Ranger Raptor on Dyno + Turbo Upgrade

[Raptor Family]

Here the front end is finally all put back together. The Process West intercooler is huge and you can see a lot of silver behind the grill. I kind of went back and forth about the color, should I have got the black (for OEM, stealth look), or should I get the silver (it’s kind of grill bling). I went with the silver, and now that I see it on the truck, I like it. The grill casts a shadow and makes It very subtle at a distance, and unless you are very close and looking for it—you don’t notice it.

It’s hard to see, but on the grill just under the “R” in the Ford lettering is the Process West transmission cooler. I didn’t get a picture of the transmission cooler installation on my truck, but the second pic is a picture I took off the factory website. PW parts are very hi quality, The brackets and the mounting are just top-notch.

Before the haters flame me-yes, I put a Raptor “R” on the grill. After all the modifications and all the cost—I think she might be worthy of the “R”. And, besides, Ford made the engine code for the 3ltr twin turbo in the Ranger Raptor code “R”.

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[Slyder]

maybe I am missing something, but I don't see the valves.

They're there on the main pipe, but with everything all the same color they blend in.

If you look at pic#6 you can make one of them out right by the yellow hoist arm.

 

[Raptor Family]

In my case the dyno showed ~350whp stock, and went up to ~420whp after tuning, larger IC, and meth injection. I expect with the larger turbos you should get at least 450-460whp.

Our baselines are about the same. Mine was 346.5hp (I think in another post I listed it 10hp lower—right next to the dyno chart—duh, I goofed that one up). The turbos are advertised to give me about 18% more air flow? SPD Downpipes, maybe 20-30hp, low temp thermostat? Cold Air box, maybe 5-10hp (mainly from better, hi-flow air filter and getting rid of the 90degree “T” that feeds both turbos), Charge Pipes-aluminum—compared to factory radiator hope type piping? Tuning, maybe up to 150hp, Stage 2 intercooler, maybe 25hp. The intercooler actually does something else. The factory intercooler gets heat soaked. I’m in Texas where it is always hot. You can get on the boost hard for about 5 seconds and you can feel the power slowly fading away. On the Dyno, had to let cool between runs—not because of engine, because the intercooler was too hot.

I have a draggy (kind of a satellite based race timer for 0-60mph, 1/4 mile, etc). I made several runs in stock configuration at about 82degrees. Virtually every run I made had a decrease in the speed of acceleration (rate of change). Because I was in area with a few cars, and had to wait for traffic, I would have to drive around a bit between each run which cooled down the intercooler before each run. In looking at the graph below, the yellow line is the acceleration curve. It starts out a little low because of wheel spin. Then. It accelerates hard when boost starts coming on (which makes the little bump in the graph)—then, after a few seconds, it takes a straight line almost exponentially decreasing in the rate of acceleration. I didn’t measure it (intake charge temperature). But I’m pretty sure that hi heat temperature was coming out of the intercooler because it quickly became heat saturated when it was on Dyno. I have not yet seen these tests ran on our Ranger Raptors yet, but I have seen the exact thing on our brothers with almost the same engine as ours in the Explorer STs. It seems, here in the U.S. the Explorers have quite a bit more experience with making them go faster—from what I understand, our engines are almost the same with ours having a half a compression point more than they do. Learning from the “ST” boys, the intercoolers we have in both of our trucks are not made so much for performance as they are for cost. Our intercooler is also partially blocked by the radar sensor. So, I believe, we do get a substantial bump in hp from an aftermarket intercooler, but, more importantly, that bump, and the power continue upward as rpm’s increase.

The projected horsepower numbers you mention 450-460whp—are good, and fair. For all the money and effort i have put into this endeavor, I am hoping for more—about 100 more. Of course, I’ve been down this road before. I have had muscle cars with expensive built engines which dynoed out at the same hp our RRs came with stock. Aftermarket Parts advertisers always seem to calibrate their dynos different that the real world. I guess we will see. If everything goes as planned, my truck should be at the Tuner’s /dyno on Thursday. Fingers crossed!

