Focus 2011-Titanium , 1.6L Duratec Ti-VCT (123PS) Power

[montyburns]

 

Hi all,

New to this forum, have had a good look to find this topic so I thought that I would post this;

I've recently bought a 2011 Focus Titanium 1.6L Durance Ti-VCT (123PS)

It's a lovely car, but I am left a little disappointed with the power it delivers. The acceleration is poor, with slight hesitation at about 1800 - 2100 rpm. I have tried it on a fairly steep hill and I really had to work the gearbox to get to the top!

My previous car was a 1.2 Clio and that had more about it than the Focus with a far bigger engine and higher BHP (albeit it is a smaller car, but not THAT much!)

I've done some research via the web (hence I joined this owners club) - some say that these cars are a bit lack lustre anyway, others say they have no problems at all with power and acceleration. Some say it could be a software thing or coil packs (lots of potential red herrings)...

My car has a "full" warranty under Nissan's care4u package although I'm not sure if this is a warranty problem if its software?

Just thought I'd ask you guys if you have come across this before, and to hear your comments about performance of this particular engine type

Look forward to hearing from you

Cheers

Peter

 

[artscot79]

I've got the mk2 the Ti vct needs to be over 2.5 k revs upwards to get the most out of it its a high revving engine so needs to be driven as such power is never an issue foot Down in 5th the powers instantly there 4th gear 5k revs you're already past 80mph UK hills aren't an issue either so either you're not driving it as it wants or thees an issue somewhere

[mike6688]

I have 105ps Ti vct engine and as artscot79 says you do need to make sure you rev the Ti vct engines. If you have a gear shift indicator on your dash, try changing slightly after this recommends to change as I found this better than changing straight away. With plenty of revs this engine normally has decent power and will easily pull up hill. If your issues carry on, you could maybe look at PCM update at a dealer as I've heard on these forums this can sometimes help if you are having power issues. Or there maybe other issues that need further investigating to find the cause. 

[kpg]

I have 105ps Ti vct engine and as artscot79 says you do need to make sure you rev the Ti vct engines. If you have a gear shift indicator on your dash, try changing slightly after this recommends to change as I found this better than changing straight away. With plenty of revs this engine normally has decent power and will easily pull up hill. If your issues carry on, you could maybe look at PCM update at a dealer as I've heard on these forums this can sometimes help if you are having power issues. Or there maybe other issues that need further investigating to find the cause. 

+1 on the PCM update. I have the exact same car and engine and I too was feeling a bit let down with the power. Took it to my local ford dealer and had them do the update. Completely changed how the power is handled, more torque available down the revs. Don't get me wrong it's not perfect but it's a hell of a lot better.

Sent from the pub with a pint in the other hand.

[kpg]

I have 105ps Ti vct engine and as artscot79 says you do need to make sure you rev the Ti vct engines. If you have a gear shift indicator on your dash, try changing slightly after this recommends to change as I found this better than changing straight away. With plenty of revs this engine normally has decent power and will easily pull up hill. If your issues carry on, you could maybe look at PCM update at a dealer as I've heard on these forums this can sometimes help if you are having power issues. Or there maybe other issues that need further investigating to find the cause. 

+1 on the PCM update. I have the exact same car and engine and I too was feeling a bit let down with the power. Took it to my local ford dealer and had them do the update. Completely changed how the power is handled, more torque available down the revs. Don't get me wrong it's not perfect but it's a hell of a lot better.

Sent from the pub with a pint in the other hand.

[montyburns]

13 hours ago, kpg said:

+1 on the PCM update. I have the exact same car and engine and I too was feeling a bit let down with the power. Took it to my local ford dealer and had them do the update. Completely changed how the power is handled, more torque available down the revs. Don't get me wrong it's not perfect but it's a hell of a lot better.

Sent from the pub with a pint in the other hand.

Thanks of the info. I have been in contact with my local dealer who looked up my car and said there are no 'outstanding' updates to be done on it. However, I can leave it with them a day (£96.00 + vat) then they will do a diagnostics on it.

Already I am delaying shifting up way after the gear shift indicator suggests, my fuel economy is running at about 36 mpg (various driving speeds) which isn't as much as expected - surely whipping the engine to higher revs will lower the fuel economy even further. I'm still getting the flat spot also on acceleration...

Maybe I shall Shell out & take it to the dealer, if its anything more sinister than a software mod then my warranty should cover additional costs. 

[artscot79]

its the Li they tell you zetec engines are and always have required revving the vct kicks in over 2.5k reaching its peak at 4.5k so to really shift you need to change from that band fuel economy is about right to be honest

[montyburns]

 

Thanks for your replies;

Just had a look on Wikipedia about these engines  as below...- and they suggest high power and torque output at low revs...??? 

Maybe i'm old fashioned - but doesn't thrashing the engine increase wear and tear and shorten the engine life??

