SDHQ's Twin-Turbo Eco-Raptor - /TUNED

MATT FARAH: 30 seconds ago you clicked on a link that said, SDHQ Ecoboost Raptor. And you got very excited. And yet here I am, in a turret on top of an armored vehicle, holding a .50 caliber sniper rifle. Now at this point, you're probably asking yourself, why am I in a turret, holding a .50 caliber sniper rifle. The answer of course, one simple word, Arizona. Today we are driving the Ecoboost Raptor, right here on TUNED. This is what a pickup truck is suppose to be, the exact opposite of the hilariously useless excuses for sports trucks we've seen the past. The Ford Lightning, GMC Syclone, and Dodge SRT Ram. No other truck comes this prepared to play in the dirt. No other truck can show up at the dunes, the trails, Home Depot, or Beverly Hills valet equally ready for the task at hand. And for our purposes, no other truck would make a better camera vehicle. It's an all around win. But considering how sorted the truck comes from the factory, we were always surprised at the lack of engine choices. RYAN MARSELIS: Once Ford came out with the new build list for the Raptor for 2012, we noticed that the Ecoboost wasn't an option. There was rumors that it would be. Once we saw that, we knew we had to build one. So last October we started with a new 2012 F150 extra cab that come with a 6 and 1/2 foot bed. And we did a frame swap, and a suspension swap, bed, things like that. And built the first Ecoboost Raptor and debuted it at SEMA last year. It'll definitely outperform a Stock 6.2 Raptor, and even a Raptor that has chip intake and exhaust done to it. It's definitely a mover. MATT FARAH: I am envious to say the least. I am really digging this truck right now. And the 40 mile transit from SDHQ's shop to where we're at right now, I have averaged 16.8 miles per gallon, compared to 11 and 1/2 in the other Raptor that we're using as a camera car, or what I've been known to get in my personal Raptor. Doing that math for the 34,000 miles I've put on my Raptor would save me, $1,350 a year in gas. I would have spent $8,000 total on gas over the life of my truck, versus the $12,000 I've actually spent. So there's that. Then there's the power, with the intake, the exhaust, and the tune on the Ecoboost engine, you're making a little over 400 horsepower, probably about 410 with the crank, but, like, 500 pounds of torque. And with the turbos, it comes on really early. This thing's scoots right off the line. And it makes a really cool sound. [ENGINE REVVING] MATT FARAH: It goes. This thing is quick. It's definitely quicker then my truck, no question. I might even argue that this thing makes more than 410 horsepower, could be closer to about 450. But it's pretty effortless. I'm not surprised the Eco Raptor is faster than my truck, since it's lighter and more powerful. But these are abusive conditions for testing. And the most amazing thing is that, for a modified truck, it feels as solid as if it just left the factory floor. There's no squeaks, no rattles, and the fit in finish is flawless. And that's because this thing reads like a parts list from the SDHQ catalog. RYAN MARSELIS: It has our front LED bumper, it has our upgraded skip plates. Up front it has, Icon coil-over suspensions, their upper control arms. Out back we have Deaver rear springs, we have our bump stop kit in the rear. We're also running some Icon 3 inch diameter shocks out back. Running a custom rear bumper that we built with a couple spare tires in it. Besides that, it has a couple bolt-ons. As far as a performance goes, it has an AFE intake kit, it has a Superchips tuner and it has an AFE cat back exhaust. As far as adding on more horsepower and torque and power, it's there. You have plenty of tuners that are available for it. There's companies making aftermarket inner coolers for it. The power gains are there, the stock Ecoboost is great. But just with adding the Chip intake and exhaust, you're getting another 50 horses, 80-90 foot pounds of torque, which are huge gains for a gas motor. MATT FARAH: Just cruising right now at about 45. Ride's nice. Rained yesterday, so we get some mud going on. Probably the most interesting thing about this truck, is that it's not a Raptor with an Ecoboost engine swap. It's actually an Ecoboost truck, with a Raptor frame and body swap. There's a lot more involved to that than you think. Because they have to switch frames, they have to put a shorter bed. The entire front and rear clip are different. And then you've got all the Raptor parts plus the aftermarket stuff they put on it. And that seems silly, you might think why not just swap the motor. But the Ecoboost engine from the factory cost $17,000. If you do out the math which they've done, it is actually more economically feasible to swap the body and frame, then to swap the engine. The bad news of course is that you don't get the Raptor seats or steering wheel, which I like. But, such is life. I'm still in two wheel drive right now, I haven't even locked the diff. Truck is good. This suspension is really nice. Unfortunately to get this conversion from SDHQ, it is kind of expensive. Sarina the owner of this truck, has over $80,000 dollars into it. Whoa, there we go, a little washes, yeah. I am absolutely loving the steering flow of this thing. I've got a little more wide open space here. And it start's to rain. Go a little faster and see what happens. Whoa a tire all the way out here. Take it up to about 50. Riding really smooth, really nice. Whoa, yes. This does require a little bit of attention, so if I'm talking less, that is why. I don't have any idea where I'm going, it doesn't really matter because I'm in a Raptor. How about this way. Whoa. Wow look at that Jeep coming down that hill in reverse, well done sir. The only real downside is that without a real original Raptor drive line, you can't lock the differential unless you're in 4x4 mode, making drifting more difficult. The stock Raptors two wheel drive locking diff, makes for excellent roof protection. This truck is not only faster, but it's more nimble, it's lighter, it's more efficient. And with the upgraded suspension, it's better off road than my truck. And what happens is I'm annoyed, because they have done such a good job with their truck. And now I have to go home and live with mine. So kudos to SDHQ for building a bad-*** truck. And look for Craigslist Los Angeles to see an orange 2010 Raptor up there, pretty soon. I'm Matt Farah, you've been watching TUNED.