 

[Ivan Baez]

I have cold air intake too, but that and the intercooler but that did not provide any gains at the dyno, only consistency on the whp levels run after run. My exhaust system is completely stock because I don't like excessively noisy exhausts, in my experience upgraded downpipes and so on give you a 10-20 hp gain approx.
I don't know how big the new turbos are, but usually a mild turbo increase gives you 20-30 whp if the car is already tuned.
Be aware that the ranger engine tends to ping when increasing the boost level even if you use 93 octane, due to its compression level, that's why I added the meth injection.
You would have to check also the ability of the truck to provide the additional fuel. I have read about some guys in australia reaching 600HP on the raptor, but they run on alcohol basically and had huge injectors, upgraded fuel pump, etc.

 

[Raptor Family]

I have cold air intake too, but that and the intercooler but that did not provide any gains at the dyno, only consistency on the whp levels run after run. My exhaust system is completely stock because I don't like excessively noisy exhausts, in my experience upgraded downpipes and so on give you a 10-20 hp gain approx.
I don't know how big the new turbos are, but usually a mild turbo increase gives you 20-30 whp if the car is already tuned.
Be aware that the ranger engine tends to ping when increasing the boost level even if you use 93 octane, due to its compression level, that's why I added the meth injection.
You would have to check also the ability of the truck to provide the additional fuel. I have read about some guys in australia reaching 600HP on the raptor, but they run on alcohol basically and had huge injectors, upgraded fuel pump, etc.

You didn’t gain any hp with the intercooler? That is usually part of the “secret sauce” to at least 100hp or more. Look at the Hennessy Velociraptor 500hp with tune and intercooler—that’s it. High intake air temps (IAT) is the enemy of a performance engine. We have to retard timing, lower boost, and increase octane. I think the rule is 1% hp gain per 6-10 degrees F of decreased IAT—that equals about 35hp for our trucks. Try checking the hose clamps on the charge pipes to turbo. A YouTuber named Jurgen Scott said his were finger tightened—I checked mine, and I honestly don’t know how the pipe actually stayed on under boost—let alone how much had to be leaking.
I don’t think the size of the turbo impellers is an apples to apples. The Garrett Powermax I believed are 41/44mm and the CRP’s are 41/50.9mm, and stock is 37.9/49
CRP advertises 475hp on 93octane 575hp on e85 blend. Garrett Powermax says 640hp on e50–which I believe later, the said it was closer to e40.

I’m curious about your meth injection, are you running an AEM or Snow kit? Meth juice, homebrew, or windshield washer fluid?

 

[Raptor Family]

You would have to check also the ability of the truck to provide the additional fuel. I have read about some guys in australia reaching 600HP on the raptor, but they run on alcohol basically and had huge injectors, upgraded fuel pump, etc.

I believe you are referencing the DSR group and Turbosmart down under. DSR added a big injector just in front of the intake manifold—which made our “Dry” intake manifold “”Wet”. Probably keeps the intake valves clean.

I’m looking more local. Nostrum makes an “X” series kit that comes with the Goliath Hipressure fuel pump, new DI injectors, stainless lines and adapters to fit our trucks. The kit is $5k and seems to be the only game in town. I cringe at that price, but it might be where I have to go next. I Dyno and tune this Thursday. I should know more then. If I make my target numbers, I think I’ll just drive it for a while. I need to get my suspension done next.

 

[schapstic]

I believe you are referencing the DSR group and Turbosmart down under. DSR added a big injector just in front of the intake manifold—which made our “Dry” intake manifold “”Wet”. Probably keeps the intake valves clean.

I’m looking more local. Nostrum makes an “X” series kit that comes with the Goliath Hipressure fuel pump, new DI injectors, stainless lines and adapters to fit our trucks. The kit is $5k and seems to be the only game in town. I cringe at that price, but it might be where I have to go next. I Dyno and tune this Thursday. I should know more then. If I make my target numbers, I think I’ll just drive it for a while. I need to get my suspension done next.

