So, I already had an HPT saved for my car that Illmatic3s did for me with my old set-up. But I have since added a few more things, and I figured I would be better off re-doing it. A local guy said he could do a Trifecta tune for me for 200 and we'd go over everything together and get it tuned right. Is either better for the LE5? Mine's an auto with the standard mods (intake, catback, header/dp/cat).

Thanks!

 

it really depends on how much control you want on the tuning process.

 

really, the software will do the same. its just matter of whos tuning and how they charge for retunes. Vince has more experience than almost anyone on here in the tuning world, so i would say he wins that department, but i know if u go HPT and have a member tune you, a lot of members do retunes for free or for like $25

 

There's a local guy with the Trifecta. That's why I wanted to go that route. That way we could work together on the tuning process..

 

i also need a tune

 

How trifecta works? I know that it's like 250$ for the tune + shipping but is it a chip or it's a wire that they shipped to you and after installing, you shipped the wire to them?

Is the final price 250$+shipping?
Can I reflash to stock when I want?

 

All that I know is a local guy does it.. I just want to get my tune done by someone local so I can work with them in person to get it right..

 

Depends on alot of things really.

HP Tuners will undoubtedly allow you (or a tuner) to tweak more aspects of your motor. But it really depends on what all your looking for in a tune. But, if you can't find a trusted tuner in your area, then i'd suggest going with Trifecta.

My car is HP Tuners tuned and I love it. I waited what felt like forever before I found what I believed to be a competent, trustworthy tuner. I did my research, and the end result was fantastic. I had my car tuned by BennyHHR (Joe Rutledge) down in the VA Beach area. All the VA Beach guys swear by him, and being as he has a supercharged LE5 in his HHR, its easy to recognize that he knows what he's doing when it comes to tuning the LE5. Also, being as i'm buddies with him, he only charged me $100 for the tune. Best $100 I ever spent on this car.

 

Vince is a very knowledgeable guy. HP Tuners is great in the right hands or for minor tweaks, but if you want to just dial in a solid tune for an extended period of time I'd go with Trifecta.

 

Problem with the Trifecta tune is though, is that every car is different. Set parameters from a custom canned tune for a certain model, while usually very close to the car's needs, can still be off. But with HP Tuners, when the tuner is sitting there IN your car datalogging/making adjustments to his/her base tune he/she built for your car as your driving around (or on a dyno), you can rest assured that the tune will be tailored correctly for YOUR car specifically........not just for your car as a model. Differently engines, even of the same year, modifications and mileage, will react differently to the same tune, simply because they two cars have likely been driven differently, serviced differently, etc etc.

 

Thats why I said HPT was good in the right hands.

 

you realize that with trifecta you datalog your car and send that log to vince, so he can edit anything he needs to (or you request him to) to tailor it to your car. They are both done on a car by car basis, and neither method is canned. Also, Vince has full access to the ECM, and can do everything HPT does

 

Well I personally would have no way to datalog my own car. My laptop is an Asus EeePC, lol. Which is why I had someone else datalog it AND tune it, all in one sitting. No sending information back and forth. Got it all buttoned up in one day.

 

the palmpilot he sends you to upload his tune with doubles as a datalogger. He provides everything. the only thing you need is a way to upload/download info to a SD card (theyre like $10 at bestbuy if your computer didnt already come with a media reader/writer)

 

Hm, interesting. I suppose they're both solid routes to take when going with a tune. Obviously, I've only dealt with HP Tuners, which is why I stand firmly behind it. But I'm sure the Trifecta tunes are great too.

 

HP tuners, I like to actually see for myself whats being done rather than having someone else blindly do it. Twice in the past I was told my car was reflashed and it wasn't. First time was by a now defunct company in Canada known as RSM racing and the second was by GM when they didnt flash me correctly for stage 2.

Also I like the ability to log data and then look at it

 

RSM Racing is still around actually. They sell their products under the name "Z-Spec" now.

 

Yea I know I'm surprised they can still sell anything if they are in business

 

i didnt know trifecta could do so much for us... how much is it?

 

well, you load the tune on yourself, so you will know if the ECM has been flashed or not.
I do agree that its nice to be able to see the datalogs, and personally I would like to tinker with the tune myself, so im all for HPT as well, but im just saying that trifecta is in no way a canned tune, and is pretty ideal for most of the cobalt community who does not know how to tune anyway
also, since HPT isnt out for my car, trifecta is the next best thing, and i feel really confident with vince tuning my car. Even though i did this 9 months ago, i still talk to him about all kinds of things he's done, possible scenarios, etc. We recently began discussing possible issues that could arise tuning my car to 450whp, since my ECU wasnt exactly designed for boost. We discussed swapping the stock MAP for a 3bar MAP, rescaling the MAP tables, converting to return style fuel systems, etc. Basically, things that up to this point, only ss/sc people have done. If all goes well, i will be the first TVS powered 2.2, and i will be the first 2.2 to make +400whp with a supercharger

 

Trifecta ftw.. im dynoing soon to see my gain over stock with the tune.. i saw an actual increase in gas mileage.. got 38mpg hwy on a trip on monday after i did my last datalog and retuning with vince. trifecta is an awesome option. i also got hpt but no one around here knows how to use it that good yet.