Hi All

I live in Johannesburg, South Africa and have a Fiesta which we bought with us from the UK a number of years ago for my daughter. We bought it new in 2008 and currently it is sitting on 60k miles.

I have a few questions which I cannot seem to find answers to if I may?

What are the differences between the Mk6.5 80hp 1.4 petrol to the MK7 1.4 96hp petrol? We are at high altitude and the car feels like a 1.0. It's also quite heavy on fuel in town. What would I need to change to get the engine up to 96hp if I can? Changing the engine for another is not an option.

The second question pertains to how the engine runs, it seems to hold back on the throttle and then accelerate, particularly at lower throttle openings and revs, almost like the throttle is a switch. It has done this from new, but the effect is exacerbated at our altitude. Anything I can look at to resolve or improve this?

I hope you guys can assist or point me in the right direction. I am over in the UK on the 26th November for a week so can pick up whatever parts I need to do this.

Thanks

Anybody got any ideas or can point me in the direction where I may find answers?

I owned a 2004 1.4 petrol and it always struck me how gutless it was. Unfortunately, normally aspirated petrols are near impossible to get decent performance gains out of, unless you want to spend megabucks.

The 1.4 engine is weak.  I had one in my previous Ford Focus mk1 around same weight as current mk7/ 7.5 Fiesta car and found it under powered.  

I hired one of those a few tears ago in Spain and found it poor on any inclines, it just got slower and slower.

In the old days of carberettors when using at high altitudes you needed to change the carberrettor jets to compensate. I have no idea how it is done on fuel injection.

Or perhaps it should adjust itself by sensing the difference in the MAF  mass airlow sensor.

Does it have a MAF sensor on it?  (my wife had a 1.6 focus mk1 which is same type of engine I believe and that did not have a MAF which in my view hinders the computers ability to compensate for thinner air at altitude).

Is there a higher altitude ford dealer you can ask about this eg. when they supply new cars at that altitude are they adapted to that compared to cars sold at some other place at sea level.

 

 

 

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Often when a maker has a later version of same engine which shows a higher bhp it does not feel that different in use. It might have a higher peak output at say 5000rpm but if the bhp and torque curves(like on a graph) are compared between the old and new engine there might not actually be any difference in the rev range that you would typically drive at and hence not notice the extra claimed peak power output.

Thank you all for the replies.

I have discussed here with my local dealer and they say they sell the cars as they arrive. The ECU apparently compensates for altitude and fuel quality. They were also at a loss as to why the engine seems to hold back and then start to accelerate when the throttle is pushed all the way. They did agree that it is not normal. There are no error codes either.

We are roughly at 1700 to 1800 metres above sea level and generally a normally aspirated car loses around 15 to 20% power compared to sea level. I am more concerned about the erratic throttle behaviour than outright performance as I know the engine was never a ball of fire.

bit of a longshot.

does this model car have electronic throttle (ie. wires to throttle pedal and not a mechanical cable). If electronic throttle: A supply voltage comes to the pedal and then a lower voltage goes from it depending on throttle position. I am wondering if the voltage output could be tested with a voltmeter so see how even if goes up as you press the pedal or if there seems to be some unevenness in the increase like it is low and then suddenly jumps.  As I say it is a bit of a longshot.

I would imagine ford diagnostic stuff could show the voltage the ECU receives from the throttle pedal at different pedal positions but that is more likely to cost you to see.

Does the car have a MAF sensor?  could it be that UK supplied cars didn't have one (because they thought the altitude wouldn't be an issue) but it would have had one if supplied new in other territories.

As I say, "my wife had a 1.6 focus mk1 which is same type of engine I believe and that did not have a MAF which in my view hinders the computers ability to compensate for thinner air at altitude". I am not an expert but as I see it the ECU can only compensate if there are sensors that give it the necessary readings and I would think that the MAF sensor would be the one to do that.