I very much hope you're wrong about that because we will never get a ST or whatever they call a higher horsepower version if they discontinue the Lobo.
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Agree with @colinl . It would be very disappointing if Ford brings back the sport/street truck only to kill it after a couple years. Desires for exclusivity aside, it would be better for the enthusiast community as a whole if the Lobo trim became a standard offering as a ying to the Tremor's yang going forward. Heck, I'm still holding out hope that Ford will do a Ranger Lobo to complete the lineup.
the ranger raptor powertrain would be make a pretty fun street truck, but the 24+ is a whole lot heavier than a Maverick, so I'd still prefer a 300-350 HP Maverick by far.
Agreed, the Ranger is a bit heavy for its size, but a lowered version with a real LSD (not the electric locking one) and a street-tuned version of the Raptor's 4-Link rear suspension could be a legit street truck and probably more drift-able than the Maverick. Hell, I'd even be happy with the 2.7 to keep the MSRP in check. Those are great engines and capable of making big power with bolt-ons and tuning.
OP
OP
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- Dan
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- #95
**More AutoCross Testing in the Maverick**
Over the past week, I took the Maverick out for three different AutoX events, each held at very distinct venues:
* Oversized kart track
* Airport runway
* Small parking lot
---
Recent Changes to the Setup:
Rear Toe : Switched to 0° toe in the rear
ESC : Turned off AdvancedTrac
---
Handling Observations:
AdvancedTrac Off:
Disabling Advancedtrac reduced the intrusive power cuts significantly. However, it's not fully off — it still cuts power unpredictably, and there's no clear pattern to when it happens.
Rear Toe at 0°:
This change made the rear end more active. I’m now getting some mild on-throttle oversteer on corner exits, which really helps in tight AutoX sections. Transitions between elements also feel sharper and more responsive.
Highway driving:
With front & rear toe set to 0° its slightly more darty, but hardly anything worth concern. Still drives fine.
---
Transmission Behavior:
One of the biggest struggles has been the gearing:
2nd gear : Too short
3rd gear : Too tall
Even at smaller venues, the truck constantly shifts up into 3rd, and that’s where the trouble starts:
* If it stays in 3rd, hitting the throttle on corner exit causes a delay before anything happens, then it accelerates sluggishly.
* If it downshifts to 2nd, power delivery is immediate and strong.
This hesitation can easily cost you up to a full second just exiting one corner.
Best workaround so far:
Use manual mode, and preemptively hit the downshift paddle a couple of times when entering a corner if it has already upshifted. It’s not foolproof, but helps keep it in the right gear more often.
---
Tire Pressures (Firestone Indy 500s):
Front: 35 PSI
Rear: 38 PSI
These pressures gave the best balance. Fronts gained 2–3 PSI per run, and once they went over 38 PSI, I noticed:
* Reduced grip
* Understeer
* Braking lock-up
Keeping them below that threshold maintained consistency and control.
---
Seatbelt Lock “Hack”:
If you're still running the factory seat and belt, this trick makes a big difference in keeping you planted:
1. Slide the seat all the way back
2. Yank the seatbelt until it locks
3. Slide the seat back into position, staying tight against the belt
This is a common trick in AutoX classes that require factory belts and makes a noticeable improvement in driver stability.
---
Other Issues:
Clicking noise when braking (while in Park & engine running):
* Appears to be coming from the gear selector knob area on the center console
* Likely tied to the electronic brake booster
* Others have reported this issue and resolved it with getting the brake booster replaced
Rear-end clicking at low speeds:
* Initially from passenger side, now both
* Suspected to be sway bar related
* Only happens when driving slowly — not replicable when parked
* Plan: Retorque everything and inspect further
Event Results:
I was around mid pack in the overall results at most of the events, which is pretty good considering how little is done to it &... well..its a truck.
The better tires & minor mods have shaved off ~4 seconds over a 60 second Autocross course vs Stock.
That's it for an update. I'll be getting alignment specs & corner weights here shortly.
Last edited:
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I haven't been out to Stratotech in ages, I honestly thought it was being sold for redevelopment but I'm glad to see that didn't happen.
You're putting in some great work with all this testing, logging and detailing changes!
You're putting in some great work with all this testing, logging and detailing changes!
that's a bummer. in a Lobo, your 7 gears are actually 1,3,4,5,6,7,8 compared to a non lobo Maverick. they electronically remove 2nd. physically it's still there. (or so I'm told, I haven't personally disassembled one to check.) in practice this doesn't matter because "8 speed" ecoboost Mavericks almost never use 2nd gear anyway.
the gear ratio difference is pretty large but there isn't a lot you can do about it. can you buy or borrow a set of much shorter tires to try? it'll get you into a more useable range of (your) 3rd (4th for other Mavericks). I'd probably look for whatever the most competitive tread wear 200 tire is and find a tire in the 255ish width that is shorter than 27".
265/35-19 might be doable. I would probably do some math and make sure it's not going to start shifting to your 4th on faster courses, then this exercise may be counterproductive. then again, the ratio change from 3rd to 4th is much shorter, but I'm still thinking shifting 2,3,4 may be undesirable.
if you don't have a second set of wheels obviously a super short set of tires isn't going to be fun daily driving.
Thanks for the continued updates. This is good stuff.
**More AutoCross Testing in the Maverick**
Over the past week, I took the Maverick out for three different AutoX events, each held at very distinct venues:
* Oversized kart track
* Airport runway
* Small parking lot
---
Recent Changes to the Setup:
Rear Toe : Switched to 0° toe in the rear
ESC : Turned off AdvancedTrac
---
Handling Observations:
AdvancedTrac Off:
Disabling Advancedtrac reduced the intrusive power cuts significantly. However, it's not fully off — it still cuts power unpredictably, and there's no clear pattern to when it happens.