Keep us posted on the Dyno runs... Looking forward to seeing those numbers

 

[Goosetuned]

I believe you are referencing the DSR group and Turbosmart down under. DSR added a big injector just in front of the intake manifold—which made our “Dry” intake manifold “”Wet”. Probably keeps the intake valves clean.

I’m looking more local. Nostrum makes an “X” series kit that comes with the Goliath Hipressure fuel pump, new DI injectors, stainless lines and adapters to fit our trucks. The kit is $5k and seems to be the only game in town. I cringe at that price, but it might be where I have to go next. I Dyno and tune this Thursday. I should know more then. If I make my target numbers, I think I’ll just drive it for a while. I need to get my suspension done next.

The Nostrum X kit (I have that on my bronco raptor, the first to test it on a Braptor as per Nostrum) is only 7% bigger that their Stage 1 upgrade. It doesn't sound like you'd need it unless you plan to go for 'all of it'. At which point a trans, motor (eventually)...more important things will have to be done first.

 

[Goosetuned]

Process West Charge/Crossover Pipes installation. The red pipes really stand out and add some “pop” to the engine compartment.

Also installed is a Turbosmart blow-off valve. On the firewall, just to the left of the master cylinder, is a Red can. That is a IAG brand Air Oil Separator (AOS)— basically, it’s an oil catch can that is connected to the cooling system and heats the collected oil, removing the water, and returning the oil back to the crankcase. Supposed to be maintenance free, in that you don’t have to dump the oil, and should function in cold weather. We will see.

Good to see more AOS uses! We helped IAG develop that for all of the Ecoboost applications! It's the best unit on the market!

 

[Ivan Baez]

You didn’t gain any hp with the intercooler? That is usually part of the “secret sauce” to at least 100hp or more. Look at the Hennessy Velociraptor 500hp with tune and intercooler—that’s it. High intake air temps (IAT) is the enemy of a performance engine. We have to retard timing, lower boost, and increase octane. I think the rule is 1% hp gain per 6-10 degrees F of decreased IAT—that equals about 35hp for our trucks. Try checking the hose clamps on the charge pipes to turbo. A YouTuber named Jurgen Scott said his were finger tightened—I checked mine, and I honestly don’t know how the pipe actually stayed on under boost—let alone how much had to be leaking.
I don’t think the size of the turbo impellers is an apples to apples. The Garrett Powermax I believed are 41/44mm and the CRP’s are 41/50.9mm, and stock is 37.9/49
CRP advertises 475hp on 93octane 575hp on e85 blend. Garrett Powermax says 640hp on e50–which I believe later, the said it was closer to e40.

I’m curious about your meth injection, are you running an AEM or Snow kit? Meth juice, homebrew, or windshield washer fluid?

Hi, I dynoed the truck with the chip only and then with the intercooler and meth. I did not see any significant gains with the larger IC, the reason may be that the program I have from JB4 raises the boost only 5-6 psi, that may be not enough to raise the intake temps to a level that starts loosing power/efficiency. I do see the intake temps go down when the meth kicks in but this prevents detonation more than anything, and provides consistency run after run.

I will check the turbo clamps, thanks for the advise. My boost range spikes to around 16-18psi, then it goes down to 12-14psi sustained.

The big numbers achieved with turbo are usually with ethanol gasoline blends, as it allows for very aggresive timning and boost levels. with regular gas the gains are not as much.

keep us posted!

 

[Raptor Family]

Keep us posted on the Dyno runs... Looking forward to seeing those numbers

Schapstic, ME TOO. I want to see my own Dyno numbers. I’m really excited, but I’m trying not to be too excited. I hope I haven’t set an unrealistic goal—which I think is easy to do. I have my fingers crossed.

 

[Raptor Family]

The Nostrum X kit (I have that on my bronco raptor, the first to test it on a Braptor as per Nostrum) is only 7% bigger that their Stage 1 upgrade. It doesn't sound like you'd need it unless you plan to go for 'all of it'. At which point a trans, motor (eventually)...more important things will have to be done first.

