From the minute the latest Mustangs were revealed, Ford said there would be roadblocks in place that prevented aftermarket tuning. Those impediments proved effective for nearly two years, with only authorized partners granted the keys to the horsepower kingdom. Now the shackles are off as HP Tuners has cracked the code to allow tuning of the latest Mustangs as well as the Broncos, Expeditions, F-150s, and Raptors.

With HP Tuners’ engineering breakthrough, no ECM upgrade service is required to enable tuning, like many late model vehicles often require. — HP Tuners

“My expectation is that the CAN bus authentication and cybersecurity effectively limits or eliminates aftermarket tuners,” former Ford Mustang Chief Nameplate Engineer Ed Krenz told us when the 2024 Mustang was revealed.. “There are companies that we’ve partnered with that have the ability within our software to do their aftermarket tuning, and they can still make those calibrations available. But they really have to be working within the Ford software environment, and it can’t just exhale our code and inhale new code. That isn’t going to work anymore.”

No longer will you have to add a supercharger to recalibrate your 2024-and-newer V-8 Mustang. HP Tuners now offers custom tuning of the latest Mustangs and more via its MPVI2/MPVI2+/MPVI3 OBD-II devices and VCM Suite software. (Photo Credit: Ford Motor Company)

Though HP Tuners didn’t share exactly how its engineers circumvented these factory safeguards, the floodgates are now open after an extended delay.

“Defying the odds yet again, HP Tuners now gives DIY vehicle enthusiasts and professional automotive shops the ability to read, edit, write, scan, log, and diagnose all Ford models with the MG1CS036 ECM,” the company announced. “These models only require an MPVI2/MPVI2+/MPVI3 OBDII device, (four) Universal Credits, and the latest version of VCM Suite (BETA) software for tuning. With HP Tuners’ engineering breakthrough, no ECM upgrade service is required to enable tuning, like many late model vehicles often require.”

While unleashing the performance of the 2024-2025 Ford Mustang GT and Dark Horse might be the headline news, there is a host of other vehicles that will benefit from HP Tuners’ calibrations. They include the 2021-2025 Ford Bronco (2.7-liter), 2022-2025 Ford Bronco Raptor (3.0-liter), 2022-2023 Ford Expedition 3.5-liter, the 2021-2023 Ford F-150 (2.7-liter, 3.5-liter, and 5.0-liter), the 2023 Ford F-150 Raptor R (5.2-liter), and the 2022-2025 Ford Ranger Raptor (3.0-liter).

Proven Power

“For professional tuning shops and automotive businesses, HP Tuners is thrilled to also support these models on their latest RTD4 device for remote tuning using Tune Delivery Network,” HP Tuners added.

Among the first out of the gate with a calibration for the latest Mustangs was Palm Beach Dyno, which used Steeda’s 2024 Q500 Mustang development vehicle, which is already upgraded with headers and a cold air kit, to test its calibration.

One of the first cars tuned via the HP Tuners hardware and software was a Steeda Q500 Mustang development car calibrated by Ken Bjonnes at Palm Beach Dyno. Its naturally aspirated Gen 4 Coyote 5.0-liter engine picked up an impressive 28 horsepower and 22 lb-ft of torque with the PBD custom 93-octane tune. (Image Credit: Steeda)

“We did over 30 pulls on this thing because I’m just making very small changes. I mean, I could just copy and paste a bunch of stuff from Gen 3 and hope it works, but that’s not how I do things,” Ken Bjonnes of Palm Beach Dyno explained. “I’m making very methodical changes.”

The car’s naturally aspirated Gen 4 Coyote 5.0-liter picked up an impressive 28 horsepower and 22 lb-ft of torque at the rear wheels on a Fourth-gear pull with 93-octane pump gas in the tank.

With the ability to tune these vehicles now available, we suspect there might be a spike in sales, as well as a whole level of performance from the latest Fords.