Ford Escort RS1600i
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 Ford Escort RS1600i
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| Escort RS1600i | |
| Production period: | 1982-1984 |
| Class : | Compact class |
| Body versions : | Combi coupe |
| Engines: |
Ford CVH (Otto), 1.6 liters (85 kW) |
| Length: | 4060 mm |
| Width: | 1640 mm |
| Height: | 1380 mm |
| Wheelbase : | 2393 mm |
| Empty weight : | 940 kg |
The Ford Escort RS1600i (short: Escort RSi ) is a vehicle that Ford Germany developed in the early 1980s for use in touring car racing . The RS1600i was built 8659 times as a special model of the third series of the Ford Escort . The RS1600i is the first RS model with a front-wheel drive, the first production vehicle from Ford with a computer-controlled ignition system and the first Escort with fuel injection .
history
The first two generations of the rear-wheel drive Ford Escort were extremely successful both on the racetrack and in rallying . Here were Ford Germany and Ford of Britain separate ways. While the British part of Ford of Europe with the development department in Boreham in Essex concentrated on the involvement in the World Rally Championship , the main focus of Ford Motorsport in Cologne was on circuit racing .
When rear-wheel drive was replaced by front-wheel drive with the change to the new Escort model in 1980 , the two motorsport departments continued to work in their preferred areas of motorsport. On the basis of the new Group B regulations, Ford of Britain developed the Escort RS1700T , in which the engine - unlike in the production vehicle - was installed lengthways and powered the rear wheels via a transaxle . However, this project did not get beyond the development stage and was finally abandoned in late 1983 in favor of the Ford RS200 with all-wheel drive. The situation for the motorsport department of Ford Germany was different at the circuit races. In 1982 the FIA introduced new regulations for Group C sports cars for the German racing championship , for which neither the Escort nor the Capri Turbo , with which Klaus Ludwig became champion in the 1981 season . Against the background of an uncertain future of touring car racing in Germany and the upcoming model change from the Ford Taunus to the Ford Sierra , Ford Motorsport developed the Escort RS1600i in Cologne, which was to compete as a touring car of the near-series Group N and Group A races.
The basis for the RS1600i, which was to be produced in large numbers on the assembly line in the Saarlouis plant , was the Escort 1.6 Ghia . Above all, the rich interior fittings and the body were taken over from this vehicle. The engine block is identical to that of the Escort XR3 , the previous top model in the series with a 1.6-liter CVH engine , register carburetor and an output of 70 kW (96 hp).
For the participation in Group A and Group N races, the RS1600i was initially only intended to produce the required 5000 vehicles; due to high demand, production was extended and a total of 8659 vehicles were sold, around 2600 of them in the UK .
The Escort RS1600i has rarely been used in motorsport with factory support. At the German Rally Championship took in 1982 the women's team Gisela flower and Petra Schuster and 1983 Michael Werner and Matthias Feltz in Group A to 1600 cc in part. In 1985, Annette Meeuvissen competed - mostly together with Jörg van Ommen - in several races in the European Touring Car Championship for the Ford Gerstman Racing Team in an RS1600i. Meuvissen's best results were third and sixth in their class.
Model name
The model name is derived from the usual Ford abbreviation of R ALLY S port, and the rounded displacement. The addition i stands for injection , English for fuel injection and also serves to better differentiate it from the Escort RS1600 of the first series with BDA engine .
There are several notations for the RS1600i. Ford writes “RS 1600 i” on the cover of the sales prospectus and in parts of the technical literature, each with half a space . Inside the sales brochure and as a type designation on the rear of the vehicle and in the decor, however, the spelling “RS 1600i” can be found, also here with half a space. “RS1600i” can also be found in the specialist literature. For the British market, “RS1600i” is used uniformly for marketing and specialist literature.
technology
Since series-produced vehicles are required to take part in races in Group A and Group N 5000, Ford was unable to carry out the same complex modifications to the vehicle on the Escort RS1600i as on the Escort RS1700T, which was developed at the same time . On the one hand, this would have increased the sales price of the vehicles considerably; on the other hand, it had to be possible to implement the changes to the vehicle with series production in the Saarlouis plant . The Escort RS1600i is therefore based on the Escort Ghia with the 1.6-liter CVH engine .
engine
Most of the changes from the other Escort '81 were in the RS1600i's CVH engine .
The engine block was taken over unchanged from the Escort XR3, instead of its engine code LUA the RS1600i has the engine code LUAE with E for injection . The crankshaft with five bearings is located in a gray cast iron block. The control pistons with pinch edges are made of an aluminum alloy, are not slotted and have two oil drain holes on each side. The pistons are lubricated through an injection hole in the connecting rod. The cylinder bore is 79.96 mm and the piston stroke is 79.52 mm.
