I hate to say it, but I just don't get why Ford made this truck. I wish that they would have gone after building a next generation Lightning. To me, SVT and off-road just don't go together. I see that you cannot even get the 6.2L engine yet and the crappy 5.4 3V is the only engine at this time. The 6.2L is one heck of an engine... would be nice in a future Lightning!
I don't know about you guys, but I am just not a big fan of the 5.4 3V. I owned a 2005 King Ranch and put 15,000 painful miles on it before having to sell it off. That truck sucked and will never touch another F-150 until they get that 6.2L engine in there. I had a 99 Ford Expedition with the 5.4 2V and it ran circles around the 3V. The 3V had no torque and towing anything was a chore. I spoke with guys I knew at Ford and they said that they also had numerous complaints about having low torque and weird shifting quirks.
Sorry if I am offending people... just had to vent about the Raptor. I just don't see what people see in it.
Why wouldn't SVT build an off-raod vehicle? The Raptor seems to fit the ideal of performance, value, and exclusivity. And you really can't argue with the sales numbers, so far the Raptor really is a hit.
As for the 5.4 3v, I have to agree. Out of the box they leave a lot to be desired. However, most of that engine's quirks and shortcomings are the result of a very soft tune from Ford. A friend with an 07 FX4 F-150 installed a 93 octane tune from Amazon in his truck and it was literally a night and day difference. All the mush in the throttle and transmission was replaced with a much more robust and substantial feeling. As they say, it's all in the tune.
I to would like to see a 3rd gen L, but the current F-150 platform really does not lend itself well to that type of performance. The biggest problem would have been that a Gen 3 would have barely eclipsed the performance of the Gen 2. It would have suffered from the same shortcomings of the SRT-10 Ram.
why build a new lightning? really if you want to go fast a 6000lb truck is not the answer!
the 6.2 in a stripped 2010 f150 would still be slower than the old lightning. to break even the truck would need at least 500hp 400tq and would gulp not sip the gas! plus you cant run them on the street legally, and at the strip? we have already answered that one, a n/a 315hp mustang would be faster and get better mileage!
the raptor is the best of all worlds. a bad ass truck that is built to go fast legally off road! with the suspension and electronics stock, this is almost a go anywhere type truck(along the lines of hummer, range rover, jeep). it will not be hard for ford to sell 10k units a year! dont forget the small jumps you can take with this truck...
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Michael Munson michaelm@modernhorsepower.com
modernhorsepower.com - For those interested in more power and speed!
Just how bad ass is the new 6.2?? Driven one? I've heard some rumors of #'s but thats about it.
That 5.4 has tons of aftermarket support and it is very reliable. Not saying its an awesome engine (my 06 has one and shes no powerhouse) but dont completely write the truck off. The suspension, chassis, and finish detail is 1st class.
I think a 3rd GEN Lightning would be insanely awesome too. But look at the economy and worse, the govt. The way things are looking, companies arent going to be able to build vehicles like these for too much longer. Better enjoy it while we can!!
Just how bad ass is the new 6.2?? Driven one? I've heard some rumors of #'s but thats about it.
in stock form about 400/400. very easy to get 500 out of it, and i dont think it would be too hard to get 500rwhp out of it.
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Roush has however been experimenting with a 7-liter version in their drag racing cars which hits 800hp and has been bullet-proof so who knows what evil may come if SVT chooses to play with the new engine series.
Personally, I think they should have taken the engine from the Gen 3 lightning prototype and put it in the Raptor. Wasn't it 500hp with an extra 50 from the 'supercooler'?
____________________________________ 1998 Mustang Cobra
Coming soon: 5.0L Teksid, FR500 cams, T-trim @ 16psi, courtesy of L&M Engines and Competition Speed and Sound
A forced induction engine is not the best choice for the type of environment the L was designed to run in. It would heat soak and then not perform very well.
Well that's where the supercooler comes in handy. Instant ice box!
for 30 seconds at a time. not good when your running 25 hours straight in a desert race.
this new 6.2 would kill the gen 3 lightning motor. the 6.2 is already being run as a 7.0 by roush in a drag race car making 800 crank horsepower n/a. and i have heard they can take 6.2 all out to 7.5!
How can you people squawk about how this new 6.2 is so great when its not out yet??? Ok, so maybe its shown great things in testing, but until you can buy one off the lot its just a unicorn.
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Black '00 #5xx of 4966
11.69 @ 117 Tuned by JDM
Going Fast With Class!!
the 6.2 has been running in vehicles for over a year. different vehicles, different forms. everything from testing to racing! which is beyond the r and d of most engines that i know of.
