What tune?
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New Member
Joined: 10-23-13
Posts: 38
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From: Atlanta
What tune?
I bought a 08 ss about two months ago. My modifications are: K&N short ram intake, Treadstone TR12 intercooler, Turboxs RF exhaust, Treadstone Charge pipping( upper and lower), Turboxs 3in downpipe, and Clutchmaster Stage 3 clutch with lightweight flywheel. Its time for a tune. I want more boost, better ratios, better idle, and I need to keep some function. Which tune should I get?
ZZP? Trifecta? or drop the money on a HP? or wait?
Any input would be great!
ZZP? Trifecta? or drop the money on a HP? or wait?
Any input would be great!
Thread Starter
New Member
Joined: 10-23-13
Posts: 38
Likes: 0
From: Atlanta
07cobaltLScoupe, no it dosnt I did all the work during Thanksgiving week.
Last edited by Trackguy; Dec 14, 2013 at 06:32 PM.
Senior Member
Joined: 08-06-08
Posts: 3,405
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From: Federal Way
Very true. lol but if i am going to do a tune I dont have the time to get with someone and remote tune it and update it. Im not worried about my car being down. Trifecta is probably what I will do. 23 lbs sounds awesome. Any problems with it?
07cobaltLScoupe, no it dosnt I did all the work during Thanksgiving week.
07cobaltLScoupe, no it dosnt I did all the work during Thanksgiving week.
The time have to go in. ..If you don't want to deal with that I'm sure there are some programmers out for the TC with a cookie cutter tune that will give you a modest performance boost like sct.
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Joined: 04-12-09
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From: Connecticut
If you're not willing to take the time to properly allow a tuner to dial everything in the way it needs to be done, then don't even bother. A good tune is the lifeblood of your engine and can/will make or break the life span and durability of the engine. Not to mention just the overall drivability of the car. If your time so too sacred, then just remove your CAI, do an airbox mod, go GMS1 and call it a day.
New Member
Joined: 04-29-13
Posts: 104
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From: Dallas
Pretty harsh. There are tens of thousands of cars with off the shelf tuning. The rate of exploded cars (by a bad custom tune) is way higher than the rate of off the shelf conservative tunes. Not to say a bad off the shelf tune is any less likely though - a bad tune is a bad tune.
That said, a decent to good custom tune is better than any off the shelf option. It's just more effort and availability is lower. Probably oversimplifying, but you are able to gain power more efficiently by adjusting the levels to a more moderate degree, over a conservative one that has to take into account that some cars might not be in peak condition. Sad to say a lot of mailed custom tunes are literally exactly the same as an off the shelf tune for the same modifications - once the logs are viewed and it's apparent the car is within the limits of the base-custom tune. Again this doesn't mean this is how they all are.
The only kind of custom tuning I like to do in the past in right there, in person, on a dyno. This isn't possible for a lot of people but if you can manage it I'd recommend making the effort. On the last car I did this on I had a "stage 2" tune (Cobb) making around 290 awhp, and simply getting it custom tuned by a good shop I gained 32 whp and a lot of throttle response. Plus it felt more "raw" for lack of a better word, ready to GO at a moments notice. I traveled out of state to do this and I really didn't want to but it was worth every penny and every minute spent.
And finally, I say all this and now I will tell you I have a trfiecta tune. Why? I had my bolt ons and I wanted them to be utilized by a conservative tune until I found a good shop to do a tune. I'm debating holding off for a new turbo given my cars mileage. But it will be done.
To review the trifecta, it works. It smells a tad, tad tad bit rich, if anything (ultra scientific). The difference is pretty astounding between base tune and the trifecta with bolt ons. Being able to toggle with the cruise control button is nice, but it really shows you the difference the tune makes as well.
