So Im looking for a new tune considering i only have a GM stage 1 running now but I just need more power, I have already done a megan exhaust and downpipe, injen upper and lower chargepipes and a hahn cai. So Ive been debating trifecta but I have no idea how it works, the only link ifound that has it is https://www.modernperformance.com/pr...bo_electronics

But i dont know if thats even it? Says they just email it to me and boom done? I just need some moe clarification on how it works. What do i log and how? etc etc. Any help is appreciated. I found some threads on it but none really 100% answered my questions.

 

Hey Buddy, hopefully I can answer some of your questions.

So there a few different ways to go about getting a Trifecta tune on your car. So I have broke it down for you.

First Way:
So the way Trifecta works. You buy the tune through a site (like the one you have listed "modernperformance.com"). You tell them what mods you have and they will ship you a tune based on the mods you have listed. From there, you will need an EZ Flash cable. What is EZ Flash Cable you may ask? EZ Flash cable is the cable Trifecta uses to hook to your cars OBD 2 port located under the steering wheel so that you can transfer the tune onto your car. Now, when you receive your tune your basically receiving Trifecta software along with the Tune they have designed for your car. Using the tune they have sent you, you will download the Trifecta software onto your computer and then upload the tune to your car using the EZ Flash Cable. So cool your all done?? well not exactly, you will now need to log your car using the Trifecta Software. So what does that mean exactly? basically you will drive around with your laptop and Trifecta software, along with the EZ Flash cable plugged in. You will do a series of pulls in your car, so that you can log how the tune is reacting to the car. You will record these series of pulls with the Trifecta software. Once you are done, you will send the tune back to Trifecta and they will review your file. If they see room for adjustments, they will tweak your tune and send you a new tune back (Free). From there you would repeat the process of overwriting your existing Trifecta Tune with the new one. This process may be repeated a few times until your car is dialed in just right.

The Second Option (Which is also the route I took):
Find a Trifecta dealer near you. You may need to use Google but this might point you in the right direction for now: https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer...KGq4w&hl=en_US

Basically a trifecta dealer is someone who does everything I listed above for you. They will order the software for you, they will have the EZ Flash Cable, and they will actually be the one flashing the tune onto your car. Of course you will have to pay them for this. For me I found a trifecta dealer close by so this route was the most ideal for me. And the trifecta dealer I went to had a dyno. So instead of me driving around logging my car, the guy put my car on the dyno, logged it with the Trifecta software, and flashed the tune and made revisions while speaking to Trifecta on the phone. I got in all done in one day and dialed in on the dyno. Of course you will need to find a dealer near you if you wanted to go this route as well, some dealers may not have dyno's and may just be a guy who will ride around town with you as he logs your car.

Most people on here will tell you to forget Trifecta and go HP Tuners route. Its all preference really, I went with Trifecta and have not had any issues (knock on wood). Even if you go with HPTuners you will still have to find a tuner to flash an HP Tune onto your car, so its essentially the same process with logging your car and etc.

Well I know this was long but I wanted to be as descriptive as possible. If you have any questions at all feel free to reply back to me.

PS: Here is Trifecta's website if you want additional info.
News - TRIFECTA - Home - WOT-Tuning.com

 

This has been a huge help!! Thank you so much for being descriptive as possible. I greatly appreciate it. I will definitely let you know if anymore questions arise, but you answered pretty much everything.

 

Trifecta? They moved away from the cobalt platform a long time ago! The only tuner that anyone trust to tune their cobalt is Vince and he doesn't even tune anymore! Trifecta is ancient, super slow, and if power is what you are looking for then Trifecta is the last tuner you want touching your car. Either go to an actual competent tuner shop like ZZP and get a custom tune for power or buy hpt and find a tuner on here to remotely tune you. Hpt is the best choice if you don't have a local tuner shop with a dyno available. There's a really good tuner on here that will work wonders on your car. However, there are still a handful of other reputable tuners that can also good a job too but I'm been tuned by a handful of them and I know which one I liked best. Bottom line, Trifecta is the last tuner u would want to go with!

 

Mmmmm interesting. Well where can I buy an hpt tuner from? And how can I find someone on here who can dial it in for me. I've looked in my area and can't find anywhere that I can dyno on. I'm located in Illinois. Sorry for all the questions just trying to figure out all the steps im gunna need to take in order to get this done.

 

If your in Illinois you are close to ZZP and PWerks. Pretty much the only remaining shops that make parts and tune ecotecs. Give both of them a look

 

HP Tuners is a cable and software that allows you to flash a new tune on your car and record a log while driving for the tuner to look at. Standard version is 499.
https://www.vividracing.com/catalog/...FQ2HaQodI6UAKg
A custom tune will run you another ~$300-$400 so you're talking 8-900 total.
Terminator2 on here is a great tuner and the only one I trust to mess with my car's ECM.
He'll email you a tune file and then you go back and forth a few times sending him logs and him sending you an updated tune file.

