Trifecta tune - impressive

[kwtoxman]

Hi,

I first started talking about the trifecta tunes on the 400whp thread. It probably needs its own thread.

Here is the info again.

Trifecta has tuning for the 2.4 and 2.0. They have offered it for a while, but not a lot of people know. I found out by reading the cobalt forums.

The LNF 2.0 tuning looks very impressive. They are well known and used a lot on cobalt SS TC forums and they have been getting very impressive #'s. They are also capable of boosting quite high with no overboost codes, even on the stock turbo (30 psi+).

Trifecta Tune - Cobalt SS Network

Trifecta Tune. Tri huh? fecta what? - Cobalt SS Network

Trifecta's website gives more info and their prices are very reasonable. They also supposedly have some sort of stealth tune (can't be ID'd by scanning the ECM).

They even have selectable tunes to any switch on the car. Some owners have the selectable tunes set up to the competition mode button.

With lots of interest and info floating around (3rd hand) I gave Vince a call at Trifecta for more info. He is a great guy to talk to and I highly recommend talking to him if you are interested. I'm not an expert and I'm sure he can give some more great info. I really learned a lot and have a lot of respect for him.

Here is what I found out.

Vince hasn't pushed for the solstice because he has seen some tuners here already. But he has done great things with the LNF platform already.l IMO his tune is by far the most advanced (beyond HPT too) and it merits our attention.

Vince has found tuning the LNF the most interesting and fascinating project he's done. He thinks there is a lot of potential in the LNF.

I read somewhere that a poster mentioned Vince couldn't get as much hp/tq out of the GM tune upgrade (sensors). That is wrong. Vince confirmed that he can. His infiniboost tune works with the GM upgrade. Great stuff.

The selectable tune feature has not been tested yet on 07 solstice 2.0's. The infiniboost tune has been confirmed to work on the 07 2.0 solstices.

Trifecta has been working with Dejon on a 2.0 tune. So they are in the solstice scene.

Trifecta has found the stock cobalt and HHR intercooler works quite well.

The Infiniboost tune at 27 psi is working flawlessly with the HHR SS that Vince owns. 7000 miles so far. This tune is not overspinning the turbo either. His gut thinks the reliability should be good. They fine tune the duty cycles of the wastegate, etc. The stock clutch on the HHR SS can't handle the infiniboost tune when driven hard.

As mentioned by lil goat, the infiniboost tune doesn't offer selectable boost (I hope people realize that). But the tune can be modified to any boost level that an owner wants. Want a tune with 24 psi max? No problem. 25, 26, 27, 28, etc. The tune has been tried at some high boost levels, but only recently and very little. The 27 psi version seems to be the best validated of the higer boost options so far (my opinon)

The stock sensors work quite well. Bolting up a bigger turbo may merit the change in sensors of the GM tune. Beyond that Vince has been very impressed with the stock sensor abilities.

Imaj is going to be doing the 27 psi tune on the soltice right away. Lucky man. Report back!

Vince doesn't handle the web so much. I reminded him of the invite here to be a vendor. He didn't have any aversion. But I recommend that site mods contact him by phone to discuss the vendor option. Otherwise it is second hand info. It should be a win win.

I'm not affiliated with anyone at all so don't consider me fan boy. I like what I see with Trifecta and they seem really strong. Let's encourage all tuners. It only helps all of us consumers out there!!

[oldskool]

I posted in the 400whp thread, but here are my thoughts again. Vince is a tuning genious. Working a custom OS on the bosch ECU is no small feet. 400wtq is also a very noteworthy accomplishment.

The downfall here however is that the end user has no control of the tune, such as with HPtuners. You need to send vince data logs if you want a change or have a problem. Now this may be common to all canned tunes, but it's especially dangerous when pushing the system to the limits.

For those of you, like me, that constantly like to tweak and tinker on your own, HPT seems to have bumped up the LNF in priority. We'll see if it carries through, but they are currently working on additional boost controls and fuel pump pressure control. This, with overboost defeat, should allow us HPT'ers to do all the above...

[I1ULUZ]

Originally Posted by oldskool The downfall here however is that the end user has no control of the tune, such as with HPtuners. You need to send vince data logs if you want a change or have a problem. Now this may be common to all canned tunes, but it's especially dangerous when pushing the system to the limits. For those of you, like me, that constantly like to tweak and tinker on your own, HPT seems to have bumped up the LNF in priority. We'll see if it carries through, but they are currently working on additional boost controls and fuel pump pressure control. This, with overboost defeat, should allow us HPT'ers to do all the above...

In other words he LOCKS your PCM so it can not be read or modified by HPT. On here that is not a bad thing as most would try to crank up the boost failing to understand it's not so simple as that to make power.

