The F engine family from Mazda is a mid-sized inline-four piston engine with iron block, alloy head and belt-driven SOHC and DOHC configurations. Introduced in 1983 as the 1.6-litre F6, this engine was found in the Mazda B-Series truck and Mazda G platform models such as Mazda 626/Capella as well as many other models internationally including Mazda Bongo and Ford Freda clone, Mazda B-series based Ford Courier, Mazda 929 HC and the GD platform-based Ford Probe

There were four basic head types within the F range, the diesel SOHC 8-valve (R-series), the petrol SOHC 8-valve, petrol SOHC 12-valve, and the petrol DOHC 16-valve. These heads came attached to multiple variations of the different blocks and strokes. Only the petrol 8-valve and 12-valve shared the same gasket pattern. It was built at the Miyoshi Plant in Miyoshi, Hiroshima, Japan.

Predecessors (VC/MA/F) These engines are only the predecessors to the F-series engines, in no other way related. They were fitted to rear-wheel drive models in a longitudinal arrangement. This is in contrast to the successor engines that were designed for transverse front-wheel drive applications as had become the trend in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

VC The VC is a overhead camshaft inline-four, with a bore and a stroke of . It was all new in 1975 (pre-1975 1.8 Couriers got the earlier, long-stroke VB engine) and has an alloy eight-valve head on an iron block. Output varied considerably depending on market and installation, in a 1981 UK-market B1800 it is DIN at 5000 rpm and at 2500 rpm.

Applications: 1975–1978 Mazda Luce / 929 1975–1977 Mazda Cosmo / 121 1977–1981 Mazda Luce / 929 1977–1984 Mazda B1800/Proceed PE2V 1978–1982 Mazda Capella/626 1975–1978 Ford Courier 1978–1983 Mazda Bongo 1974–1977 Mazda Parkway

MA/F The was designated MA. Bore was as for the VC, , but stroke was increased to . This SOHC engine with a 2–barrel carburettor produced and . A more fuel-efficient 1–barrel version produced . Later on, this engine was designated the F.

Applications: 1981–1982 Mazda Luce/Mazda Cosmo 1975–1980 Mazda Luce/929 1979–1988 Mazda 929 Wagon 1979–1982 Mazda Capella/626 1977–1985 Mazda B2000 (Officially, there was no 1985 year model for the B-Series in the USA. They skipped to 1986 for this line of vehicles for that market.) 1977–1985 Ford Courier (The Ford Courier was canceled in the US in 1982 to make room for the Ford Ranger the following year.)

F6 The smallest of the F-family engines is the F6 8-valve SOHC engine. Essentially a de-bored and de-stroked version of the base FE 2.0 with a bore and stroke of . At a compression ratio of 8.6:1, output is at 5500 rpm and at 3500 rpm. It replaced the F/NA 1.6 from the previous generation.

Applications: 1983–1987 Mazda Capella/626 1983–1985 Mazda B1600

F8 A destroked FE at , the F8 comes in several configurations including a 12-valve head and fuel injection later in its life. It has a very high rod/stroke ratio of 2:1, bore and a stroke of . With a compression ratio of 8.6:1, power output is at 5500 rpm and at 2500 for the 8-valve SOHC carburetted versions.

Applications: 1983–1991 Mazda Capella/626 1988–1992 Mazda Persona/Eunos 300 1984–2005 Mazda Bongo/Ford Econovan 1989–1994 Kia Capital 1988–1991 Kia Concord 1993–1999 Asia Rocsta

F8-DOHC

The F8-DOHC is a DOHC F8 and basically a de-stroked version of the FE-DOHC displacing . It uses the same exhaust cam, but a different intake cam with less lift and a long, single-runner intake manifold. The F8 is usually identified by its unpainted cam cover. Output was at 6000 rpm and at 5000 rpm. It is usually found in wagon variants.

Applications: 1988–1996 Mazda Capella/626 1990–1992 Mazda Persona/Eunos 300

FE The FE has a square bore and stroke. It was available as an 8-valve SOHC and 12-valve SOHC. Outputs are at 5000 rpm and at 2500 rpm for the 8-valve carburetor version, or at 5300 rpm and at 3700 rpm with fuel injection, 12-valve SOHC and a higher compression ratio (10.0:1 vs 8.6:1).

