talked with my dealers service manager today about the direct injection

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My wife insists on having PremiumCare and the maintenance package on her car. She likes the peace of mind, and I don't want to have to work on her car.

For the Ranger I'll do the maintenance myself. Like the rest of you all I don't trust that anyone is doing it right.
the points got me three free oil changes. couldnt resist .pretty nice to drive in out .but sad to say no more points.
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HenryMac

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So is there any truth to that? Running 93 and punching the accelerator a bit from time to time to keep the engine running happy and healthy? That’s all I’m doing currently lol.
Yep... That used to be called a "Tony's Tune-Up". Folks would take their Fiat's and MG's to their mechanic "Tony". He'd take it out and run the piss out of, knocking all the carbon loose. Then they'd comeback and rave about how great the car was running.
 

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Yep... That used to be called a "Tony's Tune-Up". Folks would take their Fiat's and MG's to their mechanic "Tony". He'd take it out and run the piss out of, knocking all the carbon loose. Then they'd comeback and rave about how great the car was running.
suddenly the opening scene with Christian Bale/Ken Miles in Ford v Ferrari makes more sense to me lol
 

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Sorry to bring a nearly 10 month old thread back to life, but I’ve been reading through this while researching the catch cans. This thread has been a really solid back and forth and educational.

That said, no one discussed fuel type. Where I live there is an abundance of premium 93 octane, sometimes only 30 cents more than 87 octane. So I bite the bullet and always put premium 93 in. Besides the resistance it provides to predetonation, my brother in law told me it burns a little hotter and helps clean valves as a result.

So is there any truth to that? Running 93 and punching the accelerator a bit from time to time to keep the engine running happy and healthy? That’s all I’m doing currently lol.

The type of fuel used will make no absolute difference to how clean the valves stay over the life of the engine. the 2.3L is a TGDI (turbocharged gasoline direct injection) engine. This means the injectors atomize fuel directly in the combustion chamber and never contact the valves. The only benefit the detergents in the fuel give to us is keeping the injectors clean so the fuel is properly atomized. The octane rating in fuel determines how resistant it is to preignition (knock) when heated and/or pressurized, nothing more. Gasoline burns at a specific rate, and does not change at low or high RPMs. In order for an engine to properly extract as much power from each power stroke, it has to advance the spark timing as the RPMs increase. By running 93 octane the ECM can advance the timing further at higher RPM's than it can with 87 octane fuel. The result is a more complete burn from the power stroke, and more force is exerted on the pistons, thus creating more horsepower, torque, and heat.

By dipping into the turbo and running the engine a bit harder from time to time breaks up some of the carbon buildup that may develop on the top of the piston and combustion chamber. Excessive buildup can raise the compression levels in each cylinder, as well as create hot spots. Neither of which you want the base compression ratios to be as equal across all cylinders as possible. Any significant difference in these ratios can cause issues with how smooth the engine runs. The hot spots from the carbon build can and will cause the air/fuel mix to ignite prematurely as well.

So running 93 won't keep the engine cleaner, just help it to develop more power under the right circumstances.
 

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The type of fuel used will make no absolute difference to how clean the valves stay over the life of the engine. the 2.3L is a TGDI (turbocharged gasoline direct injection) engine. This means the injectors atomize fuel directly in the combustion chamber and never contact the valves. The only benefit the detergents in the fuel give to us is keeping the injectors clean so the fuel is properly atomized. The octane rating in fuel determines how resistant it is to preignition (knock) when heated and/or pressurized, nothing more. Gasoline burns at a specific rate, and does not change at low or high RPMs. In order for an engine to properly extract as much power from each power stroke, it has to advance the spark timing as the RPMs increase. By running 93 octane the ECM can advance the timing further at higher RPM's than it can with 87 octane fuel. The result is a more complete burn from the power stroke, and more force is exerted on the pistons, thus creating more horsepower, torque, and heat.

By dipping into the turbo and running the engine a bit harder from time to time breaks up some of the carbon buildup that may develop on the top of the piston and combustion chamber. Excessive buildup can raise the compression levels in each cylinder, as well as create hot spots. Neither of which you want the base compression ratios to be as equal across all cylinders as possible. Any significant difference in these ratios can cause issues with how smooth the engine runs. The hot spots from the carbon build can and will cause the air/fuel mix to ignite prematurely as well.

