Aarons419's 2010 Raptor Build

[Boss327]

Did you notice any TQ loss down low to mid range with the cutout open?

 

[Aaron]

None actually, I've had quite a few straight-piped trucks before this one and never noticed it with them either.

I do need to email Badlanz though as my cutout has developed a rattle despite all the hardware being nice and tight.

 

[Aaron]

Update time!

Drove out to RPG yesterday to get my Stage 2 installed. Once I got there I was quickly introduced to the whole crew and have never felt so welcome in any shop I've been in. These guys treat you just like family and go the extra mile to make their shop a fun place to hang out while you get work done on your truck. Corey even explained a ton of things about the way shocks work to me. Really in depth, but awesome to learn about.

Anyhow, back to the Stage 2.

After getting everything apart two things were very apparent. First that I had given my frame a really good tweaking and second that I had a blown rear shock on my passenger side (I had no idea!) It was so bad you could compress it by hand all the way and it wouldn't rebound at all. I don't have any good pics of the frame, but hopefully I can get some of the ones Jarrett took. The shock on the other hand, I do have a pic of:



So obviously at this point, new shocks were in order, and I wish I would have had the money to drop in a set of 3.0s but sadly I didn't. So a "new" set of stockers went in, which happened to be a set off a SCrew so they're slightly stiffer, which works for me.

After that was sorted out, the stage 2 install began for real.

First the bump pads went on:


Then the frame support and crossbar came out, pictures really can't do justice to how huge and beefy this kit is. Seeing it in person is really the only way I think. If you have your doubts....don't. It's a monster.



Here's a shot of the crossbar under the bed:


Then we pulled out the bump stops, and once again, it's hard to do justice to them. I'm a big guy at 6'5 250 and have pretty big hands, so this was my attempt at giving scale to how massive these things are:



And lastly, here's the finished product:




I honestly can't say enough good things about the guys at RPG. It's apparent they're as excited about all of this as any of the rest of us are and it shows. They're a class act and they've earned a customer for life in me.


Oh and also, plasti-dip update: I've abandoned it after a little over a week. I think I might have just put it on too thin, but the fender that wasn't damaged by the pressure washer a few days ago, got damaged by me brushing against it with a little bit of force as I was walking by it. So it's all coming off. Oh well...

 

[6.2]

looks good man, now you have to go test it out!

 

[Aaron]

Yeah so far the only test it has got was the big bump close to RPG's shop that is a drop off out of a parking lot and it's probably close to 2' high. It's a ramp, but steep enough that if you hit it fast, it acts like a drop. So Jarrett and I took it off that moving pretty quick and it hit hard enough to use about 3/4 of the bumps' travel. Cool thing was how well it soaked up the hit. I think having a new set of shocks didn't hurt either!

 

[Wilson]

how many miles on the shocks don't seem right at 2.5 years old

 

[Aaron]

32k miles on them. Pretty sure I know what happened, it was a combination of me hitting one monster of a bump that probably tweaked the frame, and then commandershepard was driving it one day and had to panic stop while turning and heard a pop from the back end. Probably the shock giving up on life.

 

[6.2]

If your shock could talk....

Shock: "**** this shit I'm done"

 

[Aaron]

Haha, spot on 6.2!

 

[ruffstuff]

32k miles on them. Pretty sure I know what happened, it was a combination of me hitting one monster of a bump that probably tweaked the frame, and then commandershepard was driving it one day and had to panic stop while turning and heard a pop from the back end. Probably the shock giving up on life.

Did the Stage 2 fix the "tweak"?