Last week Superchips announced the release of Flashpaq performance tuning for 2019-2020 Silverado & Sierra trucks equipped with the 5.3L and 6.2L V8 engines. This was a massive break through for our team as it took significant engineering effort to get these pre-loaded handheld flash tuners available to the market. The locked ECM GM is now using in their trucks wasn’t an easy egg to crack, but our team conquered that mountain and the adjustable features and performance gains now available to you with Flashpaq are incredible. If you noticed the requirement of the ‘ECM Send In’ that is included with the Flashpaq 2847-S but have hesitations because of it, we want to clear the air and set the record straight on how simple the ECM Send In is, why it’s required, and why it shouldn’t worry you.

Locked ECM’s are nothing new to us, as some OE manufacturers have been using them for years now. Take Chrysler for instance, we had to overcome the hurdle of locked PCM’s 6-years ago when Chrysler made the switch in the 2015 Ram 1500 trucks and Jeep Wrangler JK. In those particular applications, we developed our PCM Swap process that allows us to ship you an unlocked PCM to swap into your vehicle in place of your factory locked unit. This swap process minimizes your vehicle’s down time to just the amount of time it takes you to swap the computers out. Up until the 2019 model year, the Chrysler based vehicles have really been the only platforms we deal with on a regular basis with locked PCMs. At least that was the case until GM released the new body style Silverado and Sierra trucks in 2019. These trucks used an all-new, smarter ECM that took extensive efforts on our end to not only how we would tune the truck, but also obstacles on how you, the end user, would ever be able to flash it with a pre-loaded handheld at home.

There are other Unlock ECM options for the 2019-2020 truck on the market, but we didn’t feel their process was an easy one, as even once unlocked, it would still require you to take the vehicle to a custom tuning shop to have them build files specific to your vehicle. This process seemed clunky and more importantly, expensive. Two things we always try to steer clear of with our devices. The other tuning options on the market required a very expensive ECM unlock (also send in only), the expense of paying a custom tuner for the tunes, and on top of all that, the time you’d have invested in making that all happen. Plus, you’ve got to be lucky enough to have a qualified tuning shop in your local area to do it all for you. So when we dove into the 2019-2020 GM Gas truck project, we had two main goals, keep it as simple as we could for our customer and keep it as affordable as possible.

Creating the performance calibrations for the Flashpaq specific to the 2019-2020 5.3L and 6.2L engines was the easiest part of this whole process, as our calibration team has years of experience and first hand knowledge of tuning the GM platforms. With their expertise and our state-of-the-art dyno testing facility, making the adjustments we found were needed to improve your overall driving experience was almost second nature. It was the obstacle of getting those calibrations into our pre-loaded Flashpaq device, so you could flash them into a locked ECM at home that presented the challenge. Due to some vehicle other parameters and module control laced into the factory ECM, performing our standard PCM Swap on new ECM’s and shipping them to you wasn’t going to be an option. Each trucks specific ECM needs to remain in the truck, after unlocking, so that all those other factory systems remain to function as they should. Sending you an unlocked ECM to install with the device, that isn’t the original from the truck, would require a trip to the dealer for a flash, before you could install our Flashpaq. This obviously creates an issue since that blank unlocked ECM wouldn’t allow your truck to run or drive. While, it is an option, again, that route seemed clunky, inconvenient and time consuming for you the customer. Plus, involving a GM dealer into this just adds more expense, something we obviously want to avoid if/when possible.

To overcome these obstacles, our innovative ECM Send In process was developed to offer the easiest route to get your truck up and running with our performance tuning calibrations while offering you the reliability and adjustability you expect from Superchips. All of it is right there at your finger tips for adjusting the speedometer after a tire size change. Adjusting the top speed limiter is just a button away and even disabling your DFM system or modifying your TPMS settings is simple and straight forward.

The ECM Send In process starts off when you receive your device. Inside the packaging, you’ll find a QR code that will send you to an online form where you’ll enter your VIN, device part number (2847-S) and your device serial number. Once added to your cart, you’ll enter your personal information and submit it to us. This data is stored in our files for use once your ECM arrives at our Florida location. We’ll use this form to complete our ECM unlock procedures and be sure we’re returning the ECM to the correct address.

Using the video below as a guide, you can then remove the ECM from your truck to package up and send to us for unlocking. Depending on how quickly you opt to ship the ECM to us, we can have it back to you in as little 3-days. The original purchase of your Flashpaq includes the cost of unlocking your ECM and overnight return shipping it back to you. ECM Send In’s will always take priority over our other daily tasks, as we know you can’t afford to have the truck down any longer than it needs to be. When sending your ECM to us, please be mindful of the shipping days required, and that we are not open on weekends. So ensuring your ECM will arrive during the week, will allow the business days required to perform the work and return it quickly. In some cases, we could have your computer unlocked and back in our return shipping bin the same day we receive it. But in most instances, it’s safe to plan that we’ll need one business day to receive and a second business day to unlock and package for return to you. Keeping to our 3-day turnaround goal to have your truck back up and running as quickly as we can. We understand that your bought your truck to drive it and most do so daily, unfortunately, with GM’s locked ECM, this process is the easiest and least expensive option we could create for getting our Flashpaq in your hands.