I understand why he protects his tune and would do the same if my income was involved.

[shabby]

Originally Posted by I1ULUZ In other words he LOCKS your PCM so it can not be read or modified by HPT. On here that is not a bad thing as most would try to crank up the boost failing to understand it's not so simple as that to make power. I understand why he protects his tune and would do the same if my income was involved.

He doesn't lock it at all, you are able to overwrite it with hptuners but you lose the tune, you simply can't read it.
With the switchable tune you can modify the stock tune and write it to the ecm and it'll leave the modified trifecta programming intact since he keeps the modified tables in a different location.

[kennysabarese]

Slick, does anyone know what he considers major and minor modifications for our cars? The website FAQ says minor mods are 50 bucks and major ones are a re-tune minus 15% This could add up to a lot of cash...

[summer_solstice]

Does Trifecta ship their tuner to Canada? Their web site appears to only allow shipping in the continental US.

[kwtoxman]

I'd guess he'd ship to Canada if you call him and ask. That will demonstrate that you are serious and people generally respond to that. Vince told me that if you have a laptop he can just send a cable and email the program to install it. So there are various options too.

[odiaz]

According to the FAQ on their web site, a minor change is something simple like adjusting the speedometer due to diffent size tires/gears or the fan thermostat setting.

A major tune is one that requires a modification to the fuel/sparc table.

I tell you, I've been reading their site and it looks quite impressive. true, having to pay for tune modifications is a bit of a drag but I like the idea of being able to switch tunes on the fly by using a switch in the car..

[mkriebs]

I can run whatever boost i want on an HPT tune. Just gotta know how to do it.

But, the Infiniboost is decent. I had the opportunity to log one last night, on a stock CBSS, and it moved some ariflow. There were a few things i did not like about it though. First, stock timing. On my HPT tune I am running double the stock timing. Second, VE Airflow was 2 lbs/min lower than mine, yet the MAF airflow was 1lb/min higher than mine, so there is a big gap between VE and MAF on the Trifecta. My tune is on 21 psi vs the Trfecta running 26psi.

Not trying to bash, just pointing out some facts. The car still pulled HARD, and the owner spent less than half what I spent on my HPT. So, its a bargain for sure.

[cooler2442]

Guy on kappaperformance who got the tune done just posted his results.

284.6whp. @ 348.6lbs torque @ 26lbs of boost.

[DEJON-Dave]

We are now an authorized dealer for Trifecta Performance, Inc. and stock their down load cable and interface module.

MAX Tune - includes the following features

1. "Select-a-Tune" - switch between your present tune (either the original for your car or GM performance tune if you bought it) and a Trifecta Custom High Performance Tune. You select the tune either by Turning the Cruise control On/Off or by the Traction Control Switch, even while driving.

2. "Stealth" feature - returns the factory original check sum when requested by a technician.

3. "Infinity Boost" - overcomes the sensor, table, and duty cycle limits to allow whatever boost you want without limp mode or over-boost.
4. Disable DTC's and check engine lights (great for going Cat-less). Raise the rev limit, change AFR, etc.

5. "Customize" - you cannot read or down-load this tune with HP Tuners VCM Suite. But you can overwrite tables of the High Performance tune with HP Tuners. (You can reloading your original MAX Tune with the cable and interface module).

You can get more info and order on our web site

[kennysabarese]

Originally Posted by DEJON-Dave 5. "Customize" - you cannot read or down-load this tune with HP Tuners VCM Suite. But you can overwrite tables of the High Performance tune with HP Tuners. (You can reloading your original MAX Tune with the cable and interface module).

Can you explain this part a little more for someone new to tuning? Would this mean we could update the tune for new mods on our own? Or from a local tuner while we dyno?

[DEJON-Dave]

Originally Posted by kennysabarese Can you explain this part a little more for someone new to tuning? Would this mean we could update the tune for new mods on our own? Or from a local tuner while we dyno?

If you or your tuner have ECM write software, like HP Tuners, they can "write Calibration Only" and modify the Trifecta tune. They will need a "factory" tune to gain access to the calibration tables, modify what they want, and "write calibration". However they cannot copy the Trifecta tune to modify (and perhaps sell it to someone else as theirs).

[LatinVenom]

Dave,
Could I then keep my DDM tune plus the trifecta tune and go back and forth between the 2 of them?.

[DEJON-Dave]

Originally Posted by LatinVenom Dave, Could I then keep my DDM tune plus the trifecta tune and go back and forth between the 2 of them?.

Not at this time, its alot of programming since the new tune puts all the HI-Po tables in the pgm space of the old factory tune (so you can change them) and the factory tune in new space.