And the Winner Is? Ram SRT-10 vs. F150 EcoBoost

(Jeremy)>> You're watching Powernation!

(LT)>> The time is here and we're gonna lay it all on the line.

(Austin)>> We've got Marc and Tommy to judge which one will win our Muscle Trux build off. Here we go! [ MUSIC ] [ tires squealing ]

(LT)>> Yeah baby!

(Austin)>> Woo hoo! [ MUSIC ]

(LT)>> Putting down the highest number on the chassis dyno is one thing but muscle trucks are about having fun and mostly doing burnouts. So that's exactly what we're gonna do today.

(Austin)>> And unlike our baseline test where we took them to the road course, ran some laps, today we're drag racing. We're here at US 43 Drag Raceway and there's no better way to find out a true winner in the eighth mile and get nice, precise, and clean results.

(LT)>> But before we get to that just like last time we're gonna start with a few simple baseline handling tests. So let's get to it.

(Austin)>> You're gonna need some luck I think.

(LT)>> No such thing.

(Austin)>> The premise of our Muscle Trux Shootout was simple. Take two iconic American pickups, and with a $15,000 budget build them how we saw fit.

(LT)>> I chose a truck I've wanted to build my whole life, this '05 Ram SRT 10. 505 cubic inches and 10 cylinders under the hood.

(Austin)>> I got a lot of flak initially from the muscle trucks crowd with my choice. I went with the 2015 Ford F-150 EcoBoost and my goal was to transform this little gray ghost in looks and performance, and obviously make more power.

(LT)>> I concentrated primarily on power, which I improved upon with a hotter cam and some long tube headers. This truck has big displacement, is naturally aspirated, and it's a blast to drive. Yeah! [ tires squealing ]

(Austin)>> I added an aggressive stance, body kit, and bigger tires and wheels, and upped the performance of the three-five EcoBoost with bigger turbos while enhancing the fuel and air delivery. Success! We began our build off months ago by running some cones. [ engine revving ]

(Austin)>> We'll start again today to feel what the lowered stance does to both of these muscle trucks. [ engine revving ]

(LT)>> Man it just wants to get up and go. There's the radio. [ MUSIC ]

(Austin)>> Talk to me goose.

(LT)>> Well I couldn't tell you if that was good or bad.

(Austin)>> It didn't look good!

(LT)>> I was too distracted by the sound of this glorious engine. I mean honestly it doesn't feel much different than before cause all I really did was lower it down. Obviously the tires are little more sticky.

(Austin)>> It looks like it didn't have a whole great deal of body roll, but then again I think if we'd had the cones a little tighter, which we're probably supposed to, we'd be able to get into it a little more.

(LT)>> Alright well it's just for fun. Let's do another one. [ engine revving ]

(LT)>> Oh I love the sound of the V-10! [ engine revving ] [ MUSIC ]

(Austin)>> Can't really get into it too much cause they're kinda spaced out. [ MUSIC ]

(LT)>> It's a truck right?

(Austin)>> You didn't hit a cone.

(LT)>> That's good. I don't really know how to judge this compared to where we started from. It feels pretty close.

(Austin)>> That's all it's really about. Does it feel better? Does it feel like it's tighter, doesn't roll as much, handles firmer?

(LT)>> It certainly doesn't feel worse. I think it's a little bit better but...

(Austin)>> Agree!

(LT)>> Just more.

(Austin)>> Let's go! [ engine revving ] [ MUSIC ]

(LT)>> Well what'd you think?

(Austin)>> Handles a lot better, super tight. I think it rolls way less but I think we're going a little fast.

(LT)>> Give it another shot. Let's see what you can do. Roughly how fast you think you were going?

(Austin)>> I didn't even look. I'll look this time.

(LT)>> I don't know what is supposed to be fast. We've got them spaced to 80 feet. I don't think that's regulation.

(Austin)>> I think it's 60, is supposed to be.

(LT)>> Hit it again! [ engine revving ] [ MUSIC ]

(Austin)>> You kicked my cone over?

(LT)>> Here's the thing, remember, this is a budget right? A GoPro costs about $300, $400 bucks.

(Austin)>> Did I hit the GoPro? [ MUSIC ]

(LT)>> We're gonna add that to your budget.

(Austin)>> This guy, I swear, I can never win.

(LT)>> Next Tommy and Marc are our judges when the trucks go head to head.

(Austin)>> Consistent little truck, I'm not surprised.

(Austin)>> We're back on Truck Tech at one of our local dragstrips where it's judgement day for my F-150 EcoBoost and ole LT's SRT 10 Viper.

(Tommy)>> I know both of us are kind of a fan of the two trucks. I'm a Dodge guy and you're a Ford guy.

