Couple questions on my 2018 Raptor

troverman said:

I didn't say stop-start harmed a vehicle's engine. I just said most people are programmed to think it does...so even if the manual says its fine...it may not "feel" fine. I believe the starters on these trucks are rated for 240,000 starts...at least the 2.7L EB with stop-start was, as it was the first truck from Ford with this feature.

For creeping traffic, I cannot think of a more annoying feature.

I would respectfully disagree with your last comment of on-road performance and off-road capability not being compatible and compromises needing to be made. Look at the Range Rover, for example. It handles extremely well on the road...but uses long-travel air suspension to allow for 13" of wheel travel. That's basically on par with our current Raptors. Having owned an LR3 with this same air suspension, the Rover was definitely more "buttoned down" over bumps and during cornering than the pogo-stick Raptor. Yet it would hold its own very well off-road. It would also tow 7716lbs, only 284lbs less than the max towing of a Raptor. It would not sag with that weight thanks to the air springs. Were the shocks capable of withstanding high-speed pounding? Nope. The Rover was more a finesse slow-speed trail machine.

I personally would not want the Raptor with air springs, since they aren't nearly as reliable as the coil / leaf setup we have. But I do think if you want it, you can have on / off road performance.

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jaz13 said:

Sounds like you would be much happier driving a Range Rover.

BTW, can your Range Rover do this?

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troverman said:

I've also experienced the truck lose stability while hitting a sharp bump, particularly while turning. It makes me wonder how this vehicle could be so successful at 'high speed desert running.' That said, my tire pressures from the factory were between 46-48psi. I lowered them to 40 front and 41 rear and already the ride quality and possibly stability has improved. We'll see.

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Sharkus29 said:

You've obviously never driven the truck off road.

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troverman said:

No, I'm a total liar and I made that part up because I hate my new truck.


Actually, you should clarify your statement to say "you've obviously never driven the truck on high-speed desert runs." That would be true. Driving "off road" can come in many forms: rock crawling, sand / desert driving, off-camber trails with rocks and roots, mud-plugging, etc. I'd wager that most folks with Raptors have never driven their truck at 90+ mph Ken Block style in the desert, nor jumped dunes, etc. Most have not even driven remotely near that speed.

I just drove my brand new truck on a little off-road drive last Sunday evening...took it up a snowmobile / fire trail which has several deep water holes, some steep slippery rocky steps, general mud and ruts, and just rough terrain. Truck met or exceeded my expectations.

The comments about the truck being unstable on bumps was in regards to just driving it on paved roads at speed. Hitting a bump hard while cornering results in feeling like the truck wants to abruptly swap ends or move into the other lane just for a moment. A standard F-150 does not do this. That was the only point being made.

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Sharkus29 said:

Didn't mean to offend ya man. I agree that on road when you hit bumps the trucks do jump around. That's the trade off for having awesome off road suspension compared to the regular F-150's that are tailored to stay on road I guess

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troverman said:

No worries, I'm not offended. I have indeed driven my truck off-road, but I live about 2500 miles from the nearest desert. So off-road driving is going to be different to me than those with access to the desert. Sure looks fun though!

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Njraptorfan said:

Start stop more for emissions,bet the starter goes pretty quick also ,always drive in sport mode. Screw the penguins

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troverman said:

I don't think the starter will fail any more quickly than it would in a vehicle without Stop-start. Ford specifically installs a higher duty cycle starter, and you'll notice the battery is an AGM battery than can withstand repeated discharges.

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