• Flap Valves: Charge motion for improved low-end torque and idle quality
• Fuel Injection: Returnless electronic
• Ignition: Coil-on-plug electronic
• Headers: Shorty tubular stainless steel
• Oil Capacity: 8 quarts with filter change
2015–2016 5.0L Ti-VCT
• 5.0L Ti-VCT DOHC V-8: 302 ci or 4,951 cc
• Code-named “Coyote” by Ford, but not officially named
• Bore: 3.630 inches (92 mm)
• Pistons: Hypereutectic (high-silicon cast)
• Stroke: 3.650 inches (93 mm)
• Connecting Rods: Powdered metal, forged
• Crankshaft: Forged steel with eight-bolt flange
• Horsepower: 435 at 6,500 rpm
• Torque: 400 ft-lbs at 4,250 rpm
• Redline: 7,000 rpm
• Compression: 11.0:1 naturally aspirated; 9.0:1 supercharged
• Block: Aluminum with steel cylinder liners
• Heads: Aluminum hemispherical four-valve
• Timing: Variable valve, composite intake/exhaust cams
• Manufacture: Essex, Ontario, Canada
• Intake Manifold: Composite, 16.5-inch runners
• Flap Valves: Charge motion for improved low-end torque and idle quality
• Fuel Injection: Returnless electronic
• Ignition: Coil-on-plug electronic
• Headers: Shorty tubular stainless steel
• Oil Capacity: 8 quarts with filter change
2015–2016 5.2L Shelby GT350 Voodoo
• 5.2L DOHC V-8: 315 ci, or 5,163 cc
• Code-named “Voodoo” by Ford, but not officially named
• Bore: 3.700 inches (94 mm)
• Pistons: Hypereutectic (high-silicon cast)
• Stroke: 3.660 inches (93 mm)
• Connecting Rods: Powdered metal, forged
• Crankshaft: Forged steel with eight-bolt flange
• Horsepower: 526 at 7,500 rpm
• Torque: 429 ft-lbs at 4,750 rpm
• Redline: 8,000-rpm
• Compression: 12.0:1 naturally aspirated
• Cylinder Liners: Plasma transferred wire arc, sprayed-on
• Heads: Aluminum hemispherical four-valve
• Timing: Variable valve, composite intake/exhaust cams
• Manufacture: Essex, Ontario, Canada
• Intake Manifold: Composite, 16.5-inch runners, 87-mm throttle body
• Flap Valves: Charge motion for improved low-end torque and idle quality
• Fuel Injection: Returnless electronic
• Ignition: Coil-on-plug electronic
• Headers: Shorty tubular stainless steel
• Oil Capacity: 8 quarts with filter change
To get the Ti-VCT where Team Coyote wanted it necessitated a lot of back and forth between hardware people in engine building and dyno rooms and software geeks who compared information and made adjustments as necessary. 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