Originally Posted by Oranoco
2litre Zetec wins hands down. Lighter and easier to fit so the first time you go into a corner you aren't going to understeer straight off the road. In an Escort the I4 is a good engine but it's not as revy as the Zetec and nowhere near as obtainable
i disagree.
ive had few rs2000 lumps and they are better for power imo and not all that heavier.
the weight that people go on about is more to do with the internals, they are bigger than zetec but still my old rs used to rev its tits off with a superchip, 7500rpm on the dial.
i wanted rs2000 conversion badly but went for 2.0l zetec in my mk4 as it was easier conversion because i wanted power steering.
but without power steering the main issue is just the engine mount.
rs2000 engine with chip and exhaust and filter can get 170bhp.
2.0l zetec engine with chip filter and exhaust can get 150bhp.
the rs2000 has massive ports and better inlet than zetec.