I have good news and bad news about the EcoBoost V6 that will be in the 2017 Ford Raptor. Much has been said about the choice to dump the V6 powerplant for the more powerful, yet fewer cylinders, turbocharged V6. I even pranked some of y’all on April 1st claiming the V8 was coming back to the Raptor. Now, I have some good news and bad news about this new engine. Which do you want to hear first?
Fine, the good news it is!
I spent some time at several aftermarket companies and tuners, and have good news to report. The folks at Smokey’s Dyno and Performance tune a lot of performance vehicles. Heck, they even had an EcoBoost F-150 in the shop when I visited. The great news about the turbocharged engine is that it can make a lot more power for not a lot of money.
Even without a tune, just adding a new downpipe, intake, and exhaust are showing impressive gains. For those looking for more power out of their 2o17 Raptor, tuners are already planning for it.
I also stopped by and talked to the folks at CORSA Performance (the makers of high-end exhausts that don’t drone at speed), and they also seemed really positive about the gains their exhausts will have on the 2017 Raptor. Since the EcoBoosts will be similar in the Raptor as they are in other F-150s, they have a good idea of gains.
If you’re looking to get a 2017 F-150 Raptor and modify it to make more power, you’re in luck.
Now, for the bad news.
No matter how much tuning and sound modifying a company does to the EcoBoost, it’ll probably never sound as good as a V8.
Now, does that matter? One of my biggest concerns with the Raptor is that the new one won’t have an awesome sound. For many of us, an awesome sound is the sound of a V8 with a kickass exhaust on it. You’re simply not going to get that sound on the 3.5L EcoBoost on the 2017 Raptor.
Now, does that mean it’ll sound bad? Probably not. It’ll just sound… different. At nearby A.R.E., I checked out their 2014 SEMA truck they had, and started it up. That truck had a CORSA exhaust on it, and it sounded pretty good.
Aftermarket companies see the writing on the walls. Cars and trucks are heading the turbocharged route, with smaller engines and fewer cylinders. Customers are still going to want to tune and modify these vehicles to sound better, perform better, or look better.
Cars and trucks are emotional purchases, and people want to add their own personal touch to the vehicles they drive. That’s why these companies exist.
At the end of the day, the 2017 Raptor will be a performance beast, and the aftermarket will get their hands on it and make it even better. But unless you’re piping fake V8 engine noise through the speakers, the 2017 Raptor will just not sound the same as the 2014 version that it replaces.
Source: Ford-Trucks