Among the racing-themed highlights that contributed to the engine’s development:
* A 7.0-liter version running on E85 fuel produced 800 horsepower in a winning Mustang drag racing application driven by Don Bowles
* A specially calibrated production-based 6.2-liter engine achieved 500 horsepower and ran flawlessly in the Ford F-150 SVT Raptor R race truck in the 2008 Baja 1000
Testing on the 6.2-liter V-8 included running multiple engines for more than 500 hours at peak torque and peak horsepower as well as customer-correlated 1,000-hour road load tests to ensure dependability for even the toughest Ford F-Series Super Duty customer.
All told, more than 50 engines were put through the dynamometer lab, running a variety of durability and development tests, undergoing extremes far harsher than can be expected – or duplicated – in the real world. Testing also included high-speed durability, crankshaft-torsional evaluation and engine thermal cycling where the running engine is “shocked” from one coolant temperature extreme to the other.
SVT is dead. The Raptor is just another truck with a bunch of bolt on stuff, another trim package like any other.
There is no real SVT blood anywhere in it. The golden days of John Colletti when SVT stood for something special and for performance are gone.
bolt ons? 3 years testing in the desert and you say bolt ons? rumors are they spent 5 mill on brakes and suspension alone! the oil in the shocks cost more than the entire gt500kr shock, just the oil!
do i need to talk about the rover like hill descent control, the electronics package that let the truck loose on the dirt so you can race it and stay safe? but the coolest thing they did was the locker that can run up to 100mph in all drive-trains. svt did more engineering on this truck than any other car or truck before it, with one exception(ford gt, which was built ground up).
I think I saw a Black SVT Raptor today as I was driving home from work but it was parked beneath a tree and I couldn't really tell. If it wasn't a Raptor it was a new truck that was lifted but it didn't seem as wide as I had expected so it made me suspect that it may be just a regular 4wd.
SVT is dead. The Raptor is just another truck with a bunch of bolt on stuff, another trim package like any other.
There is no real SVT blood anywhere in it. The golden days of John Colletti when SVT stood for something special and for performance are gone.
Dang, I wish you would have told me sooner. While I was at what is supposedly the SVT HQ talking to a bunch of engineers I would have asked them why they are showing up for a job that doesn't exist.
Lets just say you can call SVT, and lets say that they still exist. An empty shell.
The spirit that made SVT is gone. No SVT Adrenalin is a good example. A Supercharged Cobra powered all wheel drive the Adrenalin would have been a dream, an SVT that you could drive all winter.
How many vehicles are presently in the SVT line ?
Sorry, but a vehicle like the Raptor does nothing for me nor does it bring the spirit of performance back to SVT.
SVT is dead. The Raptor is just another truck with a bunch of bolt on stuff, another trim package like any other.
Last time I checked, my Lightning was basically a no frills F150 with what amounts to some bolt ons and a trim package added to it. I love it because of what the entire package is, what it does and how it does it. The Raptor is the same deal, it's just built with a different purpose in mind.
Again I ask , How many vehicles are presently for sale in the SVT line ???
And how many of them emphasize performance in HP etc. ?
The answer will tell you the present state and health of SVT.
2 current svt can be purchased new at dealers today. a truck that has more engineering than any other svt that has been created(besides the ford gt)! and the gt500 which has 500hp+!
Honestly, I like the fact that SVT only has 2 vehicles. It allows them to focus on getting every aspect of the vehicle right. its too small of a group to have a huge line anyway.
btw, I still don't like the fact that the GT500 is an SVT product with Shelby's name slapped all over it. The Shelby name does help sell the car though.
btw, I still don't like the fact that the GT500 is an SVT product with Shelby's name slapped all over it. The Shelby name does help sell the car though.
you think its better with the name cobra on it which was an old shelby roadster?
personally i have never like the fact that they called it cobra simply because it gets mixed up with the 60's roadster and todays kit cars. the mustang cobra should have been named after a fast race horse or special breed of mustangs.
even that does not look right mustang cobra? 2 different animals to name one car?
you think its better with the name cobra on it which was an old shelby roadster?
personally i have never like the fact that they called it cobra simply because it gets mixed up with the 60's roadster and todays kit cars. the mustang cobra should have been named after a fast race horse or special breed of mustangs.
even that does not look right mustang cobra? 2 different animals to name one car?
Fair enough.
I would be okay with " SVT Mustang".
'nuff said.
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