Lethal Performance boosts SVT’s Raptor higher up the food chain with a Whipple supercharger
By Steve Turner
Photos by SID297 and StacyStangz
With any luck you tuned in for our first installment on Lethal Performance’s 2012 Crew Cab Raptor project. In that story we documented the lighting and skidplate upgrades. However, this time we are getting to the exciting part—adding more performance.
When we last checked in on Lethal Performance’s 2012 Crew Cab Raptor, the truck was Lethalized with upgraded lighting and a more robust Ford Racing skid plate. Here it is up on the dyno at Power by the Hour Performance in Boca Raton, Florida. The truck’s naturally aspirated 6.2-liter engine baselined at 304.92 horsepower and 337.66 lb-ft of torque at the tires.
If you know anything about the Team Lethal bunch, you know that they have no reservations about tearing into spankin’ new Fords and launching the performance of these vehicles into the stratosphere. Heretofore, most of these vehicles have been Mustangs, but these guys love all sorts of Fords—especially trucks. So, it’s no shock that Lethal’s Jared Rosen added an SVT Raptor to his driveway.
One handy aspect of modding a truck is you can easily throw all your new gear in the bed and haul it to your favorite install spot. Lethal Performance’s Jared Rosen ordered up a Whipple supercharger and a full exhaust from American Racing Headers to ramp up the performance of the Lethal Raptor.
“The driving force behind it was that we just wanted something to have a good time with. We’d seen videos of people off-roading with them so we said why not. Let’s get one,†Jared explained in our last installment. “Turns out that the Raptor market was growing pretty quickly as we took delivery of it so it was a great opportunity not only to have an awesome time with but to showcase parts that the manufacturers we deal with wanted to showcase…â€
Of course, you also know they love forced induction. From nitrous to blowers to turbos, Lethal has thrown everything at new Fords to improve performance. However, as one of Whipple Supercharger’s highest volume distributors, it is no surprise that Jared looked no further than the Whipple’s Raptor supercharger system to boost its truck project.
As the highest volume distributor of Whipple Superchargers, Team Lethal surprised no one by selecting a 2.9-liter Whipple tuner kit for the company’s Raptor project. This kit (PN WHP-LP-FSERIES62LSTG1SC-B; $8,039) includes the needed 47 lb/hr injectors, NGK spark plugs, SCT tuner, and Lund Racing tune to push the power even higher.
“What would a Lethal project vehicle be without a Whipple supercharger?†Jared quipped. “I mean we have to be fair to all of our vehicles. So if one gets Whipple’d so does the other. We wouldn’t want any of our cars or trucks to feel less than the other.â€
We were on hand to check out the installation and testing of the system as handled at Power by the Hour in Boynton Beach, Florida. After the installation, Ken Bjonnes of Lund Racing dialed in a custom tune to make the marriage between Whipple at Raptor a happy one. So, keep reading and see how the 2.9-liter supercharger and a complete American Racing Headers’ exhaust transformed the performance of Ford SVT’s four-wheel-drive machine.
“The difference after the Whipple install was night and day from stock. I guess that’s what over 170rwhp gains do to a truck that’s already a beast,†Jared explained. “Not only is there a very noticeable difference in power but hearing the sound of a Whipple twin-screw scream when you put the pedal to the floor is music to my ears.â€
If you are going to force a lot of air into a 6.2-liter engine, it’s a great idea to open up the exhaust side of the equation. To pop the cork, Team Lethal selected American Racing Headers’ 1 7/8-inch long-tube headers and Y-pipe (PN ARH-RPTR78NC; $1,590) and full after-cat exhaust (PN ARH-RPTRCTBK11; $1,295).
Power by the Hour’s Harvey Hutch gets the exhaust party started by supporting the engine with a brace. That allows removing the crossmember to allow working room for the exhaust install.
After removing the stock manifolds and Y-pipe, Harvey slithers the big-tube headers into place and bolts them to the big 6.2-liter.
Installing the headers is the tough part. With the long-tubes bolted up and the crossmember back in place, Harvey installed the ARH Y-pipe. While this test didn’t separate the exhaust, Lethal says you can expect a 25 to 30hp gain on a stock truck.
Harvey wrapped up the exhaust by installing the ARH after-cat.
You can tell that Jared really does like to kick up some sand at the J.W. Corbett Wildlife Management Area in West Palm Beach, Florida. Yes, that is real dirt on the stock engine. It didn’t stay stock for long, however.
Moving on to the blower install, Power by the Hour’s Jesse Guajardo starts by disconnecting the negative battery terminal and draining the engine coolant.
After safely relieving the fuel pressure, Jesse removes the stock fuel rails.
Next to come off is the stock, composite intake manifold.
Since the engine was under the knife for the blower install, it was a great time for Jared to dress up the 6.2 with a pair of Ford Racing cam covers (PN M-6582-62BK; $309.95).
Obviously they are clean, but you have to admit the powdercoated, magnesium Ford Racing cam covers are far more attractive than the stock covers.
The Ford Racing covers are a direct replacement for the stockers, but be sure to take care any time you work on an open engine. With the stock intake on the bench, Jesse taped up the intake ports to keep debris out.
Jesse preps the Whipple intercooled lower intake for installation by installing the provided O-rings that seal the intake to the cylinder heads. Before pushing them into the manifold grooves, be sure to lubricate them with a light coating of assembly grease.
With the upper and lower O-rings installed, Jesse removed the tape from the cylinder heads, and dropped the intake into place. Then he torqued the lower manifold in an alternating pattern from side to side.
With the lower manifold in place, the next phase is plumbing the intercooler circuit. Jesse starts by bolting up the heat exchanger brackets, heat exchanger, and intercooler pump. The extensive directions will walk you through each step.
