As he stated above, he has had a mis-fire at #3 from day one. Both with and without the Trifecta tune and with two different PCM's.

There is no tune available, not yours or ours, which will cure a hardware failure.

Sherm420: I sent you the follwoing via PM but wanted to post here as well:


I am very familar with what has been going on with your car. I have spoken to Vince in depth. With the mis-fire you have been experienceing all along, there is something wrong with your car. The tune has been blamed on the forum but there are roughly 200 others with the TriFecta tune and no problems like this.

There are several concerns I have:

1. you have a mis-fire with two different PCM's; one with Tri-Fecta and one with stock.

2. the intake you have is known to cause air/fuel ratio problems. In fact, there is a thread dedicated to the problems specifically with that intake.

3. You have our down-pipe with hi-flow converter, which may now have failed as a result of the mis-fire/air/fuel ratio problem.

My experience and observations lead me to believe you started with one problem and now have, possibly, three.

1. The mis-fire on cylinder 3 has remained consistent with two different PCM's using two different tunes. So you can rule out the PCM or the tune as being the problem. Most likely you have a failure in the #3 plug, coil or fuel injector. Diagnose and repair as needed. (This should be covered under your GM warranty).

2. Remove the intake and return to the stock intake. This will allow for trouble shooting by removing a potential problem from the equation. The breather valve connection, used on your intake, is a poor design and has been noted, several times, to be allowing un-metered air into the intake tract after the MAF. This WILL cause the air/fuel ratio to become extremely unstable. With the mis-fire, you are inviting hard-ware failure.

3. Due to the mis-fire and potential intake leak (air/fuel ratio problem), I hate to say it, but most likely the hi-flow converter has failed. Not enough fuel will cause a lean condition and can actually cause the converter substrate to melt. If this happens the converter can meld together and become blocked. This will result in extreme back-pressure which will cause stress on the turbo because it can not spool freely. Too much fuel will cause a rich condition. Ths can clog the converter substrate and result in extreme back pressure, also leading to stress on the turbo because it can not spool freely. You need to remove the hi-flow converter down pipe and install the stock down-pipe. I am willing to bet the substrate is loose and moving around inside the converter body.

EDIT: (I added this next paragraph)Since there is a good possibility un-metered air is getting into the system, the PCM doesn't see it until it is read by the O2 sensor. It is going to read lean, thus the PCM adding more fuel to compensate. This is most certainly why your air/fuel ratio is so rich at the dyno. Your fuel economy is most likely suffereing and your plugs and tailpipe are most likely covered in black soot.

My diagnosis:

You have a hardware failure resulting in the mis-fire at #3. This appears to have been an existing problm before any performace parts or tuning was done.

You have a failed cat converter due to the mis-fire & air/fuel ratio issue. This appears to have happened after the intake kit was installed and you went to the dyno. (With a mis-fire and air/fuel ration problems, the dyno runs may have been just enough to cause the converter to fail.

Though you now have the stock PCM with stock tune installed, you still have an intake causing an air/fuel ratio issue, you still have a mis-fire at #3 due to hardware and you most likely have a failed converter due to all issues above.

My suggestion is to STOP driving your car RIGHT NOW!
Pull the intake and return to stock.
Pull the down-pipe and return to stock.
Schedule dealership visit and tell them there is something causing a mis-fire at cylinder #3.

Though you have had the mis-fire from day one, your problems began getting worse after you installed the intake kit.

Good luck in finding the problem. I'm pretty sure it will be a combination of failed injector, plug or coil along with a leak in your intake kit. Both equal disaster for other components.

 

sooooooooooooooo
if the car runs fine on the stock tune. as sherm has stated already. wouldn't this conclude a tune issue?

the car i tinker with has a hahn intake. had a misfire in a cylinder. changed the plugs. it's gone.

most people don't need a cai on their cars. a simple stock box with a drop in k&n filter is more than enough.

 

I tuned a car on the Hahn intake as well... actually 2 of them... minus the lack of air flow none have had this problem.

One had a spark plug issue, due to ignorance. The other has had zero issues.

both running well, one of which is about to break into the 12s and made 340+ whp and 360+ wtq.

I would have to say it's a tune related issue as well. Sorry. But there are many of people running those intakes albeit not the greatest out there, but not having issues

 

MY car does that as well.. Its completely normal for you to see this as the ECU see's a drop in horsepower and TQ and allows the turbo to push harder

 

What has been posted seems to vary from the information Vince has been told.

I'm honestly tired of speculation; both my own and every other person guessing.

