Tuning the Ford 1.6 Duratec

"Comprehensive guide to tuning and performance parts on the Ford 1.6 Duratec engine!"

We are regularly getting emails inquiring about getting more power from the 1.6 Duratec and wanting to know what are the things we recommend when it comes to 1.6 Duratec mods that work. So let us look into Ford 1.6 Duratec upgrades and outline the best modifications on this great engine and point out some potential pitfalls along the way.

Therefore we examine 1.6 Duratec tuning and point out the premier mods that work. Ford 1.6 Duratec are awesome to work on and with carefully chosen upgrades like remaps, turbo kits and camshafts you will definitely increase your driving experience.

Just because particular upgrades are popular with 1.6 Duratec owners it doesn't mean you should fit it, instead we'll optimum upgrades that will give your 1.6 Duratec the best power gain for you spend.

  • (Zetec RoCam)  1.6 L (97.45 CID; 1597 cc) 2000–2014 SOHC I4
  • Duratec Ti-VCT Ford Sigma engine 1.6 L  (1596 cc) 2002–present

The cam profile plays a big part in the engines power output so cam upgrades make quite a large difference. The intake and exhaust durations will alter depending on the chosen cam profile, so large bhp gains are on offer for cam upgrades.

NB: Fast road camshafts commonly raise the bhp and torque across the rev band, you may sacrifice a little bottom end bhp but your high end rpm power will be higher.

Motorsport and race camshafts, raise the high end rpm power band but as a result the car will not idle smoothly and low end power nearly always suffers.

In a typical daily driver should ideally to optimize your torque band to your driving style.

I'd be gobsmaked if you find a 1.6 Duratec Competition camshaft is a pleasure to live with when on the daily commute.

Each engine responds better to more aggressive camshaft durations so view each engine as unique.

The engine timing and fuelling also have a large bearing on the bhp gains you'll achieve.

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.

1.6 Duratec Best Tuning Mods & Upgrades

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

Stage 2 1.6 Duratec modifications: high flow fuel injectors, fuel pump upgrades, induction kit, Ported and polished head, Fast road cam, Sports catalyst & performance exhaust.

Stage 3 1.6 Duratec modifications: Crank and Piston upgrades to alter compression, Adding or Upgrading forced induction (turbo/supercharger), Twin charging conversions, Engine balancing & blueprinting, Internal engine upgrades (head flowing porting/bigger valves), Competition cam.

Plan your options and then acquire your modifications and set yourself a power target to avoid costly mistakes.

Remaps should help to unlock the full potential of all the tuning parts you've done to your 1.6 Duratec.

It will usually give around 30% more power on turbocharged vehicles and you can expect to see around 15% on NASP engines, but power output often depend much on the tuning parts you've applied and the condition of your engine.

Getting fuel and air into your 1.6 Duratec is the aim to any performance tuning job.

Intake transmit the air from the filter and allow it to be drawn into the engine cylinders with fuel for the squish phase.

The bore size, shape and flow rate of the Intake headers can make a noticeable effect on to fuel mixing and power on the 1.6 Duratec.

Many mass produced engine plenum chambers are in desperate need of a performance upgrade, although some makers provide well optimised plenum chambers.

Adding a 1.6 Duratec larger valve kit, doing a bit of 3 or 5 angle valve jobs and porting and head flowing will also raise power, and importantly will give you a better power increase on other tuning parts.

Turbo upgrades for the 1.6 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 1.6 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 significant power gains.

If your car is turbo charged modifications are going to net you a larger power gain and you will discover turbo engines are made using stronger components.

However you'll find engines will have power limits

Research these limitations and fit stronger pistons, crank and engine components to utilize the power.

We've seen drivers spending a lots of money on turbocharger upgrades on the 1.6 Duratec only to have the whole thing explode on it's first outing after it's used in anger.

Larger turbo units commonly experience no power at low rpm, and little turbo units spool up much more quickly but don't have the high rpm torque gains.

We are pleased that the choice of turbos is always increasing and we are seeing variable vane turbos, allowing the vane angle is altered according to speed to lower lag and increase top end power.

Twin scroll turbos divert the exhaust flow into two channels and direct these at differently profiled vanes in the turbo charger. They also increase the scavenging effect of the engine.

It is common that there's a limit in the air flow sensor AFM/MAF on the 1.6 Duratec when considerably more air is being fed into the engine.

Going up you'll find 4 bar air sensors coping with quite large power gains, whereas the OEM air sensor was restricting torque at a much lower level.

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

Uprating 1.6 Duratec fuel injectors

You will need to ensure that the engine is not starved of fuel so will need to ramp up the fuelling when you start extending past 20% of a bhp and torque increase.Most tuners we speak with say to be generous with your injector capacity.

The rule of thumb is to add 20% when fitting an injector, which takes into account injector deterioration and allows some spare capacity should the engine need 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 1.6 Duratec performance exhausts

You only need to to increase your exhaust if the existing exhaust is actually creating a restriction.

On most factory exhausts you should find that the flow rate is ok 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: over 2.5 inches bore, you will lose a lot of the exhaust flow rate and end up lacking power and torque.

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

Problems and issues to look out for on the 1.6 Duratec

The 1.6 Duratec engines, if regularly serviced and maintained, are generally very reliable and have few issues.

Regular oil changes are vital on the 1.6 Duratec, particularly when the engine has been modified and is putting down more power than the manufacturer intended.

For more information on Tuning your 1.6 Duratec engine please join us in our friendly forum where you can discuss tuning options in more detail with our 1.6 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 1.6 Duratec guides and tips are kept up to date.

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