From GM to Ford (Raptor) impressions if interested

Sierra Dan · February 21, 2019

1 hour ago, TXGREEK said:

It’s not “but” the majority of us and without realizing it, we’re adding high performance Suspension systems, trying to get more clearance and additional accessories in an attempt to do more than what our trucks were designed for. And as most of us can agree, wish GM would come out with their version of a Raptor too.

My Sentiments exactly TX.

Not everyone here is interested in modifying their GM truck.

But and for those that do and plan on...… they wish GM would produce something on par with the Raptor from the Factory. They would probably buy one hands down.

Afterall, many Ford owners try to convert their Reg. F-150's to a Raptor. At least in looks with aftermarket and Ford parts.

It's like the discontinued Avalanche. My 05 Avalanche was the best GM truck, if not Best vehicle I have ever owned.

Most called it ugly and a flop. Their opinion.

For the few select of us that produced a cult following for the Avalanche and even had our own Avalanche forum (which I still belong to), it was our night in shining armor.

GM truck fans out there that want a step up can only dream about something like a Raptor or simply move to one to get what they want. Maybe even a RAM rebel Hellcat if they ever come out.

A TrailBoss and AT4 are aims in the right direction but still years away.

I think this is TXGREEK thought above and I agree.

SO this discussion is supporting the OP and wishing him well. He had to jump GM's ship over to Ford to buy what GM should be producing in the first place.

Edited February 21, 2019 by Sierra Dan

300 Blackout · February 21, 2019

In my opinion the 14-15 Silverado had the best front end of a truck ever.

Agreed! That’s why I bought a 2014 All Terrain even when other options were available. It’s simply a sharp and classy look.

A Raptor is as close to a Pre-Runner as you can get with a factory warranty. I agree that if you dump 10k into suspension mods you can probably exceed the performance.

Sierra Dan had a great point. Lots of people hate on those who pay attention to off road capabilities of their trucks but never or rarely ever take them off road. In Michigan, every road is off road! Pot holes, road salt, calcium chloride and uneven, gravel ridden roads will give anything a run for its money.

Seriously, hit a pot hole at 45-70mph and see how well your car keeps traction or if it blows out your shocks, cracks a rim or even a frame. Having an off road capable truck is the difference between driving like a snail or even staying at home vs being able to go on with business as usual.

ShamrockShooter · February 21, 2019

Raptor vs rebel vs trail boss in MOAB

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crushNchowda · February 22, 2019

5 hours ago, SILVER SLED said:

The post to me wasn't necessarily a comparison. It's just a guy telling us what he liked and didn't like about his old truck and his new truck. No need to bash him for it. I do agree, unfortunately, that the Raptor is no comparison to any 1500 GM makes.

Yeah definitely wasn’t a comparison- but it especially wasn’t a comparison between a Denali & a Raptor- however I did “cross-shop”

those vehicles. If you think people don’t - you’re crazy, while I know forum attracts Moreno passionate auto enthusiasts (like myself) many guys just want “the next best thing” for a truck & view a high country, Denali, raptor, longhorn & platnium all the same. Price range thing.

however some other posters mentioned modding- I DID mod my Sierra- firstoff it was an all terrain 6.2 black on black not unlike my all black raptor, I already put on bilsteins, 2.25” rears, was about to add a leaf, had 33” nittos + a set of studded snows, etc. it was a compromise even on those basic mods- in order for it not to roll & truly lift it needed top setting on bilstein, while it handled well the ride suffered, the A-arms & ball joints & bearings are all puny for what you’re asking if you do any basic off roading compared to what you can do w/ a raptor stock- that’s NOT a knock on the GM- it’s a just a fact, & the GMs weren’t really designed for that. They certainly perform better as a truck overall in the traditional sense if you know what I mean.

i just wanted to let people who were curious know that it is certainly worth a look. Or a comparable regular F150 ecoboost- I wasn’t sold on the tt V6, but they’ve been around for a while now- & used in fleet/commercial use especially in police work as a testament to reliability & now w/ the port injection it’s even better.

the Raptor motor has manybof the beefed up forged internals shares w/ the ford GT

tye regular F150 3.5s do not

lastly all should go check out the YouTube review comparison from the “fast lane truck” w/ the new Chevy trail boss- you would be impressed what Chevy can do w/ their platform too- they just need to kick it up another notch.

Edited February 22, 2019 by crushNchowda

Skidsareforkids · May 30, 2019

I would have a Raptor in a heartbeat. I’m 50/50 between a new Denali and one of those. The main thing that puts me off the Raptor is I’d want to mod it into oblivion and drive it like I stole it. The Denali is far less likely to end up in its roof by a dirt road somewhere because I wouldn’t beat on it the same...

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Skidsareforkids · May 30, 2019

I do think if I go the Denali route again I’ll delete the magnetic ride and put Kings and big tires on. Both for aesthetics and comfort. I’m on dirt roads every day and the magnetic ride is just ok

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Cpl_Punishment · May 30, 2019

Which K2s don't have power locking tailgates? The SLEs we have at work do.

truckguy82 · May 31, 2019

Forgot to mention to you guys

I DD a stock 6.2 with a black bear tune.

I recently took a trip to florida and rented a navigator. It has the same engine and trans as the raptor.

It wasn’t slow, but definitely not as fast as my 6.2. Not sure how much the navi weighs though.

BTW, off topic, but holy shit is the navigator nice inside. Literally the nicest vehicle I’ve ever been in or ever seen in person. Unreal.

