If you want your new pickup truck to really haul, but you want to keep things on the up and up, Whipple Superchargers has a compelling new upgrade. The company recently released its supercharger system for the 2018 F-150 with the 5.0-liter engine and it carries a California Air Resources Board Executive Order, which means it’s street legal in all 50 states.
“The EO was very difficult, it took countless hours in the lab to get the calibration work just right while maintaining OEM-type standards,” Dustin Whipple, Vice President of Whipple Superchargers, told us. “I believe having the EO means everything to this market. We are the first to market on the F-150 and the first to have a legal kit for F-150 and Mustang. That shows how well we can design, test, calibrate and build a Ford-based supercharger system…”
That latest supercharger system is based on the Gen 3 blower, which features a higher-flowing case design filled with more efficient rotors. The result is a unit that makes more power from the same displacement as its 2.9-liter predecessor. Of course, a better blower is only as good as its tuning on a modern engine.
The F-150 drives like stock when not demanding extra power, but has incredible tip-in torque that puts you in the back of the seat. — Dustin Whipple, Whipple Superchargers
“Our calibration is unlike normal aftermarket calibrations. With our ability to rewrite Ford software, we program in supercharger code. The factory PCM is designed for naturally aspirated function, therefore it doesn’t have the tables needed to properly calibrate the vehicle,” Dustin explained. “We add in supercharger flow tables, bypass tables, IAT 2 tables, safety features and many other functions for a better overall experience. This allows us to have accurate torque control, as the PCM is torque based and requires accurate torque.”
“The F-150 has a speed-density system, which is far more difficult to calibrate versus previous applications. We believe it’s nearly impossible to do with aftermarket controls,” Dustin added. “We test from -20 to 120 degrees Fahrenheit, from sea level to 6,500 feet and are able to use one calibration, as we’ve calibrated in all different environments. Whether you are towing a trailer up the Grapevine or running four-wheel drive across an ice lake, it doesn’t matter, the vehicle will start, idle, and drive with incredible reliability.”
The result of this blower-specific programming and plenty of real world testing is a supercharger that you can essentially bolt on and forget. At least until you need the extra power and step on the loud pedal. When Livernois Motorsports put the new Stage 2 system (PN WK-2315B-STG2; $8,200) to the test on a four-wheel-drive 2018 F-150 the truck put down 606.69 horsepower and 501.40 lb-ft of torque to the wheels.
Whipple Gen 3 F-150 Stage 2 System Features
• 132mm elliptical throttle body
• Air-to-water intercooler w/ 2-plus-gallon aluminum intercooler reservoir
• Billet belt-drive system
• Billet fuel rails
• Bosch 37 lb/hr, dual-pattern fuel injectors
• Crusher high-flow inlet
• High-flow intercooler pump
• Lightweight, pocketed supercharger pulley
• Self-contained oil system
• Tomahawk flash tool w/ CARB-certified calibration
• W175ax 2.9-liter twin-screw supercharger
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If giving Mustangs a run for their money with your Coyote F-150 sounds like fun, you can learn more about the Whipple systems for the latest trucks right here.