ITB's on Zetec. Any issues?

[das76]

I'm interested in installing a set of ITB's on a SVT Zetec (car is 2005 - but engine is from 2003). From the notes I have in the car files it's the stock Ford ECU.

 

This is something completely new to me so my questions: would these be plug and play or would I need a new ECU or just a retune (I'm assuming a retune)? What about the harness? Anything else to be concerned about?

 

Thanks!

[MV8]

More like "plug and limp" if it runs at all. You'd need a tune and the qualities of that can vary greatly. There are ways to tune oem ecus but it would be much more practical to install an aftermarket speed density (SD) ecu that supports everything you need currently from the oem ford mass air flow (MAF) ecu. To do it properly, you'd also need to tune every aspect for fuel and ignition for air temp, coolant temp, loading (hills, gears, etc) which takes a lot of time unless a tune is available. There are emulators, scalars, and data loggers to make the tasks easier but it is still a lot of work and down time when you could be driving. In contrast, carbs simplify and make troubleshooting easier but nothing is without a downside.

 

I suggest leaving it as-is.

[Croc]

Sounds like the standard Ford ECU that Caterham USA used in that period on the SVT Zetec.  I got familiar with it when I owned a 2004 Caterham SV.  

 

Its a quality ECU.  OBDII readable (although with some expected fault codes - fuel tank and emission control fails).  Far more sophisticated and advanced than the MBE ECU supplied with new Caterhams today - a case of mid-90s Ford OEM technology being better than the relatively primitive MBE model used by Caterham.  The problem is exactly as @MV8 identified - there will be nothing on the shelf for a tune.  

 

There is a forum member, who is a tuning vendor, who will likely be along shortly to talk about his solution.  He will have one pathway for you.   But the other approach is an after market ECU as suggested by MV8 which requires a fair amount of effort.  The tune itself is going to take time but some modification to the Caterham wiring harness is also on the cards.  For example, I don't think that older model had wide band lambda which is going to be desirable for tuning.  

 

There is an old thread from Athens7 (no longer an active member) back in 2007 who was trying to get performance upgrades on the SVT.  He ran into a world of pain just trying to tune for an upgraded camshaft supplied by Caterham USA.  I cannot find all of the discussion but one key piece was here:

 

Keep in mind, this was for just a camshaft upgrade and not ITBs but it shows the challenge that will need to be navigated.  I thought it particularly notable that Variable Cam Timing was being locked out with the new tune.  Thats a big loss in making a shift.  I never heard of the final outcome for this but assumed he got there in the end.  

 

It was this discussion that made me look to changing Caterhams to a Duratec in order to get a power upgrade pathway.  It looked too hard to get the promised hp gains without spending a lot of money.  

 

Can I ask a question back - what are you looking for from the power upgrade?  Do you have an objective in mind or is this just opportunistic given you saw the kit and thought (like all sensible men on USA7s - including me!) that more power would be cool?

 

 

[Vovchandr]

This will be a considerable mountain to climb but it's doable if you really desire the ITBs. If you simply desire HP there are better ways of getting to that end.

 

If HP is the goal, my recommendation is take the car to your local dyno place and get a base line reading. It may surprise you and your local tuner might be able to get some more HP out of it while there.

 

My car with ITB's and regular Zetec has been a considerable PITA for dealing with and sorting out the issues.

 

After years of tinkering, dozens of hours and thousands of dollars later of troubleshooting my ITB Zetec is outputting about 130whp on a worked engine..

 

With that said, they sound great and look cool so theres that...

[das76]

Thanks gents. It definitely seems like more then I want to tackle at the moment and has the potential to be a big rabbit hole I don't want to go down (aka - i'd rather drive it)