Ford GT Gets Industry-First Fuel-Tank System Designed by TI Automotive
WARREN, Mich., March 26 -- The new 2005-model Ford GT will be equipped with a first-of-its-kind fuel-tank system developed to meet the world's most stringent evaporative emissions requirements.
Designed by TI Automotive, the world's leading supplier of automotive fuel-storage and delivery systems, the unique system includes the latest in fuel system technology and encloses fuel pumps, level sensors and other components inside a blow-molded plastic fuel tank to limit evaporative emissions.
Referred to as a "ship in a bottle" or SIB design, the system was developed to help automakers meet stringent new evaporative emissions legislation, including LEV II and ZEV legislation in California. The Ford GT will be the world's first production car equipped with TI Automotive's SIB technology.
Ford plans limited production of the GT in 2004. Inspired by the legendary Ford GT-40 racing car of the 1960s, a concept version of the Ford GT was shown at the 2003 North American International Auto Show in Detroit in January and at the 2003 Chicago Auto Show in February. Three Ford GTs are being built this year to help celebrate Ford Motor Company's 100th anniversary.
TI Automotive's SIB system for Ford will feature the very latest technology in tank-system architecture, level sensing, fuel management and manufacturing processes, said Brian Lindsay, the company's managing director for global fuel-system sales.
The GT's fuel system uses Piezo fuel-level sensing, SIB component integration to maximize tank volume and a fuel-delivery system that includes two turbine and three jet pumps to feed the GT's 500-horsepower engine, he explained.
"Our North American engineering team developed the system to Ford's requirements and produced the first prototype in less than five months," Lindsay said. "This included design of a unique stainless steel carrier and baffle system to accommodate the tank's fluid dynamics and extreme length.
"The basic SIB design requires only one or two openings in the fuel tank shell; whereas past tanks often had up to six or seven. This dramatically reduces the potential permeation paths from the fuel-tank system, compared to conventional tanks with components such as valves, lines and filters attached to the exterior of the tank."
The blow-molding technique and innovative fuel-system architecture perfected by TI Automotive enable vehicle manufacturers to take advantage of the widely known benefits of plastic fuel tanks, including weight savings, cost savings and design flexibility, while significantly reducing evaporative emissions from the system. The SIB systems for Ford will be built at TI Automotive's facilities in Ossian, Indiana.
An added advantage of the system is its proven ability to increase the volume of fuel stored. By putting components inside, the tank can be enlarged to use space previously needed for external components and the tank shell.
The breakthrough design proves that advanced-design plastic-tank systems can deliver the benefits of low emissions, Lindsay noted. Analysts now predict the global use of plastic fuel tanks will increase from about 40 percent today to around 60 percent by 2004.
The development of TI's new tank system represented a number of challenges, according to Lindsay. The first was to redefine the blow-molding process to permit the inclusion of required components. A further challenge was to redefine testing routines. For example, extremely low emissions targets mean that a single drop of fuel on the surface of the tank could invalidate testing.
TI Automotive's fuel-handling technology will be an integral part of the Ford GT's 5.4-liter V-8 engine, which will be fed by a supercharger to produce more than 500 horsepower.
TI Automotive is the world's leading supplier of fluid storage, transfer and delivery systems including brake, fuel and air conditioning applications. Based in Warren, MI, the company employs over 20,000 people at more than 130 facilities in 29 countries on six continents. Further information about TI Automotive is available on the company's website at www.tiautomotive.com .
Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20030326/DEW015-ahttp://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20030326/DEW015-b
PRN Photo Desk, 888-776-6555 or 212-782-2840
NOTE TO EDITORS: Additional photography and illustrations available upon request.