Next Jesse installed the supplied intercooler reservoir and routed the hoses from the pump to the heat exchanger and back to the lower manifold.
The last step of the plumbing is connecting the input and output houses to the rear of the Whipple lower intake.
Now it’s time to wire up the intercooler pump. This requires pinning and re-pinning some wires in the factory PCM harness. This sounds daunting, but the Whipple instructions are quite thorough.
With the harness work done, Jesse installed the intercooler pump harness by mounting the relays, bolting the ground wire to the chassis, and…
… tapping into power at the underhood fuse box.
Whipple Superchargers are shipped dry, so it is crucial that you fill the blower gear case with the supplied lubricant. Don’t overfill it, however, as that can do damage as well. Simply add the oil until it reaches the middle of the sight glass.
He must work out. Yes, Lethal Performance’s Jared Rosen is pretty stoked about adding the Whipple Supercharger to his Crew Cab Raptor.
We are getting close. Jesse carefully lowers the 2.9-liter Whipple down on its lower intake manifold to avoid damaging the O-ring. He then installs the retaining bolts hand tight. With all the fasteners in place, torques the bolts to 18 lb-ft before final tightening them to 22 lb-ft.
With the blower bolted down, Jesse reroutes the PCV hoses, installs the BEVIS module, reinstalls the alternator, and re-connects the factory coolant hoses. He also installs the 47 lb/hr Ford Racing fuel injectors and re-routes the fuel rail crossover hose.
After tidying up, Jesse installs the longer serpentine belt, which drives the stock accessories and the supercharger.
Next he gapped all 16 of the Lethal-tuner-kit-provided NGK spark plugs (PN LTR7IX-11) to .030-inch before installing them.
You might have noted that the stock Raptor throttle body is a traditional round unit, while the Whipple Crusher inlet calls for an oval throttle body. The Lethal tuner kit includes a GT500 throttle body (shown here), but looking for maximum power, they upgraded to the optional Whipple billet mono-blade throttle body.
Here’s a look at the Whipple Big Bore throttle body (PN WHP-WTB-SGT2100; $600). It flows a whopping 2,100 cfm!
In order to install the induction for the Whipple supercharger, Jesse had to divorce the base of the stock airbox from the factory coolant reservoir. After doing so, he drilled the mounting holes needed to mount the Whipple CAI heat shield.
With the coolant reservoir modded and reinstalled, Jesse bolted in the heat shield and installed the Whipple CAI.
With the assembly completed, Jesse fills the intercooler system and the truck’s main cooling system with Motorcraft coolant.
With the hardware installation complete, all that’s left is the tuning. Lethal Performance offers Lund Racing tunes, and Lund Racing’s own Ken Bjonnes does a lot of tuning on the Power by the Hour Dynojet, so he was on hand to whip up a custom tune to make the Lethal Raptor play nice with its new Whipple supercharger.Yes, picking up nearly 180 horsepower and 100 lb-ft of torque at the rear wheels is the kind of gain you want to see from a blower and exhaust upgrade. However, it is not just he peak numbers to get worked up about. It’s the giant lift in the entire powerband that will make you smile every time you stomp on the loud pedal. “Down here in South Florida there’s a ton of sand and black mud on our off-road trails,†Jared explained. “So the additional power that we gained from the 2.9-liter Whipple allowed us to move much quicker through that type of terrain and prevented us from ever getting stuck. Personally, I just feel a lot more confident going out there with the extra power then I did when it was stock.â€A closer look at the raw numbers shows you just how significant the Whipple gains are across the entire powerband. Comparing both runs from where the pedal is on the floor, the steam picks up right away and builds quickly carrying the usable power well past the peak of the stock 6.2.
What is triggering the intercooler pump to go on in this application as the PCM wouldn’t be doing it (as for example it does on a GT500 via a temperature programmed in the tune). Is it simply triggered by a temperature sensor? And lastly, in this photo I get the idea that this blower is a FRPP piece…
Had I a Raptor I’d definitely be considering each one of the additions you covered in this thread. That blower is a beautiful piece and the supporting hardware looks to be first rate. Sure would have been nice if FRPP would have picked this one up and added it to their catalog but Raptor owners should be thankful for the effort Jared and Whipple have put forth here.
Glad to see they went with a Whipple over a turbo kit. The hellion kit is pretty badass, but I’d rather my truck have lots of low end power and instant torque throughout the powerband.
That Whipple throttle body is sweet. Sucks having to change 16 spark plugs though.
Wow.
I love hardware and this writeup has a whole lotta love. Nice to see so many production/GT500 parts in use.
A few questions. I know Buddy Bar does casting work for Whipple. Did they do the lower manifold used in this application?
http://www.buddybarcasting.com/uploads/2010_BB_Cat.pdf
What is triggering the intercooler pump to go on in this application as the PCM wouldn’t be doing it (as for example it does on a GT500 via a temperature programmed in the tune). Is it simply triggered by a temperature sensor? And lastly, in this photo I get the idea that this blower is a FRPP piece…
http://www.svtperformance.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/3-Lethal-Raptor-Part-2-1024×770.jpg
But it isn’t, correct? It’s a Lethal only offering at this point, no?
I believe that is the box for the cam covers, Tob.
Now that makes sense.
Had I a Raptor I’d definitely be considering each one of the additions you covered in this thread. That blower is a beautiful piece and the supporting hardware looks to be first rate. Sure would have been nice if FRPP would have picked this one up and added it to their catalog but Raptor owners should be thankful for the effort Jared and Whipple have put forth here.
Glad to see they went with a Whipple over a turbo kit. The hellion kit is pretty badass, but I’d rather my truck have lots of low end power and instant torque throughout the powerband.