RUNVS?
Member
Having owned a 2001 Lightning from 2001-2016, I really grew fond of owning a fast, show-worthy truck. After 15 years, I sold my Lightning to a guy from Riverside, CA in September 2016 and I went through four years of street truck withdrawals before I got back into the game.
In July of 2020, the regular cab, short bed, F-150 XL Sport pictured below was special ordered through Beechmont Ford in Cincinnati, OH. It was built at the Kansas City assembly plant, then shipped to Beechmont's Special Vehicle Team, which is where the magic performance transformation took place.
The Beechmont technicians stripped off the original Coyote V8 intake and induction system, then replaced it with a Whipple 2.9 liter Gen IV supercharger, NGK iridium spark plugs, 55 lb. injectors, a 3-gallon heat exchanger, and a hi-volume fuel pump / regulator. Tuning was performed with Whipple's Tomahawk R6 programmer and as advertised, the motor produced 725 horsepower and 660 lb/ft torque. Since taking delivery in September 2020, I have changed out the 4.00-inch blower pulley for a 3.75-inch pulley. The 4-incher provided 10 lbs. of boost, whereas the 3.75 pumps it up to 12 lbs.... or 13 lbs. when the ambient air temperature drops below 55 degrees. That said, power output is now in the 770 HP / 700 TQ range.
Not only do I have to run 93 octane unleaded in it all the time, I also throw in a 32 oz. can of Torco Accelerator with every 20 gallons, which provides 98 octane in the tank.... just to be safe. The CPU programming is closed loop, so it constantly adjusts for fuel octane and quality. The better the fuel, the more aggressive the tune. A/F ratios are typically 14.2 at cruising speed and 11.3 at WOT.
I chose to keep my truck's appearance as tame and docile as possible. No fancy wheels, paint, or graphics. It even has the factory, whisper quiet, single-exit exhaust that adds to the sleeper effect. If it weren't for the UnderCover hard tonneau, 2-inch drop shackles, BedRug bedliner, and ceramic window tint, it could easily be mistaken for your everyday landscape work truck. I've also added a pair of 265/65/17 Michelin radials in the back (1-inch wider than stock). The wheels are Ford's generic 6-spoke silver painted aluminum F-150 wheels.
The truck is very comfortable and runs smooth and extremely quiet, until you hit the gas hard...then all hell breaks loose. 0-60 in 3.7 seconds, 0-100 in 8.6 seconds, and as delivered, quarter mile times in the low-mid 11s at over 120 MPH. It will hit 100 MPH amazingly fast for a 4,160 lb. truck and it just keeps pulling well past 120.
I like to think of this truck as a Shelby Super Snake F-150 without all the fancy Shelby gear, or the $105,000 price tag. As a matter of fact, this one cost less than half of what a Shelby F-150 would run and the drivetrains are identical. No, it doesn't have a 1000 watt sound system, 10 speakers, powered high-back bucket seats, metallic paint, chrome wheels, performance exhaust, or a numbered Shelby plate on the dash. And no, it doesn't have the cool "wow" factor that a Shelby F-150 brings with it. However, I did not find those things to be worth an extra $57,000, so this is what I ended up with.... and I couldn't be more pleased.
In July of 2020, the regular cab, short bed, F-150 XL Sport pictured below was special ordered through Beechmont Ford in Cincinnati, OH. It was built at the Kansas City assembly plant, then shipped to Beechmont's Special Vehicle Team, which is where the magic performance transformation took place.
The Beechmont technicians stripped off the original Coyote V8 intake and induction system, then replaced it with a Whipple 2.9 liter Gen IV supercharger, NGK iridium spark plugs, 55 lb. injectors, a 3-gallon heat exchanger, and a hi-volume fuel pump / regulator. Tuning was performed with Whipple's Tomahawk R6 programmer and as advertised, the motor produced 725 horsepower and 660 lb/ft torque. Since taking delivery in September 2020, I have changed out the 4.00-inch blower pulley for a 3.75-inch pulley. The 4-incher provided 10 lbs. of boost, whereas the 3.75 pumps it up to 12 lbs.... or 13 lbs. when the ambient air temperature drops below 55 degrees. That said, power output is now in the 770 HP / 700 TQ range.
Not only do I have to run 93 octane unleaded in it all the time, I also throw in a 32 oz. can of Torco Accelerator with every 20 gallons, which provides 98 octane in the tank.... just to be safe. The CPU programming is closed loop, so it constantly adjusts for fuel octane and quality. The better the fuel, the more aggressive the tune. A/F ratios are typically 14.2 at cruising speed and 11.3 at WOT.
I chose to keep my truck's appearance as tame and docile as possible. No fancy wheels, paint, or graphics. It even has the factory, whisper quiet, single-exit exhaust that adds to the sleeper effect. If it weren't for the UnderCover hard tonneau, 2-inch drop shackles, BedRug bedliner, and ceramic window tint, it could easily be mistaken for your everyday landscape work truck. I've also added a pair of 265/65/17 Michelin radials in the back (1-inch wider than stock). The wheels are Ford's generic 6-spoke silver painted aluminum F-150 wheels.
The truck is very comfortable and runs smooth and extremely quiet, until you hit the gas hard...then all hell breaks loose. 0-60 in 3.7 seconds, 0-100 in 8.6 seconds, and as delivered, quarter mile times in the low-mid 11s at over 120 MPH. It will hit 100 MPH amazingly fast for a 4,160 lb. truck and it just keeps pulling well past 120.
I like to think of this truck as a Shelby Super Snake F-150 without all the fancy Shelby gear, or the $105,000 price tag. As a matter of fact, this one cost less than half of what a Shelby F-150 would run and the drivetrains are identical. No, it doesn't have a 1000 watt sound system, 10 speakers, powered high-back bucket seats, metallic paint, chrome wheels, performance exhaust, or a numbered Shelby plate on the dash. And no, it doesn't have the cool "wow" factor that a Shelby F-150 brings with it. However, I did not find those things to be worth an extra $57,000, so this is what I ended up with.... and I couldn't be more pleased.