So running 93 won't keep the engine cleaner, just help it to develop more power under the right circumstances.
During the intake stroke, there can be an opportunity for the injector to spray fuel onto the back side of the intake valve. I haven‘t yet seen a cylinder head to see if this is possible with the 2.3, but it seems likely. If it is true, then fuel choice could make a difference with the accumulated carbon. Higher octane would not help, but a higher detergent/solvent level could make a difference. Top Tier (high-detergent) fuel, and motor oil meeting Ford’s specs for this engine, would likely be a step in the right direction. I have used bottled Chevron Techron injector cleaner for many years, and Chevron now has an updated formula marked specifically for GDI engines. Based on the assumption that the injectors are spraying fuel onto the intake valves, I am doing all three things to stave-off expensive remediation at some future date. Top Tier fuel, frequently-changed standard-compliant motor oil, and periodic Techron treatments. This costs only a tiny bit more more than using some random aggressively-marketed oil, and the cheapest gas available.
 


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Based on the assumption that the injectors are spraying fuel onto the intake valves....
Nope.. not on a direct injection motor. It injects the fuel right into the combustion chamber.

That's why it is called "Direct Injection".
 

HenryMac

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And the injector can spray fuel onto the valve when it is open during the intake stroke.
Nope. Think about it, air rushing into the cylinder via the intake valve. How is the injector going to spray fuel behind the valve, with that air rushing in?
 

slowmachine

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Nope. Think about it, air rushing into the cylinder via the intake valve. How is the injector going to spray fuel behind the valve, with that air rushing in?
The fuel would have to be sprayed at sufficient pressure. It could work if it were designed with this in mind.
 

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The fuel would have to be sprayed at sufficient pressure. It could work if it were designed with this in mind.
The injectors aren't aimed at the valves inside the cylinder.
 

HenryMac

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Please explain. Are you talking specifically about this engine, or GDI in general?
Yes and yes.

The direct injection injector is located to put the fuel in the optimum location into the combustion chamber, optimum for combustion... not for cleaning valves.

Or as Jim Croce would "Never spit into the wind".

It's not a port injection motor.... it's direct injection.

Also note that the manual specifically states not to use any additives in the fuel..

2.3-ecoboost-cutaway.jpg
 

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If no fuel is hitting the intake valves, it seems like a missed opportunity. A video:

 

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If no fuel is hitting the intake valves, it seems like a missed opportunity. A video:
It's not a missed opportunity, just a forced shift in the industry that was placed on them by governments to meet stricter efficiancy and mileage standards.


The fuel delivery happens during the compression stroke on GDI engines just like most 4 stroke desiel engines. This is why all GDI and TGDI engines have a mechanical HPFP (High Pressure Fuel Pump) driven off the intake cam. They need this secondary pump to increase the 35-50psi supplied by the primary electric pump and increase it to 2000psi or more. The system needs these high pressures to properly atomize the fuel and to overcome the rapidly increasing air pressure in the cylinder as the piston reaches TDC. So with this design there is no possible way for fuel to come into contact with the top side of the intake valves.

By moving the fuel delivery directly into the combustion chamber and delivering at the time of compression, engineers were able to significantly improve power and fuel economy over the port injection systems. The trade off was early GDI engines would develop excessive carbon buildup by oil laden blowby gasses from the PCV system mixing with hot exhaust fumes when the EGR system was active. The current generation of GDI and TGDI engines are designed to minimize this buildup by adding factory oil/air separators to the PCV system significantly reducing the oil vapor in the PCV system. Other engine disigns are also now adding dual port injection systems as well as oil/air separation. Dual pot injection systems provide the best of both worlds by utilizing port injection during driving conditions when that delivery method is more efficient than direct injection. Then will switch to the high pressure direct injection system under heavy throttle and higher rpm situations. Engineers have also made updates to how/when the EGR system operates to further minimize the contact time that led to the build up. The end result of these systems along with better quality oils like those used in Europe (who didn't have the issues we did with GDI) is significantly less deposit buildup and less long term drive-ability issues than what was experienced in the early GDI engines.
 

GhostStrykre

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The end result of these systems along with better quality oils like those used in Europe (who didn't have the issues we did with GDI) is significantly less deposit buildup and less long term drive-ability issues than what was experienced in the early GDI engines.
Is there a particular oil brand recommended for use in our 2.3 engines? I used to run Rotella T6 (aka, Brotella) in my Subaru WRX. That was 5W-40, I believe, and the engine called for 5W-30. Our Rangers call for 5W-30. Any recommendations?

Also, thanks for all the info in this thread. It has been a really fascinating read.
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