Perch Mod Discussion

[BearLeeAsian]

First texana run I lost power steering 25 miles in and just sucked it up the rest of the lap. Ran it that way all weekend got one hell of an arm workout. Last Raptoberfest fest I made it for the night run then took out power steering and rack about 10 minutes into that first morning run lol. This most recent run I took out my tie rods/alignment smashed up the front bumper/skid and took out my rear window, almost lost my rear u-joints, went through a set of pads and pretty much destroyed my rotors, blew out a tire and shredded em down to the Kevlar But I still finished!!! And that was after one good day of running without breaking anything lol. Had to pull over to let the tranny cool off but yes your right....I do break a lot of stuff......but it's all so I can build it back 10x better!






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Rear window incident could have been bad.

 

[Rangerz20]

Who has gone to top perch and had a problem? I notice several that are their but not complaining. Has someone damaged their Raptor at top perch? Why is it their if I can't be used and what can you do to use it. Sorry for all the questions but there's no clear answer. Mine is a 2014.

 

[Madcowranch]

I heard this guy was on top perch... http://www.fordraptorforum.com/f5/2013-ford-raptor-possibly-blown-up-36710/

 

[Flying_Raptor]

I agree it looks like top perch. While it looks good if you have a newer model year they don't respond well to top perch like the first couple years did. CV joints will break much quicker. Mid-perch is much safer as far as long-term drive train durability goes.

Nice looking truck and garage by the way.

Been on top perch for 53,000 miles now no problems with the CVs or anything else other than my own wear and tear from off-roading. Mines a 2012. I've had to swap out tie rods but that was because I hit a caution that was unmarked entirely too fast.

 

[Taxman]

Looking to do mid-perch sometime this week. Has anyone seen reports of any CV joint failures with mid-perch on 2014s? I'm on 4wd quite a bit on sand at the outer banks in NC. I'm going to the outer banks in a few weeks with about 20 Jeeps (including my wife's). I'll be the only non-Jeep in my Raptor. If my CVs fail on the sand because of mid-perch, I'm not sure I'll ever be able to show my face with this group again. I've been riding with this crew for 8 years and they have given me a lot of crap because I bought a Raptor. I'm not sure anyone would survive a blow like that to their ego.

If there is any chance of blowing my CVs because of mid-perch on the sand, then two things would happen: 1) I'd probably stay stock and 2) I'd be disappointed that a 1.5" change in suspension geometry could possibly have such harsh effects on the Raptor. Seems a bit extreme to me.

 

[OrangeAddict]

Looking to do mid-perch sometime this week. Has anyone seen reports of any CV joint failures with mid-perch on 2014s? I'm on 4wd quite a bit on sand at the outer banks in NC. I'm going to the outer banks in a few weeks with about 20 Jeeps (including my wife's). I'll be the only non-Jeep in my Raptor. If my CVs fail on the sand because of mid-perch, I'm not sure I'll ever be able to show my face with this group again. I've been riding with this crew for 8 years and they have given me a lot of crap because I bought a Raptor. I'm not sure anyone would survive a blow like that to their ego.

If there is any chance of blowing my CVs because of mid-perch on the sand, then two things would happen: 1) I'd probably stay stock and 2) I'd be disappointed that a 1.5" change in suspension geometry could possibly have such harsh effects on the Raptor. Seems a bit extreme to me.

I have been on Mid-perch since the truck was a bout 2 weeks old. A large portion of my off road is at OBX or down at Fort Fisher National seashore with no problems at all. You will be fine. Like in all soft sand and you probably already know just air down.

 

[Cleave]

You can probably outperform all their jeeps in the sand on stock perch, let alone with the extra clearance you get from mid perch

 

[Taxman]

You can probably outperform all their jeeps in the sand on stock perch, let alone with the extra clearance you get from mid perch

That's what I keep telling all the Jeep folks! It took me 20 years of driving Jeeps to realize how grossly underpowered they are.

 

[Taxman]

Just got the mid perch done. My observations are consistent with everyone's remarks. I've driven about 20 miles or so on city roads. No off-roading yet. Maybe this weekend, but for sure in Sept sometime.

I've noticed improvements in:

- stance (visually better)
- acceleration seems smoother, not from a speed standpoint, but the truck doesn't jerk or lean back as much
- braking is smoother - doesn't dip any more
- cornering - steering response is much improved

I feel more vibrations from the front than before. It's not as bad as my '08 Rubicon on 35" mud-terrains, but it's not the Cadillac-smooth ride from before. Big bumps aren't a problem, it's the little dips that cause small vibrations that you feel and weren't there before. Overall, I like the ride and if I hadn't ridden in it before, I probably wouldn't know anything was done.

Definitely recommended.

 

[Nick@Apollo-Optics]

I feel more vibrations from the front than before. It's not as bad as my '08 Rubicon on 35" mud-terrains, but it's not the Cadillac-smooth ride from before. Big bumps aren't a problem, it's the little dips that cause small vibrations that you feel and weren't there before. Overall, I like the ride and if I hadn't ridden in it before, I probably wouldn't know anything was done.

This goes away. Like you, I noticed it when I first did mid-perch on my truck, but after the springs have some time to settle again, this goes away and the ride goes back to being smooth.