Dodge Developing a Tuning Nightmare for Next Generation Muscle Cars

Future Dodge Challenger & Charger may have a multi-stage security system to prevent tuning.

The Dodge Challenger and Charger can both be modified to make far more power than stock, but pulling big power from the Hemi V8s requires engine tuning. With the current models, FCA has built a security feature into the PCM to prevent aftermarket tuning. This system is in place to help protect the company from excessive warranty expenses incurred by fixing cars that have broken parts with gobs of extra power.

Fortunately, the aftermarket tuning community cracked the code, so to speak, opening up the computer systems to power-adding adjustments. We detailed this engine security system last year, which doesn’t do anything but cost the owner more during the tuning process.

It took the tuning community some time to work around this security feature in the modern Dodge Challenger and Charger, including the Hellcat models. According to several inside sources, the next generation Dodge muscle cars could have a much more intricate system that will make tuning more difficult and more expensive.

Unlocking the Dodge PCM

If you want to tune your newer Dodge Challenger or Charger, you have to either buy an unlocked PCM or send your stock PCM out to be unlocked. If you buy a tuning device from a company like Diablosport and have not unlocked your PCM, your tuning device will not be able to upload the new tune due to the imbedded security system. Because of that, tuning shops and companies that sell tuning devices generally bundle the unlocked PCM with a tuning device.

Unlocked PCMs cost around $800 or having your factory PCM unlocked costs around $200, but the process is simple. Once you have an unlocked PCM, you can have your engine tuned. Since the security system unlocking method was discovered, the PCM security system serves as little more than an expensive headache for owners who want more power.

Unfortunately, several insiders who are familiar with FCA’s current projects have told us that the company is working on a multi-stage computer security system that will be far more complex. We don’t expect that it will prevent tuning altogether, but with this system, the tuning effort will become far more intricate and expensive.

Multi-Stage PCM Security

According to our insiders, the multi-stage PCM security system will use the other computer modules throughout the vehicle to cross-check the engine tune. With this layout, the other computer systems will communicate with the PCM on start-up. Each computerized module involved in the process will effectively check to make sure that the PCM is unaltered. If the Transmission Control Module, the Body Control Module or even the radio system detect that something has been changed with the engine tune, the car will go into a safe mode. When that happens, the car will need to visit the dealership where a technician will use FCA software to check the systems. If they find that the engine has been tuned, you will be paying out of pocket to get the PCM straightened out.

Our insiders don’t know for sure which vehicles could get this system first, but if the goal is to prevent aftermarket tuning, the Challenger and Charger make the most sense. However, we would expect that over time, all FCA vehicles will feature this system.

Provided that such a system is integrated into the next generation Challenger and Charger, the owner will likely need to have each of the modules which communicate with the PCM tuned as well. They will need to make it so that the other modules recognize the aftermarket tune as the correct tune. Like the PCM, we would expect that the other modules will be “locked”, so to tune a next generation Dodge muscle car, the owner may have to pay to have several modules unlocked and modified to reflect the aftermarket engine tune.

The good news is that this new security system should be at least a few years away. When it arrives, the tuning community will surely get right to work in cracking every aspect of the security system. It may take them longer than usual due to the complexity and when they establish a work-around, it is likely to be more expensive than the unlocked PCM in the likes of the Challenger and Charger Hellcat.

Vehicle Images for DodgeForum: Patrick Rall

PCM image: Mopar

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Patrick Rall

"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.

"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.

"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.

"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.

"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.

"Being based on Detroit," says Rall, "I never miss the North American International Auto Show, the Woodward Dream Cruise and Roadkill Nights, along with spending plenty of time raising hell on Detroit's Woodward Avenue with the best muscle car crowd in the world.

Rall can be contacted at QuickMirada@Yahoo.com

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