By 8 Must-Have Mods for the 3.5L EcoBoost Raptor
In this article, we are going to talk about the must-have mods for the 2nd generation Ford Raptor. Now, when I say must-have mods, I use that term loosely because this thing from the factory is an absolute beast. And anybody watching this already knows it, but like with any car truck, the aftermarket has thousands of different mods available to personalize and get more performance out of your vehicle. So we’re going to talk about our favorite mods today. We are also going to be doing a bolt-on builder video series with this exact truck over the next couple of weeks. So make sure you subscribe to the channel to see all the videos that come out about that. And of course, you can shop for all of your mods at Motoroso.com, where you can browse over a million top name brand products sold by trusted vendors at great prices and the shipping is always free with no minimum let’s dig in.
When Ford released the 1st generation Raptor, they showed that they were listening to what enthusiasts wanted and that they weren’t afraid to release a 400 horsepower, nearly $100,000 high-performance truck and doing so, cemented the Raptor name as an icon in automotive history. And with the second generation, they took it to a whole new level. They left behind that sweet sounding 6.2L V8 engine, but they’re putting out 450 horsepower from this EcoBoost, twin EcoBoost turbo V6, which had shares with the Ford GT. And it comes with the most advanced off-road suspension from any truck coming from a factory ever. But of course, the aftermarket industry jumped on this like a monkey on a banana, and now you have thousands of options to do more personalization and get more performance out of your Raptor. Here’s our topics to make power.
9 Must-Have Mods for the 2nd Generation Raptor Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xt_b-rkLLqc
1. Intake
All engines need air, especially turbocharged engines, like the one in your Raptor, the Ram air assembly that’s under there now is going to be a little bit restrictive because it’s OEM and they always are. Now the aftermarket options can get you between 50% and 90% improvement in air flow that can lead to up to 22 horsepower gains and 26ft/lbs. of torque. Those are serious gains from a mod. That is only going to cost you between $400 and $800. Now there’s lots of options on the industry, but we’ve chosen three from good to better to best that we really like.
CORSA PERFORMANCE INTAKE
First up on the list is the Corsa Performance Shielded Air Intake. Now, this is a simple system, very easy install that plugs in right in the place of the stock air box. It does eliminate the Ram air system so you’re not getting the clean air from outside the truck—which at low speeds might mean that you pull in warm air from the engine bay—but you still get a 26% increase in air flow which can yield about a 5 horsepower gain. This is a very good value system coming in at just over $300. It’s our pick for the good option.
AFE POWER MOMENTUM GT INTAKE
If you’re looking for the next level up in performance, AFE power offers the Momentum GT Pro Guard 7. This features roto molded housing and tubing to maximize airflow and oiled style air filter. And it has a window so that you can look in and see if the filter needs to be cleaned. They’ll set you back right around $450 and AFE power claims that this will give you a 22 horsepower gain.
AFE POWER MAGNUM FORCE STAGE 2
If you’re looking to go to the top end of the range on a cold air intake system, take a look at the aFe Power Magnum Force Stage 2, which they nicknamed the “Super Raptor” Intake. Now this is a full aluminum system, aluminum housing and aluminum tubes that mount over the stock Ram air. This replaces the air filter with two dry air filters, which are going to maximize air flow, and AFE claims a 92% increase in air flow. That’s a big game. They don’t put power gains next to it, but it might be even more than the Momentum GT that we’ve mentioned a moment ago. The key to this system is this is going to look great, but it’s also going to be the most durable and maximize airflow. So, if you’re planning on doing other major performance upgrades, like an inner cooler or upgraded turbos, this is the system that’s going to support those later mods. The system will set you back a little over $800 and you can find it on Motoroso.com.
2. Cat-Back Exhaust
With more air flowing into the engine. Your next must have mod is getting the exhaust gases out of the engine. So your exhaust system has two major areas to look at. You can do a downpipe—catted or catless depending on the state that you live in—you can do a cap back exhaust system. Now your lowest hanging fruit for unlocking a little bit of power and opening up the sound of that EcoBoost engine is a cat-back exhaust system. And as usual, there are hundreds of options to choose from, but we’ve narrowed it down to three different options at different price points to help you sort it out.
