Trifecta Tune
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That's good news. The only problem is that it will void your warranty, so I'm waiting until my warranty is up for any tunes. It's too bad GM decided to create a way for the computer to record any attempt to alter the factory tune.
I can understand that. It can be expensive to repair cars these days.
Trifecta also makes a tune for my ZR2 which is out of warranty next year, so I'm looking forward to getting it. I am curious to see what they'll get out of our little 3cyl engines. I'm guessing 10-15 hp. We already run up to 22 psi of boost, so I don't think they're going any higher there.
Funny, I was just under the hood tonight looking at the routing of the intercooler and thinking how a bigger one might fit. Trifecta was on my mind. Their tunes on the 1.4L were impressive on paper.
Anyone pull the intake ducts yet to look for any removable baffles? If present they quiet the turbo noise but also restrict the intake airflow as well.
Similarly, who has access to monitor KR on 87? (KR isn’t a std PID on my scantool.) Wondering how much…if any…factory knock the engine has heatsoaked (eg, daily conditions) on 87 versus using 89 or 92+. I won’t be surprised to see a steady dosage of KR with 87. A tune on premium, with perhaps a thicker IC, 20-25hp/tq gain could be possible without going too extreme with timing advance. That’d be plenty for me.
I understand why it was factory tuned for 87; the vehicle & buyer demographic isn’t one where requiring 92+ would be advisable. But for some of us, well….it’s not easy to squash the mod bug - and I’ve been out of the scene for 10 years.
Anyone pull the intake ducts yet to look for any removable baffles? If present they quiet the turbo noise but also restrict the intake airflow as well.
Similarly, who has access to monitor KR on 87? (KR isn’t a std PID on my scantool.) Wondering how much…if any…factory knock the engine has heatsoaked (eg, daily conditions) on 87 versus using 89 or 92+. I won’t be surprised to see a steady dosage of KR with 87. A tune on premium, with perhaps a thicker IC, 20-25hp/tq gain could be possible without going too extreme with timing advance. That’d be plenty for me.
I understand why it was factory tuned for 87; the vehicle & buyer demographic isn’t one where requiring 92+ would be advisable. But for some of us, well….it’s not easy to squash the mod bug - and I’ve been out of the scene for 10 years.
I looked at the ducting and there are two resonators. One is a Helmholtz resonator, so we can't mess with that or we'll lose power. The other looks like a regular resonator on the boost pipe. But I doubt you'd see any gains replacing it.
I actually feel like the stock intake setup is quite efficient and will be really hard to beat with an aftermarket intake. Drop in K&N filter will likely be overkill for air volume requirements on this engine.
See attached pics.
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Always Trifecta man I wish people knew how bad they really are. I'd save your money your not gonna get a lot out of the 1.3T much less the 1.2T it's not setup like the 1.4T and they can't do shit with your transmission which means your going to be rev hanging and getting mad even more when your engine prematurely begins to have issues when the gear doesn't change and the ECM demands to much. I'd wait to avoid any warranty on these until all the bugs are worked out people are beginning to have AWD system failures left and right lately not sure on their mileage though. Not saying Trifecta is the worse out there but they are the worse for locking your ECM and then when something goes wrong never speaking to you again.
The intake side isn't bad and a drop in K&N will probably be more than sufficient for incoming airflow.
The real problem is the exhaust. There's a small muffler (more of a resonator) just behind the cat, then there's a huge restrictive muffler behind the rear bumper. That rear muffler has to go, lol. I'm going to try 2 setups. The first one will leave the resonator and remove the big rear muffler. In place of the rear muffler will be a y-pipe that routes exhaust to the dual outlets in the bumper. If that sounds good I might just stop there, but if it doesn't sound good I'll replace the resonator with a Borla XS Pro series muffler which is just a straight through design, perfect for a turbo engine.
I've already had the rear muffler off and it wasn't very loud until you get over 4k. As some of you know engines with turbos aren't very loud because the turbo removes alot of the exhaust noise and it provides more than enough backpressure, so you want the rest of the exhaust to flow as freely as possible. I'm just waiting on a few 90° degrees pieces of stainless tubing to get started, so I'll definitely post some pics and get a sound clip before and after.
The real problem is the exhaust. There's a small muffler (more of a resonator) just behind the cat, then there's a huge restrictive muffler behind the rear bumper. That rear muffler has to go, lol. I'm going to try 2 setups. The first one will leave the resonator and remove the big rear muffler. In place of the rear muffler will be a y-pipe that routes exhaust to the dual outlets in the bumper. If that sounds good I might just stop there, but if it doesn't sound good I'll replace the resonator with a Borla XS Pro series muffler which is just a straight through design, perfect for a turbo engine.
I've already had the rear muffler off and it wasn't very loud until you get over 4k. As some of you know engines with turbos aren't very loud because the turbo removes alot of the exhaust noise and it provides more than enough backpressure, so you want the rest of the exhaust to flow as freely as possible. I'm just waiting on a few 90° degrees pieces of stainless tubing to get started, so I'll definitely post some pics and get a sound clip before and after.
The good news is the exhaust itself is actually pretty good aside from all the resonators and muffler. I'm pretty sure the stock size is enough for anything we'd be able to get out of this engine.
The 2" exhaust should be adequate. Most 4cyl engines use 2-1/4". The factory exhaust becomes restrictive after the cat which doesn't help a small turbo engine. It was designed for sound control not performance.
Bumping this back up.
I reached out to Trifecta today. They said they aren't working on the 1.3T due to a lack of interest. They said they could count the number of inquiries on one hand. So if any of you guys are remotely interested in a tune please reach out to Trifecta and let your voice be heard!
I reached out to Trifecta today. They said they aren't working on the 1.3T due to a lack of interest. They said they could count the number of inquiries on one hand. So if any of you guys are remotely interested in a tune please reach out to Trifecta and let your voice be heard!
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252 Posts
i reached out to them last year
Same here.
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169 Posts
Why would you use them anyway they are horrible to deal with on other platforms and will lock your ECM if you need it fixed or redone your up shit creek because they ghost their customers after they take your money.
I can't seem to find many negative reviews of them online. I guess we'll see who the first tuner is to step up to the plate with the 1.3T.
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252 Posts
I used Trifecta on my 2018 Trax that i traded in for the TB, and i had zero issues. i was quite happy with their service.
I know a lot of people from the Colorado forums who are very happy with Trifecta tunes and I'll likely go the same route with my 18 ZR2 since the warranty is almost up. Trifecta also recently cracked the C8 computer when nobody else has been able to which should also help with my 23 C8 that's currently being built.
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Listen I'm not saying you can't be happy with Trifecta I'm warning they will ghost brands considered not profitable and leave customers up shit creek ask any 5th Gen Camaro owner who used them.
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