Big off-road tires don’t stop F-150 from putting on a hell of a smoke show.
The Ford F-150 Raptor is arguably the greatest performance truck that the Motor Company has ever offered, with the current version delivering 450 horsepower and 510 lb-ft of torque from the 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6. Based on track times, fans of the SVT Lightning might insist that the street truck from the early-2000s is better in certain situations, but in terms of overall performance, the Raptor is basically unrivaled.
In this week’s “Tire Smokin’ Tuesday” video from the Hoonedup YouTube channel, a first generation Raptor shows that big, aggressive off-road tires don’t stop this half-ton from doing a drag strip-worthy burnout.
The Original Raptor
There are no details on the Ford F-150in action in the video above, but we know from the exterior styling that it is from the first generation of the famed off-road truck. We can also see the 6.2-liter badges on the doors, so we know that this half-ton Ford came from the factory with 411 horsepower and 434 lb-ft of torque. That seems like more than enough power to do a proper burnout, but this Raptor is wearing a set of fairly large off-road tires and in some cases, that makes burnouts a bit less impressive.
Fortunately, that is not the case with this rugged F-150, as the big tires prove to be no problem.
We have featured this particular F-150 before, when the owner was sliding around in the mud, doing the types of things that most Raptor owners do. This time, the truck is on the pavement, although it is dirty enough to make it clear that it has recently been involved in some mudding fun.
The video begins right as the driver climbs into the throttle, with the back tires spinning just a little as the off-road suspension allows the back end to bounce. At first, it looks like this might be a burnout fail, but once the driver gets the rear end settled down, an insane smoke show begins. Smoke rolls off of the rear tire that we can see and within a few seconds, the cloud is traveling down the empty road as the V8 roars.
The burnout is short, lasting a little over 10 seconds, but for a short burnout, this Raptor puts on a terrific show that would make any Lightning owner proud.
"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.
