Ford’s Voodoo V-8 Is the Most Interesting Engine of the Year

Ford's Voodoo V-8 Is the Most Interesting Engine of the Year

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From the September 2015 issue
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The new rev-happy 5.2-liter V-8 in the Mustang Shelby GT350 is one of the most compelling reasons to visit a Ford dealership in 2016. Code-named Voodoo and sharing its basic architecture with the Mustang GT’s 435-hp, 5.0-liter Coyote engine, this new powerplant is an altogether wilder animal, producing 526 horsepower at 7500 rpm and 429 pound-feet of torque at 4750. Camaro Z/28s, beware.

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Voodoo harbors in its belly a flat-plane crankshaft with throws spaced every 180 degrees, like a four-cylinder—and also like a Ferrari V-8. The leaner crankshaft with lighter counterweights has lower rotating inertia than the 5.0-liter and provides evenly spaced exhaust pulses in each bank for better breathing.

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Along with greater specific output, the result is a hellacious exhaust note unlike any other American V-8; the fury is Wagnerian as revs build to the 8250-rpm redline.

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Ford sweated the 5.2’s components to shave a few pounds from the 5.0’s mass, and it will assemble the mills by hand at its Romeo, Michigan, engine plant. Its witchcraft V-8 will power the $49,995 GT350 and the $63,495 GT350R. Both prices include the Voodoo’s $1300 gas-guzzler tax.

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2016 Ford Mustang Shelby GT350

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2016 Ford Mustang Shelby GT350
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Exhaust
-Short-tube, 4-into-2-into-1 headers inflict minimal backpressure as they plumb the flat crank’s heartbeat into the GT350’s variable exhaust system. They also allow for closely mounted catalysts that improve cold-start emissions.

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Intake
-Long intake runners within the plastic manifold contribute to the engine’s broad power band, as do a gaping, 87-millimeter throttle body and a large-volume air filter.

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Block
-The reinforced aluminum block has the same bore spacing and deck height as the 5.0, but 94-by-93-millimeter bore-and-stroke dimensions yield 5163 cubic centimeters (or 315 cubic inches) of displacement. Voodoo’s larger bores necessitate plasma-transferred wire-arc cylinder surfaces instead of Coyote’s iron liners.

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Heads
-Ford optimized the aluminum 32-valve top end for high-rpm breathing and reduced mass. The hollow steel intake valves and sodium-filled exhaust valves are larger and more widely spaced than the 5.0’s, and are actuated by monster camshafts providing 14 millimeters of lift. Ford’s Ti-VCT variable valve timing helps manage the 12.0:1 compression ratio.

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Fuel Delivery
-Ford spared the expense and complication of direct injection for this low-volume engine.

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Crankshaft
-The 5.2’s connecting rods attach to the flat-plane crank at 180-degree intervals versus a normal V-8’s 90 degrees. A carefully tuned crankshaft damper helps manage the vibrations, and holes drilled throughout reduce weight. Both the crank and rods are made of forged steel; the pistons are constructed of forged aluminum.

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Ford's Voodoo V-8 Is the Most Interesting Engine of the Year

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from Car and Driver Blog http://ift.tt/1NX3UkJ

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