Where is the FFR SEMA news?

[wallace18]

Don't see FFR posting stuff from SEMA as they did in the past. Only Eric has done some. Seems strange.

[65 Cobra Dude]

They’re posting daily’s on FB.

Henry

[wallace18]

Thanks. I don't do FB.

[GoDadGo]

Thanks. I don't do FB.

Nor Do I!

Gee, you create a forum for your customers but you fail to use it.

Nice!

[narly1]

Meh, social media and forums both have their useful places in the infosphere. Myself I use both.

Social media is great for info that is time sensitive, or "read once and forget". To me FFR factory updates and show/event updates fall into this category.

Now that being said any info that probably should be, or is intended to be, kept for reference is best posted in a forum.

Try searching Facebook for a particular post you remember reading and you'll see what I mean.

Earl

[john42]

Meh, social media and forums both have their useful places in the infosphere. Myself I use both.

Social media is great for info that is time sensitive, or "read once and forget". To me FFR factory updates and show/event updates fall into this category.

Now that being said any info that probably should be, or is intended to be, kept for reference is best posted in a forum.

Try searching Facebook for a particular post you remember reading and you'll see what I mean.

Earl

What annoys me about Facebook (1 thing among very many) is that I'll see something like "Factory Five is live!" and I think oh cool I'd like to watch that, but right now I'm busy. Come back to it hours later and can't find it. Spend an hour trying to find it and eventually say F' it wasn't important anyway and give up.

[edwardb]

I'm not a huge Facebook fan. Use it occasionally mostly to share (and see) family pictures. I promise I don't post pictures of the latest great dessert from my local eatery or what I'm doing at that exact moment. But having said that, you can have an account without posting anything (very low risk IMO) and see the Factory Five page with pictures, news, and videos. Including the Facebook lives that Dave does including the daily SEMA reports. Whether we like it or not, social media is a thing. Doesn't have to be a threat. There are also a number of groups out there (Factory Five and others) that have some interesting content. As far finding the videos, search on Factory Five Racing (the magnifying glass) and click videos. They're all right there. Whether you watch them live or not.

[Jeff Kleiner]

The FB updates are live and real time. Can’t do that on the forum. I expect that next week Mad Dog/Dave/Nicole will compile a comprehensive report that will be posted to Factory Five’s website under the “What’s new” tab. John K. is taking lots of photos and the live videos will probably be linked.

Readers Digest report of the highlights:
1) A completed version of the F150 derived Trophy Truck
2) The larger cab 35 pickup (which Erik showed here)
3) The announcement that Dark Horse Racing will be competing in the Trans Am series with a Type 65 Coupe-R next season.

Jeff

[EZ$]

Even without a facebook account you can go to FFR's facebook page and see the videos and daily posts that Dave has been doing. For a while there facebook had been blocking the ability to view the page, but for whatever reason they've opened it back up.

[Mad Dog]

Sorry for not updating more on SEMA here! We've been keeping busy at the show as well as back here in the office helping answer customer questions/taking orders. Dave has been doing some quick updates to our Facebook page from his phone, and the team has sent some photos from the event to us back in Wareham. We will have a full recap of SEMA 2022 when the crew comes back, and will definitely post it to our website as well as here on the forum. Here's some photos of the cars we have in our display. Thanks guys! More coming soon!

[edwardb]

Even without a facebook account you can go to FFR's facebook page and see the videos and daily posts that Dave has been doing. For a while there facebook had been blocking the ability to view the page, but for whatever reason they've opened it back up.

Sorta. Since the FF page is public (vs. private) some of it can be accessed without logging in. While not logged in, type "https://www.facebook.com/factoryfive/videos" (without the quotes) and it will go to their videos page. But your access will remain limited, and you'll get to wade through multiple prompts to log in or create an account. Doesn't look like you can get to actual posts. Obviously, you can't comment, like, whatever.

[Skuzzy]

I had to give up FB. The last few months it has been hard locking my computer (Ctrl-Alt-Delete will not bring up the Task Manager; have to get the reset button). After a fresh OS install, it still does it, using Chrome or Edge. To be fair, I do have the security of my system configured to be pretty tight and it may be exacerbating the issue. It is random but appears to have something to do with scrolling when images/videos are in the feed.

I understand why Factory Five uses FB. Live feeds are easier to do and require less time than creating a video and posting it. However, I have missed many videos due to the fact I am do not schedule time to sit at my computer to watch live feeds and once they scroll off, then they are gone. FB is not very friendly that way. There are a lot of things posted at FB which never made it to my feed and I did not know about it. It all seems to be hit and miss, at best.

[FFRWRX]

So the summary is......nothing exciting happening at Factory Five? Nothing new coming?

They've given up on the 818 and nothing on the F9 in months. I suppose their main business is still the Cobras.

[Jeff Kleiner]

So the summary is......nothing exciting happening at Factory Five? Nothing new coming?

They've given up on the 818 and nothing on the F9 in months. I suppose their main business is still the Cobras.

There IS something new coming... as I said in Post #8 the big news is the Trophy Truck:



Second is the revised '35 Pickup. F9 is on hold pending redesign.

Jeff

Trophy truck.jpg

[JohnK]

For those of us that aren't on FB and haven't been following all the updates, is the trophy truck just a new front clip and bed for an F150 that the builder provides, or is there more to it than that? Does the FFR "trophy truck kit" include new suspension, wheels, etc.?

