| Popping the hoods on each player reveals clean installations that don’t appear to add a bunch of clutter to the engine bays. The Ford looks a little busier for the simple fact the grille rises with the hood and allows onlookers to see the air-to-air intercooler.
Bragging rights are a constant fought battle to determine where domination lies. Hardened warriors fight, claw, and kick trying to grasp for every inch of advantage. It's no big insider secret that Ford and General Motors have a decades-long brawl that will seem to rage on for decades more to come. With neither side showing any signs of faltering or wariness, we'll choose our side and watch the contest twist and turn through all the cheers and jeers. Not that any more competition is necessary between the two, but the thought of sending two gladiators into battle is an activity we just could not pass up.
| 1. Beginning with the '11 GMC, the preliminary trip across the dyno netted 332.12 hp at 5,650 rpm, with 344.85 lb-ft of torque coming in at 4,250 rpm.
With fairly consistent engine offering nearly identical displacements through the ages, the two have kept the gaps tight between the Blue Oval and the General faithful. Almost as if it was planned for each side's proponents to have some common ground to argue their finer points, the battle rages on for horsepower supremacy. For our test, we employed the help of ProCharger, a name well known to each player in the horsepower game and to admiring fans. What we came up with is a head-to-head face off comparing the supercharged versions of both Ford's and GM's new truck series 6.2L V-8 engines. ProCharger tested and recorded the stock powerplants on its in-house dyno before doing both intercooled supercharger installations. Once completed, it was back to the rollers for a final round of torture to sort out fact from fiction. In the blue corner we have the '11 Ford Raptor, and in the white corner we brought in a '11 GMC Sierra. Gloves up—let's fight!
| 17. Routing the piping from the ProCharger unit down to the intercooler took up some valuable space given to the ECM. Its new home was on the secondary battery tray.
| 18. Without missing a beat, the Ford Raptor was strapped down to have its numbers pulled. In stock form, it laid down 348.39 hp at 5,650 rpm with 369.49 lb-ft of torque at 4,550 rpm.
Results from the Dyno
Ford Before:
GMC Before:
348.39 hp at 5,650 rpm
332.12 hp at 5,650 rpm
369.49 lb-ft of torque at 4,550 rpm
344.85 lb-ft of torque at 4,250 rpm
Ford After:
GMC After:
517.54 hp at 5,750 rpm
477.25 hp at 5,950 rpm
481.38 lb-ft of torque at 5,450 rpm
430.92 lb-ft of torque at 5,550 rpm
Total Gain:
169.15 hp or plus 49%
145.13 hp or plus 44%
111.89 lb-ft of torque or plus 30%
86.07 lb-ft of torque or plus 25%
| 34. As was the case with the GMC, the Ford also received digital tuning from an SCT handheld program loaded with a tune designed by ProCharger.
| procharger Battle Ford Raptor Vs Gmc Sierra open Hoods
Our Honest Opinion
Well, what would a battle be without a little suspense? Right out of the gate, both trucks were worlds away from the original power levels. As long as some self-restraint was exercised, it could barely be determined that anything had happened to either truck. Noise levels under the hood were kept to a minimum and each vehicle could be driven without garnering the attention of any local peace officers. Of course, that just isn't any fun, so we stabbed at the throttle of both trucks mercilessly with grins that might still be stuck on our faces. Fun isn't even the word for it.
