Four-wheeled antics made Cleetus McFarland a household name in the automotive space. He's also one of the OGs of automotive content on YouTube. His channel went live back in January 2009, which explains the 3.23 million subscribers he has racked up since then.
McFarland's latest upload stars an F-150 Raptor with small rear tires, namely an F-150 Raptor R converted for drifting. The video, however, kicks off with a promo for wireless earbuds from Raycon, which are some of the worst in the industry. If you are subscribed to DankPods, then you're fully aware how bad Raycons are in terms of sound quality and build quality as well.
Turning out attention to Cleetus, buying a $100k pickup to beat the snot out of it may seem a bit disgustful. On the other hand, remember that Ford's most powerful combustion-engined F-150 yet isn't a special edition of a hypercar like the Hennessey Venom F5 Revolution. It's just a truck with a Coyote-derived engine, and McFarland is fully entitled to do what he wants with something purchased with his hard-earned money.
The conversion process from F-150 Raptor R to drift truck is rather simple. Take the rear 37s off in favor of much smaller and more road-oriented tires, and that would be that. The result is all the more interesting because the tires were fitted to the stock wheels.
Smoking the tires into fourth going on fifth gear is borderline insane, but then again, the F-150 Raptor R has a mountain of torque to offer from its 5.2-liter supercharged V8. The pickup-specific Predator is a little different from the Shelby GT500, with Ford modifying a few bits and bobs to suit the half-ton pickup.
We also have to remember that Dearborn's favorite son beefed up the 10R automatic transmission for this application. The dual-clutch transmission of the Shelby GT500 isn't compatible with four-wheel drive. Similar to its EcoBoost V6-powered counterpart, the Predator V8-engined truck offers rear drive. Transfer case settings also include auto 4WD, high-range 4WD, as well as low-range 4WD for more difficult terrain. Think rocky trails (where the ridiculously wide R actually fits) and similar off-road scenarios.
Designed to bash dunes into submission, the F-150 Raptor R smoking its rear tires on asphalt is a sight to behold. In less than a day, McFarland went through two sets of tires while filming his drift truck antics.
Lighting up those rubber boots also resulted in warning messages popping up on the instrument cluster, which is only normal given the abuse they took and the comical difference in outer diameter between the BFG front tires and Nitto rear tires. The warning messages in question were for drive modes not available, engine, four-wheel-drive system, and braking system.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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