Theycallmebdunn
Member
- Joined
- Mar 22, 2018
- Posts
- 29
- Reaction score
- 32
My new Raptor is just rolling over the 1k miles mark and I thought I would share a few thoughts, and I may ramble a bit.
I traded in a 2011 F150 KR 4x4 which I had slightly lifted, cool bumpers, sway bar, etc. It was an eco-boost as well and as much as I didn't love the exhaust note I really did grow to appreciate the power and torque. It has Bilstein 5100's on it and the ride was very trucky..composed but stiff. Expansion joints and railroad tracks (etc) could easily disrupt the chassis but overall I liked the truck-ness of it.
When I first drive the Raptor I wasn't sure I liked it...it seemed so...squishy, especially compared to my KR which was definitely on the stiff side. I immediately appreciated the suspension over all types of road conditions as it soaks bumps and RR tracks up like a sponge. The other thing I was quite surprised by is how damn quiet the truck is! On the highway it's super quiet and sooo smooth. I imagine if Cadillac built a truck suspension it would feel like this on the highway. Truly amazing.
I wasn't so in love with how much side to side sway the Raptor had so after some googling I found a great build article (here on the forum) that confirmed a Hellwig sway bar that would fit the Raptor. I was very happy with the results on my KR so I ordered it. The install was very straight forward and I started it at the softest setting (of 3). Wow...really a big difference. The truck is now leans noticeably less in turns without losing any of that bump soaking goodness. I will set it to the middle setting sometime soon and see how that feels. Obviously if you are using your truck off road frequently this mod may not be for you..but if you're commuting in it I highly recommend it.
The technology in the truck is a lot of fun and I finally learned all the damn buttons on the Sync. The radio is good enough for me and a bed cover and extender has created a ton of usable space for anything from luggage to groceries to garden soil. I put a Du-Hu storage box under the back seat and that thing gives a ton of space to stow jumper cables, tie downs, tools, guns, whatever. Highly recommended - and it bolts into 2 factory holes so it doesn't slide around.
The exhaust note isn't great but Ford actually did a pretty darn good job tuning it. No drone and it has a little grunt to it. I'm going to Forescan the fake exhaust noise and see how that sounds sometime this weekend. A few other Forescan changes will also improve upon the overall experience I think.
Other than the sound the motor is really sweet. Plenty of power, quick boost, and the 10 speed seems to suit it well. I will likely tune it at some point to get even more "go" although it really doesn't need it.
Overall I think the Raptor is my favorite all time vehicle because it does everything well. It can haul the family in comfort, race through the dessert, go mudding, fetch the groceries, get me to work and back, and is an absolute blast to drive. I have always had a sports car and a truck but this has me re-thinking that because I really do get that sport car rush from the truck.
For anyone on the fence who has the means I highly recommend one of these things.
/BDunn Out.
I traded in a 2011 F150 KR 4x4 which I had slightly lifted, cool bumpers, sway bar, etc. It was an eco-boost as well and as much as I didn't love the exhaust note I really did grow to appreciate the power and torque. It has Bilstein 5100's on it and the ride was very trucky..composed but stiff. Expansion joints and railroad tracks (etc) could easily disrupt the chassis but overall I liked the truck-ness of it.
When I first drive the Raptor I wasn't sure I liked it...it seemed so...squishy, especially compared to my KR which was definitely on the stiff side. I immediately appreciated the suspension over all types of road conditions as it soaks bumps and RR tracks up like a sponge. The other thing I was quite surprised by is how damn quiet the truck is! On the highway it's super quiet and sooo smooth. I imagine if Cadillac built a truck suspension it would feel like this on the highway. Truly amazing.
I wasn't so in love with how much side to side sway the Raptor had so after some googling I found a great build article (here on the forum) that confirmed a Hellwig sway bar that would fit the Raptor. I was very happy with the results on my KR so I ordered it. The install was very straight forward and I started it at the softest setting (of 3). Wow...really a big difference. The truck is now leans noticeably less in turns without losing any of that bump soaking goodness. I will set it to the middle setting sometime soon and see how that feels. Obviously if you are using your truck off road frequently this mod may not be for you..but if you're commuting in it I highly recommend it.
The technology in the truck is a lot of fun and I finally learned all the damn buttons on the Sync. The radio is good enough for me and a bed cover and extender has created a ton of usable space for anything from luggage to groceries to garden soil. I put a Du-Hu storage box under the back seat and that thing gives a ton of space to stow jumper cables, tie downs, tools, guns, whatever. Highly recommended - and it bolts into 2 factory holes so it doesn't slide around.
The exhaust note isn't great but Ford actually did a pretty darn good job tuning it. No drone and it has a little grunt to it. I'm going to Forescan the fake exhaust noise and see how that sounds sometime this weekend. A few other Forescan changes will also improve upon the overall experience I think.
Other than the sound the motor is really sweet. Plenty of power, quick boost, and the 10 speed seems to suit it well. I will likely tune it at some point to get even more "go" although it really doesn't need it.
Overall I think the Raptor is my favorite all time vehicle because it does everything well. It can haul the family in comfort, race through the dessert, go mudding, fetch the groceries, get me to work and back, and is an absolute blast to drive. I have always had a sports car and a truck but this has me re-thinking that because I really do get that sport car rush from the truck.
For anyone on the fence who has the means I highly recommend one of these things.
/BDunn Out.
