Good Morning Chaps
First Off - I don’t know how long I can keep this in the M5 Forum - But I am comparing my new ride to the beast - so might as well give it a try
Some of you may remember a little friendly competition I ran a month or so back. I deiced not to trade in my 00 beast for a 03 and as such diverted the cash to a new toy. I gave various clues and after about a week or so one of our esteemed members, Mr. KRM5 who deduced correctly (even after a little disinformation) that my new baby was going to be the 2003 Ford F-150 Supercrew Harley-Davidson Anniversary edition. He is still waiting for his prize of a nice model of the new baby – but they haven’t come out yet.
So here are the pics – and below them (sorry for the large files) are my first impressions after a day of driving.
ENJOY!!
So here are my first impressions
1) Appearance - I love the look of the truck - it turned heads every second I was in it - just sitting in traffic I was getting thumbs up from young and old - I mostly noticed people starting at the rims and then looking at the stripe and emblems which are HUGE. I am not used to such attantion because i love the stealth factor of the M5 - but i will just have to get used to it
2) Ride Quality - This is my first truck or any vehicle that weighs over 4100 pounds but I was very impressed with the ride quality and handling - to be honest it is tough to compare a truck with 20" meets and a massive curb weight to my M5 since they are vastly different beasties, but I am very familiar with the roads that I took it on last night and never felt that I would loose the truck or that it complained at all - HOWEVER, I was being very chill behind the wheel - it will take me time to get used to the size, weight and wheelbase of the beast - I wouldn’t call it a point and shoot vehicle but overall I was most impressed with the handling and ride quality
3) Performance - the sound of the pipes and S/C are an intoxicating deep gugle- I am observing a self set run-in period, so i have not done anything crazy yet but i was forced to make a quick lane change and get arround an idoit who cut me up and as i put my foot down the bloody thing just kicked me right in the chest and almost flung me in the back all of a sudden I was at 85, from 45 - A verry differnt type of Brute Forse than the M5 - i am still not to sure how to compare the two - the two engins are vastly diferent - Our beloved M5 has one of the most advanced powerplants out there - the truck is jsut a big block and a S/C - it has the same engin as the F-150 Lightning -but has a slightly smaller S/C pulley thus yielding 360 instaed of 380 HP - A mere 425 lbs-ft torgue boots this beast down the road
4) Interior – (DOH – FORGOT THE PICS – SO i nicked one from Ford) Originally I was rather skeptical about the 2-Tone (silver and black) but after having seen it in person last week I was sold - it is classy - not to in your face and has a nice finish to it - the Anniversary emblems on the consoles are great and the seat emblems could be bigger but I still think they are great. I had one of the doors open at one point during my night ride and the cabin lights were on, I noticed how great the interior looks and matches the truck when looking from outside. Due to the size of the cabin, seats and doors, it doesn’t look overdone in any way – I am very impressed
5) Road Noise – again, not ever really driving a vehicle such as this I had little else to compare it to other than the M5. Having said that everyone knows that the M5 is not the quietist car on the road – We are sitting 2 feet being a 5 liter V8 with a big *** tranny and quad pipes – it is a loud car with a very distinctive hum to it –. Basically I felt that the interior of the cab was very well insulated – I have a suspicion that the both my car and truck produce the same decibel levels but from different areas. The only real noise I head in the cabin was wind noise – well it is a truck and it does have a HUGE front end. At normal speeds I barely heard the engine or the pipes – I didn’t even try out the radio (which will be a paper weight soon after my system gets installed) because I wanted to listen for the engine. I found myself straining to hear anything at about 50mph. I am very impressed. However – Perhaps after indulging myself a little too much in the M5 I am just used to the noise of a crazy car. My 2 cars before the M5 were LEXUS(I) and where whisper quiet regardless of how indulgent I was – so it is tough to compare the rig to a normal car.
6) Visibility – WOW what a difference big mirrors, a huge rear window, and ZERO blind spots makes – I could see everything – I enjoy being above the traffic and seeing the traffic ahead as opposed to just the bloody minivan in front – I can plan my lane use so much better and as such can avoid thing much quicker. I always check over my shoulder when changing lanes (a habit from bike riding) and I have to strain to see round the pillars in the M5 but the truck has massive amounts of visibility – Very happy here – I was worried that I would be more blind due to its size but I can see far more..
7) Driving presence – AGAIN - what a difference driving a huge truck makes – people actually got out of my way – just by appearing at a bend people backed off and didn’t jump into my lane – I felt safer since I was more visible – AGAIN something to worry about when being on a bike. The truck has an automatic defensive presence – that one thing less I have to worry about.. COOL
Issues to worry / get used to
1) PARKING – dam it took me 30 min to squeeze the truck in to my parking spot at home – the space isn’t really the problem, its just getting used to how much I can turn and where the bumpers are – I ordered a parking sensor but it wasn’t in stock so I had to wait. It is a hidden unit and fits under the bumper – I am seriously considering install one in the front as well cause I just cant see where the truck really ends up front – I would rather spend the cash on the parking assist than a new valance which is BLOODY LOW!!
2) Light / Loose Rear –U would think that 20” meets have traction but not when they are hardly under any load at all – at a stop sign on a bend at the top of a hill with 100 feet of my drive way the I didn’t even give it any more gas than would be necessary to move and the rears started spinning – I have to watch out for that – or put a couple of sand bags in the back or go from a soft cover to a hard cap for added weight – but I don’t really want to have to worry about removing a 400 pound cover if I need the bed.. HMMMMMMMM
3) Washing – BLIMEY it took me 3 times as long to just give the truck the once over – from start to finish I was busy for about 3 hours – ok it’s a long time but I do a very careful and detailed job – I take my time and do it in stages – but just walking around the truck took time – and drying the bed was an added time consumer that I originally didn’t consider..
4) Front damage from stones etc… Well it has a big front end and the roads around here suck so I am seriously considering the various types of film (stone guard etc,) that can be cut to fit around the front end and mirrors of the truck – in 10 days or so I will wax the car and then investigate what the best type of product and company to go for – A buddy of mine runs a detailing house and does the services I am considering so I will have a sit down with him and work it out – I will let u all know what I come up with
I could grumble about turning radius but I was rather impressed and like I said when people saw me maneuvering they got out of my way – so I didn’t have to do it too quickly and risk anything stupid.
So that’s it chaps – 100 miles or so of driving and I am in love – I even parked it in the M5 spot for now (because its much easier to get in and out of than my other spot) but I will work something out before my other beast gets jealous.
So less chat – more driving for me (just not in the snow that we are getting right now
Sorry about the long post and the big pics...
See u out there
M5Mark
My New Baby Vs My M5 Beast With pics (Long+Large Files)
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Or are there intake/exhaust differences between the trucks as well?
Linear Mode
