This will change everything!!
www.autoblog.com/.../honda-proposes-fit-engine-to-replace-classic-formula-ford-mill
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July 31, 2009 8:10 p.m. bigwrench Reader
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July 31, 2009 9:33 p.m. maroon92 SuperDork
Formula Fit!
I would autocross one.
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July 31, 2009 11:03 p.m. fiat22turbo SuperDork
About dang time, Europe gas been using the Zetec and Duratec motors after they stopped using the Kent mill.
Of course if Ford would step up and work with the SCCA to move the FF's to a newer engine then the costs would drop a bit for the folks trying to stay at the top of the class.
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Aug. 1, 2009 12:10 a.m. modernbeat HalfDork
fiat22turbo wrote: Of course if Ford would step up and work with the SCCA to move the FF's to a newer engine then the costs would drop a bit for the folks trying to stay at the top of the class.
Apparently, Ford proposed just that about ten years ago. SCCA told them they'd have to hold a competition and invite other suppliers. The winner (the biggest briber) would win the contract as the engine supplier. Ford just said no thanks. Why did SCCA do it? Greed? Or fear from the recent Renault lawsuit?
Anyway - there's a ten pager on the Formula Fit at Apexspeed. They are generally enthusiastic about it, and the few that aren't, seem resigned that if it's not Honda, it will be something else.
My thought is that the Kent will soon be relagated to Formula Ford Vintage or Club Ford and the Honda will be developed into the leading engine.
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Aug. 1, 2009 8:21 a.m. carguy123 Dork
That link no longer goes to anything about Honda or Formula Fords, but I'd looked at that engine for a Locost only I never could find a manual model.
It's very compact and light which is unusual nowadays. Even small displacement engines are rather large. In the good ol' days small displacement motors were extremely tiny and light.
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Aug. 1, 2009 9:49 a.m. bigwrench Reader
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Aug. 1, 2009 10:21 a.m. TJ HalfDork
carguy123 wrote:
It's very compact and light which is unusual nowadays. Even small displacement engines are rather large. In the good ol' days small displacement motors were extremely tiny and light.
I found this link when researching the fit engine. I have a fit and was looking at the engine one day and figured the engine would fit into my mini without having to extend the front by 4" like a B or K series swap usually do.
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Aug. 1, 2009 10:42 a.m. carguy123 Dork
TJ wrote:
I found this link when researching the fit engine. I have a fit and was looking at the engine one day and figured the engine would fit into my mini without having to extend the front by 4" like a B or K series swap usually do.
Wait! You mean the Honda auto on the Fit is a CVT? I'd have used it in a heart beat. I feel a proper CVT would be the ideal engine/tranny for autocross.
Thanx for the link.
Man the transmission in the pic looks to be as big as the engine.
The L series is "only" 10% lighter than the D series. While that's small it's not as small as it looked like when peering down a Fit engine compartment. The pic they have of the engine and tranny either makes the tranny look huge or the engine look small, I can't decide which.
Unfortunately the article says the early Fit engine runs out of steam after about 4500 rpm so I guess that wouldn't have been a good Fit for an autocross car. The newer L15A VTEC engines on the other hand have a power surge at 4,000 rpms.
That might not be a bad engine for the old Mini as is conserves space/weight, has more HP and a better power band and also should be less problems and more easily serviced.
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Aug. 1, 2009 11:30 p.m. TJ HalfDork
The CVT tranny was not available in the states. We got a 5 speed automatic with paddle shifters.
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Aug. 2, 2009 12:34 p.m. Fit_Is_Slo New Reader
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Aug. 2, 2009 5:20 p.m. carguy123 Dork
TJ wrote:
The CVT tranny was not available in the states. We got a 5 speed automatic with paddle shifters.
Since nothing in that article mentioned any auto tranny except the CVT did we get the CVT with a 5 speed mode?
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Oct. 16, 2009 5:27 p.m. fiat22turbo SuperDork
Behold the resurrection!
http://jalopnik.com/5383307/ford-introduces-16l-duratec-race-engine-restarts-kent-...
Ford is reproducing the "Kent" engine for the folks still running Formula Fords in SCCA and they have a new race version of the 1.6L Duratec mill for the UK Formula Ford folks.
Meanwhile the SCCA are still stumbling over themselves about what to do about the decline in Formula Ford grids....
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Oct. 16, 2009 6:23 p.m. ddavidv SuperDork
fiat22turbo wrote: Meanwhile the SCCA are still stumbling over themselves about what to do about the decline in Formula Ford grids....
They still race those? I thought they were relegated to vintage since I don't see any racing SCCA anymore. Yeah, I'm mostly serious.
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Oct. 17, 2009 2:33 p.m. David S. Wallens Editorial Director
Honda had their FF engine at the Runoffs--a few of them on display, actually. We'll have something in the next issue. And yes, looks like Ford is getting back into the game.
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Oct. 17, 2009 3:18 p.m. fiat22turbo SuperDork
ddavidv wrote:
fiat22turbo wrote: Meanwhile the SCCA are still stumbling over themselves about what to do about the decline in Formula Ford grids....
They still race those? I thought they were relegated to vintage since I don't see any racing SCCA anymore. Yeah, I'm mostly serious.
They do here, but yeah in my time on this planet, there hasn't been that many and recently there have been very very few.