(LT)>> You can't have a muscle truck build off without an eventual winner, and you can't declare a winner without judges. So Austin and I enlisted the help of Detroit Muscle's dynamic duo. Tommy and Marc are gonna spend some time with us out at the track.

(Tommy)>> Obviously he spent some on the outside of this thing.

(Marc)>> Do you like what he did?

(Tommy)>> Yes, it definitely has a modern feel to it.

(LT)>> You don't normally see these guys working on pickup trucks but they are high performance experts in their own right. You name it they've built it. Everything from high dollar Mopar resto-mods, to big block Mercs... [ engine revving ]

(LT)>> And turbo'ed Crown Vics. These guys know what's cool. [ engine revving ]

(Marc)>> Woo!

(LT)>> But fashion police?

(Tommy)>> What the heck were you thinking man!

(LT)>> Not so much.

(Tommy)>> Hey hoss it's a great day here at the track and I hope you gonna drive this thing like you've got something to prove?

(LT)>> Well that throttle pedal, it does go all the way to the ground and I'm pretty much gonna just keep it right there.

(Tommy)>> Well I hope so man because I'm a big Mopar fan and that other one over there is far from it. So you better be on the lead side of this thing.

(LT)>> I'll do everything in my power but since you're a judge and all I've got like $75 bucks in my pocket. Maybe, I'm just saying, that could sway your decision.

(Tommy)>> $75 bucks, I guess that could be a deposit.

(Marc)>> I'll tell ya you nailed the look.

(Austin)>> Why thank you buddy!

(Marc)>> Not a lowered kinda guy but.

(Austin)>> I'll be honest me either. This is way out of my comfort zone and it's taking risks, taking chances, and it turned out alright.

(Marc)>> Yeah you were on a budget so I think you spent it well.

(Austin)>> Almost ran out of budget.

(Marc)>> I'm sure. Now I'm a blue oval guy so I'm kinda partial to it I have to admit, but I do like the stance. I like the fact that you went with the wide wheels.

(Austin)>> You were there when I first bought this thing, grandpa truck.

(Marc)>> It was perfect the way it was.

(Austin)>> Transformed you'd say?

(Marc)>> It's more perfect now.

(Austin)>> That's what we're talking about. Now let's just see performance.

(Marc)>> I want to see that.

(LT)>> Alright guys so the fate of the shootout is in your hands and we've got five categories for you to judge these trucks on. The first one we've got dyno results. The results are in here. Pat tallied everything up and there's three separate listings. We've got total horsepower, we've got horsepower per cube, and then finally we've got percent of horsepower increase.

(Austin)>> And we did not look at that yet. So it's all on you.

(Tommy)>> I wonder if there's a check in here. That'd be pretty sweet coming from one of you guys. I'm just saying.

(LT)>> It's a sealed envelope, you never know. I'm just saying look inside of it. The very next category is performance out on the strip.

(Marc)>> So you're talking eighth mile dragstrip right?

(LT)>> Yep, you've got e-t and mile per hour. You just kinda split your points between the two.

(Austin)>> And right after the strip we're coming out on the paddock, free style burnouts. Totally subjective.

(Tommy)>> Did any one of y'all bring some tires because if you're gonna need some points you probably gonna have to use up the back side of these things.

(LT)>> Well we've got a spare set each. So we're covered there.

(Austin)>> We thought ahead. Might not need them but we might.

(Tommy)>> You better!

(Austin)>> Obviously since you've been looking at the trucks it just makes sense. The next category is styling and appearance. Totally subjective, whatever you think's better.

(Tommy)>> You think we can handle this?

(Marc)>> I think we got it. Is that it?

(LT)>> There's one more. The very last category is money well spent, and we were each given the same exact budget. So it's up to you guys to figure out how we utilized our money.

(Austin)>> A-k-a utilization of funds, who did the better job.

(Tommy)>> Either way that money's gonna get spent this afternoon when we're celebrating. That's what I have to say.

(LT)>> Well the track is open, so let's get to it. [ engine revving ] [ MUSIC ]

(Austin)>> What is happening? [ engine revving ]

(Austin)>> What happened? Dude it did not shift for s@#%. [ MUSIC ] Okay so a trial and error situation here.

(Marc)>> 10.73?

(Austin)>> Dude it don't count obviously!

(Marc)>> This is the eighth not the quarter, otherwise that would be a good number.

(Austin)>> I thought it was the mile. Dude yeah it broke loose right before pre-staging and I was like oh, let off, and then I didn't have enough time though.

(Marc)>> Kick it in fourth and don't do a burnout on the starting line this time.

(Austin)>> I'm gonna try not to. [ engine revving ]

(Austin)>> Later on we're roped into a tug-o-war for all the marbles.

