When Dodge dropped the third-generation Hemi V8 in 2003, Mopar fans immediately saw the potential. The engine made its debut under the hood of the Dodge Ram 1500 before finding its way into the engine bays of the Charger, Magnum, Challenger, and a number of other Mopar vehicles in the years to come. But despite the fact that this new Hemi offered significant power improvements over the 5.9-liter Magnum V8 that it replaced, it wasn’t long before enthusiasts started looking for ways to get even more grunt from the new 5.7-liter pushrod mill.

“When these Hemi-powered vehicles really started hitting the streets in bigger numbers around 2006 or so, there just weren’t a lot of options for folks who wanted to tune this new V8,” explains DiabloSport’s Senior Product Manager for domestic tuning, Michael Litsch. “We recognized a gap in the market: performance calibrations for stock or near-stock vehicles as well as custom tuning solutions for more elaborate builds. We also spoke to customers to really get a sense of what their priorities were and what they wanted to get out of a tuning product. That really dictated the direction of our development.”

Early DiabloSport Tuners for Mopar Enthusiasts

These efforts resulted in the first-generation DiabloSport Predator handheld tuner as well as the Trinity T1000, both of which launched in 2008 and quickly caught on with Mopar enthusiasts. “These tuners were state of the art for their day,” says Litsch. “Not only did they offer pre-loaded tunes, they gave you the ability to read and clear codes, view live data, and so on. And in the case of the T1000, it was one of the first performance tuning monitors available for these vehicles.”

Modern Tuning Solutions for the Ram 1500

Fast forward to today and DiabloSport now offers several distinct tuning solutions for late-model Ram 1500 pickups that include the budget-friendly PredatorX, the innovative inTune i3 handheld, and the advanced Trinity T2, the latter of which combines sophisticated tuning capabilities with robust real-time monitoring features.

“And the inTune i3 is something that fits in the palm of your hand, has a full color touchscreen, USB and Wi-Fi connectivity for updates, and more than 10 times the processing power than we had back then. And that means that the tunes build quicker, the interface is more responsive, and in some cases, even the process of flashing the vehicle is faster,” Litsch says. “These products also have multi-license capability, which allows you to tune multiple vehicles with the same device.”

Over that same span of time, the way in which Dodge and its sister brands designed their vehicles’ Powertrain Control Modules (PCMs) evolved as well. These units oversee the operation of the engine, in turn dictating how much performance these Hemi V8s will dish out in a given driving scenario. While the PCMs in early Gen III Hemi V8-equipped vehicles essentially left the door wide open for tuning, the situation started to change in 2011.

When OEMs Started Locking Down the PCM

“OEMs can also ‘lock the door’ with the PCM, so to speak, to prevent customers from tuning their vehicles, and 2011 is when Dodge and Ram implemented the first level of PCM security,” Litsch recalls. “It actually took us two years to figure out how to get past that and release products for the 2011 and 2012-model-year vehicles. And in 2013 they changed the process again by implementing a new boot loader and other security measures, and it took us another year to work around that for the ’13 and ’14 models. Then, in 2015, they took things to a whole new level.”

The 2015 Encryption Challenge

The 2015 PCM update incorporated a rolling encryption system which meant that even if someone managed to bypass the encryption, the unlock method they used would become invalid the very next day. The upshot is that any 2015 or newer PCM in a Dodge, Ram, or Jeep vehicle cannot be tuned without the PCM being physically removed from the vehicle and modified. As you can imagine, this presented some significant challenges for tuning outfits like DiabloSport.

“Because you can’t just plug the tuner into the OBD-II port and go to town, we needed to come up with a solution that would allow us to modify or replace the PCM without creating this situation where the customer would have an inoperable vehicle for week or more during the period of time when the PCM is shipped out, modified, and shipped back to the customer.”

The DiabloSport PCM Swap Solution

Litsch says that solution came in the form of DiabloSport’s PCM swap service.

“We have a wide variety of different SKUs based on individual year/make/model of 2015 and newer Dodge, Ram, and Jeep vehicles, and when you purchase one of these tuning products, it includes the cost of the PCM swap when you buy it. And what that means is that when you receive the product, you go to our website and fill out the PCM swap form with info on your vehicle and the serial number of your tuning device. From there we pull a PCM off of the shelf, program it with your vehicle’s information, and ship it to you with a return shipping label. Now you have an unlocked PCM that’s ready to go while you still have your original factory PCM, so the vehicle downtime is only for the few minutes that it takes to swap out the factory PCM for the unlocked unit that we shipped to you. We provide instructions and videos that illustrate how to remove the factory PCM and install the new one. The installation is very straightforward – the entire process should take about 15 minutes for anyone with basic mechanical knowledge. We also give you two weeks to ship the factory PCM back to us, so you can do this install whenever it’s convenient for you.”

Dealership Compatibility and Service

Litsch also points out that the unlocked PCM will function exactly like the factory PCM when it comes to servicing, so you won’t have to make any changes if you need to take the vehicle to the dealership. “We’ve done our homework here – it will behave 100% the same as the factory PCM did from that standpoint. There won’t be any new codes or anything like that. Some of our competitors’ PCMs will create code on the backend that might not even trigger a Check Engine Light, but a service technician will see it and know that the PCM has been modified. Ours do not do that.”

Optional PKIT Packages for Extra Flexibility

For those who want additional peace of mind, DiabloSport also offers PKITs, which combine the tuning the device with a new PCM that’s been programmed for your specific vehicle as one complete package. In this scenario, you’d keep both the DiabloSport-programmed PCM as well as your original factory PCM for an additional cost as compared to the standard PCM swap service. Kits are offered with either an inTune i3 or a Trinity 2 tuner.

Installing a PCM on the Ram 1500

Litsch notes that the PCM installation process on the 2015 and newer Ram 1500 is even easier than what you’d encounter in LX-based Dodge passenger cars like the Challenger and Charger.

“In the cars the PCM is located up by the firewall and kind of squeezed in below the windshield, but in the Rams and SUVs it’s all out in the open, right over by the battery. There’s three bolts that hold the PCM in place, so you remove those and then disconnect the two locking data connectors from the top of the PCM. At that point the PCM slides right out. And you just reverse the process to install the new PCM. With 2015 to 2018 model-year vehicles, you can start tuning from there.” For 2019 and newer vehicles, the tuning device needs to be plugged into the OBD-II port before the PCM swap has been done so that the tuning device can scan system information from the vehicle. After that’s been done, you can proceed with the PCM installation process as it’s explained above.

Current Vehicle Support

DiabloSport currently offers support for Ram 1500s up to the 2022 model year (with the exception of the Ram 1500 TRX, which is supported up to the 2024 model year). Passenger cars like the Challenger and Charger are supported up to the 2023 model year, while the Durango and Jeep Grand Cherokee SUVs are supported up to the 2024 and 2022 model years, respectively. And it should come as no surprise that DiabloSport is hard at work developing tuning solutions for the latest Mopar offerings as well.

“We got our hands on the new Dodge Charger Sixpack recently, and it’s currently on our dyno for testing. I think there’s going to be some really impressive results with that one. Stay tuned.”