Trifecta or AEM
07-01-2019, 12:34 PM
#2
No they do not. I've had Trifecta and am now on AEM Infinity utilizing Trevor Jolley's custom hall effect cam/crank sensor configuration. It is not cheap to do but if you decide to do it I would be able to help. I have wiring pinouts and other information posted up on my build page in this thread.
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RasputinsGhost (07-02-2019)
07-01-2019, 11:38 PM
#3
New Member
Thread Starter
Thanks man I appreciate it. I'll check out the build some more and see if it's something I want to tackle. Are you able to maintain all the BCM functions with the Infinity?
07-02-2019, 01:55 AM
#4
im just gonna throw this out there, and im sure its going to be wildly unpopular, but hear me out.
if your willing to spend the money on a full stand alone setup and go to all the work, have you considered looking for a different car as a starting point.
now before you start screaming, here is my point. a cobalt with a 2.2l isnt much money these days, and im sure you could find a car in real nice shape and sell yours after transferring mods over, purchase hp tuners and still be ahead dollar wise than purchasing and installing a full stand alone. however this goes further than just money, i always maintain you will have a much more street friendly, nicer driving, overall better time with a well tuned factory ecm than a full stand alone. now this does depend on what your plans are for the car, if you plan on a very serious build, obviously a stand alone system may work better. same deal if your racing it and need the extra features a stand alone provides. ive seen it many times where people go full bore on an aftermarket system, especially on a newer car, and in the end half the gauges dont work, warning lights cant be shut off, or you end up with a factory harness hacked up to keep the rest of the car happy. and again, some cars that worth it, but a street driver its not.
generally im the one that hates reading the "just buy an ss" comments, but these days it makes some sense. if your planning to boost your 2.2l your gonna spend a couple grand on a turbo kit, and then a couple grand to get an aem into it, and make around 250-300hp before it lifts a ring land. really for that sort of money (including what you could sell/trade in your current car for) you could be in the range of an ss turbo, slap on the stage 1 sensors and a tune and away you go with over 300hp. and i do get the "i wanna build a base model and be different", ive been there and done that, in the end its not that special.
take this with a grain of salt, its just my thoughts on stuff like this in general when your talking about cars that are a little older and really not that expensive.
if your willing to spend the money on a full stand alone setup and go to all the work, have you considered looking for a different car as a starting point.
now before you start screaming, here is my point. a cobalt with a 2.2l isnt much money these days, and im sure you could find a car in real nice shape and sell yours after transferring mods over, purchase hp tuners and still be ahead dollar wise than purchasing and installing a full stand alone. however this goes further than just money, i always maintain you will have a much more street friendly, nicer driving, overall better time with a well tuned factory ecm than a full stand alone. now this does depend on what your plans are for the car, if you plan on a very serious build, obviously a stand alone system may work better. same deal if your racing it and need the extra features a stand alone provides. ive seen it many times where people go full bore on an aftermarket system, especially on a newer car, and in the end half the gauges dont work, warning lights cant be shut off, or you end up with a factory harness hacked up to keep the rest of the car happy. and again, some cars that worth it, but a street driver its not.
generally im the one that hates reading the "just buy an ss" comments, but these days it makes some sense. if your planning to boost your 2.2l your gonna spend a couple grand on a turbo kit, and then a couple grand to get an aem into it, and make around 250-300hp before it lifts a ring land. really for that sort of money (including what you could sell/trade in your current car for) you could be in the range of an ss turbo, slap on the stage 1 sensors and a tune and away you go with over 300hp. and i do get the "i wanna build a base model and be different", ive been there and done that, in the end its not that special.
take this with a grain of salt, its just my thoughts on stuff like this in general when your talking about cars that are a little older and really not that expensive.
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07-02-2019, 06:48 AM
#5
Like Sharkey said, going stand alone is not a wise investment. You can definitely go faster for cheaper and easier. When I started Trifecta still offered tuning and I never really wanted to go standalone. So when I finally converted over I already had all my engine, trans, and suspension mods. I only did the conversion because it was really my only option to keep my car going. Like Sharkey said you can go much farther on much less if you obtain a better starting point. Especially if you haven't even done any modifications to your 06 yet.
That said my 06 is my shitbox to beat on. It has scratches dents and dings. I only have liability insurance on it. I know it isn't even close to an investment but a money pit. I built it to thrash and learn on with no plans of ever reselling it. With the AEM it is also drives much better on the street than it ever did with Trifecta tune. I have 1300cc injectors in it and it idles great. I've retained all my gauges with 100% stock BCM functionality and even still have AC. I've been daily driving it to work and honestly it drives on the street like stock. I'm not trying to convince you it is worth it, just making it clear that it can be done.
To answer your question about the BCM I maintained functionality by hacking up the stock harness like Sharkey mentioned. The stock ECU is still connected and controls igntion/startup, alternator control, AC compressor (though I have a trigger wire going to the AEM which tells it when compressor is running so it can kick on fan and open throttle body to offset power required by compressor), electric power steering, the whole dash cluster display. I had to completely fabricate my own engine harness from scratch for the AEM. If you accidentally don't pay attention for a second while doing that things can get screwed up fast. When if comes to things like ABS module I can't tell you how that integrates because I don't have it.
That said my 06 is my shitbox to beat on. It has scratches dents and dings. I only have liability insurance on it. I know it isn't even close to an investment but a money pit. I built it to thrash and learn on with no plans of ever reselling it. With the AEM it is also drives much better on the street than it ever did with Trifecta tune. I have 1300cc injectors in it and it idles great. I've retained all my gauges with 100% stock BCM functionality and even still have AC. I've been daily driving it to work and honestly it drives on the street like stock. I'm not trying to convince you it is worth it, just making it clear that it can be done.
To answer your question about the BCM I maintained functionality by hacking up the stock harness like Sharkey mentioned. The stock ECU is still connected and controls igntion/startup, alternator control, AC compressor (though I have a trigger wire going to the AEM which tells it when compressor is running so it can kick on fan and open throttle body to offset power required by compressor), electric power steering, the whole dash cluster display. I had to completely fabricate my own engine harness from scratch for the AEM. If you accidentally don't pay attention for a second while doing that things can get screwed up fast. When if comes to things like ABS module I can't tell you how that integrates because I don't have it.
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RasputinsGhost (07-02-2019)
07-02-2019, 01:36 PM
#6
New Member
Thread Starter
Thanks guys. Yeah that's what I expected. I was hoping a piggy back system would be more cost effective. The car was free to me so I have no problem throwing some money at it but it doesn't seem worth it to put in thousands of dollars to have something that makes 250hp. I've only done basic stuff like wheels tires, brakes, sway bars and exhaust. Last step is SS/TC struts and YYZ springs and I'll just leave it at that.
07-02-2019, 01:39 PM
#7
Thanks guys. Yeah that's what I expected. I was hoping a piggy back system would be more cost effective. The car was free to me so I have no problem throwing some money at it but it doesn't seem worth it to put in thousands of dollars to have something that makes 250hp. I've only done basic stuff like wheels tires, brakes, sway bars and exhaust. Last step is SS/TC struts and YYZ springs and I'll just leave it at that.
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