Aftermarket ECU tuning is rampant with car owners, along with adding body accessories and changing rims, among others. These are part of the experience of ownership, and want to get more out of the car purchased with your hard earned cash.
Future Ford Bronco owners, however, may not get the benefit of a boost to their SUV via ECU tune. This is due in large part to its ability to carry out over-the-air updates, which also use heavy cybersecurity and encryption measures.
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Ford acknowledges this problem, knowing that the aftermarket scene is a viable place for expansion. According to an interview with Muscle Cars & Trucks, Ford Bronco program manager Jeff Seaman said the Blue Oval is currently working with SEMA to put the process down.
In neutral, Ford and the tuner have to work hand-in-hand to make this work – how it will happen plus the whole process remains to be seen.
“I think this is definitely an opportunity to explore as we move forward. We have the OTA architecture in place for the Bronco, but how that works with third-party developers vs. doing it in-house and internal updates is still there. something to see how it will work, ”Seaman added.
There are other cars that have OTA capabilities there – most notable is the Chevrolet Corvette C8. While Hennessey Performance Engineering is already in the process of offering twin-turbo upgrades for the first mid-engined C8, and in fact the sports car has been powered without an ECU tune, the Texas company is yet to officially release a successful tune – you probably know but why.
But then again, nothing is impossible. We’re just happy to hear that Ford is in open talks with third party tuners and considers the OTA’s cyber security to be a problem.
