GEN 2 2019 Rapter Advice ?

I made the mistake of posting I was unhappy with my new Raptor and ultimately the post guttered, this time I will be a little more tactful in my comments. I apologize to anyone I offended. I am looking for help full suggestions, nothing more.

I decided to sell my Rapter with 5000 km/s, was unsuccessful, the only serious offers I got were approx 25k less then I paid for it. I did not want to lose that much. I got mine for approx. 7k less then sticker when the dealers wanted full sticker, now the Dealers are swimming in 19's and they are negotiating. I almost sold it for a 13k loss but the fellow could not get bank financing, he bought one at the Dealer for 25k more just to get Dealer financing. Raptors are not selling very well here due to the recession and the high purchase price, this is not helping with a private sale.

I decided to keep the Raptor but I would like to resolve the issues that bother me. I don't want to argue, these are my issues and my issues alone.

1) The bottom end power is good, top end power is low. What tuner do you recommend that will help with highway speeds, I don't have the passing power I need at 120 km's. I run premium fuel 24/7.

2) The stereo does not sound good to me. I don't want to replace the whole system and spend that kinda money. Are there any reasonable upgrades I can do. I am not a music nut, just want something that has a little more grunt to it.

3) The exhaust note is not pleasurable. I don't want to seem petty but it really bothers me. Its not the volume, it is the sound. What are my options?, is it reasonable to expect a turbo 6 to sound nice ?

4) This may sound vain and shallow but I have only received one compliment. Maybe it just looks like every other Raptor and that is why? Wondering what I can do to individualize it . I was thinking of tinting the front windows and removing the rear mud flaps. Not sure what else I can do, maybe the color I selected (performance blue) is the issue. I always keep my vehicles spotless and receive lots of compliments wherever I go, this one nadda.

I would like to be cost effective and not just throw money at this, I am a licensed mechanic so I am more then capable of doing most of the work myself.

Thanks in advance !!

Tint front windows, and consider swapping out the wheels. I personally love those wheels, but I bought my PB off the lot and it didn't have them. I ended up with Methot Roost Wheels in Matte Black and love the look. I have people compliment me on my truck all the time.

As far as power lots of people love the Cobb, I have the MTP PRX Tune and love it. Plenty of extra power down low and up high.

I'll let someone smarter than me answer the audio question.

There are tons of exhaust options out there, I'd research it and listen to sound clips on YouTube to find the one that suits your ear the best.


If you really want to love your tuck get out there and use it for what it was designed for. I came from a Jeep and loved having the extra space and power but felt a little empty inside when I first bought it. Then I went to Raptor Takeover! Jesus it made me fall in love with it all over again. I went to RTO again this month and had a great time again. It's amazing the capabilities of this truck even in it's stock form!

I am not a stereo expert, but I have read a thread on this site about changing some setting in Forsan to increase the base from the B&O system. Front speaker replacement is another option. There is a thread on a $500 upgrade.

Looks are very personal, rims are a good idea. There are several wrap/decals that might help.

IMO add a "belt" stripe in the lower door panel area to match/connect the flares/bumpers.

Get used to the sound, I love mine. I would like to make mine quieter.

Ive been wanting the Borla ATAK. Best sounding exhaust in my opinion.

Responses below -

1) The bottom end power is good, top end power is low. What tuner do you recommend that will help with highway speeds, I don't have the passing power I need at 120 km's. I run premium fuel 24/7. I believe ALL the power is good, except the low end grunt isn't just "good" - its downright phenomenal - its in the realm of HD diesel trucks from 10 years ago in a platform thats 1500-2000 lbs lighter - especially when you're running 93 even in stock trim it adds another 20-30 HP/TQ to the rear wheels. The very short first few gears of the 10 speed + the 4.10 diffs add to the SOTP feel of low end grunt, but inevitably will give some compromise @ higher RPMs/speeds especially when combined w/ the ride height & aero (lack thereof). Personally I think is plenty of power stock.....I mean, its literally the most powerful 1/2 ton money can buy, but since I KNOW there's a good chunk more to be had w/ just a tune, & I'm a gearhead by heart...I am very tempted to tune it - depending on tune/tuner you can expect 50-100 additional hp/tq TO THE WHEELS - that my friend, is significant & SHOULD satisfy anyone. Regardless whether I pull the trigger on tune I am adding an upgraded CVF intercooler (goes in stock locations - no modification to the vehicle) so that the truck will consistently be making the most power possible all the time - after IAT's go up the ECM starts pulling timing & boost in order to protect the engine, the stock IC isn't great. You have a few thousand miles on your truck now, if the drivetrain seems stout & you're not concerned about warranty get a tune. Seems like the consensus "most powerful" tune out there is MPT's 93PRX tune - you need access to 93 octane. Gearhead makes a more conservative tune that auto adjusts depending on octane so you don't have to worry if you're traveling & 91 or 93 isn't available you don't have to change the tune on the fly. 5 star tuning & Livernois are both also reputable tuners, Livernois has had alot of experience w/ Ford's EB platform over the last 10-15 years. Whatever you decide, my advice is DO NOT get a tune that doesn't address both the engine AND the tranny. There are many out there offering tunes that do NOTHING for the tranny (cobb being one) - this is very questionable on an auto vehicle especially one w/ 10 speeds & this much power. Plus - why spend the same $$$ to get "half a tune"?

2) The stereo does not sound good to me. I don't want to replace the whole system and spend that kinda money. Are there any reasonable upgrades I can do. I am not a music nut, just want something that has a little more grunt to it.
I have the 801a group which I think has a lower tier stereo, honestly seems decent to me...not as much bass as the upgraded Bose in my last '15 GM truck, but that one had a factory sub. You should look into adding a small sub/amp someplace like under the seat.

