Can someone explain Trifecta Tune?

Well, I'm new to the GM world. My "new" Sonic has some (I imagine) emissions-friendly coding that makes the car do odd things, such as falling flat on its face upon letting out the clutch in 2nd gear.

So there exists something called "Trifecta Tune" that appears to be not so much a brand name as a methodology for introducing new coding in to the ECU via the OBDII port.

So, if I understand correctly, it is up to individual tuners to actually write specific data maps for any given chassis/engine/trans combination.

But that's all (I think) I've figured out thus far. Can any of you fine folks fill me in on the knowledge I'm lacking?

Thanks.

Please don't blame that on emissions code. It's not that. If it is, the the calibration team needs to do a better job...

Just wanted to say that.

I hate getting blamed for things that are not my fault, and expect the emissions calibrator for this car would, too.

Trifecta Tune sounds like you're tuning for three things. Probably Power, Economy, and Emissions. Notice drivability wasn't in that list.

http://www.wot-tuning.com/forums/page/index.html

Trifecta has done wonderful things for Cruze owners: +44 WHP and +51 ft-lbs on Chevrolet Cruze 1.4T MY2011-2015,stock vehicle running 91 octane.

Check out THESE LINKS OVER ON CRUZE TALK FORUMS..

THIS ONE IS ESPECIALLY ENLIGHTENING, ITS FROM TRIFECTA, THEMSELVES

MORE ABOUT TRIFECTA, AND THEIR TUNING ARM WOT TUNING

From what I have seen, they develop different tunes to achieve a specific goal. Cruze owners seem to be getting some pretty serious gains on stock internals, and it appears they can apply their engineering craft to most GM brands.

Evan, not sure if you have the 1.4t, but if so, part of the stumble could be the spark plugs - most folks have found theyre not gapped properly, and cause a lot of hesitation - braod swings from too tight to too wide between cylinders is common. Also, use mid grade fuel. High octane stuff doesnt make much of an impact, but running 89 is pretty cost effective (ive seen 2-3 more MPG average across a full tank in the Cruze, so not too shabby) in terms of shenanigans/dollar.

Worth noting, At WOT near redline, 1.4t's will get some inefficiency in the intake manifold - there are baffles in the runners that cause turbulence at high air velocities. From what I understand, the turbulence helps with economy, but hurts top end power. Many folks simply dremel them out, or at least shrink them some. Trade some efficiency for fun.

from your perspective is the Trifecta tune all about increased hp and torque ? or can it be adjusted to increase fuel milage ?

my Sonic has all the performance I need ... it's a DD, not a race car (at least for me) .. I bought the car for it's fuel milage ... I'd like more .. so if I can get more hp, I'd hope I could get more fuel milage

Evan, it's probably either that plug gap issue or the throttle by wire settings. The Abarth is infamous for the throttle being stupid, and they make an inline module that "tunes" just the throttle.

WOW Really Paul? wrote: throttle being stupid

That's exactly how I feel about the throttle on my CRV. When pulling out into heavy traffic and you start your role before the break and you need to punch it, it feels like you stepped on the brakes for about a second and then takes off.

So now I have a name for it.

Steve.

They call it the trifecta because, well a trifecta is the first three finishers, and with this tune you will be third behind the Fiesta ST and Civic SI. Just having some fun, the Sonic is a great little platform that deserves some more HP. Come on Chevy, where are the SS guys secretly releasing stuff out the back door?

In reply to pinchvalve:

I think I will be getting a piggyback tuner for my Abarth before long....then I'll only be slower than everyone due to gearing.

In reply to wbjones:

There is chatter over at cruzetalk that they can tune for play and for economy, even provide both with the option to switch back and forth. Seems to work more for autotragics, it helps correct with shifting/gear hunting. This is all heresay, mine is very much stock.

Check this MPG thread out here...

Most electronic throttles have an obnoxious amount of lag and smoothing built into them to smooth out the average driver's twitchy right foot. Twitchy throttle movements make it harder to meet the emissions specs.

4cylndrfury wrote: In reply to wbjones: There is chatter over at cruzetalk that they can tune for play and for economy, even provide both with the option to switch back and forth. Seems to work more for autotragics, it helps correct with shifting/gear hunting. This is all heresay, mine is very much stock. Check this MPG thread out here...

friend of mine works for a shop that does trifecta tunes ... he says that they activate it by clicking the cruse control OFF ... then you're into the play level ... click cruse control back on and you have the OEM tune back on ...

but what I'm after is the equivalent of the play tune, aimed at improving the gas milage to the same degree that they can raise the "play" tune

Trifecta Performance is a company that sells aftermarket OBD II tunes (primarily for smallish GMs). There are tons of tuning companies out there. Some have their own devices like Cobb's Accessport, and others use a device like a DiabloSport, or SCT storage device, and then have a network of individual tuners across the country that can load custom tunes to their device.

Aftermarket OBD tuning is pretty basic for older OBD II vehicles. You adjust the factory tables for fueling and ignition timing based on intended use and modifications. Since other aspects of vehicle performance are often included in the computer's original calibration, they can also be adjusted via a "tuned" calibration. Things like auto trans shift points, or electric throttle are pretty commonly changed. Overall performance gains of just a tune are fairly minimal in most cases, but they are often required when doing major upgrades like cam swaps or adding boost.