The cylinder head of the CVH has been significantly redesigned for the RS1600i. Compared to the XR3, the compression has been increased from 9.5: 1 to 9.9: 1, the inlet and outlet channels have been machined, the outlet channels are also significantly larger and have a round cross-section. Furthermore, a camshaft with a spread of 272 degrees and 110 degrees, adjustable valve lifters, modified valve springs and modified intake valves were installed.
There were some new components on the outside of the engine for the use of an injection system. The intake manifold of the RS1600i differs significantly in design and appearance from the intake manifolds of the later Escort '81 XR3i and the throttle valve with a diameter of 55 mm is larger and comes from Capri and Granada 2.8i . The mechanical injection valves of the K-Jetronic are located in an additional intermediate plate, which is mounted between the cylinder head and the intake manifold. The thermal timer is also located in the intermediate plate , which controls the cold start valve when the engine is cold started . The aluminum valve cover is designed with eye-catching cooling fins and the words Ford Motorsport . The ignition coils sit on the side of the cylinder head on an aluminum holder that also closes the distributor opening. The starter ring gear on the flywheel has a reference tooth marking that is evaluated by the ring gear sensor and passed on to the ignition controller as top dead center .
The engine of the Escort RS1600i is not approved for operation with unleaded petrol and must also be operated with fuel with an octane rating of 98 or higher.
Injection system
The injection system of the Escort RS1600i is a K-Jetronic from Bosch, as Ford previously used in the Capri and Granada 2.8i . The K-Jetronic is a mechanically-hydraulically controlled, driveless and indirect single injection system. This system was used by many vehicle manufacturers from the late 1970s; the individual components were supplied directly by Bosch. The system of the RS1600i therefore only differs in a few small details from that of the first Golf GTI .
Unlike the later XR3i models of the Escort, the warm-up regulator of the RS1600i is not located between the cylinder head and intake manifold, but below the intake manifold at the connection between the engine block and the transmission. In order to ensure that the injection system continues to function if the electrical heating of the bimetal spring inside the warm-up regulator fails, the component sits on a holder with silent blocks that is connected to the cooling circuit and heats the warm-up regulator externally when the engine warms up.
Ignition system
The Escort RS1600i was the first vehicle to be mass-produced by Ford with an electronically controlled ignition system .
The TDC signal is generated by a ring gear sensor that is located in a hole on the underside of the clutch housing on the transmission. The sensor reacts to a reference tooth on the starter ring gear on the flywheel covered with a metal foil.
The ignition controller comes from AFT (Atlas Fahrzeugtechnik) in Werdohl . In addition to the engine speed, the control unit evaluates the load status of the engine via an integrated MAP sensor , which is connected to the intake manifold via a vacuum line. From this, the control unit calculates the optimum ignition point with stored characteristic maps and forwards this to the ignition coils. The control unit is also connected to the throttle valve switch and the overrun cut-off valve and thus controls the overrun cut-off .
In contrast to later Ford vehicles with EDIS ignition systems, the ignition coils of the RS1600i are two separate components and were supplied by Prüfrex. The ignition system works according to the wasted spark principle, which is why two cylinders are supplied per ignition coil.
Exhaust
The exhaust system of the Escort XR3 has been modified in several details for use in the RS1600i. The cast manifold has two outlet ducts that are enlarged in the passage and the pipe routing of the exhaust system in the area of the rear axle has been slightly straightened. The exhaust gasket on the cylinder head has been adapted to the larger, round exhaust ports.
body
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The body was taken over unchanged for the Escort RS1600i - with the exception of changes to the exhaust suspension and the fastening points for the fuel pump and the container for the wiper / washer system. Externally, the RS1600i is clearly differentiated from the other vehicles in the series with a slightly modified radiator grille, front and rear spoiler, the rear wheel cover and the stuck-on decoration.
landing gear
On the front axle in particular, the chassis of the RS1600i differs in many details from the rest of the series. The tension struts and the additional stabilizer are accommodated on a special aluminum cross member. The tube stabilizer with a diameter of 25.5 mm is connected to the tension struts via clamping pieces; the stabilizer clamps and the rubber bushings come from the Ford Granada . The ball joint on the tension strut enables the RS1600i to also adjust the caster . On the rear axle, the independent suspension on wishbones with coil springs, trailing arms and shock absorber struts is the same as on the other models.
