Saleen F150 Lightning first look w/ Raptor front suspension & fenders + custom rear suspension and offroad tires

[AZT9]

I was actually at KoH (King of Hammers) on Wednesday for the Optima Unplugged. I was the only Lightning in a sea of Rivians lol. Saw this Saleen Lightning in person. It's definitely a Pro with vinyl seats. But has the lightbar added.

Talked to the Saleen guy.

It's got the front shocks/suspension from the raptor. Direct bolt on but needed a different sized axle.

The rear suspension was custom. The fenders were also from raptor. Nothing else done to the drivetrain.

Thanks for the info! Curious, could you tell or did they inform you of what they had to do to the fenders to fit the lightning? I’m strongly
Considering then as my lifted lightning has some wheel poke with the zero ofset wheels I added. Thanks!

 

[eRockBoon]

Thanks for the info! Curious, could you tell or did they inform you of what they had to do to the fenders to fit the lightning? I’m strongly
Considering then as my lifted lightning has some wheel poke with the zero ofset wheels I added. Thanks!

They are custom-molded raptor fender flares (2:10)... not sure how much "slightly" different means. I suspect it is just some minor shaving.

 

[Rancheroni]

How was the course in the Lightning ?
I was thinking about going to this but forgot all about it.

The course overall was more of a big loop around the general area. Very easy path, we didnt really tackle any big features. There were 3-4 stops in total, one on a small hill overlooking the main race track called Chocolate Thunder(?) Where the trophy trucks etc were competing on.. The other stops were at random campsites with product demos for igloo-looking tents, campstyle outdoor showers, ev dirtbikes, etc. It was a great intro to offroading and the KoH "town" in general. There were easily a thousand trailers sprawled out. It looked like a small mad max city in the desert akin to burning man. Giant monster trucks, crazy tricked out jeeps with 40" tires and insane suspensions, atvs, dirtbikes, Polaris SxS, etc all weaving around each other in coordinated chaos.

Overall tho, the lightning handled deep sand very well, sometimes bottoming out on deep ruts in the sand, but still able to drive through. Ground clearance was the biggest issue followed by wheelbase length. I had a few rocks scrape the skid plate but nothing major. The truck carried its momentum all the way, never did I feel like I was going to get stuck.

The lightning has really good grip on both deep sand and snow but anything resembling rock crawling and it's weaknesses start to show, mainly attributed to its low ground clearance. There were some areas with whoops and unevenness that would make the truck rock side to side. A little speed and it smoothened out the rocking. I think a softer suspension like the raptors would definitely improve the side to side motion. The e-locking diff did wonders for grip and the ability to gradually apply torque made getting up hills very easy.

I could tell the Rivians had higher ground clearance being behind them, because on the more rutted out areas the lightning was bellysliding on the soft sand in the middle. Those deep ruts were the only times I couldn't keep pace with the Rivians or the handful of wrangler 4xEs. There was also one model 3/Y and a VW ID4 promo car.

I was telling myself a 2" leveling kit for the front would make the perfect first mod and maybe some a aggressive tire to add another 1/2" of height. That would make it the perfect part time overlanding EV. At least to take you to and from the campsite. I was overall impressed although I wouldn't take the lightning back to KoH unless I added at least a leveling kit or taller tires.

After doing KoH I feel a 2" leveling kit would improve any light overlanding and also get rid of the ugly rake that it comes with from factory.

Probably leave the tires alone since range is a priority for me and it would take a hit with any type of A/T tire. Sorry for the long post. Here are some more pics from the day.

 

[F150ROD]

The Raptor R is a beast!! I wish Saleen would have used the ER as a starting platform.​

​

 

[vandy1981]

It needs a snorkle.

 

[CRAIGC540]

Thanks for the photos and info, looks like it was a fun time.

 

[Oneand0]

The course overall was more of a big loop around the general area. Very easy path, we didnt really tackle any big features. There were 3-4 stops in total, one on a small hill overlooking the main race track called Chocolate Thunder(?) Where the trophy trucks etc were competing on.. The other stops were at random campsites with product demos for igloo-looking tents, campstyle outdoor showers, ev dirtbikes, etc. It was a great intro to offroading and the KoH "town" in general. There were easily a thousand trailers sprawled out. It looked like a small mad max city in the desert akin to burning man. Giant monster trucks, crazy tricked out jeeps with 40" tires and insane suspensions, atvs, dirtbikes, Polaris SxS, etc all weaving around each other in coordinated chaos.

Overall tho, the lightning handled deep sand very well, sometimes bottoming out on deep ruts in the sand, but still able to drive through. Ground clearance was the biggest issue followed by wheelbase length. I had a few rocks scrape the skid plate but nothing major. The truck carried its momentum all the way, never did I feel like I was going to get stuck.

The lightning has really good grip on both deep sand and snow but anything resembling rock crawling and it's weaknesses start to show, mainly attributed to its low ground clearance. There were some areas with whoops and unevenness that would make the truck rock side to side. A little speed and it smoothened out the rocking. I think a softer suspension like the raptors would definitely improve the side to side motion. The e-locking diff did wonders for grip and the ability to gradually apply torque made getting up hills very easy.

I could tell the Rivians had higher ground clearance being behind them, because on the more rutted out areas the lightning was bellysliding on the soft sand in the middle. Those deep ruts were the only times I couldn't keep pace with the Rivians or the handful of wrangler 4xEs. There was also one model 3/Y and a VW ID4 promo car.

I was telling myself a 2" leveling kit for the front would make the perfect first mod and maybe some a aggressive tire to add another 1/2" of height. That would make it the perfect part time overlanding EV. At least to take you to and from the campsite. I was overall impressed although I wouldn't take the lightning back to KoH unless I added at least a leveling kit or taller tires.

After doing KoH I feel a 2" leveling kit would improve any light overlanding and also get rid of the ugly rake that it comes with from factory.

Probably leave the tires alone since range is a priority for me and it would take a hit with any type of A/T tire. Sorry for the long post. Here are some more pics from the day.

Thank you for your report and photos! Please post if you get the 2" lift. I'm concerned with the range also when camping.

 

[Blainestang]

Hmmm, been waiting for someone to give confirmation of activation of the Lightbar on a Pro (Forscan settings).

FYI, they just confirmed on Twitter that the lightbar does NOT work, yet.

But if they get it to work (they haven't tried that hard, yet, it sounds like), they'll probably do a video about it.

 

[eRockBoon]

Here is a new video from their time at KoH

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