GEN 1 JDM Roush Upgrade kit (675/700hp)

[Cristian]

Following. I also plan on getting the 700hp upgrade kit. Definitely doing pump and gears, larger heat exchanger, headers and ypipe.

 

[Sernas]

Look into traction bars or KHC torque arm. Definitely need one or the other to put the power down. This will extend your driveshaft life for sure. Wheel hop is what will break your driveshaft.

 

[Anthony k]

Hey there guys,

TL : DR
1. Necessary parts that compliment JDM Roush upgrade kit?
2. How bad is gas mileage difference?
3. How big of a smile did you have after the upgrade kit install?
4. Is pedal commander necessary or does JDM tune solve this problem?
5. Thank you for all of the support guys, you have been extremely helpful in this journey already!


I'm in the process of finalizing a deal on a 14' phase 1 Roush Raptor w/45k miles.

During test drive I noticed the hard shifting and also limitations that the tune presented. I could just feel the trucking wanting to push harder but being incapable due to the golden handcuffs from the tune.

I reviewed the forums before test driving and overall everyone's comments here became very noticeable during the test drive especially when going wide open throttle from 15-75mph. This was the extent of the testing during the test drive. Albeit it brief, y'alls comments rang true.

That said, Im very interested in the JDM Roush upgrade kit. Can you guys provide some advice/insight on some parts that would benefit the truck with regard to life longevity and overall health. I'm not looking to dump a ton of money into the truck initially; however, the JDM upgrade has become my main consideration. During install I would like to get some risk prevention seeing as 700hp has the potential of stressing other parts of the truck. I remember reading about getting billet oil pump gears; however, they now appear to be unavailable.

I will be using the truck as a daily driver (12 miles per day total to and from work) and was wondering if there is a substantial gas mileage change. Obviously the truck is already at 11/12 miles per gallon as is but just curious.

Also is a pedal commander necessary or does the JDM Tune fix the throttle response? I feel like I might be confusing throttle response with pedal response.

If your “email tuner” is selling you a pedal commander. That’s all I need to hear to walk away.

email tuning is “best guess” tuning. Spending that much money! Come on. Pay the extra money and get it in a dyno. Period. Aftermarket throttle body isn’t needed. Can create drivability issues. big selling points like “700hp kit” is nice and all, but what hits the ground is what actually matters.
get the Id injectors for sure..... easier to tune on a dyno at least, because they all come with a dyno sheet,graph whatever they want to call them. Can’t speak to email tuning because, again, it’s a “best guess tune” “here, this will work tune”

 

[Sernas]

Some email tuning is not "best guess tuning" there’s a few companies that specialize on certain vehicles that have tuned multiple vehicles with mostly same mods. With this they give you a base tune and you start data logging and creates a much better tune even if you get a dyno tune.

If your “email tuner” is selling you a pedal commander. That’s all I need to hear to walk away.

email tuning is “best guess” tuning. Spending that much money! Come on. Pay the extra money and get it in a dyno. Period. Aftermarket throttle body isn’t needed. Can create drivability issues. big selling points like “700hp kit” is nice and all, but what hits the ground is what actually matters.
get the Id injectors for sure..... easier to tune on a dyno at least, because they all come with a dyno sheet,graph whatever they want to call them. Can’t speak to email tuning because, again, it’s a “best guess tune” “here, this will work tune”

If your “email tuner” is selling you a pedal commander. That’s all I need to hear to walk away.

email tuning is “best guess” tuning. Spending that much money! Come on. Pay the extra money and get it in a dyno. Period. Aftermarket throttle body isn’t needed. Can create drivability issues. big selling points like “700hp kit” is nice and all, but what hits the ground is what actually matters.
get the Id injectors for sure..... easier to tune on a dyno at least, because they all come with a dyno sheet,graph whatever they want to call them. Can’t speak to email tuning because, again, it’s a “best guess tune” “here, this will work tune”

 

[JimIII@JDM]

We do not sell or recommend the pedal commander as our custom email tune files already improve the throttle tables. We make multiple adjustments to get the throttle to pedal ratios just right! Some people want instant response or more response than we normally offer and it's just an email away from updating if that's what you want! Once you receive our tune we have a file for your truck under your name and we can always go back for adjustments and changes! We offer free tuning support with in 1 year and as long as no hard parts that require tuning were changed or added.

Our custom email tune files are based on the thousands of Raptor trucks we have tuned in house, on the dyno, and long distance. We have the most sound email tuning available for these trucks because of that. It is all combination based so if you are going with one of our packages its a home run!

Thanks and please feel free to contact us with any questions.

Jim D'Amore III
JDM Engineering
732-780-0770

 

[Dane]

Dane how much of a jump is the 72mm to the 69mm pulley?

I’m thinking on sticking with the 72mm that comes in the kit. I think if I go for the 69mm I may be asking to break something in the long run.

Id appreciate your honest opinion

I picked up the truck today and need to do some small maintenance first but will will start installing parts in this order.

1. driveshaft (looking at axle enhance)
2. Oil pump / oil pump gears (still figuring out the parts to purchase here)
3. Upgrades AFCO Heat exchanger
4. JDM 700 kit, with 72mm pulley, tune and throttle body linked above


Anything out of order or missing to keep this baby reliable?

