It was a great combination of hard-core seat-of-the-pants engine experimentation and high-tech computer design. Engines were thrashed, tortured, and trashed via hundreds of hours of dyno lab testing. Any weak links were revised or eliminated.
By January 2009, Ti-VCT engine dyno testing was in full swing with those first prototype mule engines going under unspeakable loads at high RPM and throttled until they were worn out. Ford engineers disassembled used-up mules and inspected them for wear. Much to their amazement, the Ti-VCT held up very well with minimal abnormal wear issues.
Engine testing transcends hard full-throttle pulls on a dyno and in test vehicles. It must also pass tough corporate muster and federal emissions standards. Those first few prototype engines made it through testing and certification with very few changes. Field-testing in mule vehicles in extreme heat and cold was the final frontier where the Ti-VCT proved its worth. It performed flawlessly.
By the time the Coyote reached mass production in 2010, it had been tested, tortured, and abused unlike any Ford engine before. It was put through greater extremes than any Ford engine ever had to ascertain its integrity. The team wanted an engine that would deliver fuel efficiency, durability, and longevity. It wanted an engine that could handle both the daily commute and the racetrack without complaint.
The Ti-VCT Coyote was conceived during one of the most trying financial times in modern automotive history. Faced with a potential Ford bankruptcy, Ford CEO Alan Mulally saw the value in investing in product and people, and without government assistance. It paid off handsomely in a new generation of vehicles and powertrains. Mustang was among the first carlines to witness the payoff with the most advanced V-8 in its half-century production history.
The gold nugget in the Coyote was and still is its wonderful simplicity. It is an easy engine to understand and build because it is produced in only one North American plant (Essex, Ontario, Canada) with basically one block and head casting type, although I fully expect more variations in the future as this engine grows to meet demand. The confusion of two engine plants with different approaches and parts that existed with the 4.6L and 5.4L engines is gone.
The Coyote’s firing order is different from the 4.6L and 5.4L V-8’s at 1-5-4-8-6-3-7-2. Compression ratio reminds me of the 1960s at 11.0:1, making the most of its lower displacement and carefully executed valve timing, despite having port fuel injection instead of direct injection. Imagine being able to do this with 87-octane fuel, although 91-octane is preferable. This innovation comes of Ti-VCT, which enables each cam to adjust valve timing based on input from the powertrain control module (PCM).
The Coyote Ti-VCT engine’s great architecture is on display in this long-block in Modular Motorsports’ clean room. Although the Ti-VCT Coyote V-8 is considered a clean-sheet-of-paper engine with a lot of fresh and exciting engineering, it remains a close cousin of the popular Modular engine family that entered the marketplace in the 1991 Lincoln Town Car. With Coyote comes the strongest block in Modular history along with completely new downsized cylinder heads that reduce this engine’s overall size. You can actually fit this thing into a Fox body Mustang without extensive modifications.
What makes the Coyote Ti-VCT different from the 4.6L and 5.4L engines are great innovations that make it a user-friendly engine. And if you’re considering a Modular engine swap, the 5.0L Ti-VCT double overhead “cammer” is the best way to go if you’re going to go to all that trouble and expense.
Retooling the Essex, Ontario, engine plant for the 5.0L Ti-VCT was simple because it remained within the parameters of the Modular engine family. The Coyote block shares the same bore spacing (3.937 inches or 100 mm), deck height (8.937 inches), bellhousing bolt pattern, and external dimensions as the 4.6L SOHC and DOHC engines. Bore size increased to 3.629 inches (92.2 mm) along with an increased stroke of 3.649 inches (92.8 mm), which is still a “square” engine design with identical bore and stroke. It differs in block design, which is entirely new, with heavier webbing and other internal improvements intended to support greater power output from modest displacement.
Ford’s Team Coyote wanted the 5.0L Ti-VCT engine to be more compact in size than the 4.6L engine it was replacing. This engine is simply a smarter, well-thought-out performance engine born to perform. It was not borrowed from another car line or amassed from off-the-shelf parts. It was conceived first for the Mustang, ultimately finding its way into the F-150.
It is challenging to differentiate the Coyote block from a 4.6L block because the deck height and bore spacing are the same. However, basic dimensions are where the similarity ends between these engines. The Ti-VCT block is fresh thinking around basic Modular architecture with a much stouter block and common-sense racing cylinder head mindset. The cooling system has been redesigned to route coolant around exhaust valveseats and through the block instead of the valley, freeing up space for induction and supercharging.
The Coyote’s bottom end employs indestructible skirted six-bolt main cap construction using larger bolts than the 4.6L engine. These main caps are a perfect fit without jackscrews and wedges. They don’t move, even under extreme duty, enabling this engine to achieve a 7,000-rpm redline from the factory. The message here is that it was built with structural integrity like never before: heavier main webs, pan rails, and block walls.
The Coyote engine has a rugged aluminum block with paper-thin ductile iron cylinder liners. Because the Coyote’s iron cylinder liners are quite thin, this block must be sleeved with thicker liners for all-out racing in the 1,000 to 1,500-hp range. Modular Motorsports, as one example, offers racers the Pro Mod Coyote block with extra thick ductile iron cylinder liners that ensure block integrity. You can build one of these Pro Mod engines for the street if you’re an avid weekend racer. Bores can be taken as high as 3.700 inches to achieve 5.2L.
Improved block architecture holds this engine together. The main bearing webs are thicker and heavier, which allows for performance extremes from enthusiasts and Ford product planners. This means the Coyote block can stand up to naturally aspirated performance demands, supercharging, nitrous, and direct injection. It can be said with great confidence that this block will withstand more than 1,500 hp sleeved with the thicker ductile iron cylinder liners mentioned earlier.
The Coyote block brings advances in crankcase ventilation known as “bay-to-bay” breathing. Ford engineers located venting in the main webs designed to allow the freedom of air scavenging without hurting power. These vents are known as chimneys. The result is a more positive piston ring seal, which helps efficiency and power.
Here’s a closer look at the Coyote’s main-cap–to–block-skirt relationship. Gone are the 4.6L/5.4L jackscrews and wedges because Coyote technology is zero adjust, meaning these six-bolt main caps are a perfect fit along with larger fasteners. With a sleeved Pro Mod Coyote block from Modular Motorsports, you can hammer this bottom end with more than 1,500 hp. There has never been a stronger Ford new-generation block.
The Coyote shares the same bellhousing bolt pattern with
