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Purchased new ~10 years ago and has been pretty much flawless and a joy to drive... Love the EcoBoost Turbo 3.5L (mildly tuned ~400HP ~500TQ), Bilstein suspension, 35" BFG AT's on Raptor wheels, 3.73 gearing, Hellwig sways, Bedrug, Truxedo cover, etc.
Been through two hailstorms, countless snowstorms, more than one idiot crashing into me, dozens of careless people opening their doors into me, and about 80,000 relatively hard miles, which I'm SO glad were not inflicted on the Turbos!
I have heard those 3.5s take to tuning well. It's almost a Proto-Raptor...
When I purchased m F150, it was the first year for the Ecoboost and the Raptors only came with the 6.2L. Honestly I felt the Raptor handled like a pig with the extra 300 pounds of engine weight sitting right at the nose of the truck and the long travel suspension, and after adding the Bilstein suspension and Hellwig sways to my truck, it will ridiculously outhandle a Raptor on the twisty mountain passes that it frequently runs...
The 6.2L also felt sluggish (at my ~6,000' altitude) compared to the 3.5L twin turbo Ecoboost, even more so after a tune. As you mentioned, the 3.5L has a ton of power headroom and takes to tunes quite well, similar to our 996 Turbos.
As cool as Raptors look, there are a ton of them around here and they all look the same. Mine is more built-not-bought.
Yes, I could see a non pressurized 6.2 gasping up there.
Some years back I drove a Hennessy Taurus SHO and that thing was a rocket to my surprise, but it sure got hot, most likely due to the extremely cramped engine bay. I am a Ford fan thru and thru, it's a cool build and it's good to hear that's it's reliable like that.
It makes 20 ft/lbs less torque than my 6.0l diesel did out of the factory in 2005. My, how things change.
Hoping my new F-150 gives me years of trouble free service. Bought the 3.5tt tow max because of the long term good reviews. It replaced my A4 quattro and Excursion (although nothing can really replace the Excessive!). I was trying to downsize my fleet and combine vehicles. Then the e36 M3 showed up.. oh well.
Going with the Bilsteins also, trying to decide between 6112 or 5100. Already got a set of snows on identical OE rims. Probably find a set of OE Raptor 17s as well. This is after it got corrected and 9 yr Gteqnic:
I like the Raptors but can't see a 6 cyl pickup truck. Sounds funny. Though using my f250 as a daily with some days doing 150 miles a day is getting expensive.
The F150 ecoboost is awesome. Unfortunately they retain their value like none other. Last year when I was looking all I could find were rusted out ones at a reasonable price for a knock around vehicle.
It was the V10 limited. The V10 doesn't hold a thread to this v6 + 10spd half its displacement. If it had been a 7.3, it would never have left the stable. Nonetheless, it was a great, reliable truck for the 12 years I had it. Many memories were made. And nothing can duplicate the vast capabilities of the "king of SUVs". It was known among friends as "the gobbler" for its cargo capacity. Outdoing many a pick up on what it could load. Quiet sleeping quarters in the nastiest of storms. Hauling gear and motos (or MTBs) as far as Baja with 4 adults and plenty of room to spare. It will be missed.. Diesel front springs, Bilsteins including steering damper, Hellwig sway, BFGs. Tight as a drum when I sold it. I freshened everything up when I bought it. Bonus, anyone name the feature in the background?
If you are in the market for another one, I am (going to) selling mine...
My first experience with an Excursion was a V10 rental unit in Northern Alberta, which, for some unknown reason, came equipped with all season (heavy summer leaning) tires. The first day on site, the guy that was with me driving, we came off the site and rolled down the access road. I thought he was going a bit quick for the snow and -35c, and lo and behold, we come up on a long bend and wouldn't you know, it starts to slide.
Long story short, he managed to take out every window on the drivers side (along with every panel) when he collided with a tree. He was relieved of driving privileges and I had to drive this windowless thing 60 miles back into town in now close to -40, because, of course the sun goes down at 4pm.
So National sends up a replacement - a Jimmy, tiny, useless, and again equipped with horrid tyres. It was entertaining though to pack everything out of the now destroyed Excursion into this tiny little truck.
There are two morals to this story, 1) I learnt the value of good rubber, and 2) spec roads can kill you faster than the highway.
11-23-2020, 11:49 AM