I'll change my driving habits for a bit and keep revs between 2,500 & 4,500 rpm and let you know.

Ti-VCT[edit]

Twin Independent Variable Camshaft Timing (Ti-VCT) is the name given by Ford to engines with the ability to advance or !Removed! the timing of both the intake and exhaust camshafts independently, unlike the original versions of VCT, which only operated on a single camshaft. This allows for improved power and torque, particularly at lower engine RPM, as well as improved fuel economy and reduced emissions.^[2] Ford Ti-VCT engines use BorgWarner's Cam Torque Actuation which utilizes the "existing torsional energy in the valve train to rotate the camshaft"^[3] instead of traditional oil pressure driven cam phasing.^[4]

[ChrisM41]

I think hesitation is just what the VCT engine does. I recently got a 115bhp version and it is hesitant. I can find no fault, including the usual such as air leaks and coil/leads. I did change the spark plugs to NGK iridium and that helped quite a bit, but its still there. There is no PCM update available either.

The plug gap seems to be a sticking point. It was 1.3mm originally, but was later changed by Ford to 1.0mm when it became clear the larger gap was stressing the coil. At 1.0mm the car runs less smoothly though and feels a bit flat. The NGK iridium gap is 1.1mm preset, and that seems like a happy medium, but they are about £7-8 each instead of £2.50 like the standard plugs.

[efiste2]

My 2011 1.6 (125) was poor at junctions on slight inclines, it was terrible over the twisty hilly routes, Ford told me no updates, when I first complained, but last service but one, they said they updated something and the car is a diiferent beast very much noticible difference.

They do need to be worked to get any decent power, but should still pull strong, right through the rev range.

but for everyday driving mine is more than capable, and doesnt have any misfire,

I gap the plugs to 1.1mm, gen ford ones. oil service is a good thing on these as the VCT units have small oilways, I change my oil and filter every 600 miles

[artscot79]

ford plugs are Bosch the system on this year of focus ti is also Bosch from the factory leads coil and plugs at 1.0mm never had an issue with hesitation either powers instant as for the high power high torque low revs ...to understand a normal 1.6 produces peak power at 5.5-6k revs the ti vct produces almost full torque at 2k revs and max torque at 4k revs the sweet spot is 2.5-3k revs below this the ti vct doesn't kick in simply put to get good power and torque you need to kerp the revs up

[mjt]

18 hours ago, efiste2 said:

I change my oil and filter every 600 miles

Have you missed a zero off or do you do a really low mileage?

[efiste2]

Oooops yes I have missed a zero off LOL....6000 oil and filter, probably over the top for modern cars and modern oil.....

 

[ChrisM41]

If you have an OBD scanner its worth checking a few things yourself, as I am doing in trying to diagnose a potential problem. Many things can be wrong and not throw out a code. Check your fuel trims, both long term and short term should be no more than -10% to +10%, but it wont throw a code until it gets over 25% either way. Too positive means a possible air leak, or fuel starvation, too negative means possible emission system issues, blocked air filter or leaky injector(s).

 

I have similar problems with flat spots and hesitation and it looks like its related to the cat. My fuel trim is very negative (too rich mixture). It may be due to an exhaust leak, faulty cat or O2 sensor in my case since I have exhaust rattling as well.

[montyburns]

On 20 March 2016 at 9:59 AM, montyburns said:

 

Hi all,

New to this forum, have had a good look to find this topic so I thought that I would post this;

I've recently bought a 2011 Focus Titanium 1.6L Durance Ti-VCT (123PS)

It's a lovely car, but I am left a little disappointed with the power it delivers. The acceleration is poor, with slight hesitation at about 1800 - 2100 rpm. I have tried it on a fairly steep hill and I really had to work the gearbox to get to the top!

My previous car was a 1.2 Clio and that had more about it than the Focus with a far bigger engine and higher BHP (albeit it is a smaller car, but not THAT much!)

I've done some research via the web (hence I joined this owners club) - some say that these cars are a bit lack lustre anyway, others say they have no problems at all with power and acceleration. Some say it could be a software thing or coil packs (lots of potential red herrings)...

My car has a "full" warranty under Nissan's care4u package although I'm not sure if this is a warranty problem if its software?

Just thought I'd ask you guys if you have come across this before, and to hear your comments about performance of this particular engine type

Look forward to hearing from you

Cheers

Peter

 

All resolved now - took it to Hendy Fords in Chichester and they applied a software update. Feels like a different car now!

[SteveGSXR600K1]

I had a PCM update done to mine a couple of months ago. It made a good difference to the car, especially starting, and driving whilst the engines cold, etc. The 'foot down - no power' is a lot better, but far from perfect. I've just resorted to the fact that I need to drive around the issues.... Just wished I'd bought a Titanium-X with the 1.6 EcoBoost engine instead!

