Reply to "180s on the street – does it make sense?"

Kelly Coffield!

Here's a video featuring a Ford powered Trophy Series desert race truck with an 8 into 1 system. Listen to the whine compared to the rumble of the other truck in the video.

video: Team Enduro Racing, Dan Smith & Dave Ashley

Details:
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When Enduro Racing made the decision to develop a new truck, it became a question of starting from scratch, or utilizing existing technology. The simple solution came in the form of a "Baja Truck" chassis from Bill Savage.

Originally designed as a "spec truck" to compete with Ivan Stewart's Protruck series, the idea floundered and never got off the ground. But.....the chassis design, tubular chro-moly steel, was well suited to use as a basis for a Trophy Truck. As several had been partially assembled, but never finished, Enduro Racing seized the opportunity, put the money down, and began construction of the vehicle you see before you.

Drivetrain

When Toyota unleashed it's 4 valve Lexus / Tundra engine on the Trophy Truck world in 1997, a new sound was heard across the desert. It was apparently heard all the way back to Dearborn as well, because Ford wasted little time designing a 4 valve head for the 5.4 Triton engine based on the DOHC 4.6 Cobra.

While the off road community believed the days of the factory sponsored racer were over, the reality is the factories merely lowered their profile. Unless the politically correct climate in the US changes, we won't be seeing "Ford Rough Riders 2" any time soon, but the fact remains - there's nothing like a desert race to torture test your equipment.

Committing a reported $180,000 to the cylinder head program alone, Ford continues it's R&D work with Enduro Racing in several areas. As in the E4OD days, Ford Powertrain is testing and developing the electronically shifted 6 speed automatic in the desert, and the results of the lessons learned there will soon be finding their way into your dealers showroom.

Specs on the 4 valve 5.4 are suspiciously hard to come by, but here's what we know. The mighty mill is rumored to develop close to 700 hp, with power coming in hard over 5500 RPM. Grinned Dave Ashley "You gotta' drive it like a 125 dirt bike".

That free breathing high RPM power comes in part from the 4 valve heads, fed through a monstrous cast plenum - F1 style intake, twin SVO throttle bodies, and a grille inducted "Ram Air" system. With all the plumbing kept underhood, the F-150 retains a remarkably "stock" looking appearance. (Well, compared to other Trophy Trucks anyway)

Spent gasses are fed through a unique 8 into 1 collector and a high mounted canister style muffler. Combined with a 6 inch outlet, the 5.4 DOHC engine sounds much more like that of a Formula 1 car than of a 5000 pound desert truck.
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-G