

2012 Ford Explorer









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By Iaiken on 7/28/2011 10:58:16 AM , Rating: 1
Ford Drops All-Aluminum EcoBoost Four-cylinder into the Explorer, Tacks on $995 Premium

This is pretty much par for the course when you're moving to more advanced engines that are made from lighter/costlier materials. The V6's weigh 159lbs less than their 5l V8 equivalents and the i4's weigh 120lbs less than their V6 counterparts. This means a weight savings of anywhere up to 5% (depending on the car) and a semi-proportional increase to fuel economy. Meanwhile the aluminum being used is 6x as expensive as the cast iron used in fords older engine blocks and it is more difficult to machine.

Not sure why this is a story actually... :P

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By Mathos on 7/28/2011 1:29:34 PM , Rating: 2
Not to mention the other reasons for using all aluminum engine design. The main one being when the engine heats up, or starts to overheat, the whole engine is expanding and contracting at the same rate. Where as in older engines with a cast iron block and aluminum head setup, the iron block doesn't expand and contract at the same point as the aluminum head, which is what causes head warping, or block cracking during overheats.

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