“The Kings of the F-150”
Velocity Parts & Performance sat down for an interview with That Racing Channel (TRC) to talk shop. Russell Guerrera has been working on F-150s for a long time now. It started with his very own 2001 Ford Lightning, but his roots date back to his formative years, tinkering around with RC cars and making them faster.
He brought the same energy into his car, modifying and tuning it to go faster. He did work at NASA at one point in his life, but because he was so good at tuning trucks, he ended up making it his full-time job.
Right now, Velocity Parts & Performance sits at the top of the heap when it comes to F-150 tuning. Whether it’s a track or drag setup, they know what they’re doing, with some of their builds running upwards of 1,500 horsepower.
Tuning Trucks
The Ford F-150 is America’s favorite full-size pickup truck. At some point, it was Ford’s cash cow, selling every second. The fact that it sold so well means there is a ripe aftermarket for parts and a huge base of owners who are looking to get more out of it. On its own, a base F-150 makes about 325 horsepower from its 2.7-liter twin-turbo EcoBoost V6, and more extreme versions of the pickup make about 720 horsepower with a supercharged V8.
The middle-of-the-road option is probably one of the most common setups encountered. The 3.5-liter twin-turbo EcoBoost V6 makes 400 horsepower on its own and 430 horsepower with the Hybrid system. These numbers are already good right out of the box, but that hasn’t stopped shops like Velocity from going up to 1,000 horsepower or more with a couple of adjustments and parts.
What’s more impressive is that, depending on the power and torque goals, the stock 10-speed automatic transmission can take a serious beating, according to Velocity. Transmissions can often fail when pushed to the limit. Some gearboxes hold up well to abuse, while others don’t fare as well. Luckily, you don’t have to get a new unit to crank up the boost.
Fast Trucks
What’s even crazier is that they’ve done some pretty ridiculous builds for others. Some builds go from 60 to 130 miles per hour in less than three seconds, and there’s one truck that is so fast that they had to blur out the 60-130 mph times.
As far as knowledge goes, Velocity is the one shop to go to for F-150s, and it’s not just engine tuning but also carbon parts like splitters, mirror caps, and other body kits. It might be odd to ask for a body kit for the F-150 from other shops, but Velocity’s got you covered.
Â