Rear Toe at 0°:
This change made the rear end more active. I’m now getting some mild on-throttle oversteer on corner exits, which really helps in tight AutoX sections. Transitions between elements also feel sharper and more responsive.
Highway driving:
With front & rear toe set to 0° its slightly more darty, but hardly anything worth concern. Still drives fine.
---
Transmission Behavior:
One of the biggest struggles has been the gearing:
2nd gear : Too short
3rd gear : Too tall
Even at smaller venues, the truck constantly shifts up into 3rd, and that’s where the trouble starts:
* If it stays in 3rd, hitting the throttle on corner exit causes a delay before anything happens, then it accelerates sluggishly.
* If it downshifts to 2nd, power delivery is immediate and strong.
This hesitation can easily cost you up to a full second just exiting one corner.
Best workaround so far:
Use manual mode, and preemptively hit the downshift paddle a couple of times when entering a corner if it has already upshifted. It’s not foolproof, but helps keep it in the right gear more often.
---
Tire Pressures (Firestone Indy 500s):
Front: 35 PSI
Rear: 38 PSI
These pressures gave the best balance. Fronts gained 2–3 PSI per run, and once they went over 38 PSI, I noticed:
* Reduced grip
* Understeer
* Braking lock-up
Keeping them below that threshold maintained consistency and control.
---
Seatbelt Lock “Hack”:
If you're still running the factory seat and belt, this trick makes a big difference in keeping you planted:
1. Slide the seat all the way back
2. Yank the seatbelt until it locks
3. Slide the seat back into position, staying tight against the belt
This is a common trick in AutoX classes that require factory belts and makes a noticeable improvement in driver stability.
---
Other Issues:
Clicking noise when braking (while in Park & engine running):
* Appears to be coming from the gear selector knob area on the center console
* Likely tied to the electronic brake booster
* Others have reported this issue and resolved it with getting the brake booster replaced
Rear-end clicking at low speeds:
* Initially from passenger side, now both
* Suspected to be sway bar related
* Only happens when driving slowly — not replicable when parked
* Plan: Retorque everything and inspect further
Event Results:
I was around mid pack in the overall results at most of the events, which is pretty good considering how little is done to it &... well..its a truck.
The better tires & minor mods have shaved off ~4 seconds over a 60 second Autocross course vs Stock.
That's it for an update. I'll be getting alignment specs & corner weights here shortly.
I take it that the Lobo driver seatbelt does not have the feature where it switches to a ratcheting mode when you pull it all the way out?
Since it's a planetary gearset, it's probably still using all the same mechanical bits that the 8-speed uses, but just uses one less combination of clutch engagements to "skip" second gear. Probably. Planetary gears are weird.
Sure, I don't wonder about how it operates, I know. It's electronically removed from the map and yes, the transmission is very capable of the 1->3 shift mechanically, as it's not a sequential transmission.
Some people do not know that the 8F35 in all non-Lobo Mavericks cannot select 2nd gear unless it's below 8% throttle shifting from first. Essentially idling. What Ford has done with the Lobo is remove it entirely from the transmission map, which was necessary for the paddle shifters to work properly and skip 2nd as intended, and has no negative affects since every 8F35 doesn't really use 2nd anyway.
As challenging as the OP might find the gearing, it certainly wouldn't get better if a person tried to use the paddle shifters and they were selecting 1,2,3,4 instead of 1,3,4. That unfortunately does happen to non-Lobo owners who install their own paddle shifters as a mod.
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That's the "child seat mode" and it's only on the passenger side and rear seats.
That feature is great for HPDE instructors, it really locks you into the seat
In my car I use something called a CG Lock, it's no longer sold AFAIK but it's a clamp that locks the lap belt and that really helps because the shoulder belt also locks after a few braking zones
Yea, it's definitely a feature normally used for child seats, but some (most?) Corvettes have it on the driver's seat for the purpose of aggressive driving and I've always held out hope that other manufacturers would follow suitThat's the "child seat mode" and it's only on the passenger side and rear seats.
That feature is great for HPDE instructors, it really locks you into the seat
In my car I use something called a CG Lock, it's no longer sold AFAIK but it's a clamp that locks the lap belt and that really helps because the shoulder belt also locks after a few braking zones
Oh I never noticed that but it's a great ideaYea, it's definitely a feature normally used for child seats, but some (most?) Corvettes have it on the driver's seat for the purpose of aggressive driving and I've always held out hope that other manufacturers would follow suit
They should have it with an on-off button like the rear safety door locks on some cars. So you can activate the ratchet when you want it, but disable it for everyday use
This is exactly what I thought would be pretty standard fare by now, especially on performance vehicles.
I often get in, and put on seatbelt, and Cinch it up Snug against me. I wish I could 'lock' it in that position.
I'll have to try this trick that DMS advised.
The problem is, my seating position is all the way back, and 'almost' all the way down.
But I'll see what I can figure out.
Same.
Not sure if I mentioned it in this thread, but have noticed the same problem.
Sorta like they just threw an otherwise 8 speed into the Lobo, removed a gear and reprogramming it to skip a gear..and called it a 7 speed...
This also effects 0-60 negatively.
And the turbo-lag is compounded as a result when you're otherwise slightly too fast for 2nd, but need more RPMs than 3rd..
I feel like there was no further attempt to fix the gap between these gears, as it would have required more parts, and labor to replace/install said proper gears.
If the Lobo didn't feel like such a half-ass attempt and was properly purpose built by the Ford Performance team, instead of by the Financing team, it could be really great.
Or, if it just had a 6MT, it wouldn't be an issue at all..then the Driver is the problem.
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