• Innovative engine mounts, flywheel and pulley in the new 1.0-litre Ford EcoBoost^® engine combine to dramatically reduce the vibrations that are inherent in three-cylinder engines
• Super-stiff block, isolated fuel injectors and oil-immersed timing belts help make 1.0-litre EcoBoost engine one of Ford’s quietest engines
• 1.0-litre EcoBoost engine debuted in the 2014 Ford Fiesta and is now offered in the 2015 Focus

Start up Ford’s patented new 1.0-litre three-cylinder EcoBoost^® engine and chances are you’ll have to look at the tachometer to verify that the engine is running.

Ford engineers always knew they could build a powerful, fuel-efficient three-cylinder engine. The real engineering magic would be solving the problem that has often sunk previous three-cylinder automobile engines – conquering the unpleasant vibrations that come from having an odd number of cylinders under the hood.

For Ford’s new three-cylinder engine to be successful, it would have to be a no-compromise engine. It could not force customers to choose between performance versus economy or responsiveness versus smoothness. It had to deliver it all and it had to be affordable.

The traditional way of reducing shaking forces in small-displacement engines is to install a counter-rotating balance shaft inside the motor that cancels out most vibrations. But the problem with a balance shaft, explains Andy Delicata, Ford of Europe manager of Powertrain Noise, Vibration and Harshness, is that it is heavy, expensive, and it reduces fuel economy.

The 1.0-litre’s NVH engineering team, led by Delicata at Ford Technical Centres in Dunton and Dagenham, England, attacked the problem by focusing on two areas – the engine’s front pulley and rear flywheel, and the mounting system that connects the powertrain with the car’s body.

The pulley and flywheel are unbalanced with weights that are placed precisely to counteract the natural shaking forces of the engine and drive the energy in a less sensitive direction. The engine mounts are designed to decouple as well as absorb the engine’s shaking forces, Delicata explained.

The result is one of the smoothest and quietest engines in Ford’s global lineup. “We like to compare the refinement of the 1.0-litre EcoBoost engine with what you would typically experience in a vehicle two or three classes up from Fiesta and Focus,” said Delicata.

The smoothness of the engine is complemented by class-leading quietness. Engineers in Dunton and Dagenham attacked engine noise at its many sources. For instance, a super-compact, highly stiff cast-iron block structure and an integrated engine mounting bracket are crucial in absorbing noise energy. In addition to immersing the engine’s toothed rubber timing belts in oil, isolated fuel injectors electronically controlled for soft landing and a foam-covered engine collectively help keep noise and vibration from reaching the driver.