The Fast Lane Truck Compares Falcon-Equipped Ford F-150 to Stock F-150 & F-150 Raptor

The crew over at The Fast Lane Truck flew out to the Falcon Shocks headquarters just outside Salt Lake City, Utah to compare the Falcon Shocks-equipped 2018 Ford F-150 SuperCrew against its stock counterpart as well as the mighty Ford F-150 Raptor. Host Andre Smirnov evaluated the trucks in towing as well as high-performance off-road driving.

The stock F-150 and Falcon F-150 are powered by the automaker’s 375-hp/470 lb-ft twin-turbo 3.5-liter EcoBoost V-6, while the F-150 Raptor is powered by the High-Output 3.5-liter EcoBoost making 450 hp and 510 lb-ft.

Andre noted a similar trailer sway behavior while towing with the stock 2018 F-150 XLT and 2017 F-150 Raptor. Before heading out in the Falcon F-150, Paul Cox, Falcon Chief Technology Officer (CTO), explains the benefits of the Falcon Sport Leveling System during towing. With the 7,000-lb trailer hooked up to the Falcon F-150 and the rear Falcon shocks set to the firmest setting, Andre noticed more control with no side-to-side motion than in the previous trucks.

During the off-road testing, Andre was able to hit a maximum speed of 40 mph with an average speed of 25-30 mph in the stock F-150. He was impressed with the stock truck saying the truck is still listening to what he is telling it to do but didn’t feel as much connection to the road.

Next, he hopped in the Raptor with the electronics set in “Baja” mode. Andre was impressed with the Raptor saying it just floats over the bad road thanks to 13” of travel in the front and 13.9” travel in the rear. Although he averaged 35 mph over the same course, he still felt a disconnect from the surface.

Andre was able to maintain the same speed in the Falcon F-150 as he did in the Raptor saying he felt more connected to the surface which gave him more confidence and control during the high-speed off-road driving.

Check out the video below for all of Andre’s driving impressions in the three variants of the Ford F-150 pickup.