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HP Tuners are set to take the fast Ford scene by storm, so we catch up their Director of European Operations, Rob McIntyre, to find out why…
We catch up with Rob McIntyre to find out more on HP Tuners.
When were HP Tuners founded?
In 2003, when one of our founders was looking to add some extra power to his Holden Monaro (he’s an Aussie). Having worked with a local tuner, and discovering how poor the available tuning package was, he decided to write his own with significantly more user parameters. After teaming up with two guys based in the US (who faced similar challenges), HP Tuners was born. Since then it’s continued to grow, and we have just started to cater for the European markets as well.
What products does HP Tuners offer for UK-based Ford owners?
We have an awesome suite of products that will help you get the ultimate performance from your Ford. Bundle the VCM Scanner with MPVI2 (our OBD tool) and you have the most powerful and comprehensive scanning tool on the market. You can view, chart, and log diagnostic data in real time via the vehicle’s OBDII diagnostic data port; allowing you to view and clear vehicle Diagnostic Trouble Codes (DTCs) as well as command control functions like closed loop, fans, gear select, timing, air fuel ratio and so much more, all in real time. No editor package can be considered complete without these comprehensive scan tool capabilities.
Add into the mix HP Tuners’ easy to use but deceptively powerful VCM Editor and you can really start to extract the maximum performance from all those other aftermarket additions you’ve made.
VCM Editor used with MPVI2 allows the tuner to modify the performance parameters for your unique engine spec. Once the changes are made, the new engine map can be ‘flashed’ back to the engine’s ECU, instantly changing the engine performance. Flashing takes mere seconds, which means that a tuner can make a change, test it on the rolling road, tweak the mapping, re-flash, and re-test, to achieve the optimum performance levels, in the shortest possible time.
We also have some cool video overlay and telemetry software too; Race Render and Track Addict, for track day fans who want to analyse their lap times and car’s performance more thoroughly.
What UK-spec Ford models does HP Tuners currently support?
Currently we support the Fiesta ST (Mk7 and Mk8), Fiesta 1.0 (Mk7 and Mk8), Focus ST/RS (Mk3) and Mustangs from 2001 to present. In the pipeline we also have support coming for the Ranger 2.2 and 3.2, as well as the new Mk4 Focus ST. Of course, more models will follow those too.
How do you see the future of tuning evolving over the next few years?
Europe is definitely a unique market, not only do we have many different vehicle types we also have legislation that varies country to country. Kitting solutions are much more prevalent in Europe than any other territory with bulk tuning package offerings being the major part of sales. Whilst the serious enthusiast is looking for the bespoke tune, more and more are looking for a plug ‘n’ play product with all the bells and whistles. The solution to this growing trend is a set of tools that allows simple upload capabilities whilst offering user flexibility to access the latest technology for logging data, mapping, video etc. High speed uploads and ease to change from tune to tune will be paramount in our opinion.
Where do you hope to see HP Tuners in 5 year’s time?
Obviously we want to be the go-to tuning tool for Europe. We already cover more brands than any other manufacturer, our challenge now is to grow the products we offer the European market with the dedicated UK infrastructure. I’d love to tell you more now, but I’m afraid you’ll have to keep watching the news via our website, social media platforms and of course the great team at Fast Ford mag for the latest updates as they're announced.