Sherm420, please fill us in with the answers to the following questions:

1. Did you ever have a mis-fire with the stock pcm and stock tune?
2. Have you taken your car to the dealership only to be told they could not find a problem?
3. Did you ever install the TriFecta tune on the stock PCM which came with your car?
4. Or did you only install the TriFecta tune on a second hand pcm you purchased elsewhere and installed yourself?
5. Have you pulled the hi-flow converter down-pipe to check it?
6. Have you sent the second hand PCM to Vince to be checked as he offered to do?
7. Have you replaced the #3 plug?
8. Have you checked the #3 fuel injector for proper function?
9. Have you checked the #3 ignition coil for proper function?
10. Have you dynoed your car with just the intake installed and observed the air/fuel ratio?

Answer these with accuracy so all of us can get on the same page, stop debating what has become pure speculation and opinion and to hopefully help you find out what the heck is going on with your car.

 

1. yes twice
2. ya about 4 or 5 times
3. no i used an aftermarket pcm
4. see above (want to keep warranty)
5. no i do not have a lift but im replacing it with stock d/p
6. its on its way
7. yes twice
8. dont know how to do that
9. same as above
10. yes and it was normal

 

Which leads to TUNE RELATED ISSUE

 

i dunno im done with this headache i dont think its th tune i think its my car but i think the tune did do more severe damage to components on my car but hey **** happens

 

no it doesnt. if he had misfires on stock tune and stock ECU then its obviously not a tuning area.

and like you said..there are lots of people running hahn CAI with no problems..

there is also alot of people running trifecta tune with no problems..

could there acctualy be a problem with one out of 1000 LNF's made...MAYBE!

cars break..it just happens

 

ya i had another misifire car is at dealer now...they said they documented the misfire at 6200 rpm @ 100 mph which now they wont ******* warranty b/c of the unlawful speed....**** FML

 

Lol...Tell them it was a dyno trying to duplicate this problem you noticed in the car!


This sounds like what the audi's would do when the coil-pack was going bad. I would try to swap the coil-pack to a different cylinder and see if the mis-fire follows. If it follows its obviously the coil-pack, if it stays @ #3 its obviously something else.

Troubleshooting 101

Following same logic there could be issues with those items as well!

 

are they retarded?

being a "unlawful" speed is not a just warrantyable (SP) issue

you take it back to them and you say..if you didnt want this car to go to 6200 rpms you should have governened it..your fault..not mine ******* fix it

 

ya the dealership gonna have mess on thier hands if they dont fix my problem...ive been in there over 3 times for the same ****

 

ok its only happening (misfire) at 102 mph wtf...? wont happen redline 1-2 or 2-3 just 3-4

 

have the dealer flash the ecm with the most recent updated file.

 

alright ya im runnin out of ideas guys any suggestions are VERY much appreciated

 

i've been down this road before, cyl #3 mis-fired on a stock 07 pontiac vibe base (during normal driving), to the point were the internals got worn down from constantly mis-firing, leading three times to piston n valve failure n complete engine demo, all within a 30 day period after we just pickup the car - brand new from the dealer.. every part on the motor either has been replaced 2 or 3 times. and the dealer was still unable to resolve the mis-firing issue..

if the dealer is unable to fix the issue/ problem - 3, 4 or 5x's in a row for the same problem, the car is a lemon, under the states lemon laws.. if they give you the run around.. just ask them to give you in writing - what the problem is, and how they have tried to resolve it, and get there business cards.. DONT tell them you are reporting this problem, it just gives them more bullets to shoot down your claim, (because if the car is a lemon the dealer may have to give your money back or you'll get a new car of same or equal value), get the service manager's name and report it to your states lemon law dept or state DA dept.. tell them what has happen to your car (history, service, etc), tell them how you have been treated by the dealership - good or bad, the steps you taken and the steps they have taken, etc..

if you have any type of services receipts - stating the problem hasn't been found or resolved, you have a very good case.. i stress this all the time.. keep ALL service receipts, more the receipts, better you have to build a case.. another good point is to create a log book of oil changes, tune ups, tire swaps, etc.. you can use this as ammo as well..

it may take 2 months or more, but you may get cash back (KBB value) or will get the same exact car - brand spankin new.. I did.. brand spankin new 08 pontiac vibe GT..

 

Word of advice please don't ignore misfire issues, I had one that turned into a destroyed spark plug, and intake and exhaust valves on the same cylinder. Turns out that the body shop that repaired the rearend of my car left both the negative and positive cables loose, check your grounding connections for the motor. just my 2 cents.

 

ya i think i got it all figured out now we will see tho...