Found a Raptor 2012 (one owner)6.2L with 175 k miles. It has a Whipple Supercharged and Icon suspension upgrade for $25k. Are Whipple Supercharged reliable? Or a money pit ? That’s why owner trade it in ? What do I need to look out for? I know those cost around $7k plus installation. Icon suspension are around $4-5k. Carfax have decent maintenance done on the truck. Should I just pull the trigger and wire to the dealer a deposit of $500 and just buy site on seen? It might not be around at that price?Or should I wait and fly in for a test drive first? Dealer have great reviews. If that helps…lol
If the supercharger has been in use since day one, you’re likely looking at either a rebuild or replacement, assuming it’s even still producing boost at this point.
I have a 2012 model with 155,000 miles and a 2.9 Whipple supercharger tuned for 600 horsepower, and I’ve never had any issues. It’s important to ask when the supercharger was installed and when the supercharger oil was last changed. If it was installed from the beginning and hasn’t been changed, I would steer clear. However, if the oil was changed within the last 75,000 miles and the rest of the maintenance is in good shape, I’d consider buying it, but try to negotiate a lower price.
I have a 2011 Roush supercharged truck. I collaborated with a racing shop to create a custom tune for my vehicle, where the tuner went to Roush and Ford to determine the optimal settings. Essentially, 8 psi of boost (600 hp) is the maximum recommended for that engine. The shop also had several Raptors with Whipple superchargers that were tuned for 700 hp by a different tuner, and those engines experienced detonation. I wouldn’t purchase one from a dealer without having the engine thoroughly inspected.
Generally speaking … modified translates to buyer beware … probably taking on a ticking time bomb.
Request to have it thoroughly checked out at a reputable Ford dealer. I looked at a Gen I Raptor with a Roush supercharger that had some issues—not with the supercharger itself, but it had noticeably less power than expected, even without the supercharger. It turned out that about six of the 16 coils were faulty, which was the cause of the problem. Also, I personally wouldn’t recommend getting a Gen I supercharged with a short cab (26-gallon tank) because you’d be stopping for gas every 2.5 hours on the highway.
I think Iam over my head with this one. I will contact the dealership and ask for more information on maintenance on the Whipple oil change ever done. Not sure they have information. Carfax really don’t tell the whole story of maintenance. Dealers usually don’t keep any records.