Mustangs Gallop with Insanely-tuned F-150 at the Drag Strip

By Derek Shiekhi - October 16, 2019

Does a 2018 F-150 SuperCrew with a tune and a tank full of E85 fuel have the power and traction to break into the 12s?

Ford hasn’t made an F-150 Lightning in roughly 15 years. Since that went out of production, various companies such as Roush and Saleen have made their own fast F-150s. Other tuning shops and individual owners have used laptops and elbow grease to put more power into and squeeze better performance out of Ford’s perennial favorite, too.

In one of his latest videos, Andrew Sheridan of the popular YouTube channel Mustang Lifestyle takes his modified 2018 F-150 SuperCrew to the Orlando Speed World Dragway to see if it can pull off a 12-second quarter-mile pass. It has several things working in its favor, including the ability to run on E85 fuel, a tune, a cold air intake, and the intake manifold from the Shelby GT350 Mustang. According to Sheridan, “The truck is ripping. The shifting is amazing.”

His first run down the strip is against a Fusion Sport (that’s probably been upgraded in one way or another). Sheridan calls it a “low-13, high-12 car.” Whatever it happens to be, it doesn’t seem to be faster than the F-150 with its rear locker engaged. Sheridan appears to leave it behind, scoring a time of 13.5 seconds at 105 mph.

Like any drag strip in the country, the Orlando Speed World Dragway gets its share of Ford Mustangs vying for low times and high trap speeds. Those range from a highly modified Fox body to a brilliant silver classic fastback to the S197 that Sheridan races. On the outside, it rocks a big front splitter, an American flag theme, black fender flares, and a massive rear wing. Under the hood, it has a built “3-valve [V8] with a Roush blower,” according to Sheridan.

Sheridan is a little too eager to race the modded Mustang and gets a red light for starting too early. Once he gets moving, he takes an early lead, but the Mustang quickly closes the gap and ends up first with a time of 12.76 seconds at 112 mph. Sheridan loses the match while managing to drop his quarter mile time to 13.39 seconds; his trap speed stays steady at 105.

Sheridan’s fastest pass of the night is against a Viper that doesn’t finish its run for some reason. By the time Sheridan crosses the line alone, the lights show a time of 13.17 seconds and a speed of 106 mph.

When Sheridan lines up for his last blast down the strip, he finds himself next to another tuned F-150. That’s where the similarities end. There’s a huge difference in how they perform. Sheridan’s test truck completes the quarter mile in 13.36 seconds going 106 mph. His rival is more than 0.75 seconds and seven mph slower.

Sheridan may not have nailed down the 12-second pass he was looking for, but he knows that that just means there’s room for improvement. And he knows exactly how to make those changes: run during better weather with less fuel and no full-size spare tire weighing the truck down. Those adjustments should do the trick. Beyond those, Sheridan has plans for long-tube headers and a blower. Forget lightning. Those mods will leave his rivals feeling thunderstruck.