(LT)>> No way, no way!

[ engine revving ]

(Marc)>> Well he's improving. That's all you can ask for after watching that first run. Truck looked like it liked it out there. It's making a good run it's just really what it boils down to is how they're gonna do against the other truck. That's really what matters.

(LT)>> He definitely could improve the e-t but the mile per hour was pretty decent. I'm not super worried but I think we can pull this off. [ engine revving ]

(Tommy)>> I think he just got disqualified for doing that big of a burnout. [ engine revving ]

(LT)>> Alright what are my numbers?

(Tommy)>> You're not fast enough yet. You're getting there. Good thing is you've got two more runs.

(LT)>> What are the numbers though?

(Tommy)>> I'm not gonna tell ya. I want it to be a surprise. I'm really not gonna tell you.

(LT)>> Did I do better than Austin?

(Tommy)>> I'm not gonna tell you cause if I tell you yes you might not try as hard. You don't have to do quite the burnout. Maybe about a quarter of the amount, but other than that it looked pretty good.

(LT)>> Alright well let's do it again.

(Tommy)>> Let's see it. Now he's lining up to do a burnout and the one he did just a moment again, tremendous! That's good, come on out of there. See that's about all he needs. It's plentiful and effective. Now let's see if he goes any faster.

(LT)>> Now that I've successfully turned my back tires into goo I've got to try to make a pass and make them stick. It may be a challenge but that's alright. Boom, boom, boom, green! Oh yeah dead hook. Those CalTracs are working great. [ engine revving ]

(LT)>> Oh yeah she's pulling good. Love the sound of that V-10.

(Austin)>> Second run, consistent little truck. So far quicker than the EcoBoost but I'm not surprised.

(Tommy)>> I've got some good news.

(LT)>> What's that?

(Tommy)>> You were faster on this one. Not necessarily mile per hour but there's still room for improvement.

(LT)>> Well on that one I actually flat footed it off the line. I can't say brake boost it cause its not a diesel, but I just flat footed. This time I'll probably get up against the converter a little bit. Maybe I can get a little better 60 foot, little better e-t.

(Tommy)>> Whenever you're going through the traps at the end of it can you hold it back a gear and let it run harder through it?

(LT)>> Yeah it shifts right at the line.

(Tommy)>> Wring it out a little tighter.

(LT)>> One more!

(Tommy)>> I don't think he has any idea what his score is. All I hope is his third run is faster than the first two. [ engine revving ] [ MUSIC ]

(LT)>> Well I feel like that's about as good as it's gonna get.

(Tommy)>> Well technically you were slower on the third than the second one, but a little faster than somebody we know.

(LT)>> Really!

(Austin)>> Me! You're consistent.

(LT)>> What were your numbers?

(Austin)>> I think my best was a 9.6 at 77.

(Tommy)>> Your quickest was 9.11.

(Austin)>> At 79, never broke 80. Load it up a little bit and see what happens.

(LT)>> I could try one more but I felt like I was almost on that verge of breaking the tires loose.

(Tommy)>> I think honestly loading it is worse on it. You just need to shock it and let it roll.

(LT)>> Three, two, one, go! We spun a little bit, not too bad! Come on truck! So as far as I can tell that's supposed the best of both worlds. Didn't load the converter, held in second gear. How'd we do.

(Tommy)>> A lot better. You almost got into the 8's. It was 9.03.

(LT)>> At what mile per hour?

(Tommy)>> 79!

(LT)>> Alright well I'll take it. Last one for the books.

(Tommy)>> Cool brother!

(LT)>> I don't know what to do now. I've already won!

(Tommy)>> This is your last one. You've got to be as fast as you can.

(Austin)>> I know, I'm not gonna load it this time.

(LT)>> Austin wasn't satisfied with his slow Ford. So I figured we'd give him one more shot. [ engine revving ]

(LT)>> Next the scores are tallied and a winner declared.

(Austin)>> But not before a little heads up action. Whoever's standing back here is gonna have a hard time telling the difference from my taillights and your pretty red truck.

(LT)>> See if you can keep up.

(LT)>> Hey will that little six cylinder even do a burnout?

(Austin)>> I don't know. [ engine revving ]

(LT)>> Before we have Tommy and Marc add up the scores a little head to head for bragging rights is a good way to go out.

(Austin)>> How's that for a burnout?

(LT)>> It sounded like there was a little six cylinder Honda running next to me or something.

(Austin)>> So no joke these trucks are close.

(LT)>> I know, I've been impressed with that truck. Still not as fast and the SRT even though it's 10 years older, but it's still okay.