However with the current crop of direct injected, turbocharged vehicles, the effects of just a tune can be much greater. Because so much more is controlled by the computer, ther'es more that can be adjusted via a tune. Now boost can be increased, fuel flow rates can be raised, the timing of injection events can be altered, and more without making major hardware changes. There are people getting major gains in whp and whtq with nothing but a tune. Just keep in mind that altering the factory software will void most warranties.

I got a trifecta mail order tune for my fbody after the cam. I tried looking them up recently and couldnt find them. They were a new company and gave me a discount to write a review on a forum.

The common tuning solution was to remove PCM and mail it off which can take a week or two, they used one of the more popular tuners and just put the tunes on a palm pilot so you could effectively eliminate the down time associated with a mail order tune but you still got the reputable tuner.

I probably would have used him again for the C5 but i couldnt find a website.

I was very happy with the service and even forgot to send back a part of the tuner back and he was pretty nice about it.

STM317 wrote: Trifecta Performance is a company that sells aftermarket OBD II tunes (primarily for smallish GMs). There are tons of tuning companies out there. Some have their own devices like Cobb's Accessport, and others use a device like a DiabloSport, or SCT storage device, and then have a network of individual tuners across the country that can load custom tunes to their device. Aftermarket OBD tuning is pretty basic for older OBD II vehicles. You adjust the factory tables for fueling and ignition timing based on intended use and modifications. Since other aspects of vehicle performance are often included in the computer's original calibration, they can also be adjusted via a "tuned" calibration. Things like auto trans shift points, or electric throttle are pretty commonly changed. Overall performance gains of just a tune are fairly minimal in most cases, but they are often required when doing major upgrades like cam swaps or adding boost. However with the current crop of direct injected, turbocharged vehicles, the effects of just a tune can be much greater. Because so much more is controlled by the computer, ther'es more that can be adjusted via a tune. Now boost can be increased, fuel flow rates can be raised, the timing of injection events can be altered, and more without making major hardware changes. There are people getting major gains in whp and whtq with nothing but a tune. Just keep in mind that altering the factory software will void most warranties.

I still have the question ... ('14 Sonic 1.4L T, 6MT) and would like to in improve the gas milage (it's already pretty good, I'd just like it to be better)

can the Trifecta Tune (or anyone else's tune) do this ? or are all these tuns just for increase performance ?

I don't have personal experience with it, but when I was researching Sonics hard, I read a lot of people with Trifecta claimed a 2-3mpg increase with the tune. That is...assuming they stayed out of the boost.

wbjones wrote: I still have the question ... ('14 Sonic 1.4L T, 6MT) and would like to in improve the gas milage (it's already pretty good, I'd just like it to be better) can the Trifecta Tune (or anyone else's tune) do this ? or are all these tuns just for increase performance ?

Fuel economy is so dependent on so many different factors that very few tuners will advertise gains in fuel economy because what works for one driver in one part of the country with one commute won't work for another. It is also increasingly difficult to improve on factory calibrations since so many manufacturers work so hard to squeak out every MPG that they can. Most of the individuals I've seen that claim they've seen MPG improvements have auto transmissions where the shift strategy can be fiddled with. It's certainly possible to see some gain in fuel economy from a tune, but I'd expect the gain with your manual trans to be fairly minimal. Tunes aren't usually a great bang/buck mod as far as fuel economy is concerned. They typically cost a few hundred dollars, and that takes quite a few miles before it pays off. You'd probably be much better off with some basic aero mods since they're usually so cheap and pay off relatively quickly.

It might not be a bad idea to head over to EcoModders and see what advise they might have for tuning for mpgs.

I'll give that a shot ...

do you have any ideas about any particular aero mods that could be added to this particular vehicle could use

thanks

In reply to wbjones:

Check out ecomodder.com for some ideas. Usually involves wheel skirts, blocking off the grill, cutting up the rear bumper to remove the scoop effect, etc.

ok ... odds are against any of that ... I'm quite happy with the upper 30's .. occasional low 40's .. but was disappointed when I realize that I wasn't getting the Cruse Eco 6 milage ... due mostly to the aero magic that gives a slightly larger car better music

and now waiting with baited breath for the Cruse hatch due in .. 17 ?

hoping against hope that the Hatch will be available in Eco version

wbjones wrote: ok ... odds are against any of that ... I'm quite happy with the upper 30's .. occasional low 40's .. but was disappointed when I realize that I wasn't getting the Cruse Eco 6 milage ... due mostly to the aero magic that gives a slightly larger car better music and now waiting with baited breath for the Cruse hatch due in .. 17 ? hoping against hope that the Hatch will be available in Eco version

Most of the Cruze Eco's aero magic is stuff like grill blocks, underbody bellypans and things that can easily be mimicked with some coroplast or plastic for just a few bucks if your car doesn't already have those things. IF done well, they can be very discrete so you don't look like a lunatic driving some cartoon spaceship down the road.

that would be doable ... but some of the other stuff ... cutting up the body ... etc ... not going to do ... 40mpg is good enough if that were my only choice LOL

thanks .. I'll try to research the Eco 6's aero mods and see what I can transfer to my Sonic ... OR just wait 3 yrs and maybe get a Cruze Hatch ... assuming it comes with the Eco 6 options ... hope hope hope