 

Trifecta still does tune the LNF's and are still heavily involved in the tuning world, with experience tuning GM's Ecotecs along with other General Motors engines. From what I have heard, Trifecta still uses the base files that Vince had wrote (Select-A-Tune) and then Trifecta makes adjustments as needed. Plus the nice thing about the Select-A-Tune that Trifecta has is I can turn the tune on and off. I had Trifecta tune my Cobalt last year and had a great experience. My car put out 325hp and 384trq at the wheels on the dyno with an intake, catted downpipe, charge pipes, and GMS1 sensors. I would say that's far from slow...I have heard horror stories from people who went HP route and let someone tune there car who had no experience tuning LNF's. So it can go both ways. Tuning your car is a risk no matter who you go with.

 

Research is required.
Ask a LOT of questions when picking a tuner. How they treat you when trying to earn your business will say a lot about how your car is going to be treated once you have paid.

 

I agree with this. Use this forum to your advantage and ask lots of questions. I went through a lot of reading and research before finally pulling the trigger on the tune. My advice to you is to see what tuners around you who HAVE experience tuning LNF’s. If they say yes, ask them for some proof or references. After all you are paying them for a service and you do not want to get shafted and then end up with a screwed up car. I almost made the mistake of going to a local dyno shop who yes had experience tuning cars (but never tuned a LNF) so therefore I refrained from going to that tuner. Mind you that tuner was going to use HP software. The key point to keep in mind is that the software is just the software, whether it’s HP or ZZP or Trifecta or whatever, the actual person doing the tune is what really matters. But like I said I would go with someone who has previously tuned LNF’s, from what I have read the LNF is a very stubborn motor and takes some special care when tuning. As I stated in one of the posts above, tuning is a risk, and all tuner brands have had their fair share of issues, so don’t let people just say Trifecta sucks especially if they have never dealt with it. Just way your options, see what tuners are in your area, and if you can find someone reputable who is a Trifecta dealer, or even HP then pull the trigger. This forum is here to help you so don’t be afraid to ask as many questions as you want, it’s your car!

 

Let me give you some advice from someone who has been around on this forum for many years and had experience in both trifecta and hptuners.

Stay as far away from trifecta as you can. Hp tuners all the way. And if u wanna spend a little , get the hptuners software for yourself , get a good tuner (km043) and it will be an easy process and you will be happy u went that way. Also, u can slowly learn how to tweak ur own tunes like I did, still learning, and won't have to rely on someone else. Unless u have questions

 

100 percent agree with this guy. There's lots of great tuners on here but the most active is Kmo43. Just follow his build thread and you can decide if u think he has any experiences tunning lnf's or not. Especially if u want morr power. Lol

 

I'm sorry, I think you misunderstood me. When I said Trifecta was slow, I meant their response time, not their tune. They were the first person I let tune my car because of the ability to turn the tune on or off. It was neat! At that time Vince was actually still tunning cobalts. Now they have different tuners using Vince's base maps and tweaking it to their liking. Every tuner likes to tune things their own way. Vince had a good reputation but idk about the other guys taking over. My personal experience with Trifecta was "slow". What I mean is it took them at least 2-3 weeks just to revise a tune for me! Then when I switched to a cat less downpipe and sent them a log, it took them another 2 weeks to tell me there's nothing they'really going to change with the tune! 2 weeks to do nothing with the tune! The whole tunning process with them took about 2 months to finish just 3 logs! I switched over to Hpt and finished tuning as soon as 2 days with 7 logs!!!
However, the credits mainly go to the tuner for being so quick too. And again, in my personal opinion the tune feels way better compared to Trifecta. I simply think it's because Trifecta was overwhelmed at the time and only had Vince tunning so with quantity there's less quality I guess.

 

Trifecta is garbage. I got my trifecta dealer to log my with an aftermarket program car so we could actually see how it was running. According to trifecta it was fine but it was knocking 3-5* at wot and had a bad lean out up top. When I asked Vince or Steven or whoever it was I was told "all Lnfs knock 3-5*" basically said were too lazy to fix your tune.


Went hptuners and never looked back

 

This. All the way!

 

I thought my cars tune was weird until I figured out it was just my BPV solenoid acting up so I replaced it and the tune is very smooth. Make sure your car is in good shape before you tune.

You don't want anything stupid throwing your car off and making it feel like it's running weird.

 

What software did you use to look at the logs of your Trifecta Tune?

 

I got sick of that crap and removed the solenoid altogether and disabled the codes for it. works much better, one less part that can fail and cause issues.

 

Glad the solenoid helped you out no_ss

 

Yeah man. I actually thought of a way to keep this one from going bad but I'm still able to use my forge bpv. I just put the stock spring inside the forge bpv and it vents every time instantly it's awesome. No boost leak either. Ran great today. I'm happy about it.

 

Great man I'm glad!

 

can't remember what it was called the local trifecta dealer had it. I think it was made for cruzes but worked on my car or something