Applications: 1983–1991 Mazda Capella/626 1982–1987 Ford Telstar 1985–1987 Mazda B-Series 1985–1999 Mazda E-series 1981–1990 Mazda 929 1987–1995 Kia Concord

FET

The fuel-injected, turbocharged FET version of the FE produced at 5250 rpm and at 2800 rpm. It was a variant of the 8-valve SOHC FE Featuring a small turbocharger and no intercooler producing of boost. As such it features the same bore and stroke of the FE. The Japanese variant of this engine was dubbed the Magnum Turbo and produces . Given that the peak power for the naturally aspirated, fuel-injected FE is , the rated power for the FET is said to be conservative.

Applications: 1986–1987 Mazda Capella/626 1986–1987 Ford Telstar Turbo 1986–1987 Mazda 929 coupe

FE-DOHC

The FE-DOHC is the 16 valve DOHC variant of the FE. The official Mazda engine codes of newer iterations are FE-DE and FE-ZE, depending on output level. Commonly called the FE3 which is also stamped into its head castings. The FE-DOHC shares the same dimensions as the original FE-SOHC, including the square bore x stroke and it has a 1.74 rod/stroke ratio. The FE-DOHC is usually identified by a gold-coloured cam cover, however not always. There were at least five different FE-DOHC engines available with various compression ratio, camshaft and ECU tuning combinations, however none were fitted with a turbocharger from the factory. In European 10.0:1 compression, non-catalytic trim, the FE-DOHC produces at 6000 rpm and at 4000 rpm. The 9.2:1 compression, catalytic converter version produces 140 ps. The Japanese domestic market variants produce anywhere between 145 ps and 165 ps. The only vehicle with 165ps was the 96–97 Capellas Wagons, FX (MT or AT) or FX Cruising (Only exists in AT). These received different tail lights to the earlier wagons.

The FE-DOHC was a European and Japanese market engine only (excluding use by Kia), and as such was only ever delivered in vehicles by Mazda to countries in those markets, with the exception of New Zealand who also received European market models. The engine was first fitted to the GD model 1988–1992 626 GT, 1987–1991 Capella, and the 626 Coupé GT 2.0i/Capella C2 GT-X and GT-R. In South Africa, Samcor – who built Mazdas under licence – also fitted the FE-DOHC engine to the Mazda 323 from 1991 to 1994.

Alongside the sedan, hatch and coupé models the FE-DOHC was also being used in the GV wagon, which ran until 1997. The rest of the world mainly received the FE-DOHC in the 1995–2003 Kia Sportage, built by Kia under license. Kia first introduced the engine in March 1992, when they installed it in the Kia Concord, a license built version of the 1982 Mazda Capella. The Sportage variant was reconfigured for rear-wheel drive configuration with long single-runner intake manifold, low-duration cams and exclusively in the low compression ratio of 9.2:1.

Applications: 1988–1997 Mazda Capella/626 1991–1993 323 200i (South Africa) 1992–1993 Ford Laser 2.0iRS and Meteor 2.0 16v (South Africa) 1995–2003 Kia Sportage 1992–1995 Kia Concord

