Pit Stop for your High Performance Ambitions!

A few years ago I got the pleasure of meeting Greg Foutz at the 2014 North American International Auto Show. I got to see the new F-150 which was going to be made as an all aluminum body. He had just completed the Baja 1000 in the new aluminum body F-150 (cleverly disguised as a previous model). This not only tested the new aluminum body, but the new chassis and the new eco-boost engine. Pretty cool!

This past November, Ford Performance and Greg Foutz again participated in the Baja 1000 with the all-new 2017 Ford F-150 Raptor. They entered the F-150 Raptor into the stock class and raced across Mexico. This isn’t the first time Ford has raced a stock Raptor in the competition, but it is the first time a Raptor with an EcoBoost engine was run in this event. The twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter EcoBoost V-6 puts out 450 horsepower and 510 lb-ft of torque.

To make things even more interesting, Ford Performance put together a virtual reality (VR) video of clips and shots of the Baja race. The video allows you to navigate 360-degrees to view the action and at times ride along with the crew as they travel across the harsh course. Check out the video below using Google Chrome, Firefox or Opera. If you are on a tablet, you can follow it over to YouTube to view. Make sure to select HD!

Click for a full size copy.
The Ford GT is an awesome car. It truly is a marvel how it can be at home on the track and on the street.

Unfortunately the street can be a harsh environment for a performance car. Especially one that sits so low. GT owners have found that getting in and out of parking lots and up and down some hills (Seattle especially) can cause the rear diffuser to scrape and drag on the ground causing damage.

STILLEN has been involved from the beginning of this car in the form of racing and performance upgrades. STILLEN has designed a couple of different diffusers that will handle the abuse that the street can dish out. They have made a diffuser that is made from a durable urethane and provides optimum downforce as well. They have also made one that is the same size as the original as well. It is easy to install too. You can read about it on their website here.

Here are a couple of pictures to show how it is installed.

First we rack up the car and take off the rear lower pan and drill out the rivets holding on the original diffuser.

Here are the diffusers from STILLEN. They have small indents for markings on where to drill the holes and it also is formed with a slight indent so it slides into place perfectly.

Then we rivet the new pieces on and re-install the rear lower pan.