Ford’s New S650 Mustang Is Going To Be Very Difficult For Tuners
Ford’s ‘Fully Networked Vehicle’ S650 is great for connectivity, but for privacy sake, all systems get a hefty lock.
It won’t surprise us one bit if the tune on you S650 Mustang is a bit steeply priced. Why? Well, your average tuner is going to have to essentially jump through impossible hoops to achieve any tuning at all. A report from Road & Track includes inside knowledge from chief engineer, Ed Krenz.
To start, Ford’s “Fully Networked Vehicle” architecture is great for the average driver. It allows a host of convenience features to be available. But on the flipside, Ford has their hands tied. If a vehicle is part of a network, personal information is part of that network. For the typical Ford buyer , that’s something as simple as a saved home address in your navigation or saved contact information from your phone. Consequently, the law considers that to be personal information, and companies have to lock access to it. Security breaches containing that kind of information can carry huge fines. And because the whole vehicle is part of the network, the ECU gets its own lock, too.
As in, encrypted.
Tuners take note, because Ford has to make there systems hack-proof. Want a turbo or any sort of power-adder for your Ford Mustang? We’ll, you’re going to have to access the engine mapping. And if you can’t get to that, then there’s no sense in designing something to stuff more air down the Mustang GT’s new dual throttle bodies. Does some of it have to do with emissions? Probably. The EPA has made it tougher and tougher for car companies. But tuners have it the worst.
Now of course, there’s always someone who can figure out a way around it. A computer whiz out there likely will be able to crack the code and get engine mapping available. But it would be awfully nice if Ford simply handed you the keys to the locked information. That’s exactly what we expect to happen with Ford endorsed tuners, like Roush. They would likely be given special permissions and be able to change mapping to match any potential performance products made for the car.
Photos: Ford
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