Ever since the mid-engine C8 Corvette made its debut two years ago, enthusiasts not satisfied with the stock level of performance have hoped they could turn to the aftermarket to help them.
Unfortunately, because the 2020 Corvette also marked the debut of complicated General Motors’ Global B architecture, it’s been impossible so far for the aftermarket to crack into the car’s ECU.
And, based on a new interview with Chief Engineer Tadge Juechter by Muscle Cars & Trucks, GM won’t be lending a hand to make it any easier for the aftermarket.
“The aftermarket crew is very talented and resourceful,” Juechter said to MC&T. “They have been for years. So our business model doesn’t really cater to the aftermarket; we have to do all the things internally between Corvette just like any other General Motors product. Our desire is to make the car as hackproof as possible to protect our customers.”
In other words, GM’s tough policy is for our own good, no matter how repulsive that may be to some enthusiasts.
“You know these cars are extraordinarily capable and they are also more and more computer-driven,” Juechter pointed out. “If somebody can take over those computers, they can take over your car. It hasn’t really happened yet, but sometime a high-profile vehicle takeover someday will probably happen and we want to make sure we’re putting enough firewalls in that we protect our customers every way we can. Unfortunately, that has the side effect of making that hurdle greater for the aftermarket.”
So far, the new ECU has been uncrackable for the aftermarket, with no one able to create an aftermarket forced-induction kit, even as the third year of C8 production nears. As MC&T points out, “companies like Extreme Turbo Systems and FuelTech have built 1,000+ horsepower C8 Corvettes for testing, but the work involved in the builds is far beyond what we’ve seen in the past.”
Indeed, those builds have required the use of several additional computer modules that piggy-back with the C8’s stock ECU, increasing the complexity and the price of the aftermarket systems.
Don’t expect any help from GM, either. “The answer is essentially no,” Juecther said. “We’re not going to go give everybody keys to the backdoor into our modules to do whatever they want. We think the best will figure it out.”
That does include one exception, MC&T says: “Juecther noted that due to their long-standing relationship with GM, Callaway will get a little assistance from the automaker with the C8 Corvette situation.
This has to do with the customer and warranty data that Callaway supplies GM with from their buyers, but we’ve yet to hear any specifics from either company.”
Says Juechter: “That’s probably a tough pill for some folks but we have to keep a reasonable workload for us. There are so many products out there, we can’t keep up testing them. We can barely keep up with testing our own production intended stuff to make sure that’s fully validated in every way. That’s a pretty big workload. So we really stay away from endorsing or recommending any kind of aftermarket product.”
The lack of help could also be a marketing ploy by GM. With its own higher performance models on the horizon like the Z06, E-Ray, and Zora, why would the company want to share the glory?
Source:
musclecarsandtrucks.com
Related:
Corvette Chief Engineer Tadge Juechter on Why GM Cut the Final 2021 Allocations
Corvette Chief Engineer Tadge Juechter on the 2022 Corvette LT2 Engine Updates
Corvette Chief Engineer Tadge Juechter on the C8 Corvette’s Brake Fade Warning System
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You can take this to the proverbial bank: Some enterprising Chinese or Russian guy will find a way into the Corvette ECU and every other on-board computer. Apparently they just haven’t had any interest in doing so yet. They’re too busy making a ton of money with RansomWare!
Montana Bob
I think part of the desire to hack in to increase HP is because 1. Not everyone can afford the Zora or Eray. 2. There will be limited production of those vehicles. I have seen 2019 ZR1s priced at around 170k plus. It’s hard enough to get a regular Stingray as it is already.
There is probably a 9 year old child already selling the soft ware or messing with their parents power windows as we write.
“If somebody can take over those computers they can take over your car. It hasn’t happened yet, but….” This from their chief engineer???
Corvette has the right Idea not to open the C8 up to hacking. Any time you have a Car the can run over 190 mph in a straight line it is nice to know someone can’t shut down your steering or brakes to send you on the last ride of your life time!
Yall (Corvette/GM) could at least fill up the transmission fluid all the way!!
Sounds like he’s just covering gm’s ass for when, not if the code is cracked.
Let’s hope the executive order on right to repair, which requires the FTC to actually enforce the laws already on the books, makes companies like GM rethink this. I won’t by a Tesla because of the limited service options and I Wil stop buying corvettes for the same reason if this doesn’t change.
There are two major aftermarket Twin Turbo Kits out there, LMR & Complete Street Performance (50 state carb legal) both have piggy back ecus and work flawless
We should all be highly skeptical of this reasoning. Someone can control my car by stealing the key, but that doesn’t prevent GM from giving me the ability to unlock it. This is no different.
Giving customers the key to unlock their ECUs does not mean you’ve automatically reduced the security to an unacceptable level. Just like controlling a car with a physical key requires physical access to the vehicle, so should ECU tampering. In fact, it’s more secure than keyless entry is now.
GM can easily indemnify themselves from legal accountability for modified ECUs, too as detecting a modification to ECU firmware would be trivial.
Furthermore, these keys to the ECU exist and GM has them, as well as every dealership capable of programming the ECU. I can guarantee you that a resourceful hacker with enough motivation could get their hands on them.
No, this is nothing but a way for GM to enforce repairs and updates through their dealerships while charging hundreds of dollars to connect a cable and hit a button and is, in fact, illegal as all these large companies will soon find out.
I’m sure Tadge and other engineers tell themselves these excuses and ultimately aren’t the ones making this policy, but it is utter BS that this is better for consumers.
Johnathan, Agreed!
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