# Power by Trifecta for my Cruze



## montgom626 (Jan 16, 2011)

How many folks have installed this package?

*2011 Chevrolet Cruze 1.4L Turbo Tuning*

Trifecta Performance Custom Tuning :: Home Page and News

Looks real tempting. Would love to hear what users think.

I would love this plus a methanol injection and see the performance.


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## Spaceme (Jan 20, 2011)

I purchased the tune a couple of weeks ago. It makes a BIG difference in power and torque. Stock boost is approximately 15-16 PSI. My boost is now at 20.5 PSI. In most cars I have driven that have an aftermarket tune it was difficult to feel a difference in power. Not in this car with this tune! 

Transmission shifting is also much improved and the tune adds a third mode to the transmission. When in D, the car shifts normally but has quicker shifts and the up and down shifts happen more easily with less gas pedal travel. When the shifter is moved to the M or manual position, the transmission will still shift automatically (as long as you don't tap the shifter either up or down) but the sifts are much more firm and quick. This is the mode that was added. Now also when in the M mode when you tap up or down it then switches to manual mode to shift up or down manually by tapping up or down. Shifts are quicker here as well.

Gas mileage is unchanged with normal driving but of course decreases if you step on it (but not by that much). Definitely worth the cost and improves the only negatives of the Cruze.


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## montgom626 (Jan 16, 2011)

Very good information. You have the ability to re-flash and did you choose transparency mode? 

What about some methanol injection? More boost, more power and no need to have premium. 

Do you use premium?


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## montgom626 (Jan 16, 2011)

Spaceme said:


> I purchased the tune a couple of weeks ago. It makes a BIG difference in power and torque. Stock boost is approximately 15-16 PSI. My boost is now at 20.5 PSI. In most cars I have driven that have an aftermarket tune it was difficult to feel a difference in power. Not in this car with this tune!


So, any "down" side to the tune? What area of the country?


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## montgom626 (Jan 16, 2011)

Spaceme said:


> I purchased the tune a couple of weeks ago. It makes a BIG difference in power and torque. Stock boost is approximately 15-16 PSI. My boost is now at 20.5 PSI. In most cars I have driven that have an aftermarket tune it was difficult to feel a difference in power. Not in this car with this tune!


How do you measure the boost?


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## montgom626 (Jan 16, 2011)

Spaceme said:


> Transmission shifting is also much improved and the tune adds a third mode to the transmission. When in D, the car shifts normally but has quicker shifts and the up and down shifts happen more easily with less gas pedal travel. When the shifter is moved to the M or manual position, the transmission will still shift automatically (as long as you don't tap the shifter either up or down) but the sifts are much more firm and quick. This is the mode that was added. Now also when in the M mode when you tap up or down it then switches to manual mode to shift up or down manually by tapping up or down. Shifts are quicker here as well.
> .


So, let me ask, if in Manual, it will shift auto mode. Now, once you hit it in manual (up or down) does it return to auto mode or do you have to make it go back to auto mode???


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## shawn672 (Oct 31, 2010)

I believe it shifts automatically if it hits redline and isn't shifted - no rev bouncing..


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## Spaceme (Jan 20, 2011)

montgom626 said:


> Very good information. You have the ability to re-flash and did you choose transparency mode?
> 
> What about some methanol injection? More boost, more power and no need to have premium.
> 
> Do you use premium?


 I purchase the EZ Flash cable with the tune so I can re-flash and it also does have the transparency mode option in the software.

The tune does require at least 91 octane fuel. I am sure that if you want to also run Meth injection, Trifecta will work with you on customizing the tune for your car.



montgom626 said:


> So, any "down" side to the tune? What area of the country?


So far the only downside is the use of Premium fuel but for me it is not that big of a deal as I have always run Premium fuel in my previous car. Many modern cars can detect higher or lower octane fuels and advance or retard timing based on feed back from the knock sensors. 

I am located in south Louisiana.



montgom626 said:


> How do you measure the boost?


The boost was measured using the EZ Flash software on my laptop to record a datalogs of a couple of wide open throttle runs. I then e-mailed the logs to Trifecta for them to review and I was told that I was pushing 20.5 PSI. But I will most likely install a boost gauge soon.



montgom626 said:


> So, let me ask, if in Manual, it will shift auto mode. Now, once you hit it in manual (up or down) does it return to auto mode or do you have to make it go back to auto mode???


When shift lever is moved to Manual position, it will display an M in the DIC and the transmission will still shift automactically (but much faster/firmer). I guess you could call this Sport Automatic mode. When the lever is bumped up or down, it will then be in actual Manual mode (Sport Manual mode) and the DIC will display M1, M2, M3, M4, M5, or M6 depending on what gear you are in. To switch back to Sport Auto mode, you move the shifter to the D position and then back to M position. It may sound complicated, but it is actually very easy.


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## montgom626 (Jan 16, 2011)

Spaceme said:


> The tune does require at least 91 octane fuel.


Have you run regular? Can it handle regular?


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## shawn672 (Oct 31, 2010)

You should not run regular with 20psi on this motor.. Even if you could, it would pull timing like crazy and just kill power


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## Spaceme (Jan 20, 2011)

montgom626 said:


> Have you run regular? Can it handle regular?


I would imagine that you may be able to push more boost than stock with regular but it would not be 20 PSI. You should contact Trifecta and ask them if they can make a modified tune for your car. That is one of the things I like about this tune and the EZ Flash cable and software. You can datalog your car, e-mail the data to Trifecta and they can adjust parameters to your car and to your liking.


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## Targus (Jan 2, 2011)

I lives in Turkey,
drive Cruze since may.2009.
Engine is 1.6 ecotech, surely need remap.
I already wrote trifecta , but they didnt reply me.
Could you pls. ask them for me, if they can handle remapping of 1.6 ecotech engine by cable. The engine ecu is 5WY....