(Austin)>> Whoever's standing back here is gonna have a hard time telling the difference from my taillights and your pretty red truck.

(LT)>> See if you can keep up. [ MUSIC ] Pre-stage, staged, here we go!

(Austin)>> Oh yeah, let's roll baby!

(LT)>> Oh it feels good! I think we got it.

(Austin)>> Give me the goose! [ MUSIC ]

(LT)>> I think we got it.

(Austin)>> Yeah, yeah, you may have got me head to head but overall I know I beat you in a few categories.

(LT)>> And we left it up to Tommy and Marc to score both trucks how they saw fit.

(Tommy)>> Well I guess it's about time for us to tally up all of our totals to see which one of these boys is gonna take the cake.

(Marc)>> That's right, and what's great about this for us is it's all subjective. So we get to decide the winner. Even this first category, which is dyno performance. It wasn't much of a contest here. With all the engine mods added to the Ram it only gained a measly 39 horsepower.

(Tommy)>> Austin's truck on the other hand gained 65 horses for an 18.5 percent gain compared to LT's 8.9.

(Marc)>> We scored it 14.5 points to 10 in favor of the Ford. Well the next category is styling and appearance.

(Tommy)>> And I have to say in my opinion one of them did a really good job.

(Marc)>> He swung for the fence and knocked it out of the park.

(Tommy)>> Still going! The Dodge had basically no exterior upgrades but we still gave LT 5 points each because he bought a truck that was already styling from the factory.

(Marc)>> Agreed and no question Austin hit a home run. Stance, body mods, wheels, tires, everything. Because it's such a good looking ride we gave him an 18 out of a possible 20 points.

(Tommy)>> LT clearly won the drag competition 20 to nothing.

(Marc)>> It doesn't matter the trucks were only two tenths apart. When it comes down to a drag race it's all about the power and getting it to the ground. LT's truck was just quicker and faster, and finally money well spent.

(Tommy)>> Like the styling category this wasn't even a fair comparison, and we scored it 18 to 2 for the EcoBoost.

(Marc)>> The fact that Austin spent nearly all of his budget to come up with a bad ass truck that looks great and performs well says a lot.

(Tommy)>> What was LT thinking leaving nearly a third of his budget on the table. I'd spend that on a few more things to up the styling and performance. Well after tallying everything all up I have to say it got pretty close.

(Marc)>> Yeah I mean the Ford scored 50.5. I don't know who gave him a half point?

(Tommy)>> That'd be me.

(Marc)>> And the Dodge ended up with 52. That's pretty close.

(Tommy)>> I was trying to keep it accurate. That's why I was in that half a point.

(LT)>> So what do you think guys? We got any results yet?

(Tommy)>> We've got some results and after tallying them up they're dangerously close guys.

(LT)>> We still have burnouts to do right?

(Tommy)>> Yeah but we've got a little problem with that cause it's obvious that that big red Mopar is gonna shred the tires and the Ford, it's gonna try.

(Marc)>> We've got a better plan. Let's call it the gauntlet.

(Austin)>> I don't know what it is but I'm in.

(Marc)>> When I say gauntlet I mean it's the classic battle between two pickup trucks. It's the ultimate measuring stick, the tug-o-war. The rules are simple. These trucks are hooked up. The first one that the bumper crosses the yellow line is the loser. Not only in this portion of the competition but the whole shebang. It's gonna be awesome!

(Tommy)>> Alright boys y'all ready to go? Three, two, one, go! [ engine revving ]

(LT)>> No way, no way!

(Tommy)>> You can stop!

(Austin)>> Come on baby!

(Marc)>> Alright shut it down. I can't believe that happened. I thought for sure that the F-150 was gonna win.

(Tommy)>> Me too, just because I figured that one was gonna blow the tires off of it and it was basically gonna walk a dog.

(Austin)>> This guy, I didn't know this was a braking contest. I thought we eliminated the braking contest.

(LT)>> If you notice there was no braking. We moved that way. What about four wheel drive, didn't you even use it?

(Austin)>> I didn't start out in it cause I wanted to give you a fighting chance.

(LT)>> Well you did and I won. That's it, I won?

(Marc)>> He was gonna murder you in the burnout competition.

(LT)>> Well according to the judges the winner of that contest took the whole thing, so?

(Austin)>> Took the whole thing?

(Marc)>> It's over but I will say both trucks are awesome.

(Austin)>> I will say we start out pulling in four wheel drive right now.

(LT)>> Rematch he says.

(Tommy)>> I'm staying here to watch this!

(LT)>> Want to see in detail what went into each of our muscle truck builds?

(Austin)>> Come on baby!

(LT)>> This really proves nothing other than it makes a lot of smoke. Check us out at Powernation TV dot com.