Breaking in the Raptor...

[beefcake]

Went to my folks house for Christmas, they have a couple hundred acres, most of it's closed in with alot of trees and stuff. I should have brought my Go Pro but didn't think i'd be getting the new truck dirty.

I was actually able to find a few spots to play a little bit. Never took a vehicle off road before and we've had alot of rain the past week. Decided to give the woods and the front hill a shot anyway.

Couldn't get a whole lot of speed with all the mud, but here's a little cell phone vid I put together.

My 10 year old had a blast, she didn't do the jumps, but loved some of the mudding and donuts.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycUuVg9ii8w

[setty2706]

Those trucks are just cool.

Horrible sixty foot time with the hill jumps :bigthumb. It is about time that Ford designed something that can take a beating . Looked like you had a fun Christmas day

[beefcake]

Those trucks are just cool.

Horrible sixty foot time with the hill jumps :bigthumb. It is about time that Ford designed something that can take a beating . Looked like you had a fun Christmas day

I wish i had 10 or 20 ft more starting room on the concrete. you can here it just start spinning as soon as you hit the mud

once it drys out and i can get another 10 - 15 mph should be nice

[setty2706]

ahah i was just kidding ..... You could hear it blow off the tires as soon as it hit the grass.. Regardless i know you had a blast and there isnt many of us on here that can say we romped around in the mud with a brand new truck on christmas day lol.... Hell i wasnt even home. I opened santa's gifts with my daughter and went to work... so trust me iam JEALOUS lol

[90fastgt]

Looks like you had a blast I've a had a few off road toys an its a blast till it comes time to clean em lol

[06V6Andrew]

i love these trucks, i want one so bad!

[Rick93coupe]

What motor is in it?

[beefcake]

6.2, it's a beast

[cstreu1026]

It's all fun and games until the doors no longer open. :D

[beefcake]

It's all fun and games until the doors no longer open. :D

a few bad apples have ruined it for everyone

[cstreu1026]

Its just one of those vehicles I would never by used.

[egbertnr]

Fun Stuff there beef! Yeah I dont think Id buy a used Raptor either! But still pretty awesome truck from the factory!

[IWRBB]

It's all fun and games until the doors no longer open. :D

On a body on frame truck huh? Ok... :rolleyes:

[Gene]

On a body on frame truck huh? Ok... :rolleyes:

SVT boss goes on record about Ford Raptor frame damage claim - Autoblog (http://www.autoblog.com/2011/07/21/svt-boss-goes-on-record-about-ford-raptor-frame-damage-claims-w/)

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2011/07/ford-svt-raptor-frame-bent-opt.jpg

[beefcake]

SVT boss goes on record about Ford Raptor frame damage claim - Autoblog (http://www.autoblog.com/2011/07/21/svt-boss-goes-on-record-about-ford-raptor-frame-damage-claims-w/)

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2011/07/ford-svt-raptor-frame-bent-opt.jpg

Hameedi: Basically, the core – the root cause – is that the vehicle is traveling too fast for the obstacle, and the truck is running out of travel. By a large margin. They're going too fast for the obstacle by a large margin. The frame is not the first item to yield in that condition – despite what's been theorized, the first thing when you do exceed the vehicle's travel capability [is that] you have a certain safety zone where you will hit the bump stop and nothing will happen. If you hit that same obstacle at an even faster speed, then you will yield the jounce bumper cup – that's the little piece of steel that holds the jounce bumper. If you hit that same obstacle at an even greater speed, then the next thing to go is the frame.

That energy has to be absorbed somehow, and we actually went through a fairly detailed FMEA [Failure Mode and Effects Analysis], so if you do happen to far exceed the suspension's capability, the safest thing for that vehicle is for the frame to yield. If you had an infinitely stiff frame, then what that would do is, the rear of that vehicle – the suspension – when that axle is going up so hard, so fast, it would 'donkey kick' the rear of that truck really high into the air. That's a very undesirable condition."

[Gene]

Hameedi: Basically, the core – the root cause – is that the vehicle is traveling too fast for the obstacle, and the truck is running out of travel. By a large margin. They're going too fast for the obstacle by a large margin. The frame is not the first item to yield in that condition – despite what's been theorized, the first thing when you do exceed the vehicle's travel capability [is that] you have a certain safety zone where you will hit the bump stop and nothing will happen. If you hit that same obstacle at an even faster speed, then you will yield the jounce bumper cup – that's the little piece of steel that holds the jounce bumper. If you hit that same obstacle at an even greater speed, then the next thing to go is the frame.

