Jump to content
Do Not Sell My Personal Information


1.6 Ti-VCT or 1.8 Duratec HE Engine - choose ?


johnalexander2017
 Share

Recommended Posts

hi everybody,

apologies if this post is not in the right section, i have just joined the forum hoping i can get some guidance :

i am looking to buy a 2008 (onwards) ford focus. now i am torn between 1.6 Ti-VCT engine and 1.8 Duratec HE engine. All i want is an engine which is durable and say general things like doesnt burn oil between yearly service etc. I am not that keen on power or tuning side of things. I just wanted to know out of the two which is most durable and can last longer......forever ! :smile:

The reason to bring up the 'oil burning' issue is due to the fact that owned a mini cooper S before which use to binge drink oil and have to be pretty sharp on checking it all the time. I dont rate the engine in that car as reliable....anyway thats past.

i look forward to your replies & apologies again if i i had posted it in wrong section.

cheers

John

Link to comment
Share on other sites


Can't comment on the 1.8 but I've had 2x 1.6 tivct Focus and, although they are good enough, they lack power and are quite sluggish low in the rev range. That said, the two I've had had given me no bother at all. They need to be driven a certain way to get The most from them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have a 2010 1.8 Duratec HE and it isn't sluggish at all it can feel quite quick when it wants to.  Both the 1.6 and 1.8 engine can burn oil but mine burns hardly anything between oil changes.   They are both tough engines although mine has recently developed a strange noise when pulsing the revs between 2000 - 2500 rpm.  But overall it has been a good car I have put 55000 miles on mine and it hasn't missed a beat in 6 years.  Its currently sitting on 72000 miles.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've read on this forum that the variable cam timing units of the Ti-VCT can start to give problems at around 50K miles. I don't know if that's been resolved on the year you're looking at. I decided to go for the 1.8HE on the basis that the larger engine should have more torque. I was pleased to discover it has chain-driven camshafts. It's quite low geared, sounds quite buzzy (the Mk2/2.5 is a noisy car anyway, though, lots of wind and road noise) and feels as though it could pull a sixth gear but it can accelerate cleanly away in top gear from 30mph so I'm not constantly having to stir the box.

I find the performance perfectly adequate, I would certainly not call it sluggish.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites


This is true however if the engine is run on good quality fuel and the oil is changed regularly I think this issue can be minimised.  So I would go for a car with full service history.  Just beaware that all engine will burn some oil as the mileage increases.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

At the moment ours doesn't use any noticeable amount of oil between services, that's around 7,000 miles per year and it's currently done just over 40K.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, iantt said:

1.8 is prone to burning oil.

which is way more preferable than problems that can occur with the expensive cam control gubbins that you get with the 1.6tivct.  :-D

the 1.8 all the way for me.

similar engine power output but without all the techno faff to go wrong

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I had to top my oil up last week, it's used about 500ml since it's oil and filter change in September, done about 2000 miles since then. The one good thing about adding oil in between services is that it gets some fresh oil every now and then.

The only downside I have with the car is the fuel consumption, on board computer currently reading 27.9 mpg with an average speed of 26.5 mph. I know it's not the most accurate way of measuring, but I never fill my car to the brim.

What are other 1.8 Duratec owner's getting?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

2 hours ago, wilto said:

I had to top my oil up last week, it's used about 500ml since it's oil and filter change in September, done about 2000 miles since then. The one good thing about adding oil in between services is that it gets some fresh oil every now and then.

The only downside I have with the car is the fuel consumption, on board computer currently reading 27.9 mpg with an average speed of 26.5 mph. I know it's not the most accurate way of measuring, but I never fill my car to the brim.

What are other 1.8 Duratec owner's getting?

Wife's 1.8 MK 2.5 Zetec tends to average around 30 MPG because it only does short journeys, if I take it on a longer run and make an effort to drive efficiently I can usually get it up to around 40 MPG if there is a decent but of motorway cruising on the journey.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Can't comment on the 1.8 duratec he but my 2.0 duratec he, same engine bar extra 200cc, bout 29-31 round town n on a decent motorway workout 42-47 depending if Im cruising at 65 or briskly goin at 80. Doesnt seem to burn much if any oil between services but like ppl said. Regular oil changes minimise issues. I do mine twice a year regardless of miles. 2010 car with 56k on clock. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Another option could be the 1.6 Duratec (non VVT) - i.e. the non Ti-VCT engine.

It's pretty much bulletproof, and really doesn't have any issues like the other two as far as I'm aware.

Pros: probably the most reliable out of the three, better MPG than the 1.8 HE

Cons: less powerful than the other two, belt driven engine, so needs replacing around every 8 years or 80,000 miles.

For the record, my preference would be the 1.8, however be prepared to pay more at the pump lol.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Plus one for the 1.6 Duratec. No problems with mine, not exactly hair-raising off the mark with the auto box but can happily cruise at (cough) 70mph. Doesn't drink a drop of oil between services but mine is coming up for the belt change mentioned.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The 1.6 is a tough basic unit.  The VVT system does hand the potential to cause grief, but its rare.  Its actually quite a simple system.

On then other hand, the 1.8 is simpler, but it's perhaps not such a robust underlying machine, and they do have a bit of a rep for smoke and oily tailpipes if they've been driven too gently from new.  

Driven with care the 1.6 can give surprisingly good economy, well into the 40s.

