Although the Raptor R performance truck comes almost perfect from the factory, some upgrades make for an even more impressive ride.
YouTube’s Speed Phenom recently took delivery of a Ford F-150 Raptor R – it’s a vehicle that is getting plenty of love and exposure since it came out last year.
Most customers are plenty happy with the performance pickup and its combination of a powerful engine and rugged drivetrain, but Speed Phenom is planning to do a ‘day 1 upgrade’.
Just one day after receiving the truck, the exhaust is getting a modification to sound louder.
Many YouTubers convert their cars to a ‘straight pipe’ or custom exhaust, but this could be the first Raptor R with a setup like this; perhaps unsurprisingly, the sound of the V8 is immense thereafter.
The Ford F-150 Raptor R Upgrade On Day 1
If you receive an F-150 Raptor R, you might avoid any modifications at least while truck is in warranty, but this $111,000 is getting a ‘straight pipe’ made out of the exhaust system.
Typically, by removing parts such as the muffler, resonator and catalytic converter owners can make their vehicle louder which is desirable for many, but there are also laws against noise in many states of the US.
This pickup already sounds the business as standard, the 5.2-liter supercharged V8 gets shared with the Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 makes 700 hp and 640 lb-ft but its sound is distinct.
At the beginning of the video, SP goes around the car removing delivery covers and plastic protection from the seats, infotainment screen and all around the cabin – as he ‘unboxes’ his new purchase.
Is The F-150 Raptor R’s Engine The Same As The GT500?View this post on InstagramA post shared by @speed_phenom
Once in the workshop, the team set to work on the underside of the truck though the specifics of what happens are unknown; when the truck gets fired up however the sound has already changed drastically.
Now the car has more of an aggressive bite to the sound on revving, and it seems that the YouTuber is happy – he’ll need to be, as he has a 2000-mile road trip to undertake in the vehicle, and hopefully it won’t drone on the highway.
The Raptor R’s engine gets based on the same solid foundation as used by the Shelby GT500, but with some upgrades and differences that optimize the unit for the truck, creating less power but more torque which is useful for off-roading.
Ford’s Mustang Shelby GT500 makes 60 hp more and 15 lb-ft less, at 760 hp and 625 lb-ft. The Ford F-150 Raptor R is about as fast as its main competitor, the Ram 1500 TRX, with both trucks capable of between 3.5 to 4 seconds to 60 mph.