As a side note, I wanted my tune to be deactivated with the cruise control on, versus off. My reasoning was if I was using cruise control I'd rather the tune be off than on (default is on - on). If you leave your cruise control button on when you flash your ecm it reverses, so that cruise control off is trifecta tune on. I'm not sure if this is documented or not but if it isn't there you go. However this might be a moot point because my gas mileage didn't change from base tune to trifecta, like at all. I average 24 mpg mixed, which is exactly what I was at before.
Whatever you decide you will be very happy with the difference a tune makes. It really makes use of the mods you just did, where as the base ecm simply does not.
That said, a decent to good custom tune is better than any off the shelf option. It's just more effort and availability is lower. Probably oversimplifying, but you are able to gain power more efficiently by adjusting the levels to a more moderate degree, over a conservative one that has to take into account that some cars might not be in peak condition. Sad to say a lot of mailed custom tunes are literally exactly the same as an off the shelf tune for the same modifications - once the logs are viewed and it's apparent the car is within the limits of the base-custom tune. Again this doesn't mean this is how they all are.
The only kind of custom tuning I like to do in the past in right there, in person, on a dyno. This isn't possible for a lot of people but if you can manage it I'd recommend making the effort. On the last car I did this on I had a "stage 2" tune (Cobb) making around 290 awhp, and simply getting it custom tuned by a good shop I gained 32 whp and a lot of throttle response. Plus it felt more "raw" for lack of a better word, ready to GO at a moments notice. I traveled out of state to do this and I really didn't want to but it was worth every penny and every minute spent.
And finally, I say all this and now I will tell you I have a trfiecta tune. Why? I had my bolt ons and I wanted them to be utilized by a conservative tune until I found a good shop to do a tune. I'm debating holding off for a new turbo given my cars mileage. But it will be done.
To review the trifecta, it works. It smells a tad, tad tad bit rich, if anything (ultra scientific). The difference is pretty astounding between base tune and the trifecta with bolt ons. Being able to toggle with the cruise control button is nice, but it really shows you the difference the tune makes as well.
As a side note, I wanted my tune to be deactivated with the cruise control on, versus off. My reasoning was if I was using cruise control I'd rather the tune be off than on (default is on - on). If you leave your cruise control button on when you flash your ecm it reverses, so that cruise control off is trifecta tune on. I'm not sure if this is documented or not but if it isn't there you go. However this might be a moot point because my gas mileage didn't change from base tune to trifecta, like at all. I average 24 mpg mixed, which is exactly what I was at before.
Whatever you decide you will be very happy with the difference a tune makes. It really makes use of the mods you just did, where as the base ecm simply does not.
Pretty harsh. There are tens of thousands of cars with off the shelf tuning. The rate of exploded cars (by a bad custom tune) is way higher than the rate of off the shelf conservative tunes. Not to say a bad off the shelf tune is any less likely though - a bad tune is a bad tune.
That said, a decent to good custom tune is better than any off the shelf option. It's just more effort and availability is lower. Probably oversimplifying, but you are able to gain power more efficiently by adjusting the levels to a more moderate degree, over a conservative one that has to take into account that some cars might not be in peak condition. Sad to say a lot of mailed custom tunes are literally exactly the same as an off the shelf tune for the same modifications - once the logs are viewed and it's apparent the car is within the limits of the base-custom tune. Again this doesn't mean this is how they all are.
The only kind of custom tuning I like to do in the past in right there, in person, on a dyno. This isn't possible for a lot of people but if you can manage it I'd recommend making the effort. On the last car I did this on I had a "stage 2" tune (Cobb) making around 290 awhp, and simply getting it custom tuned by a good shop I gained 32 whp and a lot of throttle response. Plus it felt more "raw" for lack of a better word, ready to GO at a moments notice. I traveled out of state to do this and I really didn't want to but it was worth every penny and every minute spent.
And finally, I say all this and now I will tell you I have a trfiecta tune. Why? I had my bolt ons and I wanted them to be utilized by a conservative tune until I found a good shop to do a tune. I'm debating holding off for a new turbo given my cars mileage. But it will be done.