BANKS POWER MONSTER EXHAUST
Banks Power offers their Monster Exhaust for $550 making it one of the better values and exhaust systems. It’s not going to be terribly loud and it’s not going to free up a ton of flow because it maintains the stock resonator, but it is going to give you a little bit of gains in both areas. Now I must tell you, this is going to take you from a dual exit exhaust to a single side exit exhaust.
FLOWMASTER FLOW FX EXHAUST
If you’re looking for a little bit more sound and performance, the Flowmaster FlowFX system at just under $1,000 is a great buy. It basically eliminates the resonator right behind the cat, goes into an H pipe to enhance the sound and the flow of exhaust gases into a small high flow muffler, and then maintains the dual exit exhaust.
CORSA PERFORMANCE EXHAUST
And our top pick of exhaust systems for your Raptor is the Corsa Performance Sport Cat-Back System, which is made from a higher grade of stainless steel and replaces the resonator with a high flow muffler, and then has straight pipes back from there to a dual exit exhaust.
And we made a few videos about the Corsa Exhaust! See those next….
VIDEO: CORSA SPORT EXHAUST & EXTREME X-PIPE
VIDEO: RAPTOR EXHAUST INSTALL GUIDE
3. Tuner Module
SCT X4 PROGRAMMER
So, you have got your first performance mods in place, and we know there’s going to be more to come, but before you do that, your next must-have mod is going to be a tuner module. A tuner module is going to make sure that you maximize the performance gains that you get out of every incremental modification while also keeping your engine running clean and safe and protecting it from blowing up. Now, we recommend something like the SCT X4 for about $400. It’ll support anything from doing an off-the-shelf tune to a custom dyno tune. We’re going to be creating some videos about how to use the SCT X4 tuner, so make sure you subscribe to our YouTube channel to check those out. when they come out.
4. Throttle Controller
Similar to a tuner, another mod in the electronics department that we really like is a throttle module. These allow you to eliminate throttle lag and make the vehicle feel more sporty. Now it’s great to add one of these in a compliment to a tuner because you can change the way a throttle responds with a custom tune, but with a throttle module, you can turn a switch and it’s independent of the tune. Now, if you’re not going to do any performance mods or tune your engine, consider getting one of these anyway, because it’s going to make any vehicle feel more responsive and more sporty. The best thing about these, is that they have no effect on your warranty!
JET PERFORMANCE XCELERATOR MODULE
For around $300, the Jet Performance Xcelerator Module allows multiple levels of different adjustment, and installs in only 5 minutes, making it a great ticket to a sportier feel on your 2nd Gen Raptor.
PEDAL COMMANDER THROTTLE MODULE
Also popular for the Ford Raptor, is the Pedal Commander PC18-BT Throttle module. For right around $300, the PC18-BT features bluetooth functionality, allowing you to hide the module under the dash and control it with an app on your smartphone. Of course the unit also has buttons, but the snazzy bluetooth technology is an extra feature that lots of our customers love.
5. Wheels and Tires
Now, your next must-have mod is something that almost every enthusiast does on every car and truck, And that is wheels and tires. Your stock wheels and tires look pretty good, but they’re stock. And we say, never drive stock. Now you have tens of thousands of different options here. And a lot of what you’re going to decide here is going to come down to personal preference. But there are two things we can talk about that we’d recommend considering, first of all, what tire sizes do you want to go to? Now? Your stock tires are 35’s. They’re already pretty big. You can go to a 37” really easily with a simple leveling kit upfront. Now you can go bigger than that, but really consider what you’re going to have to do the suspension to make that work in the actual wheel itself. If you’re going to do a lot of off-roading, we recommend considering going with a Beadlock wheel. Now, this is a plate that locks the beat of the tire to the rim, ensuring that it doesn’t slip, and it doesn’t blow off in hard off-roading situations. There are thousands of options in this area, hit us up on live chat, or call us at 1.833.MOTOROSO. We’re here to help you make those decisions.
