NYC Urban Assualt Vehicle!

[showerfan]

the streets of new york are worse than ever, and my tahoe just ain't cutting it on the treacherous terrain of my 20-mile commute to midtown. so next week i'm going to dearborn with a camera crew to film the assembly of my new, tuxedo black screw, and i'm excited! my question is, what are the most important upgrades i should be looking into to make my truck into a true Urban Assault Vehicle? i'll probably never pre-run the Baja 1000, but i'm not sure the Bronx River Parkway is much easier...

wheel hop is first and foremost concern, as i often drive a raptor when i'm in detroit and any real acceleration on cold, dry pavement produces serious slippage. the guys at SVT have advised replacing the leaf springs as a solution to that issue, and from what i've read here it seems like the best remedy.

but as i look into spring suppliers, i've noticed RPG sells a pretty sweet set that includes bump stops and frame supports. i'm not sure i need that much strength and protection but on the other hand, the potholes on the FDR are insanely large and constant, and i've read a lot about bent frames after 40,000 miles. does this seem worth it? does it seem like too much? i feel like it's better "insurance" than a new bumper, really.

along the same vein, i've noticed the tie-rods from the factory look ridiculously weak, so i was thinking i'll need the RPG replacement for those too. what about the upper control arm? i've seen a lot of you replace those, but why? the ford UCA looks strong enough -- does an aftermarket part offer more applications? i'm kind of a noob to automotive suspension and steering, so i'm glad i found this forum!

i don't think i need to replace the shocks, as i probably won't be down to change the settings myself very often, but what do you think? aren't the fox shocks that come with the truck a huge leap over anything else OEM? it seems like mid-perch is a must, though i wonder why SVT doesn't just send them that way? the guys at Krazy House Customs have me thinking of Icon 3.0 gear, but i'm not sure how much i'll feel the difference.


thanks for any advice, this forum is that absolute **** and one of the most civilized i've ever seen (i'm also on every ducati forum known to mankind and a bunch of mustang boards as well -- '68 notchback)

 

[Magnum PI]

I did traction bars on my truck and I don't have any wheel hop. Suspension depending how much off roading you're going to do. I'm in Chicago and only had a chance to go once which was a terrain park. Will be going to trr this year on my sock suspension and I will be able to decide if I want something better. So where I'm getting at is it might not really be worth the money if you're not going to do it often.

 

[showerfan]

i won't be off-roading OFTEN, but when i do, i want to do it right! also A) NYC streets may be as bad as a fast desert road and B) i'm not against some level of overkill.

i mean, i decat all my bikes and put öhlins and termis on all of them, even though i'm not racing WSBK. and i still notice a big, buttery difference on the street.

 

[skyscraper]

As far as the rpg stage 3 kit goes, I can't speak for your needs, because I've only took a taxi on those roads and most people get these kits for offroad, but why not? Thats the kit Im going to buy. In regards to the bent frames, if you abuse your truck offroad and think its a trophy truck, your frame may not like it. It's not something that happens to people who understand the limits.

The stock shocks and mid perch make it way more capable off-road than any other stock truck. But a lot of guys like to upgrade to 3.0's for more agressive driving. It sounds like the stock shocks will be enough for you.


So how are you getting into the dearborn plant? Make sure to post the video here, I know I'd want to see how they are built!

 

[showerfan]

I am a reporter and I cover ford, so I'm going to do a story on my F-150 getting built -- "Watch 1,100 Americans Build the World's Best-Selling Truck!" Of course mine will be a Raptor I've been in the DTP before and it is awesome.

So I guess the rationale move for me, since I'm mostly driving the decrepit roads of New York, would be just to do the springs and then move on to things like CAI and catback, etc. But I just feel like the bumpstops and frame reinforcement is added awesomeness that I won't regret.

Since seeing the tie-rods next to each other in someone else's post, I think I have to do that too, but the difference wasn't as stark with regards to the UCA. Guess I'm just wondering what the delta is on the upgraded control arm...

 

[BAJASVT]

You'll be fine with the stock suspension on the NYC streets.

The rear suspension has ~12" of travel and sits approximately in the middle of that travel at rest. The rear frame issue happens when you're on flat land and hit an obstacle taller than 6", resulting in the suspension bottoming out and having nowhere else to go. This is not the scenario at all with a pot hole or even a miniature sink hole. In this situation, your tire would fall into the hole giving you back more than 6" of compression. You can't really compare the streets of NYC to an actual desert environment. The RPG kit would be a waste for you... the frame stiffening hardware is not necessary for you and the hydraulic bump stops would probably never make contact with anything. You may benefit from stiffer rear springs on the street, but that somewhat takes away from the purpose built function of the Raptor suspension.

Additionally, the rear frame was made thicker for the 2013+ model year.

 

[showerfan]

Good info, thanks. So you're saying any attempt to reduce wheel-hop in a street environment would negate the off-road readiness of the suspension? Or do stiffer springs help all-around?

 

[metronyc]

I'm driving all day long in NYC and i have 30k in upgrades from suspension thru Whipple SC and my advise is if you don't do off roading don't spent you money . the stock one is more then enough for city streets , the big issue is a gas , my track make 7-8 MPG.

 

[showerfan]

I also want to point out that a six-inch pothole at 80 mph is not unlikely in this godforsaken urban landscape! That is, assuming I estimate six inches accurately

---------- Post added at 03:30 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:28 AM ----------

Roger that -- $30k = one mean Ducati.

 

[BAJASVT]

The wheel hop you experience in a Raptor in a snapshot is the axle rotating more than the tires; the axle torques, tires break loose, axle torques, repeat. The Raptor falls victim to this more than say a FX4 F-150 because the Raptor has softer (lower spring rate) leaf springs. Softer springs mean that the suspension can cycle faster and that's when the internal bypass shocks come into play.

Stiffer springs would help you for driving on the street, but they would take away from what the Raptor is built for. The National springs that come in the RPG rear kit are even softer yet than the OEM Raptor springs... so are the aftermarket Deaver springs that some run.

This may be oversimplifying it, but think of a standard truck as one where the leaf spring does most of the heavy lifting and the shock is just there to keep things under control. In a Raptor, the shock is the trump card and the leaf takes the back seat.

If you've ever had the opportunity to look at and touch a trophy truck with tons of suspension travel... you can lift the truck from the rear bumper by hand and when you let go it will almost stay where you let it go. If you push down on the rear bumper to compress the suspension, it will barely come back up when you release pressure. This is because the springs are ridiculously soft and there are several thousands of dollars worth of shocks handling the suspension cycle. A Raptor is no trophy truck, but it's suspension is heading away from a standard F-150 in the direction of one.

Hope this helps.

---------- Post added at 10:32 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:30 PM ----------

I also want to point out that a six-inch pothole at 80 mph is not unlikely in this godforsaken urban landscape!

As I mentioned a 6" pot hole would not be a problem; a 8"+ tall obstacle in the road would.