To review the trifecta, it works. It smells a tad, tad tad bit rich, if anything (ultra scientific). The difference is pretty astounding between base tune and the trifecta with bolt ons. Being able to toggle with the cruise control button is nice, but it really shows you the difference the tune makes as well.
As a side note, I wanted my tune to be deactivated with the cruise control on, versus off. My reasoning was if I was using cruise control I'd rather the tune be off than on (default is on - on). If you leave your cruise control button on when you flash your ecm it reverses, so that cruise control off is trifecta tune on. I'm not sure if this is documented or not but if it isn't there you go. However this might be a moot point because my gas mileage didn't change from base tune to trifecta, like at all. I average 24 mpg mixed, which is exactly what I was at before.
Whatever you decide you will be very happy with the difference a tune makes. It really makes use of the mods you just did, where as the base ecm simply does not.
That said, a decent to good custom tune is better than any off the shelf option. It's just more effort and availability is lower. Probably oversimplifying, but you are able to gain power more efficiently by adjusting the levels to a more moderate degree, over a conservative one that has to take into account that some cars might not be in peak condition. Sad to say a lot of mailed custom tunes are literally exactly the same as an off the shelf tune for the same modifications - once the logs are viewed and it's apparent the car is within the limits of the base-custom tune. Again this doesn't mean this is how they all are.
The only kind of custom tuning I like to do in the past in right there, in person, on a dyno. This isn't possible for a lot of people but if you can manage it I'd recommend making the effort. On the last car I did this on I had a "stage 2" tune (Cobb) making around 290 awhp, and simply getting it custom tuned by a good shop I gained 32 whp and a lot of throttle response. Plus it felt more "raw" for lack of a better word, ready to GO at a moments notice. I traveled out of state to do this and I really didn't want to but it was worth every penny and every minute spent.
And finally, I say all this and now I will tell you I have a trfiecta tune. Why? I had my bolt ons and I wanted them to be utilized by a conservative tune until I found a good shop to do a tune. I'm debating holding off for a new turbo given my cars mileage. But it will be done.
To review the trifecta, it works. It smells a tad, tad tad bit rich, if anything (ultra scientific). The difference is pretty astounding between base tune and the trifecta with bolt ons. Being able to toggle with the cruise control button is nice, but it really shows you the difference the tune makes as well.
As a side note, I wanted my tune to be deactivated with the cruise control on, versus off. My reasoning was if I was using cruise control I'd rather the tune be off than on (default is on - on). If you leave your cruise control button on when you flash your ecm it reverses, so that cruise control off is trifecta tune on. I'm not sure if this is documented or not but if it isn't there you go. However this might be a moot point because my gas mileage didn't change from base tune to trifecta, like at all. I average 24 mpg mixed, which is exactly what I was at before.
Whatever you decide you will be very happy with the difference a tune makes. It really makes use of the mods you just did, where as the base ecm simply does not.
New Member
Joined: 12-15-13
Posts: 57
Likes: 0
From: Florida
Would you recommend HP Tuners over somebody who wants to slowly modify/tune their car? Or would Trifecta do the job? From what I think I am understanding HP Tuners is good if you're wanting to keep tuning the car but Trifecta is good if you're just wanting a tune and nothing special past basic bolt ons?
Would you recommend HP Tuners over somebody who wants to slowly modify/tune their car? Or would Trifecta do the job? From what I think I am understanding HP Tuners is good if you're wanting to keep tuning the car but Trifecta is good if you're just wanting a tune and nothing special past basic bolt ons?
I would go trifecta. I have basic bolt ons and couldn't be happier with the Trifecta. HPT is overpriced IMHO. You have to pay for software, credits, then whatever the tuner charges. The that can all add up to 500-600. IMHO Trifecta makes more sense financially and for what I wanted.
Price really all depends on if you can ****** a good deal on a used suite or not. Tuners prices are like $300 for a remote tune.
