Engine
Unlike its predecessor (the Mondeo ST200), the ST220 featured an internally-standard Ford V6 engine – this time the 3-litre, alloyblock Duratec ST, a derivative of the American Duratec 30. For the ST220 it was mildly breathed on, having free-flowing inlet manifolds, sports exhausts and revised fuelling to take power to 223bhp.
Unfortunately, unleashing more grunt is far from easy. Most ST220s are by now equipped with an aftermarket air filter, which won’t give any performance gains; a cold-air induction kit may enhance throttle response, and will definitely increase the grin factor when you hear that V6 roar.
Similarly, a free-flowing exhaust improves the aural experience and may add a few horses too; ST220 owners tend to favour the JP Exhausts system, but Milltek’s is also wellregarded. A few folk have fitted decat pipes, but they’re difficult to reach, awkward come MoT time, and offer marginal benefits.
Better breathing is great groundwork for remapped engine management software, but this is where the ST220 hits its first snag. Few tuners are able to crack the ST220’s ECU, and none supply off-the-shelf software upgrades. A couple of remap handsets used to be available, but one was reported to be largely ineffective and the other – Dreamscience’s
Stratagem – is no longer sold or supported. That’s a real shame because it was tested to 250bhp, removed the firstand second-gear torque limiters, and could be set to give greater gains on superunleaded petrol (the ST220 has no knock sensor, so 95 RON is normally all you need).
Your best bet, then, is to search for a second-hand Dreamscience handset, but bear in mind it’s suitable only for six-speed ST220s; earlier cars (with ECU coded 1ANR, rather than the later 6BDB or similar) aren’t remappable unless you swap the ECU ( easy enough if you get the transponder and keys).
Changing to aftermarket engine management is an option, but highly expensive and not worthwhile unless you’re chucking a lot more fuel into the engine; we’ve seen ( and heard!) Duratec 30s running throttle bodies for around 300bhp, but it’s very difficult getting enough air into the Mondeo’s underbonnet area.
ST220 cylinder heads are good as standard, albeit lacking the improved ports of the ST200. Yes, it’s possible to retrofit ST200 heads, but it’s doubtful you’d see benefits. The ST220’s valves are significantly larger and, although its camshafts are less peaky, the head and cams were good enough to be used as stock in the Noble M12 sports car.
Talking of which, Noble bolted a pair of turbos onto an almost-standard ST220 bottom end to produce over 300bhp. The Mondeo’s bulkhead means there’s no way the Noble setup will fit into an ST220 engine bay, but it proves the bottom end is tough – in fact, some Nobles are making 700bhp on the standard crank and block, along with forged pistons and rods, ported big-valve heads and uprated valve springs, along with standalone management, uprated fuel system and big single turbo.
If you reckon forced induction is worth a try, contact the Americans. Look for a now- discontinued Vortech supercharger setup, or call Contour SVT (the Yank version of our ST200) specialist, Nautilus Performance. There are single-turbo kits available in intercooled and nonintercooled versions, with big-power potential. You’ll need to move the Mondeo’s battery out of the way, but otherwise it should all bolt up.
Finally, if you’ve got very deep pockets, check out Nautilus’s awesome 3.5litre, conversion, using a big-bore version of the Duratec 30 block ( as opposed to the USA- only Duratec 35 and 37 units, which won’t fit the Mondeo). Who’ll be the UK’s first to attempt it?