Why Ford Engines Give Toyota A Run For Their Money

Of all the automotive rivalries, none are more contentious than the issue of Ford vs. Toyota, especially with the question of Ford engines vs. Toyota engines. So why do Ford engines give Toyota a run for their money?

When looking at Ford engines, you'll see they offer a better exhaust port. Ford engines also benefit from superior intake flow, especially when considering the valve lift area. While the maximum cam lift for Ford Engines are higher than industry standard, the cylinder head flow potential at mid-range valve lifts contribute to the strong power curves delivered throughout Ford engines. In fact, comparisons of the Ford engines to the top ten Toyota aftermarket engines consistently place Ford engines head and shoulders above the performance of a Toyota. This can't be emphasized too much; powerful cylinder heads contribute the most to the success of the engine you'll find in a Ford.

Ford engines show their superiority in two other ways. The first is overall power, and the second in in peak power. Oftentimes, Toyota engines have great peak power but are very weak when it comes to their mid-range torque curve. In contrast, the Ford engines not only have more peak power but also have more overall power than Toyota engines. Toyota's offerings may have slightly more torque between the 3,500 and 4,000 range, but that's the only range that matches up to Ford. In fact, while a Toyota engine's peak numbers might seem similar to Ford engines, closer inspection of torque shows that Ford had 14 lb-ft more torque than Toyota's best. Side by side, Toyota was outmatched compared to Ford, coming more than 50hp shy of a typical Ford engine and approximately 30-lb-ft short of Ford's engine on total torque made.

Ford engines also have another advantage over Toyota's comparable offerings. Ford engines use an efficient combination of turbo charging with direct fuel injection, which in turn supplies Ford engines with a one-two punch of high mileage and considerable power. Ford accomplishes this by precisely spraying fuel directly into the engine cylinders. The cylinders then help cool the air-fuel mix, in turn allowing a Ford engine to run at efficient and impressive compression ratios. Toyota engines have more primitive fuel port injectors, in turn running with greatly reduced compression ratios. As a bonus, a Ford's engine is 30 to 40 percent smaller than comparable Toyota engines, with no comparable loss in engine power or fuel economy.

The best fuel efficiency is realized by Ford offering an exclusive EcoBoost engine technology in nearly the entire lineup. EcoBoost technology is available in everywhere from the Ford Flex crossover, to the Taurus SHO. It will even a compelling alternative to the standard Ford engines in the F-150 pickup beginning early next year. Toyota offers nothing like this. In fact, Ford's smaller four-cylinder engines outperform Toyota's thirstier six-cylinder engine counterparts. Ford will show the first four-cylinder 2 liter single turbo engine with about 230 horsepower next year on a Ford vehicle to be announced. A 1.6 liter version is said to be in development that will get better than 40 mpg in compact cars.