‘18 vs ‘19

[NH-Raptor]

So, I just received my 2019 Raptor this week, and noticed a couple of interesting things versus my 2018.

The seats now have attractive sections in cloth on both the seat bottom and back. These were likely high wear spots, so good thinking on Ford’s part. They look sharp.

The shocks are clearly more high-tech, as they have a wire that emerges from them. Clearly, not just mechanical, but electronic now.

I parked the ‘18 and ‘19 next to one another, and the ‘19 is a solid 1-2” higher than the ‘18 at the grille. My ‘18 has 4K miles, so maybe it’s just broken in, but the two trucks definitely have different height stances. I’ll note that the rears are the same, however.

Everyone that I’ve spoken with about lift or leveling kits have said “no way”, it will mess with the shock calibration. However the lead Raptor engineer at Ford tells my buddy that a 4” lift kit is no problem, other than perhaps premature U-joint wear.

I think the takeaway is that you shouldn’t be a first-mover here. Let someone else figure it out first, before you spend a lot of dough, and potentially ruin your truck.

 

[nh rapta owner]

So, I just received my 2019 Raptor this week, and noticed a couple of interesting things versus my 2018.

The seats now have attractive sections in cloth on both the seat bottom and back. These were likely high wear spots, so good thinking on Ford’s part. They look sharp.

The shocks are clearly more high-tech, as they have a wire that emerges from them. Clearly, not just mechanical, but electronic now.

I parked the ‘18 and ‘19 next to one another, and the ‘19 is a solid 1-2” higher than the ‘18 at the grille. My ‘18 has 4K miles, so maybe it’s just broken in, but the two trucks definitely have different height stances. I’ll note that the rears are the same, however.

Everyone that I’ve spoken with about lift or leveling kits have said “no way”, it will mess with the shock calibration. However the lead Raptor engineer at Ford tells my buddy that a 4” lift kit is no problem, other than perhaps premature U-joint wear.

I think the takeaway is that you shouldn’t be a first-mover here. Let someone else figure it out first, before you spend a lot of dough, and potentially ruin your truck.

View attachment 116880

thought your other truck was sold?

 

[NH-Raptor]

They pick it up tomorrow.

Looking at them, I can’t tell them sort.

 

[KentSD]

From what i know- Fox has no upgrade coming out for those currently. And it sounds like nothing really in the works.

I would think your going to be stuck with those electronic shocks for a while.

I saw one down the street the other day and did notice the wires sticking out. Honestly for how much i run my truck down in Mexico there is no way a wire mounted in the wheel well will last very long for me.

Im sure a few trips would be fine but i ran to Cabo 18 times in the past 24 months theres not a chance those wires wouldn't have been torn off or melted.

When i sold my 17 a few months ago and got an 18 the entire reason i didnt wait for a 19 was because of the electronic shocks. (Most likely could of just taken them off and thrown on some other fo 3.0s ) But why wait and spend the extra cash.


Very interesting about the ride height you posted. Post a photo of the trucks backed up together.

 

[Deleted member 12951]

From what i know- Fox has no upgrade coming out for those currently. And it sounds like nothing really in the works.

I would think your going to be stuck with those electronic shocks for a while.

I saw one down the street the other day and did notice the wires sticking out. Honestly for how much i run my truck down in Mexico there is no way a wire mounted in the wheel well will last very long for me.

Im sure a few trips would be fine but i ran to Cabo 18 times in the past 24 months theres not a chance those wires wouldn't have been torn off or melted.

When i sold my 17 a few months ago and got an 18 the entire reason i didnt wait for a 19 was because of the electronic shocks. (Most likely could of just taken them off and thrown on some other fo 3.0s ) But why wait and spend the extra cash.

Very interesting about the ride height you posted. Post a photo of the trucks backed up together.

Would of been better if you did get a 19 and truly test it out for us to see. If the new Live shocks do not last when off-roading then Ford made a big mistake. I bet they hold up, time will tell as hope to see other off-roaders test them.

 

[Raptorguy1]

They pick it up tomorrow.

Looking at them, I can’t tell them sort.

New one on the left. Roof antenna gives it away.

 

[Wizo]

Black to black - how do you consider the color being different (Agate vs Shadow)?

 

[Kahuna]

Wow, so much misinformation.

RPG has had involvement with Fox's development of the new live shocks and confirmed that ride height adjustment to the level of dealers/collars etc. does not ruin shocks. We will see if a year or two of field action confirms that.

The aftermarket has come up with upgrades for live shocks on the GT350 etc. Likely there will be upgrades for the Raptor shocks before long.

With the Mustang, racers are replacing the active suspension with other coil overs without faults being thrown. Very probably there will be an equivalent solution for the Raptor.

Melted?!? Driving through lava fields in Cabo? I'm not sure why so many luddites are terrified of these shocks when they have been hugely successful on track cars, bikes and SxSs. Sure there are likely to be some teething issues.

Enjoy the 19. I'm sure the Live suspension will be awesome. Hope to see you on some NE runs.

 

[Raptor Vet]

My 2018 has the "cloth" strip on the seat. I think it is suede. ...And interested like Wizo about the shadow vs agate black?

 

[NH-Raptor]

Black to Black comparison

I did a lot of homework on Shadow vs Agate black. Here’s my takeaway...

When perfectly clean, shadow black gives off a darker, richer looking color, in my opinion. It is truly black, and nothing but, so that makes the ‘18 a big, bad black truck.

The ‘19 with agate, has a small amount of metallic flake to it; not much, but enough to give it a little glimmer. (I had a tuxedo black F150 previously, and that had a lot of metallic flake—agate has a lot less)

So, agate doesn’t look as black as shadow. And, if I were to keep my truck in a showroom or museum, I would choose shadow.

However, I drive my truck, and it gets dirty. The shadow black was IMPOSSIBLE to keep clean, and any little imperfection stood out in a major way. It literally always looked like it needed to be washed.

Shadow black is also terrible at showing swirl marks from car washes or even just drying towels. You had to treat the paint as if it were art that couldn’t be touched, and this bothered me. It’s a 4x4, not a Picasso.

Agate is much more forgiving when it comes to dirt, swirls, or just any imperfection; it hides well. This may be my misperception, but I feel the paint is “harder”, and more difficult to mar. So, I don’t have to be as careful with it, and don’t feel that it constantly needs to be washed.

Bottom line — I prefer agate over shadow, as I don’t want to wear gloves to close the door. I also want to feel I can drive it, and not be worried about hitting a puddle.

I’ll also note, that I considered a nano coating for the shadow, but I really didn’t feel I should spend $1,000 every two years just to keep my truck looking clean.

To each, his own. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Can’t go wrong with either.