Yahoo Autos The 2020 Chevrolet C8 Corvette's Engine Computer is Tuner-Resistant? We Think Not
At issue here is the question of whether or not the mid-engined C8 Corvette can have its engine computer tuned by aftermarket software.
While MuscleCarsandTrucks.com claims that is the case, we have reasons to doubt that conclusion.
In all likelihood, there is confusion over the C8's anti-hacking software, software that every modern vehicle is sold with.
The site MuscleCarsandTrucks.com is making the potentially explosive claim that the 2020 Chevrolet C8 Corvette-heard of it?-may be "un-tunable." As in, you can't modify the car's engine computer to juice more power out of it without potentially "bricking" the car, or at the very least sending the electronics into a snit where they reduce engine power to a sort of safety mode.
According to that site's sources, the C8's engine computer will be capable of detecting fun-loving, power-swelling code and defaulting to a sort of "recovery mode," in MuscleCarsandTrucks' words. That may be true, but there are hints in that publication's wording that suggests they're making a mountain from a molehill. For sure, the C8 likely has some computer encryption-as most cars do-that when faced with incomplete or incompatible software will default to a failsafe mode. MuscleCarsandTrucks.com says the C8 will do this when "a programming event fails."
That alone doesn't suggest to us that the C8 is impervious to aftermarket tuning efforts-only that the C8 is, well, like any other modern vehicle. We've reached out to Chevrolet about this and previous Corvettes' computer encryptions just in case, and have (predictably) not yet received a response. What likely is at play here is that MuscleCarsandTrucks.com's sources were answering questions regarding GM’s new Global B electrical architecture, which is said to be very secure from hacking. Yes, ECUs so equipped will brick themselves if malicious code is introduced into theirs-but that’s separate from tuning efforts.
To us, what MuscleCarsandTrucks.com is describing isn't going to be a big concern for any C8 buyer, or the tuners who like to manipulate code in the pursuit of power. Even today's C7 Corvette has layers of security similar to what's described here, and it is hardly "un-tunable." Properly fleshed-out tuning software, although it'll likely void the C8 Corvette's warranty, likely isn't an impossibility. So, rest easy, eager Corvette fans: your mid-engined future Vette won't be some rolling locked iPhone.
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