designed by Ford and Mazda in collaboration.

There is also a 2.0 Ford Zeta engine badged as Duratec ST

Altering your 2.0 Duratec camshaft will make a dramatic difference to the engine bhp. Choosing a higher performance camshaft profile raises the bhp accordingly.

NB: Fast road camshafts commonly increase the performance throughout the rpm band, you may sacrifice a little low down bhp but high end rpm power will be higher.

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 daily driver must carefully try to match your engines power to your cars usage.

You'll never have found a 2.0 Duratec Race cam is a pleasure to live with when in heavy traffic.

Each engine responds better to extreme camshaft durations than others.

The map and injectors and fuel pump also will make differences on the bhp gains you'll make.

Longer valve durations can alter the bhp 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.

2.0 Duratec Best Tuning Mods & Upgrades

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Guide to the best tuning mods & Upgrades

  1. ECU Map Tuning & Remaps

    Some cars may require a piggyback ECU's or aftermarket ECU's to change the OEM map, but remapping is the most vital step of your tuning project to fully maximise your mods. Expect 10-20% on NASP engines and 30-40% on turbocharged units.

  2. Strengthen Your Engine

    Tuned cars will show up weaknesses, typically in the turbochargers, clutch and internal engine components. Whilst most engines can cope with mild tuning mods, TorqueCars recommend that you upgrade the internal components before these weak spots manifest themselves.

  3. Mods that Remove a Restriction

    A restricted intake or exhaust will have an impact on your performance, so use a better flowing air filter/induction kit and better flowing exhaust (sports cats where legal are a good option) whenever your tuning creates a flow restriction. Turbo engines also benefit from intercooler upgrades as these resist heat soak for longer periods of time.

  4. Mods that Improve Fuelling

    Every tuning project will aim to increase the air supply, but fuel supply is just as vital and will need to match the air the engine can utilise,  a fuel pump and injector upgrade are usual mods, but also in many cases the fuel regulator will need improvement.

  5. Mods to Provide better Airflow

    Increasing the air supply is just as essential as improving fuelling, we suggest you look at head mods (flowing and porting, 5 angle valve jobs), fit bigger valves, fast road cams and forced induction upgrades (adding a better flowing turbo) to improve air intake.

Tuning Stages

Stage 1 2.0 Duratec modifications: Panel air filters, Remaps/piggy back ECU, Fast road camshaft, Sports exhaust manifold, Intake headers, Drilled & smoothed airbox.

Stage 2 2.0 Duratec modifications: induction kit, Sports catalyst & performance exhaust, fuel pump upgrades, Ported and polished head, Fast road cam, high flow fuel injectors.

Stage 3 2.0 Duratec modifications: 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, Competition cam.

Plan your options and then source your upgrades and set yourself a power target to save yourself from expensive mistakes.

ECU flashing allows a tuner to fully realize the full potential of all the mods you've done to your 2.0 Duratec.

It will usually give around 30% more power on turbocharged vehicles and you can expect to see around 15% on NASP engines, but your mileage usually vary depending on the mods you've carried out and the condition of your engine.

Pulling air into the 2.0 Duratec engine is the main goal to any engine performance tuning project.

Headers take the air during the suck phase from the filter and allow it to be drawn into the engine and mixed with fuel.

Shape and rate of flow of the Headers can make a big difference to to fuel atomisation on the 2.0 Duratec.

Many mass produced engine plenum chambers are ripe for an upgrade, although a few car makers provide well optimised plenum chambers.

Fitting big valve kits, getting port matching and head flowing will also improve power, and significantly will make space for a greater power increase on other modifications.

Turbo upgrades for the 2.0 Duratec

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 2.0 Duratec

The more air you can get into an engine, the more fuel it can burn and uprating the induction with a turbocharger upgrade makes superb power gains.

If a car is fitted with a turbo parts are going to make more power and most turbo engines are built with many forged and stronger components.

There are practical limits for every engine, with some being over specified and some only able to handle stock power

See where you'll find these restrictions and install stronger pistons, crank and engine components to cope with the power.

It's not unheard of people spending a lot of money on turbo charger upgrades on the 2.0 Duratec only to experience the engine block literally blow up on it's first outing after it's completed.

Bigger upgraded turbo chargers often experience no power at low rpm, and low capacity turbo chargers spool up quickly but don't have the peak rpm power band gains.

Thankfully the choice of turbo chargers is always increasing and we commonly find variable vane turbo chargers, allowing the vane angle is altered according to speed to lower lag and increase top end bhp and torque.

Twin scroll turbo chargers divert the exhaust gases into 2 channels and push these at differently profiled vanes in the turbocharger. They also help the scavenging effect of the engine.

It is not unusual that there's a restriction in the air flow sensor MAF/MAP on the 2.0 Duratec when a lot more air is being drawn into the engine.

We see 4 bar air sensors coping with quite large power gains, whereas the OEM air sensor limited power at a much lower level.

Adding a supercharger or additional turbo will make large bhp and torque gains, although harder to get working. We have this in depth look at twinchargers if you want to read more.

Uprating 2.0 Duratec fuel injectors

When you boost the bhp and torque you will need to uprate to the fuelling.

More bhp and torque needs more fuel. Most tuners we speak with say to over specify your injectors flow rate.

The rule of thumb is to add another 20% when specifying an injector, helps cope with injector deterioration and provides some spare capacity should the engine require more fuel.

We think this one is common sense, but you'll need to match your fuel injector to the type of fuel your car uses as well.

Best 2.0 Duratec performance exhausts

Only look to increase your exhaust if your current exhaust is actually causing a flow problem.

On most factory exhausts you should find that the exhaust flow rate is fine even on modest power gains, but when you start pushing up the power levels you will need to get a better flowing exhaust.

Please don't run with the largest exhaust you can find this will slow up the exhaust flow rate - the best for power gains are usually between 1.5 to 2.5 inches. It is the shape and material more than the bore size.

Typically exhaust restrictions can be traced to the filters installed, so adding a better flowing sports alternative will help avoid this restriction.

Problems and issues to look out for on the 2.0 Duratec

The 2.0 Duratec engines, if regularly serviced and maintained, are generally very reliable and have few issues.

Regular oil changes are vital on the 2.0 Duratec, particularly when the engine has been modified and is putting down more power than the manufacturer intended.

For more information on Tuning your 2.0 Duratec engine please join us in our friendly forum where you can discuss tuning options in more detail with our 2.0 Duratec owners. It would also be worth reading our unbiased tuning articles to get a full grasp of the benefits and drawbacks of each modification.

We need your help to complete and improve this page, so do give us your feedback in the comments box below.

We really like hearing from our readers, and hearing about which upgrades were the most effective for them, it helps us improve our recommendations and articles to reflect current trends in modifications and ensures that our 2.0 Duratec guides and tips are kept up to date.

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