Why's Ford not allowing people to tune the S650 Mustang?

[AZ_Ryan]

I wonder why Ford allowed the S550 (2015-2023) to be tuned when the S550 & S650 are 95% the same car...

Because the electronics are very different, and technology has advanced considerably since 2015. As mentioned above, they are worried about security and liability. I agree that this is the new norm moving forward. I also agree the factory tune is significantly better than previous gen coyotes.

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[Paul's stable]

I'm reading all these great theory's. However I believe it's just as simple as money. Ford locks the tune, then after a year they start selling tunes for the car. Now all that tunner money is now going back to Ford. Simple.

 

[VileKnight]

Multiple answers can be true at once, but you can bet a large sum of cash that the cybersecurity answer is going to be the main reason why the computer is locked down. If it wasn't, you could only imagine the chaos that would follow if people got their hands on a way to take control of the car at a whim, or steal it while the owner is away? It's a real threat, and THOSE threats are the ones that could come back to bite Ford in the butt.

It's easy to point and scream about a company being greedy or making a money grab - and of course companies can be guilty of that - but that doesn't mean that is the reason for this particular choice.

All that being said, if Ford wants to make tunes available for a price (assuming high quality) then hey, more power to them. I am sure a lot of us would be willing to check it out. Give me more performance and keep warranty? That isn't a bad option!

 

[robvas]

I'm reading all these great theory's. However I believe it's just as simple as money. Ford locks the tune, then after a year they start selling tunes for the car. Now all that tunner money is now going back to Ford. Simple.

You can't compare the Ford Performance tunes to aftermarket tunes.

 

[Paul's stable]

You can't compare the Ford Performance tunes to aftermarket tunes.

I was not comparing the quality of the tune. If you took the time to read. I was commenting on why they locked the tune. As for quality I have a Whipple/Ford tune and it works great.

 

[robvas]

I was not comparing the quality of the tune. If you took the time to read. I was commenting on why they locked the tune. As for quality I have a Whipple/Ford tune and it works great.

As long as you don't want E85, or to be able to tune the trans, or....

 

[ChitownStang]

As long as you don't want E85, or to be able to tune the trans, or....

That is the problem! E85 is a big boost in low end torque. It’s the only real way to make noticeable power on NA setup

 

[8LAKK8UNSHINE]

Gregs and Hoser had it right. It's a mixture of the EPA European emmissions requirements and cybersecurity. In order to sell cars globablly, Ford has to abide by Euro rules and unless we get US specific software, that is an issue. Also there is the idea that people can hack into the car and control it. Ford is scared to death of that liability. Certain trusted vendors currently have the keys and that may be the way of the future. The best thing to do is get an S550 and say F-it. I would lean more towards a C7 Z06 right now bc you can get those for 70k now and a good GT is 60 anyway.

 

[GrabberB]

I'd venture to say this is mostly an EPA issue. The EPA is tightening the screws down on vehicle manufactures. Here's some of my thoughts (opinions).

1. The EPA is smart enough to know that Ford has the money and technology to make their ECU's darn near uncrackable.
2. Ford is smart enough to be aware of 1. above.
3. I imagine the EPA would come down rather hard on Ford if they made their ECU's easy to "jailbreak" which in turn would allow "turners" easy pickings.
4. I don't see this as a money grab by Ford.
5. How can this be a giant money grab given the low number of Mustang sales?
6. Many on this forum have posted about # 5. above.
7. I imagine the percentage of Mustang owners who modify their cars heavily is probably pretty small. For sake of guessing let's say 10%. I don't think Ford's make or break strategy is based on 10% of Mustang sales that are reportedly very low. I'm not talking about cosmetic mods like, wheels, graphics, carbon fiber, window tint etc.

I'll close with this thought. It would be nice to see Ford spread their efforts out more evenly i.e., refine Q.C. to the same level as their "locked" ECU which they seem to have "nailed".

Again, this is just my opinion.

 

[Bear376]

Look at what happened in the past. Volkswagen and others tried to trick the EPA and it worked for a few years, but then they got caught and all Hades erupted. Look at how much VW lost over that fiasco. Manufacturers have numerous issues with bringing their cars into the modern computer age. Any flaws or vulnerabilities in the software are going to have more than just irritated customers.

 

[Gregs24]

I'm reading all these great theory's. However I believe it's just as simple as money. Ford locks the tune, then after a year they start selling tunes for the car. Now all that tunner money is now going back to Ford. Simple.

You will find that the 'theories' I posted were backed up by links to the evidence!

No need to believe anything!

 

[downtheroad]

General trend of the recent generations of brain dead skill lacking snowflake society. IMHO brought on by social media and lack of a decent reality.

 

[Gregs24]

General trend of the recent generations of brain dead skill lacking snowflake society. IMHO brought on by social media and lack of a decent reality.

Typical response by Luddite with no clue about current and future threats and challenges!

Works both ways

 

[AZ_Ryan]

I'm reading all these great theory's. However I believe it's just as simple as money. Ford locks the tune, then after a year they start selling tunes for the car. Now all that tunner money is now going back to Ford. Simple.

But they've always sold Ford tunes and previous generations were not locked.

 

[Gregs24]

But they've always sold Ford tunes and previous generations were not locked.

The reasons they are locked is all covered in the posts above.

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