I made the switch cause I got a decent deal on a suite and somewhere down the lines it would be a great trade to learn. Another reason why I made the switch is that, when you email trifecta questions, you get bland and bold answers that really don't help you. They are straight forward tuning and don't give you feedback. Even when I bought trifecta they were running a promotion of $100 retunes for any upgrade you do to the car and then when I went bigger turbo, they asked for the full $300. Didn't make sense to me.
If you do go HP though, choose your tuner wisely.
I made the switch cause I got a decent deal on a suite and somewhere down the lines it would be a great trade to learn. Another reason why I made the switch is that, when you email trifecta questions, you get bland and bold answers that really don't help you. They are straight forward tuning and don't give you feedback. Even when I bought trifecta they were running a promotion of $100 retunes for any upgrade you do to the car and then when I went bigger turbo, they asked for the full $300. Didn't make sense to me.
If you do go HP though, choose your tuner wisely.
Price really all depends on if you can ****** a good deal on a used suite or not. Tuners prices are like $300 for a remote tune.
I made the switch cause I got a decent deal on a suite and somewhere down the lines it would be a great trade to learn. Another reason why I made the switch is that, when you email trifecta questions, you get bland and bold answers that really don't help you. They are straight forward tuning and don't give you feedback. Even when I bought trifecta they were running a promotion of $100 retunes for any upgrade you do to the car and then when I went bigger turbo, they asked for the full $300. Didn't make sense to me.
If you do go HP though, choose your tuner wisely.
I made the switch cause I got a decent deal on a suite and somewhere down the lines it would be a great trade to learn. Another reason why I made the switch is that, when you email trifecta questions, you get bland and bold answers that really don't help you. They are straight forward tuning and don't give you feedback. Even when I bought trifecta they were running a promotion of $100 retunes for any upgrade you do to the car and then when I went bigger turbo, they asked for the full $300. Didn't make sense to me.
If you do go HP though, choose your tuner wisely.
Senior Member
Joined: 08-06-08
Posts: 3,405
Likes: 7
From: Federal Way
^^ dang...my retunes are free. But yeah having. HpT allow me to know my about the car. Am I a tuner? No, but my wisdom has increased. I even tweak my own mafs! Hey I'm proud of that...don't judge lol.
The main problem the op was saying he don't have the time to get logs. So hp or trifecta wouldn't be wise if he don't have the time to log properly. Like 09cobalt say he is better off with gms1.
The main problem the op was saying he don't have the time to get logs. So hp or trifecta wouldn't be wise if he don't have the time to log properly. Like 09cobalt say he is better off with gms1.
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Joined: 12-19-10
Posts: 780
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From: Coquitlam
Luls wert. Bland questions because the majority of people have no ******* clue what anything means anyway. A lot of Vince's procedures are due to engine safety/people being idiots, and general legal guide lines.
There is nothing wrong with trifecta if you are patient. If you don't have time to data log either way you shouldn't get a custom tune.
There is no downtime with trifecta if you switch back to stock mode when waiting for your update file so that is m00t as well. People complaining about time don't realize Vince serves thousands of people a day, where as your typical hp tuner might do one per week.
Locking parameters isn't an issue if you have the proper gauges, which you should have to monitor a tuned car anyway right?
There is nothing wrong with trifecta if you are patient. If you don't have time to data log either way you shouldn't get a custom tune.
There is no downtime with trifecta if you switch back to stock mode when waiting for your update file so that is m00t as well. People complaining about time don't realize Vince serves thousands of people a day, where as your typical hp tuner might do one per week.
Locking parameters isn't an issue if you have the proper gauges, which you should have to monitor a tuned car anyway right?
Not only this, Trifecta locks parameters so you can't see or log them either. I have an underlying duty cycle issue I was completely unaware of because my Trifecta tune would not let me see Duty Cycle, TPS, KR, or MAP. Switching to HP was one of the best choices I made for my car.
Cost of a Trifecta tune through a dealer is about $350 for the custom tune or $200 for the budget