That energy has to be absorbed somehow, and we actually went through a fairly detailed FMEA [Failure Mode and Effects Analysis], so if you do happen to far exceed the suspension's capability, the safest thing for that vehicle is for the frame to yield. If you had an infinitely stiff frame, then what that would do is, the rear of that vehicle – the suspension – when that axle is going up so hard, so fast, it would 'donkey kick' the rear of that truck really high into the air. That's a very undesirable condition."

Of course. You go too fast, you're going to break stuff.

I'm not saying it's a design issue with the Raptor. That would be like me blaming Ford when I ripped the IRS out of my 03 Cobra because it wasn't designed for 500hp and drag radials. I'm just saying be aware that you can break it. It may look like a prerunner, but it's still a street truck.

[beefcake]

Of course. You go too fast, you're going to break stuff.

I'm not saying it's a design issue with the Raptor. That would be like me blaming Ford when I ripped the IRS out of my 03 Cobra because it wasn't designed for 500hp and drag radials. I'm just saying be aware that you can break it. It may look like a prerunner, but it's still a street truck.

Agreed

they can take quite a lot, but at some point, everything has it's limits

[IWRBB]

SVT boss goes on record about Ford Raptor frame damage claim - Autoblog (http://www.autoblog.com/2011/07/21/svt-boss-goes-on-record-about-ford-raptor-frame-damage-claims-w/)

Fully aware of the frame thing.

Did you read what I quoted? I'm saying you can bend the frame all you want.. the doors on the cab will always still open. It's not a unibody truck.

BTW, my Cobra IRS does just fine with 550 at the tires and drag radials. It's been setup like that for over 7 years now. Runs low 11's and still rides like you're on a cloud stuffed with breasts. So- props to you Ford engineers.

[Gene]

Did you read what I quoted? I'm saying you can bend the frame all you want.. the doors on the cab will always still open. It's not a unibody truck.

You ever pull the cab off a truck with a bent frame and then put it back together? You bend the frame bad enough, you'll bend the cab too.


BTW, my Cobra IRS does just fine with 550 at the tires ;) Runs low 11's and still rides like you're on a cloud stuffed with breasts.

:rolleyes:

Wheelhop it sometime and see what happens.

[Walter]

Fully aware of the frame thing.

Did you read what I quoted? I'm saying you can bend the frame all you want.. the doors on the cab will always still open. It's not a unibody truck.

BTW, my Cobra IRS does just fine with 550 at the tires and drag radials. It's been setup like that for over 7 years now. Runs low 11's and still rides like you're on a cloud stuffed with breasts. So- props to you Ford engineers.

You must drive it real easy.

[beefcake]

You must drive it real easy.

the guy i bought my 04 mystic from 2 years ago went 10.5's on the irs. i still swapped it for a solid axle though

[cobraman302]

the guy i bought my 04 mystic from 2 years ago went 10.5's on the irs. i still swapped it for a solid axle though

They are tougher than people give them credit for. My 04' had 500rwhp but only running 11.8X's on drag radials. It had a brace/bushings though. Throw some halfshafts in it, brace it, and poly bushings and you are golden. You could beat the dog piss out of it. The trick to making the IRS live is the brace and a soft sidewall drag tire to absorb the launch. After owning that car, Id much prefer the IRS over any solid axle. Just my $.02 though.

Pretty sweet ride Terry, what kinda MPG's you pulling down on average?

[IWRBB]

You ever pull the cab off a truck with a bent frame and then put it back together? You bend the frame bad enough, you'll bend the cab too.



:rolleyes:

Wheelhop it sometime and see what happens.

But where the Raptor frame is bending, nothing will happen to the cab. Arguing about nothing at this point- but the whole "jump her and the doors won't open" is rediculous. This isn't a Nissan Altima that some teenager just jumped over a RR track and totaled (boy, he was way up there).

Off topic but- you guys are flat out wrong about the IRS. Mine gets driven hard on a regular basis and has never broken a thing. It's wheel hopped many times- on everything from stock tires to drag radials. Still there, still not broke. It's seen nearly a hundred passes at the drag strip. Lots of guys run low 10's on slicks dropping the clutch at 65000 RPMs WOT, on the stock 03 Cobra IRS with only a diff cover brace. It may need a new halfshaft every couple years with that kind of treatment (which can be had for cheap, especially used), but they are WAY more durable than you guys think. You guys are way off base with the IRS comments IMO.

[Walter]

Just giving you grief really. Good friends 03 cobra that he bought new has 19k miles on as of today, irs had all the braces bushings girdles etc. Shattered to pieces on the street on dr's. He breaks everything tho. 550rwhp. Solid axle in it now. Thats my only experience with them.