JE’s Ford Ecoboost Pistons: Everything You Need to Know

Ford has tied its star to gasoline direct injection (GDI) where fuel is injected directly into the cylinder. Inside we discuss the piston options for Ecoboosts.

The future is now and that means the game is changing for gasoline-fueled performance engines. The industry and Ford in particular has tied its star to gasoline direct injection (GDI) where fuel is injected directly into the cylinder under extreme pressure. Imagine an engine where you combine GDI, variable valve timing, and a turbocharger. The opportunities invite a broad swath of cylinder pressure intrigue. Among the engines leading this charge are the Ford EcoBoost engines, including the 1.6L, 2.0L, and 2.3L turbocharged inline fours along with their 3.5L V6 cousin. JE quickly picked up on this lead with performance forged pistons for both 3.5L and 2.3L engines with the 1.6L coming soon.

“This FSR is already plenty strong for the application,” says lead JE Pistons Engineer Clayton Stothers. “Typically a GDI piston will see higher cylinder pressures in general but this particular forging was designed for big boost applications so that is why we chose it for the Ecoboost piston. This FEA helps us to validate this decision and to make sure that the forging and crown design work well together.”

The most dramatic departure from normal piston design for GDI engines is in the crown. A GDI engine’s compact combustion chamber and centrally–located injector aim fuel at a trough located in the middle of the piston. Because combustion efficiency is tied directly to the orientation of this trough, its shape with a new JE forged piston is as close to factory-designed as possible. But that’s where the JE enhancements take over with high-tensile strength 2618 forgings offering exceptional strength for the guaranteed increases in cylinder pressure.

Except for the change in piston crown, the rest of the piston design relies on JE proven structural designs using Forged Side Relief (FSR) technology to reduce weight with no sacrifice in strength. Combined with a full-floating, carbon steel wrist pin, the remainder of a GDI forging is similar in structure and design to a typical JE performance piston. The ring package is thin yet and strong featuring a 1.0mm, 1.2mm, and 2.8mm ring package that comes with each set of pistons. So if a dive into the future of performance sounds like the path you’ve chosen, JE probably has a set of pistons that can take all the heat that EcoBoost can deliver.

 Ford 2.3L Ecoboost

Ford 3.5L V6

 **Coming Soon – Ford Fiesta ST 1.6L EcoBoost pistons