Goosetuned,
I tried not to recreate the wheel. I found a few builders that I followed—such as yourself—you are running the X series. It seems most people that have went to the larger turbos have skipped from stage one straight to “X”. It’s about $1800 difference. Best I could tell from Nostrum’s literature, stage one to stage three goes from about 700hp to over 1200hp. Both are far more than I originally wanted of about 500whp or 600bhp—with a future topside capability. It seems we never have enough power. I suppose it could be fun to put a maximum effort tune on it for a day at the drag strip—but I don’t see that as being the norm. I also don’t really want to run blended e85–everybody I know that has done that, either drives a different car now, or has went back to a 93octane tune.
When you mentioned a new engine—eventually, I kind of laughed—not at blowing the engine, but because I already had googled “crate motor 25 Ranger Rapter”. I was surprised to see Ford Performance lists the 3.5ltr out of the F150 Raptor as a replacement (minus engine management) for $8500-$9000. I checked all that before I started putting all these power adders on—just in case.

With the transmission, I installed a 2qt Mishmoto aluminum pan, and the Process West auxiliary trans cooler—both to try and keep heat down—and maybe make it last longer. From what I understand, I’m in the power category of not if the transmission breaks, but when it breaks. I’ve looked at Suncoast’s cat3 trans kit—I am keeping it on the future mods list.

 

[Goosetuned]

Goosetuned,
I tried not to recreate the wheel. I found a few builders that I followed—such as yourself—you are running the X series. It seems most people that have went to the larger turbos have skipped from stage one straight to “X”. It’s about $1800 difference. Best I could tell from Nostrum’s literature, stage one to stage three goes from about 700hp to over 1200hp. Both are far more than I originally wanted of about 500whp or 600bhp—with a future topside capability. It seems we never have enough power. I suppose it could be fun to put a maximum effort tune on it for a day at the drag strip—but I don’t see that as being the norm. I also don’t really want to run blended e85–everybody I know that has done that, either drives a different car now, or has went back to a 93octane tune.
When you mentioned a new engine—eventually, I kind of laughed—not at blowing the engine, but because I already had googled “crate motor 25 Ranger Rapter”. I was surprised to see Ford Performance lists the 3.5ltr out of the F150 Raptor as a replacement (minus engine management) for $8500-$9000. I checked all that before I started putting all these power adders on—just in case.

With the transmission, I installed a 2qt Mishmoto aluminum pan, and the Process West auxiliary trans cooler—both to try and keep heat down—and maybe make it last longer. From what I understand, I’m in the power category of not if the transmission breaks, but when it breaks. I’ve looked at Suncoast’s cat3 trans kit—I am keeping it on the future mods list.

Got it, that's a very solid plan you have.

With DI fueling one can go down the rabbit hole of 'over-fueling' the car quickly. If 500whp is your goal (is it still your goal?), then you can do that with a lot less fuel, and keep some money in your pocket.

These Nano motors are incredibly strong, so one would have to be irresponsible to break one of these on even these Garrett turbos.

As far as the trans, if torque isn't kept down you can smoke clutches easily.

Do you offroad much?

 

[Raptor Family]

With DI fueling one can go down the rabbit hole of 'over-fueling' the car quickly. If 500whp is your goal (is it still your goal?), then you can do that with a lot less fuel, and keep some money in your pocket.

Is 500whp still my goal? I would say Minimum goal. Thats 500 at the wheels, after all parasitic and drivetrain losses. That would translate to about 600 SAE net, BHP or at the crank.

Do you offroad much?

I barely have 3k miles on the truck. Out of the 3 months I’ve had it, it has spend over a month in several shops; detail shop getting Ceramic Coated, and Paint Protection Film (PPF), Texasmotorworx getting intercooler, Charge pipes, Down pipes, Cold air, and Turbo upgrade, installed, and Stanghi, getting Dyno and engine tuning. It is soon to go back again to get some suspension work. My truck hasn’t even seen a mud puddle yet. I haven’t even driven it in the rain yet.

 

[Goosetuned]

Got it! I got your PM too, just haven't had the time to go over it!

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