Ford Ranger Raptor R Engine Preference

[RaptorME]

Ugh. Looks like an R won't be happening.

https://fordauthority.com/2026/06/b...s-ford-ranger-raptor-has-too-much-horsepower/

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[Lion77]

5.0 without cylinder deactivation. Like a gen 2 5.0 I think? Reliability + nice linear power. Wouldn't ever want the 3.5L in anything I own...

No, you want a Gen 3 5.0L if you go 5.0. I had a 2016 Mustang GT PP with the Gen 2 5.0L. So the Gen 1 5.0 was in the S197 Mustangs, made just a bit above 400 hp. Then with the S550 IRS chassis, they took the BOSS 302 rotating assembly from the S197 based BOSS 302 that was designed to rev out to 7,500 RPM as a track focused car and made that the standard components in the mass production Gen 2 5.0. It had powder forged rods, but not forged pistons, was ported and an a sundry of other small tweaks to make better high RPM power.

BUT they rushed the engine mapping due to a tight projected deadline to compete against the new Alpha chassis based Camaro SS (which performance wise, was the better car in my opinion, the 6.2L has a really nice broad torque band) and ended up ganging all the cylinder timing together instead of individually, so the Gen 2 5.0 in the S550 made just enough additional power to compensate for the heavier S550 chassis so it ran the 1/4 to within about a tenth of the previous chassis.

Ford Performance released Power Packs for the Gen 2 5.0L, Stage 1, 2 and 3. Stage 1 was ECU cal only with a K&N filter, no change in rev limit on the stock 5.0 which was about 6,800 RPM.

Stage 2, which is what I had, used the GT350 Intake and Throttle body, permanent engine mods (cutting vacuum hoses etc.), much more aggressive calibration with a whopping 60 to 70 HP gains in the mid-range, revs out to 7,150 RPM. This setup was focused on street and road course, with emphasis on maximizing midrange.

Stage 3 replaced the ENTIRE intake manifold and throttle body with the GT350 one and focused on high RPM power, rev limit increased to 7,500 RPM. Little less mid-range, but average power was higher and made the most of short gearing, I was considering upgrading to Stage 3 at some point. Note the Gen 1 and 2 were Port Injection only.

The Gen 3 5.0L came out in 2018, that's when they transitioned to a whole new DI setup (I think they eventually transitioned to dual injection on the 5.0 in 20' MY with the refresh body) and 7,500 RPM rev-limit stock. The torque held up much better across the top 1k rpm, so power was a flat tabletop instead of a peak and decay as torque rolls off typically.

Average power in the Gen 3 is definitely better than Gen 2 even with the Power Packs. But it's NOT a torqy engine, you gotta rev it to get into the power band. Ecoboost V6 delivers waaaay more low-end torque and in my opinion is far better suited to work in a truck. Ask anyone with an F-150 that tows who has driven both the V8 and the Ecoboost V6, Ecoboost just does a much better job as it tows more like a diesel where even the 5.0 is hanging out at 4k RPM to manage the load.

For a Ranger Raptor R, I think the Ford Performance Godzilla 7.3L would be ideal. 600 hp, nice broad torque band, massive V8 sound, but not so much power it out drive the chassis or out-competes the Raptor R, although it might be a bit too heavy for the Ranger chassis and negatively affect handling, not sure. Ecoboost V6 from the F-150 would a nice option too, basically same power but with broader low-end torque.

For the Raptor R, I think they should make a Super Charged 7.3L Gozilla! 850~900 HP or a Twin Turbo 5.2L Predator, superchargers have huge parasitic losses, around 150 HP is lost to driving the super charger itself! So, a 700 HP super charged engine would make around 850 with a twin turbo setup and with integrated cast-in manifolds now, they have almost no lag, not enough to matter. Ford also has the anti-lag technology that keeps the turbos spooled for 3 seconds (at the cost of extra fuel) for track style or baja performance driving, so there's no lag at all.

Chevy's twin turbo V8 in the C8 ZL1X is 1,050 HP. Throw in the E-ray hybrid motor and its' 1,250 HP on 93 pump gas! So if GM can get 1k HP from a twin turbo V8, I don't see why Ford can't get around 850 from a twin turbo 5.2L but make it robust enough to get beat on hard core in a truck.