From headlamp to tailgate. From suspension to drivetrain. See how the unique features of the Gen2 Raptor work in perfect unison… to take off-road performance to an intimidating new level. The Raptor is even more of a beast off-road. To manage the power distribution between the front and rear wheels, an all-new, four-wheel-drive, torque-on-demand transfer case. The Raptor also sports 3.0-inch FOX Racing Shox which provides great off-road performance and a smooth ride on-road.
Finally! All 4 of the Vorsteiner Venom Rex VR-602 Tungsten Graphite wheels arrived!
I ordered them from my buddy Sterling
Love the look of these wheels! They're a little more aggressive than stock, and perform wonderfully!
Here is a spec comparison to the OEM wheels:
VR-602
OEM
Benefits
Color:
Tungsten Graphite
Machined
n/a
Build Process:
Flow Forged
Aluminum Cast
Lighter and stronger
Bolt Pattern:
6x135
6.135
same
Size:
17x9
17x8.5
.5” wider
Offset:
+12
+34
22mm more clearance
Backspacing:
5.5”
6.04”
1/2" more clearance
Load Rating:
2646 lbs.
2100 lbs.
Over 500 lbs. stronger
Weight:
24.4 lbs.
32 lbs.
7.6 lbs.
lighter
The guys at America's tire were nice enough to put the chrome lugs on, and ordered black ones and will swap them out for me when they come in. Here are pics mounted!
The black lugs will look awesome once they come in!
I setup a fantastic Group Buy for the Whipple Stage 1 Kit online - we hoped to get at least 10 guys in to get the discount, little did I know that 42 people signed up in 2 days!! If you know Whipple Superchargers then you understand why they're so good! They've been around for decades and are most popularly know for their twin-screw superchargers.
Well, the 2017 Ford Raptor - is a twin-turbo V6, so why the heck would Whipple mess with a turbo car? It's a totally different forced induction running from exhaust gases versus compressing incoming ambient air like a supercharger does... well, it's because Whipple has had a masterful relationship with Ford and they work together to build an amazing ECU tune for this truck!
The kit comes with a new Cold Air Intake (CAI), a bigger intercooler (which is critical in keeping temps lower), and of course the masterful computer retune. I visited the Whipple home site in Fresno, CA and dropped it off for the upgrades.
Naturally the motor needs to cool down after our 3 hour drive, so they worked on it later that afternoon while my son and I trolloped around Fresno (hint: not that much to do!)
The next morning, I was like a kid at Christmas - up early, wanting to run down and check the tree for presents - but alas, I was in a hotel room and ate some oatmeal with bad coffee LOL
But we decided to go over to the Whipple shop earlier so we could maybe sneak a peak. Little did we know that Dustin Whipple himself would give us the grand tour!
haha - even the bushes say WHIPPLE
Some nice customer toys in the lot
that supercharged GT350 puts down 987HP!!!
can't go wrong with a blacked out GT
More Raptor Fun!
Yes, that's an engine dyno!
Brand new 2018 Mustang GT ready for a supercharger buildup!
A whole building full of CNC machines making custom/small-order parts!
Taking bit's of metal like this...
and turning it into this!
ooh, dive right in! LOL
Now, onto the dyno! Here are my old parts...
and the computer for the dyno
The beast on the dyno!
she's a little fat :)
re-gapping the spark plugs...
pic of the new intake
Here's the fun!
Overall, the tune was tweaked and dialed in - the truck goes from 450HP/510ft-lbs stock
to
530HP 580ft-lbs tuned!!
VERY happy with the results!
The nice part is this is CARB legal with an actual E0 number
A lot of folks have been concerned about the 'open' box design - but as you can see the gasket presses up to the hood so it's not fully 'open' under there - definitely gives more 'whoosh' sound from the turbos :)
edit: As you know, turbo vehicles can appreciate a good tune - and Whipple did a fantastic job of keeping this setup CARB legal AND giving the punch it needs. They even update the Transmission Control Module (TCM) regularly so you can get the benefit of all the Ford updates to the new 10-spd transmission coding! Hope you enjoy!
