With Ford introducing the EcoBoost F-150 Raptor, we witnessed the end of an era. The end of the V-8 Raptor era. Some, however, weren’t exactly thrilled with it. At all. People wanted the Raptor V-8. Luckily, thanks to PaxPower, they’ve got it. The Houston-based company took the Ford F-150 V-8, slapped a supercharger to it, installed all OEM 2019 F-150 Raptor parts on it, and called it a deal. It is now up to me to compare the two, although, it seems that PaxPower did not leave me a lot to compare here. The PaxPower Raptor has all the bells and whistles as the real thing - only with far more power and better performance.

Exterior Comparison

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After all, PaxPower uses all the OEM parts to transform something like a stock Ford F-150 V-8 into a Raptor V-8. While this sounds rather simple, in reality, it is a bit of a pain in the ass to turn a stock F-150 V-8 into a Raptor. PaxPower goes through a complex process of transformation. As it reports on its website, the process is rather labor-intensive and time-consuming. The body conversion includes using OEM Raptor fenders, hood, bedsides, grille, fender flares, interior trim, and even the wheels. Of course, personalization is on offer here. PaxPower can make basically whatever you desire. But, most, I believe, desire the Ford F-150 Raptor V-8. As it turns out, the welding and the transformation is quite a process despite some of the OEM Raptor parts fitting perfectly on the F-150 Raptor.

So, what is to compare here then, if everything's the same?

You can choose everything - from the paint to swapping the wheels, installing a new exhaust system, adding graphic touches to your liking, integrating different lighting options, or nitpicking on some cool exterior details. While Ford Performance's offering can be rather rich in features and additional hardware, no one can match the imagination of the aftermarket. That may well be the biggest differing factor between the stock Ford F-150 Raptor EcoBoost and the PaxPower Ford F-150 Raptor V-8.

Interior Comparison

Now, this is where the 2019 Ford F-150 Raptor EcoBoost and the PaxPower Ford F-150 Raptor V-8 differ the most. While PaxPower offers some neat features for the inside of its conversed F-150 Raptor, the thing is that you can drive any V-8 powered Ford F-150 produced from 2015 to 2018 into the PaxPower driveway. PaxPower can do its magic to any one of them.

In the imagined perfect world of mine, I’d take the Ford F-150 Platinum V-8 with all the bells and whistles and ask PaxPower to transform the thing into a Raptor V-8 with a supercharger. Then, I’d enjoy all the important stuff like nice leather, a fine sound system, ambient lighting, power adjustable features throughout, genuine wood interior trim pieces, a “flow-through” center console, and the like.

Imagine having a Raptor rigged on top of the Platinum Ford F-150 V-8. Ok, I know all of this sounds a bit douchey. But c’mon, it is perfect!

Drivetrain and Suspension

In that regard, PaxPower offers the full Raptor treatment with the OEM Raptor parts. Actually, if you don’t need anything else besides suspension upgrades, PaxPower will rig your F-150 V-8 with Raptor suspension for $7,500.

That kind of money gives the F-150 V-8 access to stuff like the Fox SVT internal bypass shocks, “Raptor upper and lower control arms, springs, CV axles, tie rods, brake lines, leaf spring pack, mounts, bump stops, and hardware.”

All of this considerably changes the nature of the beast. Now, with the parts installed, the V-8 F-150 sports a suspension with 6 inches of suspension travel more compared with the stock model. The track width, on the other hand, is increased by 4 inches. Quite a bit. The truck stands higher too. Again, all of these parts are virtually the same as on the “real” F-150 Raptor, but the fact that you can order them and install them on your truck is quite impressive.

Even if you don’t opt for anything else, the F-150 will be far more capable.

But, the offerings for making a proper F-150 Raptor V-8 are plentiful. An additional $12,500 adds some things that fundamentally differ the PaxPower F-150 Raptor V-8 from the 2018 Ford F-150 Raptor. This is the price of the supercharger upgrade on the 5.0-liter.

Of course, adding a 2.9-liter Whipple twin-screw supercharger requires some other considerable changes. With the supercharger, PaxPower has to install:

-* 132mm billet throttle upgrade

-* New, high capacity air-to-water aluminum bar-plate intercooler with 2-gallon tank

-* High capacity heat exchanger with electronic pump

-* Self-contained oil system

-* All new fluids, chemicals and other.

The end result speaks for itself. The PaxPower Ford F-150 Raptor V-8 is rated at 758 horsepower. That is a lot more compared with the 450-ish horsepower of the Ford F-150 Raptor EcoBoost.

Obviously, the sound, the power delivery, performance, and the sheer spirit of the truck are completely different than that of the stock F-150 Raptor. This is, by far, the biggest and the most striking difference between the two.

If, however, you find the 395 horsepower of the N/A V-8 enough, you can choose any package you want - suspension conversion, or full conversion. Neither of these will get you the supercharger as it is a completely separate piece in this Raptor V-8 puzzle.

Price

You may have seen that I’ve been telling you somewhat about the prices. Let’s do some math!

In order for PaxPower to transform your Ford F-150 into something "Raptory", the Houston based company created three different packages.

-* Raptor Full Conversion- $25,000

-* Raptor Suspension Conversion - $7,500

-* Supercharger upgrade - $12,450

Remember, you still need a freaking Ford F-150 V-8 in the first place.

The stock Ford F-150 Raptor starts somewhere at $55,000, but the ones that sell go easily for 10+ grand more. What’s more, PaxPower reports that Raptors are usually sold for more than the MSRP. On the other hand, the V-8 Ford F-150 Platinum, for example, sells for less than the MSRP. That makes the conversion financially viable, as, apparently, those who’d like a V-8 Raptor would bring their V-8 powered F-150 Platinum for a conversion. Just what I wanted to do.

Conclusion

However, the PaxPower V-8 Raptor packs all the same gear but is garnished with something the Americans like the most - a V-8. A supercharged V-8 with 758 horsepower. So, which one is better? Honestly, I do not know, but I do know that the PaxPower Raptor V-8 has 300 reasons that make it better than stock Raptor from Ford.

Further Reading

Read our full review on the 2018 Ford F-150 Raptor.

Read our full review on the 2018 Ford F-150 Raptor V-8 PaxPower.

Read our full review on the 2018 Ford F-150.