Seriously Dane, thank you for all of the help!

It's similar to the jump to the 72mm. In my conversations with JDM, they said it really makes the heat exchanger/oil pump/exhaust upgrades mandatory. Also to note, you won't see the boost jumps you might expect, since you are at altitude like I am. In addition, if you ever go full headers you'll actually lose boost (but not power). Losing boost in THIS manner is actually good - though it seems counterintuitive.

Now, as to your list. I think you'll be fine with the upgrades as you have listed. You may at some point have to tackle exhaust issues - but maybe I had bad luck. I can tell you that both cracked exhaust manifolds coincided with separate trips to Wyoming towing my toyhauler (and being under prolonged heavy boost towing). My cat blew out shortly after I first supercharged the truck.

Now, in terms of difficulty.
Driveshaft = super easy
Oil Pump is VERY entailed - you have to tear down the entire front of the truck, remove the supercharger, etc etc. It's a big deal.
Heat Exchanger isn't a small deal, but more manageable in your garage - though due to my bumper/winch setup I had to get some custom stuff done to get everything to fit.
I never went with that kit, so I can't speak too much about that, though it seems like it's in the middle ground of difficulty too. Maybe easier than the heat exchanger.

Does your Roush kit have that Roush plate that prevents the belt from slipping off? It's a ********* piece of metal kinda down low on the driver's side that you'd have to remove to remove the belt. If not, I'm pretty sure you want it with your upgrade. I forget what it's called.

I'd recommend a phone call with JDM above. That's who I worked with. You don't need a pedal commander.

 

[Rappedtor]

Biggest questions I have before this would be about lifting the truck.

Look into traction bars or KHC torque arm. Definitely need one or the other to put the power down. This will extend your driveshaft life for sure. Wheel hop is what will break your driveshaft.

Thank you very much for this sentiment! I am 100% focused on maintaining health before boosting HP further.

 

[Rappedtor]

It's similar to the jump to the 72mm. In my conversations with JDM, they said it really makes the heat exchanger/oil pump/exhaust upgrades mandatory. Also to note, you won't see the boost jumps you might expect, since you are at altitude like I am. In addition, if you ever go full headers you'll actually lose boost (but not power). Losing boost in THIS manner is actually good - though it seems counterintuitive.

Now, as to your list. I think you'll be fine with the upgrades as you have listed. You may at some point have to tackle exhaust issues - but maybe I had bad luck. I can tell you that both cracked exhaust manifolds coincided with separate trips to Wyoming towing my toyhauler (and being under prolonged heavy boost towing). My cat blew out shortly after I first supercharged the truck.

Now, in terms of difficulty.
Driveshaft = super easy
Oil Pump is VERY entailed - you have to tear down the entire front of the truck, remove the supercharger, etc etc. It's a big deal.
Heat Exchanger isn't a small deal, but more manageable in your garage - though due to my bumper/winch setup I had to get some custom stuff done to get everything to fit.
I never went with that kit, so I can't speak too much about that, though it seems like it's in the middle ground of difficulty too. Maybe easier than the heat exchanger.

Does your Roush kit have that Roush plate that prevents the belt from slipping off? It's a ********* piece of metal kinda down low on the driver's side that you'd have to remove to remove the belt. If not, I'm pretty sure you want it with your upgrade. I forget what it's called.

I'd recommend a phone call with JDM above. That's who I worked with. You don't need a pedal commander.

DANE YOU ARE THE MAN!!!!

I can't even begin to express my appreciation enough!

I will definitely give JDM a call soon as they will have great insight for this project.

Dane, I couldn't figure out how to message you, I was going to ask if you would like to get together some time since you are so close. Can you PM me? or help me out. Id like to start being more active in the community and start doing some meetups with the community.

 

[Dane]

DANE YOU ARE THE MAN!!!!

I can't even begin to express my appreciation enough!

I will definitely give JDM a call soon as they will have great insight for this project.

Dane, I couldn't figure out how to message you, I was going to ask if you would like to get together some time since you are so close. Can you PM me? or help me out. Id like to start being more active in the community and start doing some meetups with the community.

Done.

 

[Rappedtor]

We do not sell or recommend the pedal commander as our custom email tune files already improve the throttle tables. We make multiple adjustments to get the throttle to pedal ratios just right! Some people want instant response or more response than we normally offer and it's just an email away from updating if that's what you want! Once you receive our tune we have a file for your truck under your name and we can always go back for adjustments and changes! We offer free tuning support with in 1 year and as long as no hard parts that require tuning were changed or added.

Our custom email tune files are based on the thousands of Raptor trucks we have tuned in house, on the dyno, and long distance. We have the most sound email tuning available for these trucks because of that. It is all combination based so if you are going with one of our packages its a home run!

Thanks and please feel free to contact us with any questions.

Jim D'Amore III
JDM Engineering
732-780-0770

Thank you JDM! I had been looking forward to you chiming in and will keep this thread up to date with progress as the truck grows. Hopefully this will give detailed insight to folks that want to boost their Raptor to a sweet spot.

Im definitely looking forward to working with you!