I know that many people are really itching for an update on the progress of our tuning (and tuning for the market as a whole) for the 6.7L Powerstroke. There have been many theories and rumors flying about, generated from either speculation and wild-*** guessing or from unfounded claims by companies looking to produce product, contaminating the real truth of the situation to the point that the BS is really just starting to drive me nuts. So I think it's time I put some of the false information to bed.
First, I'll refer back to claims made last year, before the 6.7 production trucks were built, that tuners would be prepared and ready virtually on the same time frame as the trucks would be produced. We made these claims, and so did a small handful of others- I can remember personally saying so myself. At this point, I think it's safe to point out that myself and those others are basically getting to "eat crow" on said statements, as we all sit past 6 months of truck production and no flash tuning product on the market.
I think the first thing appropriate to the customers who have been waiting would be to explain why. Despite having what we thought at the time to be everything needed to tune the truck (and on pre-production vehicles, it was, and in previous experience on other vehicles likewise) a curve-ball was thrown in by the manufacturer of the trucks' ECU right before production. A 1024K RSA encryption was installed in the processor to verify the contents of each truck's calibration- rendering the tune file invalid if the encryption isn't recalculated after changes to the ECU's memory- meaning any change in the tuning file, at all. Anyone with experience with computers in general will know that a 1024k encryption is a major stumbling block- those levels of protection were considered military-grade only a year or two back.
If you'll note, there have only been two trucks actually shown with DPF/CAT/UREA deletes. One from us, and one from another company (also note that all the videos shown have contained either one of the two same trucks- ours or theirs). This is because both trucks were tuned on early pre-production ECU's that didn't contain the encryption protection- and to the best of my knowledge, these were the only two modules that have slipped into the hands of the aftermarket- hence why no more than two trucks, currently tuned. I've heard rumors of a couple other companies supposedly testing DPF-on tuning; but that's a different story entirely. What I'm saying here applies to the small handful companies you'll see mentioned on this site; including Spartan.
I've kept quiet concerning our release dates since early on in vehicle production, until the situation was resolved and a solution was available to put usable tuners in the hands of customers (not everyone has, however) due to not knowing on a tangible time-frame when something would truly be available.
All of the dyno graphs, videos of smoking trucks, straight pipes, ect up to this point have been basically a smoke-and-mirrors show to cover up the the absolute lack of actual delivery of ANY product, even for testing. I'm not going to play innocent on that matter either- we did it earlier on too. I'm sure there are some manufacturers on this forums who will whine and cry and try to claim that it isn't true, that they've been tuning trucks for months and they have product ready to deliver in only "2 Weeks!" (refer back to the claim of some other companies who claimed "2 weeks away" for 6 straight months on the 6.4L some time back) but I'll beg the question to those who have been promised to be testers by those companies- hell, even a couple by us- have you gotten your hands on ANYTHING more than a list of excuses at this point, and if so, where is the evidence?
I hope this provides a little insight as to why nothing is available yet- since it has become obvious no one else is going to grow balls and admit what has really went on behind the scenes, I think enough time has went by with the 6.7L customer base being mislead into thinking tuners will be ready tomorrow. I've watched this same drama show unfold with other companies with the 6.4L, and I swore to myself then I wouldn't play the role of politician in order to cover up what really goes on and drag out thousands of anxious and excited customers. Enough of that has gone already with the 2011 trucks.
The good news of the whole matter is that anything that can be built can be broken, and luckily light is starting to form at the end of the tunnel. As of just a very short period of time ago, we do now have a method to overcome the RSA- much further testing is required to ensure integrity of the software, a clean return to stock, and various other issues, but I'm happy to report that the aftermarket is NOT screwed for flash tuning on this platform.
It will certainly require some more time, but if everything goes well we will start delivering product within 2010. We aren't going to accept full pre-orders at this point, but for anyone wishing, we can certainly place you on the list to hold a unit if you'd like to contact our sales, and we will get back with you when they are finally ready to ship.
We may be the first company to market with 6.7L flash tuning; we may not. But if nothing else comes of these facts being known, at least it will be made clear that we aren't going to hasten a product to market that may endanger customers' vehicles and warranties, and everyone will know exactly why they've been waiting for a product altogether. And as for some true measurements of the performance gain- we will announce that when the ability to actually test on a wide variety vehicles is ready, rather than trying to claim "testing" and "research and development" on only one truck, as is being done now by some- and passed off as a real measure of the performance it will deliver.
In the end, it will be quite interesting to see who adamantly denies the proverbial cat-out-of-the-bag I've let loose here, in order to save face. However, I think the truth speaks for itself, and anyone who wants to know the truth need only read back through 8-12 months of postings to see even without what I've said here.
Regardless of the details, I hope everyone waiting to tune their 6.7L will rest a bit easier knowing what's going on, rather than wondering. :tard:
