7/29/2019 ETI_September_2004.pdf

1/1

sWescast Industries Inc has worked withFord SVT and Roush Industries on severalprograms over the last five years, ofteninvolving high-performance or high-prestigevehicles. Ford SVT relies on Wescast to quicklydevelop, manufacture, and deliver optimizedexhaust solutions for its powertrain needs.

An important focus for Ford SVT isperformance: extracting every horsepowerfrom every liter of engine displacement. Thesehigh-power, high-efficiency powerplants withtheir associated extreme performance testingrequirements provide a great opportunity forlearning. When Ford asked Wescast to designexhaust manifolds for the Ford GT program,

a development team was quickly assembled.Scott Nelson, product designer, Wescast,recalls: We were excited to be involved in

the reincarnation of a legendary sports car.Based on Fords target of 500bhp and 677Nmof torque, we anticipated unusually highflow demands.

Initially, the GT was due to have tubularheaders. Due to tight packaging constraintsplus durability and heat management concerns,a compact cast-iron exhaust manifold designedfor optimal gas flow performance was deemeda better choice for production.

The Ford GTs high-revving 5.4-literDOHC supercharged and intercooled engineproduces higher mass flow rates than theaverage engine. Wescast was required todeliver flow-optimized cast manifolds which

could meet the lofty performance targets.The manifold was encased in heat shieldsto protect surrounding components, whichrestricted air circulation around the manifoldand, in turn, resulted in extremely highmanifold skin temperatures a definitedurability concern, according to Nelson.Components manufactured to Wescastsinitial design passed Fords grueling exhaustmanifold durability test on the first round ofdynamometer testing.

Wescast used experimental methods tooptimize the manifold gas dynamics. Regionsof separated flow and other coherent structuresreduce the efficiency of an exhaust manifold byreducing the effective cross-sectional area and

the maximum mass flow rate which may beachieved. By pursuing design refinements

Exhaust solutions

One project that Wescast has completed with Ford SVT and Roush

Industries is the cast-iron exhaust manifold design on the Ford GT

Engine Technology International | September 2004

which minimized the effects of such features,a suitably optimized design was obtained.

Even with the very tight development timeallotted to this program, Wescast was able todeliver several different manifold designs forengine dynamometer development, andworked very closely with Ford to ensureperformance targets were met. The toolingfor these prototype parts was cut directly fromthe CAD model and manufactured within

Wescasts production process to ensure thatthe prototypes tested on the developmentengines at Roush would be sound production-intent parts.

Today, the GT has received very positive

feedback from the press, the public, and thoseinvolved with the original Le Mans-winningFord GT40 of the 1960s. The car has alsorecently posted a top speed of 328km/h(205mph), the highest for any productionFord vehicle. Wescast was honored to beinvolved with the development of such anhistoric vehicle for Ford. ETi

CONTACT THE COMPANYNAME

Scott Nelson

COMPANY

Wescast Industries Inc

TELEPHONE

+1 519 750 0000 Reader Enquiry Card No. 506Flow-optimized cast manifold needed for 5.4-liter GT unit

The exhaust manifolds on Fords

high performance GT were the

subject of the latest in a long line

of projects undertaken by Wescast

Wescast (1) dm 8/18/04 10:53 AM Page 1