3) The exhaust note is not pleasurable. I don't want to seem petty but it really bothers me. Its not the volume, it is the sound. What are my options?, is it reasonable to expect a turbo 6 to sound nice ?
I've always been a "V8 or bust" kinda guy when it came to trucks/performance vehicles. The Raptor has changed my opinion on that now more than ever. A ttV6 will NEVER sound as good as a N/A big displacement or smaller displacement high revving V8, I don't care whether its a GTR, a M3, a Ford GT or a Raptor - none of em will sound better than a Hellcat hemi (IMO & many others) & that's just the way it is. A V10 engine typically sounds like crap too....& they have 2 more cylinders than a V8 if it makes you feel any better. The Borla Atak system seems decent, I have heard in person on the street - personally the stock exhaust is fine by me & I had a true dual gibson stainless exhaust on my 6.2 Sierra.

4) This may sound vain and shallow but I have only received one compliment. Maybe it just looks like every other Raptor and that is why? Wondering what I can do to individualize it . I was thinking of tinting the front windows and removing the rear mud flaps. Not sure what else I can do, maybe the color I selected (performance blue) is the issue. I always keep my vehicles spotless and receive lots of compliments wherever I go, this one nadda.
Personally I wouldn't worry what anyone else thinks about what I do or drive, although I will admit I do seem to get a good amount of compliments from random folks on the Raptor. That being said you already have a "colored" Raptor w/ graphics (mine is black & I removed the graphics - about as stealth as a Raptor can get) - my opinion since your truck is blue & you already have the factory forged beadlocks (while they're not truly beadlocks, they are forged which is expensive to replicate in the aftermarket & they're also good quality 2 piece design) I would keep those & consider powdercoating them to match the blue exterior...or maybe just doing the beadlock rings in blue? When you wear out the stock rubber you could go w/ bigger and/or more aggressive MT's 37"s etc. - although I personally wouldn't go up in size. You could also add front leveling springs or perch collars - check out geyser/icon. Tinting the windows as others mentioned would help make the truck standout. I think one of the biggest "this is a badass offroad Raptor truck" mods you could do would be to add lighting & use some of the AUX switches - an LED light bar on the roof makes the biggest statement but is expensive, requires more modification, & limits clearance in garages. You could also add stuff in the bumper holes. Check out fordraptorlights.com

Adding lights, tinted windows, MPT 93PRX tune & powdercoating the wheels is what I would do if it were my truck & your money. ;-)

1.) A tune will help big time in the power department, but these engines aren't gonna scream like a coyote without engine work which is how Ford intended them to be. Our stage 1 upgrade kit on a raptor runs with 5.0 Mustang's in the 1/8th mile, but frontal area becomes a factor at speed. There are many options out there tuning wise (I am obviously partial to our tunes,) but there are alot of gains to be had at all RPM's depending on fuel quality.

2.) I haven't had much experience with anything stereo related, but I have seen that it can be cumbersome to get an aftermarket system to work with the OEM radio. One of my first Gen 2 customers was a guinea pig for a large stereo company to make a plug and play system, but it is still in development.

3.) I usually don't push cat backs on customers or exhaust work aside from maybe down pipes due to the sound never really being awesome in my opinion. The best ecoboost I have ever heard was a 2013 F-150 with Ford Performance turbos, Kooks Green catted down pipe, and an AFE rebel exhaust. All you heard aside from WOT was the turbos whistling and it sounded pretty bad ass. The 6.2 V8's were easy in this department, you had to really try hard to screw up the exhaust sound, where the Gen 2's require a lot of effort to sound OK.

4.) There are a mountain of aftermarket companies that handle these trucks aesthetically but I would do rims and tires first in my opinion.

I had designed a set of custom graphics for another member here, I'm sure he wouldn't mind if you used it also. I can pretty much guarantee it will get you noticed.

Oldfart said:

I had designed a set of custom graphics for another member here, I'm sure he wouldn't mind if you used it also. I can pretty much guarantee it will get you noticed.

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Now that’s funny...

The B&O stereo doesn’t lend itself to the $500 and under upgrade. You need a signal processor for even a minor update and I think the outlay for the b&o stereo in the ’18 and up Raptor is about $2k US, give or take. Even with the Sony system you could ‘improve’ things over time, but you were still looking at about $1200 for about 50w to the main speakers and 3-500 to the sub. I think I’m in for closer to 1800.

I think @goblues38 upgraded the b&o for a contextually low cost - that is, low cost for the result and with the b&o.

Unfortunately with the b&o amp and signal processing still in place, the only thing you can really do is prep for actual audio upgrades by updating the speakers, maybe adding some sound insulation. Everything else will require signal processing and amps, so you may as well spend it all at once and do it all at once.

The reason the sound system sounds bad to us is that the average consumer thinks it’s fine sitting on the lot - and it is, unless you bring along some complex audio tracks to play. Then you miss quite a bit. Ford programs the signal processing to make lower volumes sound louder than they actually are and then starts rolling off volume at about 3/4, especially to the sub.

I know the prospect of dumping that much money into an already expensive truck is unattractive, but if you want it to sound good, you’re going to get what you pay for and if you pay for less than the signal processor, amps, speakers, power connections and good cables, you’ll get less than brilliant results.

Good luck.

Attend the Raptor Assault classes with Ford Performance in Utah. It will give you a completely new way of looking at your truck. And other lesser trucks for that matter!

Raptor domination.

Drive it.