Tuners Are About To Go Wild After Ford’s Locked ECU Finally Got Cracked

Back in 2022, the S650 Mustang arrived to much anticipation, but with one frustrating caveat: Ford locked down its ECU, leaving tuners shut out. That move effectively stalled efforts to unlock more performance. Until now.

HP Tuners just cracked Ford’s MG1CS036 ECU, opening the door for real tuning access and, in turn, more power. Dyno tuning requires access to several key parameters, and without this access, it leaves many owners unable to tune their cars without installing a third-party ECU. Now, the constraints have come off several late-model Ford vehicles. Horsepower figures around the country are about to go up.

Also: Ford Won’t Give “Unauthorized Tuners” Access To The Mustang S650

Up until now, owners of the S650 Mustang had access to all sorts of aftermarket parts, but optimizing was tough. Beyond putting an all-new third-party ECU with a custom tune into the car, the only other real method was a daisychain of sorts that would emulate the gains of a tune. Of course, Ford offered its own aftermarket kits and tunes, but they come with their own realm of price tag too.

What HP Tuners just did was basically unlock the ECU so that trained professionals can get in there and turn the dials. It doesn’t just work for the Mustang either. The full list of vehicles unlocked with this change includes the 2021-2023 F-150 (Including the 2023 Raptor R), the 2021-2025 Bronco (Including the Raptor and Ranger Raptor), the 2022-2023 Expedition, and the 2024-2025 Mustang GT and Dark Horse.

That’s a prolific list of vehicles that you’ll likely see at your local dyno shop more often now. First spotted by Ford Authority, one shop, Palm Beach Dyno, has already had its hands on the software and showed us a little of what to expect. In the video below, Ken from PBD takes us through working on a lightly modified Mustang.

In the end, he manages to extract almost 30 horsepower and 20 lb-ft of torque more in fourth gear. Yes, the car in question has some modifications, but this is a great indication of what owners can expect. Notably, this new unlock doesn’t require a visit to a dyno to reap some of the benefits.

More: BMW Tuners Are Already Trying To Fix The New X3’s Styling

Dyno shops like PDB offer remote tuning, which costs more typically but doesn’t require a trip to the actual shop. Notably, those who want to take advantage of remote tuning will need an MPV12 or newer OBDII device or HP Tuners’ own RTD 4. 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by HP Tuners (@hptuners)

var adpushup = window.adpushup = window.adpushup || {que:[]};
adpushup.que.push(function() {
if (adpushup.config.platform !== “DESKTOP”){
adpushup.triggerAd(“bb7964e9-07de-4b06-a83e-ead35079d53c”);
} else {
adpushup.triggerAd(“9b1169d9-7a89-4971-a77f-1397f7588751”);
}
});

Credit: HP Tuners

#Tuners #Wild #Fords #Locked #ECU #Finally #Cracked