Effect of Aftermarket Modifications on ADAS Functionality - 2021 Ford F-150 Light Vehicle

Both the automotive aftermarket and Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) are growing. However, there is very little information available in the public domain about the effect of aftermarket modifications on ADAS functionality. To address this deficiency, a research study was previously performed in which a 2022 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 light truck was tested in four different hardware configurations. These included stock as well as three typical aftermarket configurations comprised of increased tire diameters, a level kit, and two different lift kits. Physical tests were carried out to investigate ADAS performance of lane keeping, crash imminent braking, traffic jam assist, blind spot detection, and rear cross traffic alert systems. The results of the Silverado study showed that the ADAS functionality of that vehicle was not significantly altered by aftermarket modifications. To determine if the results of the Silverado study were significant only for that particular light truck, or if they could be generalized to other light vehicles, a similar study was performed on a 2021 Ford F-150 light truck. Aftermarket modifications applied to the F-150 were like those implemented to the Silverado, except a lower kit was added to the hardware configurations tested. Physical test procedures were carried over into the F-150 study, apart from a pedestrian interaction test that was added. The results of the F-150 study are analogous to the results of the Silverado study, in that the ADAS performance of the modified F-150 was found to be comparable to stock for all aftermarket hardware configurations tested. However, the average values for certain ADAS performance metrics differed in some F-150 modified configurations compared to stock. In this work, the results of the F-150 ADAS functionality testing is summarized, and a statistical analysis of the test data collected is presented.