Dubz

Hello!

When I purchased my Cobalt SS/TC, the guy gave me one of the red OBDII cables from trifecta tuning. The seller said that the vehicle was tuned in colder weather and that it could probably use a new tune for warmer weather. However, when I was looking at the car the first day, a dude from a performance shop near milwaukee that did a few mods to the vehicle was there. He mentioned that they never got around to tuning it... I don't know what to do.

I have two questions.

Should I just get a tune through Trifecta

Or

Is there a performance increase having a trifecta tune on top of the GSM1 upgrade? From my understanding you actually get some new parts when doing the GSM1 upgrade? Would these additional parts help the trifecta tune performance-wise? I have a friend that has been working for GM for 30 years, and he might be able to get his hands on the GSM1 for cheap

Thanks for your time

user 72239

iTrader: (4)

Most people do other mods than GMS1 because it is limited in what power it can give you. however, it is also more friendly on your drivetrain than a custom tune.

in my opinion, Trifecta sucks. its a canned tune from some dude who never has any time to actually do the custom tuning. He tunes extremely safe and this robs you of power.

With that being said, it is my opinion. others will say they love trifecta. etc

Its up to you how much modding you want to do and how much risk you are willing to take.

redcobalt07

iTrader: (18)

hp tuners

GreenySC2

Your only going to get the parts/code at a discount... not even much of one really...

Your best bet is to get the GMS1 sensors(3bar map? I believe) and throw them on with your first tune from trifecta or hp....

Save money, effort, time in the long run

Dubz

I guess this is kind of what I was asking haha. Does the new GMS1 sensors have an impact on the performance value of the new tune? Is there a general consensus that hp tuners is better than trifecta?

user 72239

iTrader: (4)

the stock MAP sensors in the Turbo cobalts are 2.5 Bar. so they will only read up to ~23 psi accurately at sea level.

there is a benefit to running the 3 bar MAP sensors so you can read higher boost more reliably.

yellowsupercharged06

iTrader: (3)

use the cable and put the car back to the stock tune, depending on mods .... then sell the cable and get HP tuned.

Kyle09TC

iTrader: (1)

You should pull the trifecta off and run HPtuners. I recently switched and it's day and night difference.

Dubz

I really appreciate everyone's input from their experiences. I think I'll be researching more towards the HP tuners as of currently. Following is a description of the list of mods that have been done to the vehicle when I purchased it.

This model has the limited Slip Differential as well which isnt in all of them. I have replaced the original front mount intercooler with a slightly larger all aluminum one due to a small boost leak from one of the plastic tanks on the original. The factory plastic charge pipes have been replaced with stainless steel ones as well. I did this to be proactive since I've heard about issues involving the stock plastic pipes cracking. The car has a cold air intake as well as an aftermarket bypass valve. Again the bypass valve was another step I took to be proactive and limit future repairs. The stock plastic one does seem to have issues when milage gets higher.

Btw the front mount intercooler he mentioned is massive. It stretches the entire width of the lower grill in the front of the vehicle.

tomj77

iTrader: (2)

This right here is total bs from someone with not much knowledge with trifecta. Trifecta budget tune is canned, their select a tune is the same thing as remote tuning with hp tuners. If u go though their website u get very good service and if it does take and unreasonable amount of time due to them being busy, and u are nice about it, they will do what they can to make up for it, from my expirience. They helped me diagnose and fix some issues I had and their tune was very good. Don't bad mouth tuners with false info or lack of experience or the word of someone who has no patience and has a little bit of a wait.

tomj77

iTrader: (2)

I don't believe this unless the trifecta was a more conservative tune, then obviously. Tune both to same psi and there won't be much difference. I think people simply don't tell trifecta what they want, I do and I get what I want

user 72239

iTrader: (4)

Say what you want, but that is the experience I have had with Trifecta

tomj77

iTrader: (2)

Iv had nothing but good, did take a while for an update but they more than made up for it with price break

I guess it depends on a persons patience

doubledamageXX

I too would stay away from Trifecta. Have it dyno tuned, (most likely they will use HPT) or go GMS1. The tune on my car was way too conservative. Its a pain in the ass to get off if you change your mind, as trifecta is locked in and you will need your original file to flash back in. You may however have better luck than i did getting a hold of someone than i did.

To be fair i bought the car with the tune already on it, and it took 5 days to get my original file back, but why wait 5 days, when if you use HPT you don't have to wait at all.

Shortbus

I have never had a issue with trifecta. 93 octane and e85 tune. I told them what I wanted and I got it. When you get a trifecta tune, you buy the cable and your stock tune file you can switch back at anytime. My car with just a drop in filter and trifecta tune ran 13.3 that's real world results.

Shortbus

Pain in the ass to get off? Yea because you bought a car with a tune already on it, that's your own fault. Trifecta sends you your stock tune file that you can easily switch back at anytime.

doubledamageXX

Doesn't change the fact it was. On both counts, my fault and a pain in the ass. I was not told when i bought it it was Trifecta tuned. So a simple retune turned into a week long ordeal. Had it been HPT it would have been a lot more simple. That's really it. So from my experience, which i was completely honest about, I would no go with Trifecta.

Shortbus

So your mad at trifecta you bought a used vehicle that the previous owner put a trifecta tune on, and it took you a week to get a stock file?

Terminator2

People wait for weeks normally which is nuts. With how quickly it can be done I can be doing 10 tunes a day and still get everyone new files within 24 hours or less and I work 50 hours a week at my normal job.

ECaulk

iTrader: (6)

True story, last weekend we sent Term a long and like 30mins later he had an updated tune. (speaking of we're going to log Kevin's tomorrow)

doubledamageXX

Never said i was mad, I said it was a pain in the ass, was not told it had one, and that i think its easier in the long run to use HPT, based on my experience. Yours may be different.