If any company can fine tune a suspension system, it would be Fox. Its list of sponsored drivers and race wins is numerous. Fox developed a front coilover and rear shock specifically built for the Raptor. Pushing a nearly 6,000-pound truck in the dirt isn’t an easy feat, which is why you see such oversized shocks on race trucks. Fox spent countless hours testing the new setup to achieve the perfect combination. We think Fox hit its goal.
Ford’s new F-150 SVT Raptor made an appearance in my driveway recently, and it created a bit of a stir. My tweenage daughters wouldn’t ride in it. My wife didn’t want any of her friends to catch her in the thing. They complained of the “kindergarten mess” graphics flanking the sides of it (an option, I told them) and compared it to a real-life sandbox toy (that part’s right.)
On the other hand, the Metal Mulisha dude with the flat-billed hat down the street thought it was uber-cool. So do I. Who cares if it broke my floor jack? (To be fair, my aging floor jack popped a seal on the previous walkaround. The Raptor’s burliness merely finished it off.)
Anyway, let’s get to it…
Starting in the rear, we can see that the Raptor is suspended by a live rear axle, a leaf spring package and some radical-looking shock absorbers — more on those in a minute.
In this picture the jackstand is hidden behind the brake rotor, where it is supporting the axle directly. The suspension is therefore loaded as if the truck were sitting normally on its tires, which means you can’t see the impressive 12.1″ of rear suspension travel, the majority of which is “droop” travel you’d only see by jacking the truck by its frame — or by jumping it.
These leaf springs look fairly soft, with only two main leafs. The third “helper” leaf (black) is short and insubstantial. It all adds up to a more-linear rear suspension that’s good at gliding over whoops and ruts in the dirt, but less-than-ideal for high payloads and large trailer tongue weights.
The listed payload for the Raptor is 1,020 lbs, but that’s only if the actual truck sticks close to Ford’s claimed 5,863-pound curb weight. This Raptor weighed 5,957 pounds on our scales. When we subtract that from the Raptor’s 6,950-pound GVWR, we’re left with an actual as-equipped payload of 993 pounds for this particular truck.
But this 993 pounds must be further-reduced by the weight of the driver, passengers and any junk in the cab. Yep, you and your buddies are payload. With two 200-pounders aboard, for example, only 593 pounds remain for cargo in the bed (such as a pair of dirtbikes) or for trailer tongue weight (just barely adequate for a 6,000 lb trailer). That’s an “or” folks because trailer tongue weight is considered payload. Don’t expect to tow much of anything with stuff in the bed, or vice-versa.
But a softer spring package such as this is necessary to allow the long-stroke off-road travel that the Raptor delivers. Besides, the Raptor fulfills the role of dirtbike on its own.
When will 4 door 2011 be in dealers
Houston Dealers have started taking orders for the 2011 SVT Raptor . It should arrive at dealerships late December!