The Outlaw Raptor response to immature posts.
Before I even start in on this write up here is something interesting to know. Outlaw Raptor in no way referenced SDHQ in any write up or product comparison. As for their transmission cooler system this is the first time we even heard that they made one. The statement we made on bumper mounted coolers was in reference to a failure we just saw happen on a pre run. A local customer had a fab shop attach a cooler to the actual bumper right behind the license plate. The cooler exploded due to a slight impact over some rough terrain. As far as a long travel kit goes, we have not seen nor heard of one in development. The last time we had heard anything about it was at the Texas Raptor Run and the gentleman who was designing it said it was still in the beginning stages. So with that all said, after looking over your post, let’s start from the top….
Some of your info is correct. Like the Raptor having a 6r80 and not a 4r60. That was a misprint on our behalf so thank you for clearing that up.
Now I’d like to address your suggestion about our cooler impeding air flow:
The CBR Cooler comes with an attached 9” SPAl fan that pulls air through the cooler and pushes air through the radiator. Even with the air being pushed through the radiator by the fan the temp is not affected because of the direct air flow the radiator is still receiving. That is why we don’t use big flat plats on our mount. The other very nice thing about our placement is when used off road and traveling through valleys and areas with bad air flow, the fan aids in keeping the truck cool. The goal in cooling is to maintain the consistency of air flow through the radiator at all times at optimum temperature. We know this because of the thousands upon thousands of miles we do off road in our Raptors. Your reference in #2 of what type of cooler set up SDHQ has nothing to do with our design. Outlaw Raptor truly tests the product off road harder then any other company out there so that the customer does not have to. We have outfitted more than 15 Raptors with these setups and never have had the slightest issue.
After looking at the pictures you posted I feel I will express our thoughts about your products.
- First off your Raptor 2” tubed 4 light bumper I think personally is one of the nicest designs on the market today hands down.
- As for the Winch Mount, I have never seen it in person.
- The rear cantilever suspension looks good but again I have never seen it in person.
- Rear bump stop kit: Multiple failures on this product. Should be redesigned.
- Frame reinforcement kit? Not even quite sure what that really does. Good way to make a quick $100.00
- Rear long travel air bag system. Never seen in person.
- Rear Shock Mounts. Bad design, multiple failures.
- Long travel kit: have yet to see it. Very interested though
- Trans cooler. Nice look to it but your placement of the cooler in the lower skid plate frame rail will 100% be destroyed in any type of small impact off road. We have all seen several skid plates and bumpers, both aftermarket and stock, bashed in both online and out in the dirt. (See pic below) If you have not just look at youtube. The cooler itself should be bigger. We have run the exact same one and the transmission still got hot so we went to a larger surface area with our cooler. I have never seen the cooler system in person but it looks like you are using -6 lines and fittings. The stock lines are -8 and should be kept the same size but again, I have not seen them in person. Either way, if the system has worked so far then best of luck to you. For those of you who remember, we broke a transmission cooler that was connected to the frame rails on a run last year. Coolers are very sensitive and any impact will cause failure.
In reference to your long travel post on bushing vs. uniballs. While I have customers to attend to I’ll be short. You are dealing with an almost 7000lbs truck with a front mounted motor. The lower arm mounting point is very weak to begin with so with any long travel kit sold weld on gusset supports must be in the kit. The use of a misalignment spacers with uni balls is a must. The delrin bushing is an awesome bushing and yes, is much better then a poly bushing by far. But when it comes down to it Outlaw Raptor likes to only use the best parts available on the products we design. As for the selling point our kit gets 18.5" of 100% usable travel. O yea and they are proven to work.......
Posts like this are a perfect example of how immature people can be on these forums. Originally I started Outlaw Raptor and I also did the Raptor runs. I have seen many other companies products fail and I have had every opportunity to post pictures and discredit them, but I haven’t. We have seen it all on the runs from bad designed bumpers falling off and being run over, bump stop kits failing hopelessly, tie rod kits breaking, aftermarket rear shock mounts breaking in two and the list goes on. Never once has Outlaw Raptor posted one of these bad product failures online. I then started Raptor Expeditions to get other companies involved. I wanted it so that anybody with any product on their trucks regardless of who designed them were welcome on the runs. This way we could further open the gates to the community of this amazing truck. It seems to me that maybe some of you just don’t see it that way. The Raptor is an amazing truck and for those of you have had the balls to go out and buy one then you already know this. If you choose to do upgrades to your Raptor I’ll give you one piece of solid advice: Do your homework on the product and the manufacturer before making your purchase. Further more I will not continue in this child like mine is bigger the yours forum talk. If you manufacture a product then stand behind it then prove it works were it counts the most OFF ROAD. We do! If you want to know more about proper product and what causes products to fail come by my shop!
Best regards
Outlaw Raptor
