Ive seen a few people on hear speak strongly that you should NOT get a trifecta and only get an hp tune. Why is this? The reason i would get a trifecta is to keep the warranty. Is there anything really bad about trifecta?

 

No there is nothing bad about trifecta.

Here's how it breaks down:
If you have a reputable tuner in your area, you see them and get an HP tune.
If you don't have a reputable tuner in your area you get a trifecta tune.
If you are terrified of losing your warranty you get GMS1. (At which point you shouldn't be running any bolt ons).

/thread

EDIT: If you want to keep your warranty safe, a good idea is to keep your trifecta cable incase something goes wrong with your car and you need to take it in. No need to switch back to stock tune if you are for example getting an oil change or something like that.

 

As stated, by famous, you can easily get a denial for warranty work for a Trifecta tune. Dealership techs are getting more savvy with the 'Balt-turbo, so they know what to look for, now. Any tune found on an ECM is going to get you flagged.


-HPTuners people are going to tell you not to get Trifecta.
-Trifecta dealers will tell you the HPT guys are full of it.
-HPT guys will tell you they make more power.
-Trifecta will say the their tune is more safe, which it will be if you're making less power........theoretically.
-Trifecta gives you the ability to have a tune where you can choose between two boost levels with the touch of a button, which is nice, and HPT cannot offer that.
-HPT allows you to scan your car and run diagnostics, which is essential when you want the most out of your car and you want to make sure it's running correctly.
-Trifecta software is proprietary and cannot be adjusted by anyone but Vince. His dealers are not tuners. They call him and he makes the adjustments. Vince is a little overwhelmed, from what I can tell, because update take longer than previously.
-There are a lot of shady HPT guys on here, so go by reputation. Even that doesn't guarantee anything. Just look at BYT. He was on here with a stellar rep and is not taking heat for taking on too much work and not responding to customers.

 

When i called a guy in NC when i was shopping for my current cobalt... He had a gas mileage tune on start up and 22 psi boost tune when the traction was turned off. Trifecta tuned... In the lead in my opinion for a daily driver. Get a legit shop to dyno tune for a tune with max capabilities available at all times.

 

Every car is different. Trifecta tunes super safe like everyone else. Find a reputable tuner in your area who has a AFR sniffer and get some true power safely.

 

This times a million. You couldn't have said it better man. Literally read my ******* mind.

PS, goodluck with your choice OP. You won't be dissapointed with either tune.

 

This pretty much sums it up. Nothing more needs to be said about either tuning platform.

 

actually you can get a combo tune, which allows for you to have a selectable tune with hpt

 

Since HP Tuners did some upgrades about a year ago, there is not much difference in performance anymore. I've had a HPT tune for nearly 3 years now. Works great for me. If you're worried about warranty, don't get tuned. What's a warranty anyway? I have 75k miles, so I've been out of warranty a long time.

 

A dyno tune actually will give you no more power than a street tune. Some cars it can help find MBT to get every last bit of toque but you need a shop that has a steady state dyno with real time control over the ECUs timing and fuel tables. As far as I know Trifecta doesnt have this control either. Best way I have found, and do this with every car I tune is to log your 60-100mph time before and after the tune on HPtuners scanner which compares speed to basically a stopwatch. Usually after they see the difference every one is happy. If they ask for a more agressive tune then I will make the changes and show the difference on the scanner for instant results that you can see. This is one thing that Trifecta cant do. I have logged a few cars that were tuned by Vince and really have been dissapointed, but who knows. There are many factors that contribute to a good tune, including maintenance and common sense from the owner.

 

In my opinion, there is always a "risk" with a custom tune, regardless of name brand/software. Canned tunes are just plug and play and are much more safe, but obviously a lot less power, like the gms1, it is a stock upgraded tune that will dramatically change the way your car feels, but the power change isnt crazy.
So it is up to you what you want out of your car and how you are prepared to use it.
If you are not sure, dont buy crap for your car till you do.

I want the most outta my car, with as little damage and mods, so I am gonna go with an HP tune @ 24psi and getting the suporting mods to be safe.

Goodluck to the op on the tuning plans.

 

well its hard to just screw over a warranty when I JUST in the last few months bought and expensive, extended warranty lol and I want a tune though but one thats not obvious.

 

also keep in mind The Magnuson–Moss Warranty Act of 1975... your whole warranty cannot be voided unless the dealer can prove that mod caused your car to break... then they can refuse to cover that part.. but cant really 'flag; your whole warranty



ive heard mixed things of all tunes... i love my trifecta tune but i think im gonna give the HP tunes a shot

 

just do the gms1 tune with your warranty until its over, then custom tune it.
with your mods and gms1 you still would have like 275whp and 300wtq

 

This is really great in theory, but it never works like that. They can say that any aftermarket part caused any problem, without proof, deny your warranty claim, and flag you for that complaint. It's completely up to you at that point to bitch and moan to a thousand different people to reach the same result: nobody cares.

 

sup guys In got a 09 cobalt ss/tc with gms1 if I put a cai will it fck with the a gms1

 

Technically, yes. Will it run ok? Probably. Will your fuel trims be whacked out a little? Yes. Will you have wasted your money on the CAI by not getting it tuned properly? Absolutely.