Mustang Chief Engineer Confirms Locked ECU, making S650 tune more difficult

[sk47]

Hello; My take likely is not popular. I have been looking for a Mustang. At first for a new factory car, but lately for a used Mustang. Mostly the late 1990's to early 2000's of late.
I have passed on those without cats and also those advertised as having a non-factory tune. May be fixing a tune is simple. I just do not have a smart phone nor the computer skills/equipment needed. So, knowing a used car does not have a modified tune would be a positive.

In general my take is regulations will trend toward prevention of aftermarket tunes. May be those diesel tunes that "roll coal" are what tipped the scales. I have seen stories about diesel tuners being fined and likely put out of business. Removing cats and tunes bother some of the EPA types.
I first noted this trend on lawn mowers years ago.

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[young at heart]

Hello; My take likely is not popular. I have been looking for a Mustang. At first for a new factory car, but lately for a used Mustang. Mostly the late 1990's to early 2000's of late.
I have passed on those without cats and also those advertised as having a non-factory tune. May be fixing a tune is simple. I just do not have a smart phone nor the computer skills/equipment needed. So, knowing a used car does not have a modified tune would be a positive.

In general my take is regulations will trend toward prevention of aftermarket tunes. May be those diesel tunes that "roll coal" are what tipped the scales. I have seen stories about diesel tuners being fined and likely put out of business. Removing cats and tunes bother some of the EPA types.
I first noted this trend on lawn mowers years ago.

I’ve had some pretty bad azz lawn mowers over the years but I never had one that was tuned.

 

[because_murica]

for your convenience i've made self refuting part of your post bold. you didn't read what i wrote.

It's not "self refuting". It's conceding that words on a page aren't going jump off that page and arrest someone for unlawful conduct. Not sure why you think I was referring to literal words preventing people from taking X actions, but here we are.

I read what you wrote very carefully - "a law can't prevent anything, it can only penalize someone who does a prohibited thing." - That's just not true.

Laws and regs prevent people, manufactures, etc. from engaging in all sorts of behavior/conduct. Does that mean the law itself is jumping out and physically stopping unwanted behavior? Of course not, but laws/regs disincentivize X behavior to the point of prevention. It's a simply concept.

A great example of the above is emissions regulations. Are they physically stopping Ford from straight-piping a road-legal Mustang? No, of course not. But Ford nevertheless chooses not to offer such a product because it would cause them to incur fines, legal fees, etc. So, emissions regs in fact prevent Ford from offering a straight-piped road legal Mustang.

Just like I'm sure zoning laws in certain parts of Texas would prevent you from building a castle on your property. Not because the law will actually stop you from doing so, but because the costs associated with violation of any applicable zoning laws (again, fines, legal costs, etc.) would be prohibitive, thus preventing you from building that castle - or forcing you to tear it down if you ever got around to build one. An injunction will make you comply real quick.

 

[17Magnetic5.0]

I’ve had some pretty bad azz lawn mowers over the years but I never had one that was tuned.

bad boy ride on mowers can do a wheelie stock ;)

 

[KoreanKK]

The S650 will sell with no problem. Not many people tune their car in real life.

 

[OppoLock]

The S650 will sell with no problem. Not many people tune their car in real life.

The Gen 3 Coyote has a pretty big corn crowd

 

[Angrey]

It’s the Mustang. The single most modded car in the world. ECU will be cracked much faster than any locked computer before it.

my prediction is mods ready to go -including blowers and requisite tuning - before the end of the first year. Your local dunno shop will be able to tune your car by year two.

ford is likely tuning the car to the max from the factory to make it as clean and powerful as possible, so a synonym tune may not add much. But mods and a tune will be a big deal, especially with the hardware in the new coyote.

locks are meant to be broken if there is interest. And mustang has the most most interest of any automobile ever.

That just hasn't been the case with the DCT. Everyone and their relatives has wanted to crack the DCT tuning with no success.

Like the C8 (which was just recently cracked after 2+ years, so it's as of yet to be confirmation that it's resolved) you can run a stand alone system.

However, the problem on the S650 with a stand alone is 2 part.

1) $8k-$10k (for a Motec) isn't really an option for most mortal enthusiasts.

1b) There are other standalones that would work, but they require a separate display/module (unlike the Motec which integrates into the factory controls)

2) Even if you either crack the tune OR run stand alone, with all of the remote interaction and features going forward, there's almost certainly a bunch of issues that arise from Ford KNOWING that you've modified the tune.

2a) Now when your A/C takes a dump, it's not exaggeration that some dealers will deny virtually any warranty claim with clear evidence that your tune is no longer uploading/downloading from the mother ship.

2b) It's unclear as to whether the remote up/down will adversely affect other aspects of the tune.

Bottom line is that most likely, the S550 will be the last/latest/greatest mustang for those wanting to severely modify their cars. The next gen will almost certainly be all electric and like Tesla, that's the end of aftermarket enthusiasm as we know it.