6. Intercooler
Your next must-have mod is an intercooler because every turbo engine needs an intercooler. Intercoolers help keep the air that’s going into the turbos as cold as possible. Cold air is dense, hot air expands, expanded hot air has fewer oxygen molecules in it, so by the time that gets into the chamber, there’s less bang and less bang means less power. So, you want that air going into the system to be as cold as possible, and that’s what an aftermarket intercooler is going to do for you. Now, your factory intercooler can support the 450 horsepower they’re getting out of this 3.5-liter EcoBoost, but past that with any other mods, it’s not going to be up to the task. Plus, it has a plastic inlet and exit chambers, which over time can lead to boost leak, which you don’t want. Here are two options we really like.
MISHIMOTO INTERCOOLER KIT
When it comes to engine cooling, one of the best brands in the industry is Mishimoto, that’s their primary focus. They make a kit for $1,350 that is a direct bolt-in replacement that will handle most of the mods you’re going to do.
VIDEO: MISHIMOTO INTERCOOLER KIT SPOTLIGHT
VIDEO: RAPTOR INTERCOOLER INSTALL GUIDE
ADDICTIVE DESERT DESIGNS INTERCOOLER RELOCATION KIT
And we also have a kit from Addictive Desert Designs. It’ll set you back a little bit over $1,600. And what matters about this kit is that this is actually an Intercooler Relocation Kit. Now, the problem with the stock location of the intercooler is that it doesn’t work with all aftermarket bumpers. So if you think of an aftermarket bumper, something you might want to considers doing the ADD intercooler kit, because it relocates it and opens up all the options for aftermarket bumper mounting.
7. Bumper and Side Steps
ADDICTIVE DESERT DESIGNS BUMPERS
Your next must-have mod is bumpers and sidesteps. There’s not only ad style, but a lot of utility making the vehicle tougher and opening up the opportunity to add things like winches and light bulbs. There are hundreds of options on the aftermarket: everything from super low profile racy, tubular style, to big chunky zombie killers. We’ve got a couple of options from ADD that we really like. Addictive Desert Designs offers the Honeybadger Bumper, which is an iconic bumper for the Raptor becoming popular with the first Raptor. Now this bumper has clean angular lines, it’s relatively low profile, but it still looks tough and we recommend buying it with the winch mount option. It is also very easy to add LED light bars.
They also offer their race series, R Bumper, which is going to be the lightest in their offering. It combines the tubular and sheet metal style with speed holes and has that Baja look to it.
8. Custom Grille
T-REX REVOLVER SERIES
A lot of your truck’s attitude and personality and style comes from the front of the vehicle. And the Raptor is not short of this. The stock Raptor grill in particular is iconic with that big Ford in it, but of course, it looks like everybody else’s Raptor. If you’re going to personalize the vehicle, the grill is one of your next must-have mods. This also offers the opportunity to increase airflow to your radiator and your inner cooler as well as add cool features like an LED light bar, check out the T-Rex Revolver Series, which is a CNC machine grill with high airflow, as well as four different spots for six-inch LED light bars.
9. LED Light Bars
And on the topic of LED lighting, this wouldn’t be a must-have mod for any off-road vehicle if we didn’t talk about your LED light bars. You have an almost unlimited number of options here: you can mount cubes in the bumper, put a light bar on the top of the bumper, integrate with your grill—like we just talked about, you can put a big bar above your windshield, or even put in rear-facing lights. This is going to help you light up the trail at night and if you’re going to be doing any off-roading at night, you definitely need extra lighting. Give us a call at 833.MOTOROSO or hit us up on live chat and we will help figure out what options will work best for you.
All right, that wraps up our must-have mods for the 2nd Generation Raptor. We’ll put all the links to all the products we talked about in the description, and as usual, at Motoroso.com, you can shop for over a million top name brand products sold by trusted vendors at great prices, and the shipping is always free with no minimum. And we also have live chat, and you can call us at 1.833.MOTOROSO if you’re looking for mods.
