Gen 2 SCAB makeover…totally not ripping off Geoff’s 2.5 build!

[91Eunos]

Complicating issue was that when I brought my bench vise over from the other garage, I noticed one of the screws holding one of the clamping blocks in place was missing.

Had to clean and re-tap the holes to clear out 30+ years of gunk before putting in new screws:

 

[91Eunos]

I also had to get creative when I was assembling the cherry picker this afternoon. Couldn’t get my paws inside the extended portion of the arms (legs?) of the base to get the screws for the casters in:



Only have to be 10% smarter than the Chinese engineers, who must assume everyone has tiny little Chinese hands, or ET length fingers to fit those inboard screws into place!

 

[Zeusmotorworks]

SPD down pipes arrived:

View attachment 483123

Who's ceramic coating did you use? If "theirs", do you know what they are claiming for their product? I'm thinking of using Swain Tech ("real ceramic") on the manifolds, but think it may be a bit much over cats.

White Lightning Exhaust Coatings – Swain Tech Coatings | Industrial Coatings | High Performance Racing Coatings

 

[91Eunos]

Who's ceramic coating did you use? If "theirs", do you know what they are claiming for their product? I'm thinking of using Swain Tech ("real ceramic") on the manifolds, but think it may be a bit much over cats.

White Lightning Exhaust Coatings – Swain Tech Coatings | Industrial Coatings | High Performance Racing Coatings

I think it’s just paint on there… ordered via my “package” deal through Full Race, and don’t recall a ceramic coating option for the down pipes.

That is a good idea though.

I had the Swaintech on the header for one of my race cars several years ago, and also did their coating for the tops of the pistons on another engine…think it was Swaintech anyway; it’s been 30 years or so now!

Edit: This is the set I have, SPD says it has a ceramic coating, but it looks like paint to me. Probably Cerakoted, but a thin coat at best:

2017 - 2020 Ford F150 Raptor 3.5L Ecoboost Catted Downpipe

www.spdperformance.com

…but if I’d known about their stainless steel “Alpha” setup with the welded on flanges, I’d absolutely have gone that route for the extra $500.

I use Cerakote on a lot of my rifles, and it works great as a paint/anodizing replacement, but not sure what benefit it provides for heat management.

Will get something to cover that cross over pipe regardless; like the SPD “Alpha” pipes, and even the factory setup has. Even if it’s just header wrap, I think that pipe needs something to keep the heat in.

 

[full-race geoff]

…but if I’d known about their stainless steel “Alpha” setup with the welded on flanges, I’d absolutely have gone that route for the extra $500.

FYI - I like SPD products, excellent quality parts. Their downpipe and exhaust products are outstanding. 2 issues with the alpha downpipes we stopped selling to our Garrett powermax customers:

1) Mild steel bolts, lock washers and flanges - we prefer oem hardware for this specific connection. ford goes to great lengths with high quality non-magnetic downpipe to turbo hardware. you must use stainless or high nickel fasteners otherwise when the turbo gets hot the threads loosen and exhaust can leak / things can start burning (ask me how I know)



2) SPD flanges are a little small at the bore for the Garrett powermax turbine side. Here is a comparison of the Garrett sized opening on the SPD downpipe to illustrate how much would need to be ported to match.

 

[Zeusmotorworks]

Soooooo AMS Geoff?

 

[91Eunos]

FYI - I like SPD products, excellent quality parts. Their downpipe and exhaust products are outstanding. 2 issues with the alpha downpipes we stopped selling to our Garrett powermax customers:

1) Mild steel bolts, lock washers and flanges - we prefer oem hardware for this specific connection. ford goes to great lengths with high quality non-magnetic downpipe to turbo hardware. you must use stainless or high nickel fasteners otherwise when the turbo gets hot the threads loosen and exhaust can leak / things can start burning (ask me how I know)

View attachment 483311

2) SPD flanges are a little small at the bore for the Garrett powermax turbine side. Here is a comparison of the Garrett sized opening on the SPD downpipe to illustrate how much would need to be ported to match.

View attachment 483312

Thanks for the info @full-race geoff !

Another reason I feel good about buying from y’all… Even when I don't know what I don’t know, you’re behind the scenes using your experience to take care of your customers.

Thanks again for continuing to share your knowledge, and in the process educate the community.

 

[full-race geoff]

Soooooo AMS Geoff?

nope. their downpipes would not seal. no matter what we tried they leaked exhaust, pre-cat at the turbo connection.

This is not heresy, we bought and paid for (3) sets of AMS downpipes to validate for our customers and attempted to install on 4 different trucks. 5 days ago, we gave it "one more try" on my orange gen2 before finalizing our decision. All 3 AMS downpipes were found to be formed incorrectly at the connection to the turbo. I put my right hand fabricator at Full Race on it for a full day and we can not get any of the 3 to seal. Apparently goose tuned said the same about his customers and AMS denied any problem, offered no solution. Frustrating. If anyone wants a great deal on an AMS downpipe lmk...

Thanks again for continuing to share your knowledge, and in the process educate the community.

its my pleasure! We spent many hours and wasted $ to find out what doesn't work... Sadly aftermarket parts are not always vetted or QC'd by the company selling it. And its the worst feeling to discover a "surprise" you'd never know about until you actually use the product as intended.

To be fair Full Race was guilty of these sins in the past on other vehicle platforms. Which is why we discontinued almost everything we sell thats not for a Raptor/F150 ecoboost. It's also why we now have (4) 3.5L trucks in the fleet and test heavily before offering a part for sale

 

[mashtastic]

Geoff- since we’re on the subject, what down pipes work and doesn’t work from your R&D? CVF states it has built in adapters, have you guys tried them?
I have a set waiting patently in the garage…

CVF Stainless Steel Downpipes with Built-In Turbo Adapters (2017-2020

ESTIMATED SHIP DATE: OUT OF STOCK AND SHIPS EARLY APRIL SEE FEEDBACK FROM THE RAPTOR F-150 ECOBOOST COMMUNITY HERE: Detailed installation/product review from AmericanTrucks Ford on YouTube Cold start video (with OEM exhaust) at YouTube.com Drive-by video (with OEM exhaust) at YouTube.com Product...

www.cvfab.com