Skidsareforkids · May 31, 2019

I test drove a 2019 Raptor today. There’s no way it’s as fast as my tuned 6.2 and it really didn’t feel any faster than my wife’s AT4. I’d need to drive them back to back though... Maybe the 35”s weigh it down?
It was very very nice, but I think I’m leaning more towards another Denali.

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Imcrazy · May 31, 2019

8 hours ago, Cpl_Punishment said:

Which K2s don't have power locking tailgates? The SLEs we have at work do.

It became standard on 2016 models, I think all trucks with power locks.... I really like having it on my truck...

Cpl_Punishment · May 31, 2019

12 hours ago, Imcrazy said:

It became standard on 2016 models, I think all trucks with power locks.... I really like having it on my truck...

Yeah, it's a nice feature. I was always under the impression that it was standard on all K2s, hence my confusion when people bash GM because they don't offer it or praise Ford because they do.

16LT4 · May 31, 2019

I've been a GM (and German brand) guy all my life, but don't have any brand loyalty, simply because the brands have no customer loyalty. I'll go with what makes the most financial, and enjoyable, sense at the time. After doing a complete timing system rebuild (cams out, oil pan dropped, new pump, phasers, tensioners, lash adjusters, roller followers, etc) on my F150's 5.4 over the winter at only 150k miles, my biggest issue with the Raptor (or any Ford) is that they still haven't cured the timing system failures. I'm now back in a '16 K2xx which is "some hyperbolic % better" than my '17 K2xx.

Chowda, all I would suggest other than enjoying the truck is to completely disregard the factory's OCI and stick to a 5k OCI will full synthetic, and only run a Motorcraft filter, if you plan on keeping it for any length of time.

QUIKAG · May 31, 2019

So, I had a similar situation September of last year (2018). I had my first big wreck in my 2SS 2016 Camaro (loved that car!) and was leaning towards getting back into a truck since I work in the construction industry (accountant), and occasionally drive onto job sites, etc.

Anyway, in September of last year, deals on Denali's ended and started on SLT's. I absolutely wanted the 6.2. I test drove a few new 2018 Raptors (sticker in the low 70's). The 2019 Raptors were around the corner with the recaro seats, electronic shocks, and a few other nice tweaks. I asked a few dealers if they would knock a grand or so off and I'd buy one. They all said NO, sticker or nothing. One dealer said maybe a few hundred off sticker. I reminded them the 2019's were around the corner and if I was going to pay sticker, I'd just wait for one of those. They didn't care.

So, I walked and didn't get a Raptor out of principle. I wanted a grand off, nothing crazy. So, screw most of the local Ford dealers and their "precious" Raptors. haha.

I ended up buying a brand new 2018 SLT crew cab Z71 4x4 with the 6.2 and all the gizmos. Sticker was almost $58k and I got it for $42k. I love the truck. It's not a Raptor, but it's also $30k cheaper. THIRTY THOUSAND DOLLARS CHEAPER. Is the Raptor nicer overall? Heck yeah, but I'll keep $30k in the bank and drive my very comfy and nice 6.2 Sierra for the next few years and see if Ford ever puts a sweet V8 back in the Raptor, then I might be tempted to trade up then.

Another thing I like about my GM vehicles (I have a 2010 ZR1 since new too) is I have an awesome relationship with my service advisor at a large Chevy dealer. He can work on any GM vehicle and I always get a nice loaner vehicle and no BS. So, that's a big plus for me as a lot of the Ford dealers in town don't do loaner cars and that would annoy the crap out of me on a $70k+ truck.

Imcrazy · June 1, 2019

12 hours ago, Cpl_Punishment said:

Yeah, it's a nice feature. I was always under the impression that it was standard on all K2s, hence my confusion when people bash GM because they don't offer it or praise Ford because they do.

Yeah my 2014 K2 didn't have it, my 16 does...

Imcrazy · June 1, 2019

7 hours ago, QUIKAG said:

So, I had a similar situation September of last year (2018). I had my first big wreck in my 2SS 2016 Camaro (loved that car!) and was leaning towards getting back into a truck since I work in the construction industry (accountant), and occasionally drive onto job sites, etc.

Anyway, in September of last year, deals on Denali's ended and started on SLT's. I absolutely wanted the 6.2. I test drove a few new 2018 Raptors (sticker in the low 70's). The 2019 Raptors were around the corner with the recaro seats, electronic shocks, and a few other nice tweaks. I asked a few dealers if they would knock a grand or so off and I'd buy one. They all said NO, sticker or nothing. One dealer said maybe a few hundred off sticker. I reminded them the 2019's were around the corner and if I was going to pay sticker, I'd just wait for one of those. They didn't care.

So, I walked and didn't get a Raptor out of principle. I wanted a grand off, nothing crazy. So, screw most of the local Ford dealers and their "precious" Raptors. haha.

I ended up buying a brand new 2018 SLT crew cab Z71 4x4 with the 6.2 and all the gizmos. Sticker was almost $58k and I got it for $42k. I love the truck. It's not a Raptor, but it's also $30k cheaper. THIRTY THOUSAND DOLLARS CHEAPER. Is the Raptor nicer overall? Heck yeah, but I'll keep $30k in the bank and drive my very comfy and nice 6.2 Sierra for the next few years and see if Ford ever puts a sweet V8 back in the Raptor, then I might be tempted to trade up then.

Another thing I like about my GM vehicles (I have a 2010 ZR1 since new too) is I have an awesome relationship with my service advisor at a large Chevy dealer. He can work on any GM vehicle and I always get a nice loaner vehicle and no BS. So, that's a big plus for me as a lot of the Ford dealers in town don't do loaner cars and that would annoy the crap out of me on a $70k+ truck.