If you want anything other than a typical 750 hp, Ford Performance, canned, 50 state legal blower setup, the S550 is going to remain the best option, for the foreseeable future and most likely forever.

 

[Mspider]

I think most people buying a mustang will never tune it so its not going to hurt sales.

On another note all of the latest BMWs come with locked ECU also. People were sending there ECUs out to Russia (before the war) to unlock them lol. So this is a industry level thing now and will only get more common.

 

[because_murica]

Bottom line is that most likely, the S550 will be the last/latest/greatest mustang for those wanting to severely modify their cars.

If you want anything other than a typical 750 hp, Ford Performance, canned, 50 state legal blower setup, the S550 is going to remain the best option, for the foreseeable future and most likely forever.

I laugh so hard when S550 guys say shit like this.

 

[Mike Pfeifer]

Maybe, but that would be a huge stretch. Autonomous or self driving requires control of the accelerator, brakes, and steering. It will be interesting if the electric Mustang will have these features.

Of course, I agree with you. But don’t for one second think that people that don’t know what they are talking about can make that distinction.

 

[because_murica]

I think most people buying a mustang will never tune it so its not going to hurt sales.

On another note all of the latest BMWs come with locked ECU also. People were sending there ECUs out to Russia (before the war) to unlock them lol. So this is a industry level thing now and will only get more common.

Nah man, S650's ECU will remain locked forever and ever since we all know Ford's software is impenetrable - even for those pesky Russians. BMW, Audi, and Mercedes' ECU encryption is child's play compared to that of Ford. S550 is the last great Mustang, the last real Mustang, the last tunable Mustang. All hail S550, man.

*Intense sarcasm intended for those of you that are a little thick up top.*

 

[AvalancheSVT]

do you remember why you're arguing?

I agree in theory, but that's not how it works in the real world. If for example, you were to remove your impact bars behind the bumper cover and drive around with no bumpers or impact bars, you would get a ticket. Same thing if you remove your headlights, or smoked your headlights to the point of being black. Laws prevent you from really doing "anything" you want to your car.

to which i basically said "bullshit laws get ignored or loopholed"

It's not "self refuting". It's conceding that words on a page aren't going jump off that page and arrest someone for unlawful conduct.

that concession is proof of the self refutation. you're arguing that these things stop people. they don't. people stop people.

you're the one arguing like a lawyer. I'm being quite literal because you were talking about how you agree in theory (which is dumb, you should've said principle) but it doesn't work in reality. well the reality is a law is only as good as the willingness and ability to enforce it.

 

[young at heart]

bad boy ride on mowers can do a wheelie stock ;)

Hey, that ain’t no big deal!

Back in the ‘60s a stock riding Snapper Comet would pop wheelies all day long, and I mean way up there too! None of our dads could figure out why we got a bad batch of clutch assemblies that seemed to just affect our street. Ha!

 

[sk47]

I’ve had some pretty bad azz lawn mowers over the years but I never had one that was tuned.

Hello; To be more clear. No longer can the carbs be adjusted, nor can you have a throttle on many of them. Back in the day I did tune lawnmower engines in an old school way. No computer of course. Jets and rebuilds mostly. Modified intake runners sometimes.
The point was that more and more engines are tamper proofed from the factory and it started, in my case, with lawnmower engines. Use to be able to defeat the needle jet tamper proof bits. Thing was when an engine gets old and worn these things need to be cleaned and adjusted.

 

[because_murica]

to which i basically said "bullshit laws get ignored or loopholed"

that concession is proof of the self refutation. you're arguing that these things stop people. they don't. people stop people.

you're the one arguing like a lawyer. I'm being quite literal because you were talking about how you agree in theory (which is dumb, you should've said principle) but it doesn't work in reality. well the reality is a law is only as good as the willingness and ability to enforce it.

Yes, I remember very well why we're still here dancing. Your statement "bullshit laws get ignored or loopholed" doesn't in any way mean that laws generally don't prevent people from taking certain actions. And my concession doesn't imply that only people stop people. No way. The idea of going to prison for undertaking X crime should be enough (and often is enough) to ward people off from undertaking said crime. That's not people stopping people, that's the mere thought of severe repercussions stopping people - one of the intended effects of X law outlawing X crime. So again, yes, laws stop shit from happening.

Do you like living in your home? If so, you better pay those property taxes. I'm sure Texas has laws in place allowing the state/town to place a lien on your home if you don't pay your property taxes. That's not a bullshit law you should ignore, nor is it people forcing you to pay property taxes. To my point, has anyone come to your home demanding you pay property taxes? Probably not. But I'm betting you still pay your property taxes, don't you? Why is that? Probably because the thought of a lien being placed on your home doesn't sit well with you. That's the very thought of repercussions forcing you to follow the law.

So once again, laws prevent people from doing whatever they want with their home, car, you name it. In theory, one should be able to do as she pleases with their home, car, etc - but in reality there are several laws in place (which varies by state of course) that restrict what you can do with your property. And in most situations with most people, the law simply being on the books is enough to prevent X activity.

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