1999 Mercury Cougar
2.0L Zetec Custom Turbo Project
Welcome to my 2.0L Zetec custom turbo project. When I initially considered turbocharging my 2.0L Zetec, I found that there were no ready-made "turbo kits" specifically for the Zetec Cougar. The turbo kits for other vehicles with the Zetec engines such as the Focus and ZX2 Escort would not be a direct fit and many parts would need to be modified to fit. Since that was the case, I thought I'd be better off just building my own custom turbo set-up. Another benefit was, I could select the components I wanted and I would not be stuck with what was included in some kit. A turbo system is relatively straight forward and the basic components are the same for just about all EFI turbo systems. This "how-to" was developed to help others who may have an interest in creating a custom turbo system themselves. By all means, this is not the only way it can be done, but just the path I chose to take in this turbo project. As in any performance modification, you do so at your own risk. An improperly designed and tuned turbo system is a quick way to turn your engine into an expensive paperweight.
Set Your Performance Goals
First of all, set realistic performance goals. While we would all love to have our engines putting out 500 HP, you need to consider the parameters in which this engine must operate. And ultimately, how much are you willing to spend to get there. You see, the higher your HP goal, the more things need to be addressed to get there.
The target goals I set for this project are:
1) The car will be a daily driver
2) It will have to run on available street fuel (92-93 octane)
3) The boost threshold should be at a reasonable RPM (2000-2500)
4) The maximum torque increase should be in the midrange of the power band. (2500-5500 RPM)
5) Produce 225 front wheel horsepower.
And the most important goal, not to blow up the engine in the process.
Main Turbo System Components
A turbocharger is a rather simple device and is basically just an air pump driven by exhaust gasses. Yet, the turbocharger itself is just one component in the entire system which enables this "air pump" to produce the horsepower and torque for which it is designed. The following link provides information and description of the major turbo system components.
Engine Management
The Ford EEC-V Power Control Module (PCM) controls all the engine management functions and monitors the various sensors which provides the input data to make the necessary adjustments. Since the Ford EEC-V is OBDII compliant, it would be good to have a OBDII diagnostic reader to access information within the PCM. An OBDII reader such as the AutoTap OBDII reader would be very helpful in monitoring the various engine management systems as well as diagnose any check engine lights (CEL's) or malfunction indicator lights (MIL's) that may occur from time to time.