On balance I'd have the 1..6, but I wouldn't be disappointed if I had the 1.8, provided I personally got to select the car myself so I got one that'd been driven hard enough not to smoke, but not so hard that it had suffered the Ill effects of thrashing.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 hours ago, Incontro said:

Pros: probably the most reliable out of the three, better MPG than the 1.8 HE

Ford Duratec/DuratecHE engines are basing on Mazda L-series engines, which probably designed late 1990/early 2000 and widely used in Mazda, Ford and Volvo models.
So, maybe not surprising, that Duratec(HE) engines are quite reliable and not so fuel economic - "old" design without "desperate" tricks for improving fuel economy or emission figures.


Also not having experience with 1.6 nor 1.8 HE, but having 2.0 HE (with 5-speed manual) Focus Tourer/Estate (mk2.5; my 2008) bout 13 months.
Total mileage round 124000 km (~77000 miles), which I drove 12000 km (~7400 miles).

One service during my era - no need to add oil between services (oil change interval 10 tkm /~6.2 kmiles).

Yes, Duratec engines have chains, but only one row ones (even my old Alfa Romeo 75 2.0 TS having two row chains).
I'm not afraid of belt engines (owned several ones), but last time I's looking for estate with chain engine, reasonable mileage and as few computers as possible.
Ended up to Focus Estate (2.0 HE), cause Focus with 1.8 petrol engine is quite rare in Finland, Mondeo Estates with reasonable mileages were too expensive and GM-Holden chain engines having serious issues.

Pros:
- Enough power and torque for Focus Estate (at least 2.0 DuratecHE; curb weight 1284 kg / GVWR 1895 kg)
- Chain engine (though one row chains)
- Basic engine w/o special economy/emission tricks

Cons:
- There should be one more gear (6th) - quite high rpm with 5th gear in motorway speeds - 100 km/h (62 mph) or 120 km/h (bit over 74 mph)
- Bad fuel economy - (basing on car's computer) town/city: 9.5...10 l/100km (29.7...28.2 mpg) in Summer and 10...11 l/100km (28.2...25.7 mpg) in Winter. Motorway 8...9 l/100km (35.3...31.3 mpg) in Summer. Below 8 l/100km (35.3 mpg or better) possible to attain by driving on roadway max 80 km/h (50 mph) in Summer time.
- Right side front wheel bearing start to make mean sound (round 114 tkm / bit over 70 kmiles) and front bearings changed to both sides - no other extra fix so far (and bit off--topic for DuratecHE discussion)

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites


the same mazda l series is the basic design for the 2.0/2.3 ecoboost engines, modified extensively though.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have 1.6 ti-vct had it couple years, it's got 72,000 on clock. Must spent over grand on it already. New timing belt, Steering pipes, Aircon pipe, power steering switch, leaking heater matrix, clutch spring, washer jets leaked rusted plugs, Washer bottle blocked, front heated windscreen ribbon breaked. I find it bit slow getting away 1.6 vct and they have think 115bhp I had 1.8 Mondeo and was great good car compared to focus.

Have started to look about for new car prefably Mondeo again as getting worried the ti-vct unit going to go.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2010 1.8 Duratec HE, 62k miles, FSH. Uses no oil between services*. Low 30's MPG around the doors, up to mid-40s on a run. I once got an indicated 50.0 MPG on a deliberate "hypermiling" run between Carrickfergus and Larne, but boy was it boring!

 

* I reckon I do the underbonnet checks more than most owners, having owned a succession of Rover K Series cars in the past: you're ALWAYS checking the coolant.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

27 minutes ago, ashmicro said:

I do the underbonnet checks more than most owners, having owned a succession of Rover K Series cars in the past

Yes, a very fragile engine. Prone to blowing head gaskets and warping cylinder heads.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Out of sheer coincidence yesterday, I had to top up the oil and coolant in my tivct. First time that's ever happened since I got it at 34k, now touching 64k. No sign of gasket failure though, all looks/smells nice and clean in there.

Sent from my HTC 10 using Tapatalk

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

56 minutes ago, mjt said:

Yes, a very fragile engine. Prone to blowing head gaskets and warping cylinder heads.

The father in law's Rover 414i got traded in for exactly that reason!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Same with our Rover 200 and 25. When they got to around 50K I figured it was time to get rid.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

thanks for the replies, much appreciated.

i read that 1.6 duratec (99 bhp) PFI engine OR say the non-vct engine is pretty good too. somebody at work mentinoed that too if i remember it right

my query on that is :

1) is that a ford sigma engine

2) is it all aluminium engine. i am looking from 2007 to 2010 range cars.

i am considering the 1.6 duratec 99bhp non-vct engine  in the mix as i can get a variety of cars with this engine with low mileage, condition etc etc.

cheers

john

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, johnalexander2017 said:

thanks for the replies, much appreciated.

i read that 1.6 duratec (99 bhp) PFI engine OR say the non-vct engine is pretty good too. somebody at work mentinoed that too if i remember it right

my query on that is :

1) is that a ford sigma engine

2) is it all aluminium engine. i am looking from 2007 to 2010 range cars.

i am considering the 1.6 duratec 99bhp non-vct engine  in the mix as i can get a variety of cars with this engine with low mileage, condition etc etc.

cheers

john

1) yes - duratec is essentially the name for an upgraded sigma engine, with marginal improvements in emissions, fuel efficiency, torque, etc

2) yes, aluminium block. warms up and cools pretty quickly

make sure of all the usuals when looking around - regular servicing, frequent oil changes, no blue or white smoke etc. also make sure the timing belt's been replaced (with itemised invoices to prove), else factor at least 300-400 quid into the cost of your purchase.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share




×
×
  • Create New...

Forums


News


Membership