F-150 has a cold air intake, an aftermarket muffler and a tune, but it is otherwise stock.
Today’s Ford F-150 pickups are stronger, quicker and faster than ever. While the EcoBoostengines get the majority of the marketing attention, the 5.0-liter V8 makes the half-ton F-Series pickup a great work horse, but in stock form, a newer F-150 will run the quarter mile in the mid-14-second range. More importantly, with simple modifications, the V8-powered Ford trucks are as quick as many modern performance cars.
The video above comes to us from the YouTube channel of Jeebs ACR and it shows how much quicker a new V8 F-150 can get with three basic, common upgrades. Frankly, the results are stunning.
Tuned Ford F-150
The details are short, but we know that the 2018 Ford F-150 in the video above is powered by the 5.0-liter V8. In stock form, this engine produced 395 horsepower and 400 lb-ft of torque, with that power being sent towards the wheels by means of a 10-speed automatic transmission and an advanced four-wheel-drive system. In looking around this YouTube channel, we found that when this truck was stock, it ran a 14.4 in the quarter mile.
This time, the truck is not stock, but it isn’t heavily modified, either. The owner has added an aftermarket muffler that adds more sound than power. There is also an aftermarket cold air intake and an engine tune, but we don’t know who what brand of intake or who handled the tuning work. However, it is clear that whoever tuned this V8-powered pickup knew what they were doing, as the results are impressive.
It should be noted that this F-150 is running on the stock wheels and tires, making the entire run in four-wheel-drive mode.
Running Low-13s
The video above shows this tuned F-150 making a run at Grand Bend Motorsport Complexin Canada. Thanks to the four-wheel-drive system, the driver is able to launch this truck hard when the green lights drop, even with the stock all-season tires. After the big launch, the driver just has to keep the hammer down through the top end lasers and he does, stopping the clock with a time of 13.2 at 106 miles per hour.
While we have certainly featured quicker Ford F-150 pickups, the key point here is that this truck basically has a cold air intake and a tune, and it is running in the low-13-second range. In other words, if you have a newer F-150 with the 5.0-liter V8, an intake and a tune will allow you to run with most of today’s performance cars at the drag strip.
"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.
"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.
"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.
"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.
"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.