Only the RS1600i has adjustable Koni dampers ex works , on the front axle with 23 mm lower spring plates. The wishbones on the rear axle are equipped with reinforced rubber bearings on the inside, the suspension springs are identical to those of the Escort XR3.
drive
The Escort RS1600i is the first RS model from Ford with front-wheel drive as standard. The type BC five-speed gearbox, which is mechanically operated by means of a shift linkage, comes from the Escort XR3, but has a different gear ratio in fifth gear. On the underside of the gearbox, in the area of the flywheel, there is a fitting hole to accommodate the sensor for the ignition system.
The single dry how the Escort XR3 mm in diameter 200, in RS1600i it is but with another friction.
Braking system
The brake system of the RS1600i corresponds to that of the Escort XR3. It has internally ventilated brake discs with a diameter of 240 mm and single-piston floating calipers at the front , while the rear has drums with a diameter of 180 mm and a brake lining width of 36 mm. Since the RS1600i was developed in Germany as a pure left-hand drive vehicle, the later right-hand drive versions for the British market had problems with the linkage that transfers the force from the brake pedal to the brake booster . The linkage from the XR3 could not be used because the space in the RS1600i was too tight due to the injection system.
bikes
The Escort RS1600i was delivered as standard on 6 × 15 inch light alloy wheels with 195/50 R 15 tires. 5.5 × 14-inch light-alloy wheels with 185/60 R 14 tires were also available as an option at no extra charge. Instead of a full spare wheel , the RS1600i is equipped with a 155 R 13 spare wheel.
Technical specifications
| RS1600i series version |
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|---|---|
| Displacement | 1597 cc |
| Engine type | CVH |
| Cylinder / type | Four-cylinder in-line engine (four-stroke, Otto) |
| Valves | 8th |
| Valve control |
OHC timing belt, an overhead camshaft, adjustable valve lifters , rocker arms |
| rated capacity | 85 kW (115 PS) at 5750 rpm |
| Max. Torque | 145 Nm at 4500 rpm |
| compression | 9.9: 1 |
| Mixture preparation | Mechanical multi-point intake manifold injection Bosch K-Jetronic |
| transmission | 5-speed manual transmission with shortened 5th gear |
| Front suspension | Wishbones, adjustable tension struts, reinforced stabilizer, MacPherson struts , lowered spring plates, Koni shock absorbers, coil springs |
| Rear suspension | Independent suspension on wishbones with coil springs, trailing arms and shock absorber struts |
| brake | Hydraulic diagonal dual-circuit brake system with brake booster at the front, single-piston floating calipers and internally ventilated brake discs, drum brakes at the rear |
| wheelbase | 2393 mm |
| length | 4052-4060 mm |
| width | 1640 mm |
| height | 1385 mm |
| Empty weight | 940 kg |
| Top speed | 188 km / h |
| Acceleration 0-100 km / h | 9.0 s |
| Consumption 90/120 / city | 6.6 / 7.7 / 9.2 l / 100 km |
Equipment and prices
In July 1982 the Escort RS1600i with its extensive standard equipment cost 22,950 DM (approx. 11,735 EUR).
The exterior and interior were taken over by the Escort Ghia. On the outside, the RS1600i also had front and rear spoilers, a decor in black or silver and bumpers painted in the body color . The side trim and chrome strips of the Ghia were omitted. In contrast to other sports models, the choice of colors was not limited with the RS1600i, customers could order the vehicle in any color available for the Escort. The interior also came from the Escort Ghia and was upgraded with a four-spoke leather steering wheel, RS sports seats and a steel-gray velor upholstery fabric for seats, doors and side panels that is only used in the RS1600i . The “econo lights” in the speedometer serve as a control display for the overrun fuel cut- off on the RS1600i .
In addition to the extensive standard equipment, Ford also offered some extras for the RS1600i, which are subject to a surcharge. These included power windows, central locking, a sunroof, Hinged rear, an electrically moving antenna, additional headlights and fog lamps as well as different radios and stereo cassette radio . Exclusively for the RSi, Ford also offered a three-spoke leather steering wheel for DM 145 and “RS sports reclining seats” with improved lateral guidance for DM 875.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Braun / Kräling: Snapshots , pp. 38, 43 and 229
- ↑ a b sales prospectus on rs1600i.de, accessed on June 5, 2020
literature
- Rainer Braun, Ferdi Kräling: Snapshots - A journey through time through 75 years of Ford Motorsport in Germany . HEEL Verlag, Königswinter 2000, ISBN 3-89365-904-8 .
- Dennis Foy: RS Fords in color ; Windrow & Greene Ltd., London , ISBN 1-872004-717
Web links
- www.ford.de - Official website of Ford Germany
- Escort RS1600i on rsownersclub.co.uk