[edwardb]

For those of us that aren't on FB and haven't been following all the updates, is the trophy truck just a new front clip and bed for an F150 that the builder provides, or is there more to it than that? Does the FFR "trophy truck kit" include new suspension, wheels, etc.?

More than that... You can view the SEMA video where Dave explains without a FB account: https://www.facebook.com/factoryfive...44816736013094

[Jeff Kleiner]

For those of us that aren't on FB and haven't been following all the updates, is the trophy truck just a new front clip and bed for an F150 that the builder provides, or is there more to it than that? Does the FFR "trophy truck kit" include new suspension, wheels, etc.?

All that and more. Not just new suspension but an entire chassis. What is retained from the F150 is the passenger compartment, powertrain (if the builder wishes---there has been lots of interest in using the 7.3 Godzilla) and perhaps most importantly in some jurisdictions the Vehicle Identification Number.



Jeff

Trophy truck chassis.jpg

[FFRWRX]

There IS something new coming... as I said in Post #8 the big news is the Trophy Truck:

Second is the revised '35 Pickup. F9 is on hold pending redesign.

Jeff

Trophy truck.jpg

I did see that, but I'm not into trucks, so that cancels out 2 out of 3 for me. And #3 is on hold, so nothing of interest for me.

It does seems strange/funny that one reason the brothers split up (or so it seemed to be) is that one wanted to branch out into modifying vehicles into, basically, pickup trucks. The other didn't want to. How times have changed.

But seriously folks. I do realize that pickup trucks are the #1 selling vehicle in North America, but I have no interest in them. Factory 5 is heading off into a direction that I'm not going.

[J R Jones]

Pre-Runner vehicles is a new ,market niche, not for the faint of heart.
Ford does not ignore this market and they put a lot of development into it. I suggest that it is hard to beat them at their own game:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MQXZ1-Hgdk

As stated in the video, they develop, test, develop in the field. I am not an off-road enthusiast but I appreciate how tough and capable these vehicles are.
Like everything else, Ford has incorporated electronic controls that make amatures look good and get home in one piece.
jim

[Chadillac]

Any specs on the truck yet? Suspension travel? Coilovers? Ground clearance? Does it keep the 4WD?

Videos of the truck in action?

[Jeff Kleiner]

Here ya’ go:

http://https://www.motortrend.com/ev...T%3Atrueanthem

Jeff

[GoDadGo]

Sorry gang, but this is a Shark Jumping Moment from my perspective.

Heck, what do I know since I'm that guy who stuffed a 383 SBC (Dart) & a Corvette ZF 6-Speed in a MK-4...On the other hand, if they'd create a Pre-Runner 35 Hot Rod Truck with adequate ground clearance and suspension travel, that would be cooler than cool...Something like a cross between the Wilkey Bug and the Logano Drift Truck would really be worth building.

Wilkey Bug
https://youtu.be/70OSJLzISL0

Logano Drift Truck:
https://youtu.be/jFGn86cmg4o

[F500guy]

I think the truck is pretty cool, not for me though. I am not sure how the average garage space and average builder would be able to handle transferring an entire cab to a new frame. It would not fit in my garage for sure. Seems to me to be pretty targeted.

[JohnK]

This is a huge departure for FFR, so it's not surprising that the folks on this forum (who are here because of FFR's current offerings) aren't necessarily lining up to place their trophy truck orders. It's not my cup of tea either, but somewhere out there on some 4x4 forum I'm betting there's a good amount of chatter over this new truck. I hope it's a big success for FFR, as I'm sure they've invested a ton of money developing it and taken a huge gamble.

[GoDadGo]

> If they offered a body kit & suspension upgrade (No Frame Change) then it would be a seller.
> The lack of ground clearance & the fact that it uses 2 X 2 tubing will be problematic.
> Though I'm sure the frame is ridged; however, it hangs well below the body.
> This means rock strikes will likely be less than pretty.
> Nice Attempt At A New Market!
> Good Luck!

[Fman]

Does anyone know what the FFR 2x2 tube frame offers over the stock F150 frame? There are plenty of DIY pre-runner kits already available for the F-150 that you can easily bolt on. Is the stock F150 chassis not strong enough and not holding up to the off road abuse?

[Jeff Kleiner]

Does anyone know what the FFR 2x2 tube frame offers over the stock F150 frame?

It offers more strength and a lighter weight.

Jeff

[J R Jones]

Does anyone know what the FFR 2x2 tube frame offers over the stock F150 frame? There are plenty of DIY pre-runner kits already available for the F-150 that you can easily bolt on. Is the stock F150 chassis not strong enough and not holding up to the off road abuse?

That is a good question, and the results (other than weight) are not easy to determine. It is all about the numbers in engineering.
Not too long ago it required an MTS machine to apply force to a frame and measure deflection.

FEA https://www.simscale.com/docs/simwik...ment-analysis/
requires a CAD file of each frame (good luck getting that from Ford) and a computer applies theoretical loads and measures displacement. Either method can be prolonged to yield or fatigue failure.

Then empirical tests back up or disprove the lab predictions. Test to failure can take months. FFR used a cranberry bog. Ford tests on the desert.

The other numbers open to speculation are how this effected the GTR, 818, product quality and shipping schedule.
jim

[myjones]

Thanks. I don't do FB.

Me too
Maybe because it's too hard to search there with our short little dinosaur arms