My Ground Beetle AKA Carabidae
08-10-2013, 08:40 AM
#21
The Ground Beetle
Thread Starter
If you are bushwhacking you might consider some protection. Think of what the Raptor does to do this.. at the very least skid plates. And, using the skid plate theme you can redefine the front end also... design some unique one off protection for the grille bringing the plate geometric up and over, using industrial materials of your own choice.. nobody else would have it. Would be happy to help you think this through if you like.. I can 3D model it also... I am an architectural designer. Obviously, you can just go out and buy some bushwhacking bars, painted out... that would look great also.
A friend of mine owns a Raptor and we drive around urban areas in it. The front end on those things is very well thought out, from the perspective of materials that wont dent and degrade in the presence of rocks and the like.
Edit: I just found this .... http://www.fordraptorforum.com/f81/3d-cad-model-f-150-raptor-24466/
via a Google search which produces lots of results: https://www.google.ca/search?q=3D+au...ox-a&gws_rd=cr
A friend of mine owns a Raptor and we drive around urban areas in it. The front end on those things is very well thought out, from the perspective of materials that wont dent and degrade in the presence of rocks and the like.
Edit: I just found this .... http://www.fordraptorforum.com/f81/3d-cad-model-f-150-raptor-24466/
via a Google search which produces lots of results: https://www.google.ca/search?q=3D+au...ox-a&gws_rd=cr
On another note I used to have a Toyota FJ Cruiser and i modified it with top notch suspension and protection..
The black FJ is mine
But at the end it was only useful for the looks.
I dont think ill take that route again with the truck, all i need now is to work on suspension, which will be Fox Shox coilovers and an Upper Control Arm, Performance and Gears.
08-10-2013, 11:02 AM
#22
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I lived in Kuwait myself, for four years. The Ministry of Oil HQ towers are mine, done with Arthur Erickson out of Vancouver.
You are an experienced driver there and know exactly what to expect.
Q: Was the Toyota underpowered, or what? Always liked it myself, but don't have enough experience with it to understand your rejection. For sure the F-150 will power itself through those dunes.
You are an experienced driver there and know exactly what to expect.
Q: Was the Toyota underpowered, or what? Always liked it myself, but don't have enough experience with it to understand your rejection. For sure the F-150 will power itself through those dunes.
Last edited by fringe_remnant; 08-11-2013 at 10:45 AM.
08-11-2013, 09:33 AM
#23
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Just love this morph, the shortbox on the SCab, the blacked out grille, and the raise over those lovely wheels and tires. Methinks you are a bit of a designer!
Last edited by fringe_remnant; 08-11-2013 at 10:46 AM.
08-12-2013, 03:51 AM
#25
The Ground Beetle
Thread Starter
I lived in Kuwait myself, for four years. The Ministry of Oil HQ towers are mine, done with Arthur Erickson out of Vancouver.
You are an experienced driver there and know exactly what to expect.
Q: Was the Toyota underpowered, or what? Always liked it myself, but don't have enough experience with it to understand your rejection. For sure the F-150 will power itself through those dunes.
You are an experienced driver there and know exactly what to expect.
Q: Was the Toyota underpowered, or what? Always liked it myself, but don't have enough experience with it to understand your rejection. For sure the F-150 will power itself through those dunes.
On another note, good that u edited ur post.
08-13-2013, 08:10 AM
#26
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Here is something that puts things into perspective... it's a leap, requiring mods beyond the diff... http://www.motorz.tv/blog/2668/ford-f150-gear-swap/
"Designed to hold up to oversized tires and high performance engines"... this is a complex issue that needs to address power loss with oversized tires, mechanical issues like backlash, and of course systems interface issues on the vehicle such as speedo recalibration. All good fun.
Plenty of discussion on the 'Net, including here on this forum. https://www.google.ca/search?q=f-150...-US%3Aofficial
Nice project you have now!
As I am running city tires on 20" rims on my 5.0, I upgraded to a 3.73 stock for offline improvement, no other mods required. Most F-150-250 haulers, including those employing on up to 7.3 Ford diesels, tend to go with the 3.73 when you talk with them. But their tires are for highway and street. Yours is a completely different story. I look forward to watching how this works out for you.
I agree, traction control and ABS have seen the demise of limited slip diffs over the last twenty years for city folk and highway haulers, but that doens't mean you won't need an LS for your purposes. You can turn all those systems off in the dunes and go straight mechanical... better intuitive control and more fun.
"Designed to hold up to oversized tires and high performance engines"... this is a complex issue that needs to address power loss with oversized tires, mechanical issues like backlash, and of course systems interface issues on the vehicle such as speedo recalibration. All good fun.
Plenty of discussion on the 'Net, including here on this forum. https://www.google.ca/search?q=f-150...-US%3Aofficial
Nice project you have now!
As I am running city tires on 20" rims on my 5.0, I upgraded to a 3.73 stock for offline improvement, no other mods required. Most F-150-250 haulers, including those employing on up to 7.3 Ford diesels, tend to go with the 3.73 when you talk with them. But their tires are for highway and street. Yours is a completely different story. I look forward to watching how this works out for you.
I agree, traction control and ABS have seen the demise of limited slip diffs over the last twenty years for city folk and highway haulers, but that doens't mean you won't need an LS for your purposes. You can turn all those systems off in the dunes and go straight mechanical... better intuitive control and more fun.
Last edited by fringe_remnant; 08-13-2013 at 08:34 AM.
08-23-2013, 11:18 PM
#28
The Ground Beetle
Thread Starter
[MENTION=153916]fringe_remnant[/MENTION]
I like being in total control of the truck/SUV offroad, it really gives you an amazing sensation of driving. Finally, i settled on the gears by themselves,no need for the LS, it will be the 4.56 Yukon gears.
[MENTION=102441]AKBray907[/MENTION]
Thank you Sir.
I like being in total control of the truck/SUV offroad, it really gives you an amazing sensation of driving. Finally, i settled on the gears by themselves,no need for the LS, it will be the 4.56 Yukon gears.
[MENTION=102441]AKBray907[/MENTION]
Thank you Sir.
08-23-2013, 11:30 PM
#29
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Yukon. One of my favourite places 
Looking forward to hearing how it all turns out... http://www.yukongear.com/Testimonials.aspx
Looking forward to hearing how it all turns out... http://www.yukongear.com/Testimonials.aspx
08-23-2013, 11:30 PM
#30
The Ground Beetle
Thread Starter
I went the past evening for a BBQ gathering on the beach, where it was in an isolated place, where only 4x4 vehicules could get to. This is my first experience offroading the truck after the lift/wheels/tires, so i was a bit nervous. But it did great with a little push.
I felt the truck was heavy in the sand, it needed more power to fight it way out faster. Gears are deffenitely next on the list. Our offroading session lasted around 30-45 mins, 1 SUV and 1 Truck got stuck and i got to tow them out.
Overall, its great offroad as it is onroad, will be doing more offroading occasionally since the weather began cooling down.
I felt the truck was heavy in the sand, it needed more power to fight it way out faster. Gears are deffenitely next on the list. Our offroading session lasted around 30-45 mins, 1 SUV and 1 Truck got stuck and i got to tow them out.
Overall, its great offroad as it is onroad, will be doing more offroading occasionally since the weather began cooling down.