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question. i just dropped my fenders and stuff off for paint. i am not planning on running raptor hood. is there any difference between the raptor hood and the stock hood as far as fitment goes? i hope not lol.
flowmasters40, I wished it was that easy, I wanted to do the same thing but Carlo is correct...it doesn't fit right. When I was doing the install I put the fenders on first and tried to close the stock hood, not only was there a large gap where it meets the lights it was also hitting the fenders at the back corners near the doors co I couldn't even fully close it. It may have closed if I slid the adjustments on the fenders all the way out but I would have still had the large gap at the lights and I already had the Raptor hood so it wasn't worth the work to test it. Also, make sure you get the Raptor antenna mount and cap, I forgot and had to drive around with the fender "vent" hole open for a few days waiting for it to come in.
Quick update on my Raptor Lite (as my friends call it) project. After running the stock Gen 1 Raptor shocks for a couple months there’s a few thing I didn’t like. 1st, it rides a little too stiff mainly due to the fact that the shocks are sprung and valved for a truck about 1300lbs heavier than mine. 2nd, the ride height was about an inch higher than where I wanted it even on the bottom perch. Remember that the 2wd top mounts are lower than the 4wd. 3rd, at full droop the UCA would hit the spring. It wasn’t too bad but it’s just something I didn’t like. So, I decided to address these issues. My shocks were old and needed to be rebuild and the lower bushings were toast so I had the dreaded Gen1 knock in the front end. After a number of trips to RPG to get measurements and advice I went to work. 1st thing I found out is the Gen1 and Gen2 have 2 different shocks/springs for each gen depending on if it’s a Screw or a Scab and the Scabs run a softer spring and lighter valving. I was fortunate that my shocks came off a Gen1 Scab. Next, I determined that the spring from Gen1 and Gen2 have the same ID and coil diameter at the top and bottom BUT the Gen2’s are a little longer. After some calculations I determined I needed to move the perch down 7/8” to use a Gen2 Scab spring and get my truck to sit and the height I wanted. Next, I needed to reduce the extended travel so the UCA wouldn’t hit the spring. I had new aluminum “top out” spacers cut 5/8” longer than stock. I gave the stock spacers and the shock bodies to a friend who works at a machine shop and he worked his magic. I then took the bodies to cerikote then off to the suspension shop for the rebuild. After talking to them about the ride quality and what I’m looking to do they came up with a formula of valving, shim stack adjustment and “flutter stack”. Got the shocks back the other day and reinstalled everything hoping my calculations were right and the valving was good. I bolted everything up, torqued everything to spec, including 406 ft lbs on the lower shock bolt…stressful! and everything turned out perfect. Truck height is dead on with what I wanted. The Gen2 Scab spring and the new valving ride like a dream, it feels just like my buddies real Gen2 Raptor. The new bushing have it nice a quiet like stock and the extra drop feels much better over speed bumps and in/out of driveways. If anyone’s looking to convert their 15+ F-150 to raptor front suspension, I feel like I’ve tried all avenues and I finally hit success. Feel free to PM me if you need some guidance. FYI, Ford factory Raptor springs are cheap and worth the switch. If you have a 4wd you should be able to run it on the stock Gen1 bottom perch and install the Gen2 spring for less than $100 out of your pocket if you do the labor and it’ll be nice a level with the rear and ride much better.
Quick update on my Raptor Lite (as my friends call it) project. After running the stock Gen 1 Raptor shocks for a couple months there’s a few thing I didn’t like. 1st, it rides a little too stiff mainly due to the fact that the shocks are sprung and valved for a truck about 1300lbs heavier than mine. 2nd, the ride height was about an inch higher than where I wanted it even on the bottom perch. Remember that the 2wd top mounts are lower than the 4wd. 3rd, at full droop the UCA would hit the spring. It wasn’t too bad but it’s just something I didn’t like. So, I decided to address these issues. My shocks were old and needed to be rebuild and the lower bushings were toast so I had the dreaded Gen1 knock in the front end. After a number of trips to RPG to get measurements and advice I went to work. 1st thing I found out is the Gen1 and Gen2 have 2 different shocks/springs for each gen depending on if it’s a Screw or a Scab and the Scabs run a softer spring and lighter valving. I was fortunate that my shocks came off a Gen1 Scab. Next, I determined that the spring from Gen1 and Gen2 have the same ID and coil diameter at the top and bottom BUT the Gen2’s are a little longer. After some calculations I determined I needed to move the perch down 7/8” to use a Gen2 Scab spring and get my truck to sit and the height I wanted. Next, I needed to reduce the extended travel so the UCA wouldn’t hit the spring. I had new aluminum “top out” spacers cut 5/8” longer than stock. I gave the stock spacers and the shock bodies to a friend who works at a machine shop and he worked his magic. I then took the bodies to cerikote then off to the suspension shop for the rebuild. After talking to them about the ride quality and what I’m looking to do they came up with a formula of valving, shim stack adjustment and “flutter stack”. Got the shocks back the other day and reinstalled everything hoping my calculations were right and the valving was good. I bolted everything up, torqued everything to spec, including 406 ft lbs on the lower shock bolt…stressful! and everything turned out perfect. Truck height is dead on with what I wanted. The Gen2 Scab spring and the new valving ride like a dream, it feels just like my buddies real Gen2 Raptor. The new bushing have it nice a quiet like stock and the extra drop feels much better over speed bumps and in/out of driveways. If anyone’s looking to convert their 15+ F-150 to raptor front suspension, I feel like I’ve tried all avenues and I finally hit success. Feel free to PM me if you need some guidance. FYI, Ford factory Raptor springs are cheap and worth the switch. If you have a 4wd you should be able to run it on the stock Gen1 bottom perch and install the Gen2 spring for less than $100 out of your pocket if you do the labor and it’ll be nice a level with the rear and ride much better.
I had the same issue with the upper control arm as my truck is also a 2wd. My upper control arm will hit the coil spring at full drop. And I didn't like the angle of the upper control arm as my upper ball joint won't last long. So, I went to looked at my brother's Raptor and noticed the steering knuckle gives almost a 1" of height compared to the 2wd steering knuckle. Also, I checked my cousin's F150 4x4, and they are the exact same steering knuckle height as the Raptor. But the Raptor steering knuckle was much cheaper to buy than the F150 one.
Quick question y’all. Would Gen 1 raptor axles work on a 2018 F150?
I am running Gen1 Differentials front and rear, and the axles with CVs in the front on my 2016. I do not see why it would not work on a 2018. I did have to make brake lines for the back to connect the 16 to my 14 rear brake lines. I assume you could just go and buy the 17 raptor brake lines for a bolt in fit.
03-21-2018, 02:31 PM
