Originally Posted by
kabizz
I tried but I had to reassemble the old tensioner because the 1.6 CVH one didn't fit.
Is that a good news for me to have a 1.8 ZVH compare to the 1.6 CVH ?
I'm a bit disappointed with this news ...
I bought the car thinking it was a 1.6, that's what the seller told me.
The Zetec block - still when it's got the standard N/A pistons - is sturdy and works well when not going for crazy boost pressure and a lot of power. 0,2 litre more means a bit more torque and potential for more power, although it's not that much. That's why most of the people built a 2,0 or 2,1 ZVH.
BUT: It would be important to know the compression ratio of your engine!
The downside is the combination of CVH and Zetec makes it a little bit more fragile than a full CVH would be, especially when it comes to the cambelt and the water pump. But when you are careful and the conversion has been done well, this usually also lasts. Zt still isn't a standard RST engine anymore but as it's not in a standard Escort RST it's not that important. And as I mentioned above, I'd opt for an aftermarket ignition ECU. No more worries about chips, boost pressure limitation and who to see on mainland Europe for setup. Still you're a bit limited with the KE-Jetronic. About 220 bhp is the limit with the KE-Jetronic