Tuning the Ford Duratec 30

"Comprehensive guide to performance parts and tuning the Ford Duratec 30 engine!"

We are frequently seeing threads requesting information on the things we recommend when it comes to Duratec 30 upgrades. So let us look into Ford Duratec 30 parts and outline the best mods that work on this great engine and point out some potential pitfalls along the way.

In this article we outline options for your Duratec 30 tuning and provide tips on the greatest modifications. Ford Duratec 30 is also internally known as the Ford Cyclone V6 Engine and was designed by Ford and Porsche in collaboration and make great bases for a tuning project and with the best performance tuning mods like remapping, turbo upgrades and camshafts you will noticeably increase your driving opportunities.

Just because particular tuning parts are popular with Duratec 30 owners it doesn't mean its worth having, we shall best tuning parts that will give your Duratec 30 the biggest power gain return for your cash.

Significant gains on the Duratec 30 can be made from camshaft upgrades. Altering the camshaft profile alters the intake and exhaust durations on the engine and can dramatically change the torque and power output.

NB: Fast road cams tend to raise the bhp and torque throughout the rpm range, you could sacrifice a little bottom end bhp but higher rpm power will be higher.

Competition cams, raise the higher rpm power band but as a result the car will not idle smoothly and low end power nearly always suffers.

On a road car should ideally to match your engines power to your preferences.

I would be surprised if you find a Duratec 30 Competition camshaft is a pleasure to live with when driving in heavy traffic.

Some Duratec 30 engines respond better to less aggressive cam durations check your engine on a rolling road.

The map and fuel pump and injectors also have a large bearing on the power gains you'll make.

Extending exhaust or intake durations can alter the power 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.

Duratec 30 Best Tuning Mods & Upgrades

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Duratec 30 Tuning Stages

Stage 1 Duratec 30 modifications: Drilled & smoothed airbox, Fast road camshaft, Sports exhaust manifold, Panel air filters, Intake headers, Remaps/piggy back ECU.

Stage 2 Duratec 30 modifications: Ported and polished head, fuel pump upgrades, Fast road cam, high flow fuel injectors, induction kit, Sports catalyst & performance exhaust.

Stage 3 Duratec 30 modifications: Twin charging conversions, Adding or Upgrading forced induction (turbo/supercharger), Competition cam, Engine balancing & blueprinting, Internal engine upgrades (head flowing porting/bigger valves), Crank and Piston upgrades to alter compression.

Mapping allows a tuner to release the full potential of all the tuning mods you've done to your Duratec 30.

It will usually give around 30% more power on turbocharged vehicles and you can expect to see around 15% on NASP engines, but figures achieved may differs on the tuning mods you've done and the condition of your engine.

It is the main goal to any engine performance tuning job to force air into the Duratec 30 engine

The intake plenum take the air from the air filter and allow it to be drawn into the engine cylinders.

Design and flow rate of the Air Intake manifolds can make a big improvement to fuel atomisation and engine efficiency on the Duratec 30.

I usually find intake manifold are needing an upgrade, although a few manufacturers provide reasonably good intake manifold.

Larger Duratec 30 valves, carrying out port work and head flowing will also lift bhp and torque, & more importantly will permit increasing the bhp and torque increase on other parts.

Turbo upgrades for the Duratec 30

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 30

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

When the engine has forced induction parts are giving better power gains and most turbo engines use many forged and stronger components.

There are reliable limits for every engine, with some being extremely strong and some only just able to handle stock power

See where you'll find these limitations and fit better pistons and crank to handle the power.

There are many drivers spending a lots of money on turbocharger upgrades on the Duratec 30 only to suffer the indignity of watching the Duratec 30 throw a rod on it's first outing after it's been completed.

Bigger capacity turbos tend to suffer a bottom end lag, and smaller turbos spool up much more quickly but don't have the peak rpm power band gains.

In the last 10 years the selection of turbochargers is always moving on and we are seeing variable vane turbochargers, allowing the vane profile is altered according to speed to lower lag and increase top end bhp and torque.

Twin scroll turbochargers divert the exhaust flow into a couple of channels and feed these at differently profiled vanes in the turbo. They also increase the scavenging effect of the engine.

You'll commonly see there is a restriction in the air flow sensor (AFM/MAF/MAP) on the Duratec 30 when considerably more air is being pulled into the engine.

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

Adding a supercharger or additional turbo will make large bhp gains, although more difficult to configure. We have this article covering twinchargers if you want to read more.

Uprating Duratec 30 fuel injectors

You will need to ensure that the engine is not starved of fuel so will have to pay attention to the fuelling when you start exceeding 20% of a performance increase.We would recommend you to be generous with your injector capacity.

The accepted safe increase is to add 20% capacity when specifying an injector, which takes into account injector deterioration and allows a bit of 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 Duratec 30 performance exhausts

You may need to boost your exhaust if the existing exhaust is actually causing a restriction in flow.

On most factory exhausts you'll see the exhaust flow rate is still good 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 balance the flow of gases through the engine.

But if the exhaust is too large, ie: it's over 2.5 inches bore, you will lose a great deal of your flow rate and end up lacking power and torque.

Usual exhaust restrictions are traced to the catalyst and filters installed, so adding a higher flowing performance alternative will help avoid this restriction.

Problems and issues to look out for on the Duratec 30

The Duratec 30 engines, if regularly serviced and maintained, are generally very reliable and have few issues.

Regular oil changes are vital on the Duratec 30, particularly when the engine has been modified and is putting down more power than the manufacturer intended.

For more information on Tuning your Duratec 30 engine please join us in our friendly forum where you can discuss tuning options in more detail with our Duratec 30 owners. It would also be worth reading our unbiased tuning articles to get a full grasp of the benefits and drawbacks of each modification.

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This article is flagged for an update, so please pass on specific tips below that I can include. All articles, and content was written by me, Waynne Smith TorqueCars founder. Some outlines are just too general so I appreciate your feedback and suggestions. This entry was filed under Ford. You can leave a response below or join our forum to discuss this article and car modification in detail with our members.

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