1 Liter Ford EcoBoost Turbopetrol engine powering the 2012 EcoSport Crossover to feature the OverBoost function!

There’s a very exciting technology that the Ford EcoBoost turbo petrol engine will come with and that technology is called OverBoost. Now, what OverBoost essentially does is, it enables the engine to generate extra torque for short periods of time, say for example 30 seconds. These thirty seconds of additional torque will make overtaking safer while also giving you that torque kick, which quite frankly can be very addictive to say the least. The 1 liter EcoBoost turbo petrol engine will debut on the Ford EcoSport Crossover that will debut in late 2012 in the Indian market.

2012 Ford EcoSport Crossover SUV Concept

What is OverBoost technology?

OverBoost technology works in engines enabled with a turbocharger. Essentially, the turbocharger produces more power and torque by using the exhaust gases of an engine to spin a turbine. Now, the turbine will spin at a preset number of revolutions to produce the boost that it is designed for. OverBoost is achieved by spinning the turbocharger at a slightly higher level than the normal boost level, resulting in additional torque produced by the engine.

This is done by controlling the amount of exhaust gas that spins the turbine, through a boost control valve. So, in case of OverBoost, the boost control valve will remain open for a longer time to allow more exhaust gas pressure to spin the turbocharger at a higher speed than normal levels. This will result in a higher boost and consequently more torque for short periods of time.

Ford 1 Liter EcoBoost Turbo Petrol Engine that uses direct injection and variable valve timing

Why can’ t the OverBoost function be enabled all the time?

Spinning the turbo at very high speeds for a long time could damage the turbocharger, the OverBoost is controlled by not letting the turbine spin at OverBoost speeds for more than a short period of time, which in the case of the EcoBoost, will be limited to 30 seconds. The OverBoost function on the EcoSport will produce 30 Nm more torque that will be very handy for acceleration during overtaking.

How can you use OverBoost Technology?

To activate the OverBoost function and get extra torque while overtaking or otherwise, you simply need to floor the accelerator pedal. After the engine rpm reaches a particular rpm, say 5,000 rpm, the OverBoost function will be automatically activated by the engine’s electronic control unit(ECU), so that OverBoost kicks in and extra torque is produced. However, the OverBoost function cannot be used continuously as it could damage the turbocharger.

Therefore, the ECU of the Ecoboost engine will ensure that the OverBoost function works only for 30 seconds before the extra torque tapers off to the original levels. Also, there might be built in a time lag between consequent OverBoosts to ensure that the life of the turbo is not affected. So there, that is about a hot new feature on the 1 liter EcoBoost turbo petrol engine of the 2012 Ford EcoSport Crossover, which will be a best in class feature.

The 1 liter, three cylinder EcoBoost engine uses turbocharging, variable valve timing and direct injection to achieve big gains in both power and fuel economy. Meanwhile, here’s a video of the Ford EcoBoost turbo petrol engine, which produces 120 Bhp of peak power and 170 Nm of peak torque(200 Nm during Overboost).