[kpg]

I had a PCM update done to mine a couple of months ago. It made a good difference to the car, especially starting, and driving whilst the engines cold, etc. The 'foot down - no power' is a lot better, but far from perfect. I've just resorted to the fact that I need to drive around the issues.... Just wished I'd bought a Titanium-X with the 1.6 EcoBoost engine instead!

Pretty much everything you said here is what I feel about my car too, even after the pcm update. Spot on.

[montyburns]

OK, so now have finally sorted this issue. Never been 100% convinced I was getting the full power from my engine. Yes, I think the PCM update helped, but maybe that was a placebo effect. Maybe after the relearning of the PCM it drifted back to its lack lustre days of old.?

What I did was replace the air filter with a K&M filter, and carried out a snorkel delete. The car now is now much more responsive to the throttle, and apparently, according to other forums, it should increase the MPG.

Very happy with the mods, and the car has the nice air intake grunt to match the power improvements.

If any one would like more details on how I did (or what I did), please shout.

Gotta say that the difference is like night & day

[kpg]

OK, so now have finally sorted this issue. Never been 100% convinced I was getting the full power from my engine. Yes, I think the PCM update helped, but maybe that was a placebo effect. Maybe after the relearning of the PCM it drifted back to its lack lustre days of old.?

What I did was replace the air filter with a K&M filter, and carried out a snorkel delete. The car now is now much more responsive to the throttle, and apparently, according to other forums, it should increase the MPG.

Very happy with the mods, and the car has the nice air intake grunt to match the power improvements.

If any one would like more details on how I did (or what I did), please shout.

Gotta say that the difference is like night & day

I'd be interested in how the snorkel delete had such a big effect. Is there more bottom end power? How did you get the snorkel out? Any pics during the removal? I have the same 1.6 Tivct 125 engine in my MK3 focus.

[kpg]

Actually, I went ahead and done it lol I figured I'd just go for it so this is what I removed:

I haven't had a chance to test whether it made a difference or not but I'll be heading out in a while so I'll report back then.

[artscot79]

I highly doubt it would make such a difference even k and n stated they couldn't improve on the stock set up that much

[kpg]

I highly doubt it would make such a difference even k and n stated they couldn't improve on the stock set up that much

I agree. I was sceptical as to how much difference it would make but after just being out there for a 'spirited' drive I can say that it does make a difference. The car feels like it picks up quicker in the low revs and acceleration is smoother. Startup from cold was nicer too, no roughness or jumpy acceleration.

[kpg]

Same thing this morning. No stuttering going uphill and quick pickup from low in the revs. Quite pleased.

[montyburns]

I am pleased - however, I don't think you should have removed the bottom tray. Some people cut it a little to allow more air flow, but I was concerned about water ingress.

I left it as is.

I read on several forums that the snorkel delete needs to be done with an after market performance filter. Don't go for the full K&M kit, (57S -4000) . I fitted the E-9289 which has a removable bung which improves air flow even more, and increases the induction noise which is nice.

The E-2993 will also fit, is cheaper, but does not have the removable bung.

I fitted the air filter a week before committing to the snorkel delete, and the air filter made a significant difference.

With the two mods together (filter & delete) jobs a good'un

In addition, I checked out this tip http://www.focusfanatics.com/forum/mk3-focus/322276-5-minute-throttle-response-dct-solution-4.html

I had a tiny gap under the rubber strap which I sealed up with electrical tape :)

Edited September 19, 2016 by montyburns
error

[kpg]

I am pleased - however, I don't think you should have removed the bottom tray. Some people cut it a little to allow more air flow, but I was concerned about water ingress.

I left it as is.

I read on several forums that the snorkel delete needs to be done with an after market performance exhaust. Don't go for the full K&M kit, (57S -4000) . I fitted the E-9289 which has a removable bung which improves air flow even more, and increases the induction noise which is nice.

The E-2993 will also fit, is cheaper, but does not have the removable bung.

I fitted the air filter a week before committing to the snorkel delete, and the air filter made a significant difference.

With the two mods together (filter & delete) jobs a good'un

In addition, I checked out this tip http://www.focusfanatics.com/forum/mk3-focus/322276-5-minute-throttle-response-dct-solution-4.html

I had a tiny gap under the rubber strap which I sealed up with electrical tape :)

I have a Green Cotton air filter that's been in the car for a while. It could do with a clean mind you but it the same shape/dimensions as the KN filter just without the removable bung. I may purchase that one maybe and give it a go but I'm going to give the one I have a good clean first. Hopefully after that it should make a bit of difference. I plan to get an exhaust done pretty soon too so that should all add up.

Water Ingress: I wouldn't imagine anymore water getting in there than when the rubber thing was on. It wasn't exactly a tight fit and as far as I could see it didn't really look like it block any water/debris. I'll see how it goes, I spose if it comes to it I could just put it back in again.