Capella Cargo variants 1.8 Cargo SV08.1992 – 09.199418114FFMTG1.8F8115E-GV8W1.8 Cargo SV08.1992 – 09.199419147FFATG1.8F8115E-GV8W1.8 Cargo SX08.1992 – 09.199421379FFMTG1.8F8115E-GV8W1.8 Cargo SX08.1992 – 09.199422412FFATG1.8F8115E-GV8W1.8 Wagon SV10.1994 – 06.199618936FFMTG1.8F8115E-GV8W1.8 Wagon SV10.1994 – 06.199619969FFATG1.8F8115E-GV8W1.8 Wagon SV07.1996 – 10.199718936FFMTG1.8F8-DE115E-GV8W1.8 Wagon SV07.1996 – 10.199719969FFATG1.8F8-DE115E-GV8W1.8 Wagon SV-F07.1996 – 10.199721890FFATG1.8F8-DE115E-GV8W1.8 Wagon SX10.1994 – 06.199622190FFATG1.8F8115E-GV8W1.8 Wagon SX07.1996 – 10.199722190FFATG1.8F8-DE115E-GV8W2.0 Cargo GT10.1990 – 07.1992228124WDMTG2.0FE150E-GVER2.0 Cargo GT10.1990 – 07.1992238454WDATG2.0FE145E-GVER2.0 Cargo GT08.1992 – 09.1994252994WDMTG2.0FE150Y-GVER2.0 Cargo GT08.1992 – 09.1994263324WDATG2.0FE145Y-GVER2.0 Wagon FX10.1994 – 06.1996256104WDMTG2.0FE150E-GVER2.0 Wagon FX10.1994 – 06.1996266434WDATG2.0FE145E-GVER2.0 Wagon FX07.1996 – 10.1997265994WDMTG2.0FE-ZE165E-GVER2.0 Wagon FX07.1996 – 10.1997276324WDATG2.0FE-ZE165E-GVER2.0 Wagon FX cruising07.1996 – 10.1997280764WDATG2.0FE-ZE165E-GVER2.0 Wagon SV10.1994 – 06.1996244114WDATG2.0FE145E-GVER2.0 Wagon SV07.1996 – 10.199721079FFATG2.0FE-DE145E-GVEW2.0 Wagon SV07.1996 – 10.1997246004WDATG2.0FE-DE145E-GVER2.0 Wagon SX cruising07.1996 – 10.199724944FFATG2.0FE-DE145E-GVEW

Design The Mazda FE-DOHC uses a wide-angle, DOHC, belt-driven valvetrain configuration with flat-tappet 33 mm HLA bucket lifters. It is a non interference design. There are two valve springs per valve and four valves per cylinder. While a dual valve spring configuration is used, the stock springs are fairly low-sprung. Low spring rates were chosen for fuel efficiency and increased valvetrain longevity, and low friction with the dual valve springs for the reduction of harmonics and increased valve stability.

The head gasket used on the Kia version can be sourced in North America, but the builder must note that the coolant passage holes are configured for a RWD cooling system. Attempting to use the RWD head gasket in FWD cooling configuration will result in improper flow and can result in overheating of cylinder #4. Like many DOHC engines, this engine has an interference valvetrain design, making periodic timing belt changes vital to the engine's life. Should the timing belt break the engine should be replaced as piston and valvetrain damage will occur.

The Mazda FE-DOHC came with several different camshaft profiles from the factory. As such there were several camshaft combinations available. Camshaft Lift (mm) Duration (deg) FE5A 8.855 250° FE3N 8.852 245° FEAP 8.650 230 KO13 ? ? F8K1 6.800 225 The F8K1 was the intake camshaft for the F8-DOHC, only listed due to family ties.

The combinations available: Intake Exhaust FE5A FE5A FE3N FE3N FEAP FE3N FE3N KO13 F8K1 FE3N

VICS The FE-DOHC featured Mazda's VICS system, short for Variable Inertia Control System, a variable intake setup to optimize runner length and resonance at different engine speeds. Much like Toyota's Acoustic Control Induction System, it had two sets of intake runners, a long set for low-medium RPMs, and a short set for high RPMs. It was operated by a vacuum solenoid based on the engine's current speed, actuating a pair of butterflies inside the manifold to open or close the short runners past 5400 rpm. This system has been used on many Mazda engines since including the BP. The K-series V6 engines used a different principle to the same effect dubbed VRIS. Two versions of the VICS intake system exist, one has steeper straighter runners than the other, which is kinked for vehicle packaging reasons. VICS was not present on the F8-DOHC or some of Kia version of the FE-DOHC, both of which use a conventional intake manifold design.

F2

The F2 is a stroked version of the FE with a bore and stroke of , for a displacement of . Introduced for the 1988–1992 GD platform cars, it can also be found in the B2200 pickup and Ford Probe. A high-output variant of the F2 coded F2H2 was used in RWD configuration in the Mazda 929. The compression ratio was raised to 9.2:1 and produced /. Although available as an 8-valve SOHC in the B2200, this engine is most commonly a 12-valve SOHC. In federalized, North American specifications, with an 8.6:1 compression ratio, it generates at 4700 rpm and .

Applications: 1986–1991 Mazda 929 1988–1992 Mazda 626 1988–1992 Mazda MX-6 1989–1992 Ford Probe 1987–1999 Mazda B2200

F2T