2017 F-150 SuperCrew Battles a Short Cab Hemi: Truckin’ Fast Wednesday

F-150 wins some and loses some, but for a bigger truck with a smaller engine, it puts up a great fight.

This week’s Truckin’ Fast Wednesday video comes to us from the Patman03spcrew YouTube channel and it features a 2017 Ford F-150 going head-to-head with a 2017 Ram 1500. Really, with the Ford being outfitted with the biggest configuration and the Ram being the smallest while also having a bigger, more powerful engine than the F-Series, it isn’t a fair fight. Fortunately, that doesn’t stop the Ford from grabbing a few wins against the Hemi-powered pickup.

The Competitors

The vehicle carrying the camera in the video above is a 2017 Ford F-150 SuperCrew with the 5.0-liter V8, a 10-speed automatic transmission and an open 3.15 rear gear. We do not know whether it is a four-wheel-drive truck, but with the traction issues, it is definitely being driven in rear-drive mode. This truck is stock, offering 385 horsepower and 387 lb-ft of torque.

The opposition is a 2018 Ram 1500 short cab, short bed, rear-drive truck with the 5.7-liter Hemi and the 8-speed automatic transmission. The V8 in this white truck delivers 395 horsepower and 410 lb-ft of torque, so it has more power, but it also has a traction advantage, thanks to the limited-slip 3.92 rear differential. This Ram is also smaller and lighter, so the Hemi-powered pickup has the advantage in just about every metric on paper.

The Racing Action

The racing begins with the two battling from a roll, starting at 25 miles per hour. The Ford jumps ahead at first, but the Ram pulls even and takes the lead, only to have the F-150 come back around for the win.

Next, they drag race from a dig and as both trucks struggle for traction, the Ford takes the early lead. As speeds build, the Ram appears to be closing, but it never gets even before the F-Series inches away just shy of 100 miles per hour.

After a botched roll race, the two half-ton trucks make a clean run from 50 to 105. On that run, the Ram got out to an early lead, but the Ford was gaining until it hit the speed governor at 105.

The video ends with another dig race, but this time, the F-150 spins the tires a ton while the Ram made use of the limited slip differential to get out to an early lead. That proved to be too big for the Ford to overcome, so the truck formerly known as a Dodge takes the final win of the video.

While the Ford doesn’t win every race in this video, it is an impressive outing for an F-150 that is bigger and heavier than the Ram while also having less power and an open differential. Crank up your speakers and enjoy!

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Patrick Rall

"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.

"Being based on Detroit," says Rall, "I never miss the North American International Auto Show, the Woodward Dream Cruise and Roadkill Nights, along with spending plenty of time raising hell on Detroit's Woodward Avenue with the best muscle car crowd in the world.

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