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## montgom626 (Jan 16, 2011)

Spaceme said:


> That is one of the things I like about this tune and the EZ Flash cable and software. You can datalog your car, e-mail the data to Trifecta and they can adjust parameters to your car and to your liking.


I agree, very nice setup. And the cost per HP is very low when compared to other methods like exhaust, etc. And the fact that it is no destructive. Leaves no trace. And reversible.


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## Aeroscout977 (Nov 25, 2010)

Whats the injector duty cycle @ with this tune? Also what are stock injector sizes? Any dyno's yet?


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## Ninety8NeonACR (Dec 25, 2010)

JDM-USDM Love said:


> Any dyno's yet?






Love the way it sounds.


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## Aeroscout977 (Nov 25, 2010)

does sound good but what are the numbers...


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## spacedout (Dec 7, 2010)

JDM-USDM Love said:


> does sound good but what are the numbers...



There is a Dyno Sheet on the website though its a bit hard to find. They claim +36.00HP & +54Torque (31% horsepower & 38% torque increase)

http://www.trifectaperformance.com/DynoSheets/2011ChevyCruzeLUJDyno.jpg


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## Aeroscout977 (Nov 25, 2010)

That's a good increase for a turbo 1.4L reflash. The line could use some smoothing out but 300 bucks for a reflash is great. I think the GTI owners pay a little above 500 something for theirs. I'm more curious about the injectors now however after seeing the dyno sheet.


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## montgom626 (Jan 16, 2011)

JDM-USDM Love said:


> I'm more curious about the injectors now however after seeing the dyno sheet.


What about the injectors???


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## Aeroscout977 (Nov 25, 2010)

montgom626 said:


> What about the injectors???


I'm curious as to the stock injector size as well as what the duty cycle is pushing with this reflash.


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## montgom626 (Jan 16, 2011)

JDM-USDM Love said:


> I'm curious as to the stock injector size as well as what the duty cycle is pushing with this reflash.


What is meant by duty cycle?


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## LARRY01Z28 (Dec 4, 2010)

Duty cycle is the amount of time that the fuel injectors are switched on. A duty cycle of 0% means that the injector is not on at all, a duty cycle of 100% means the injector is on constantly. Duty cycle at idle is normally only a few percent, rising as revs or load increases.


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## LARRY01Z28 (Dec 4, 2010)

There are a few important factors that you must take into account when modifying an electronic fuel injection engine. These car aceessories factors are: the pulse duration of the injectors and the duty cycle. The injector pulse duration is the amount of time that the injector is held open so that it can inject fuel into the combustion chamber. The pulse duration is controlled by the engine control unit (ECU) and is dependent on various sensors in the electronic fuel injection (EFI) system. The longer the pulse duration, the more fuel is added to the air/fuel mixture. The amount of fuel required at any one time varies by the amount of air flow, the air density, the engine load, and the engine temperature. Therefore the pulse duration will vary. However, there is only a limited amount of time that the injector can be held open at each revolution of the engine. This amount of time is reduced as engine speed increases. For example, at 600 RPM the available time is 0.1 seconds (60 seconds in a minute divided by 600 revolutions) but at 6,000 RPM it is only 0.01 seconds. The pulse duration relative to the available time at the engine red line is called the duty cycle and is expressed as a percentage. Thus a duty cycle of 80% means that at the engine red line the pulse duration (the amount of time the injector is help open) is 80% of the available time.







Some engine tuners will tell you that if your car has a duty cycle of 80%, you have a possible gain of 20%. However, the injector is an electronic solenoid and cannot be held open for too long or it will overheat and fail. In practice most Nippon Denso and Rochester injectors will remain reliable at up to an 80% duty cycle; most Bosch injectors will remain reliable at up to an 85% duty cycle; and most Lucas injectors will remain reliable at up to a 92% duty cycle. Though even at these duty cycles it is still advisable to test the injectors. Test them specifically for their spray pattern and their flow volumes at the maximum duty cycle you require. On a race engine I wouldn't exceed a maximum duty cycle of 80% as dyno-testing on various have shown that a duty cycle in the region of 60% to 70% produces the best power. This is because a shorter duty cycle does not allow for the proper atomization of the fuel, and proper atomization is important for the proper burning of the air/fuel mixture. I usually aim for a duty cycle at the point where maximum power is reached so as to ensure the longevity and reliability of the injectors. So, how do you adjust the duty cycle? By adjusting the fuel pressure and the injector nozzle size. On an OEM EFI system there are certain limitations on increasing the fuel pressure and the injector nozzle size. I'll discuss increasing the injector size in a while, but you can read more about increasing fuel pressure here.
Increasing the injector nozzle size will result in increased fuel delivery all the time. As "Langer" mentioned in engine basics, a rich fuel mixture results in power loss. Therefore, increasing the nozzle size could have a negative effect on performance and economy. The oxygen Sensor (O2S) will correct the fuel mixture for an injector that is about 20% larger than stock. However, on a pre-1996 EFI system, the ECU will ignore the O2S sensor under full throttle conditions. Furthermore, the OEM ECU will not be able to handle an injector that is more than 20% larger than stock and will suspect that one or more of its sensors are faulty and will revert to its programmed settings, which means that the fuel air mixture will not be optimal and will probably be rich as this is the failsafe setting on the ECU when it suspects that its sensors are faulty. 







Another option is to increase the number of injectors. You can do this by adding auxiliary injectors that are controlled by a separate ECU, or by adding a second ECU to control both the existing injectors as well as the additional injectors, leaving the OEM ECU to control the other engine management functions. The latter is called "staged" injection and requires an extra injector for each engine cylinder. With auxiliary injectors you don't need an extra injector per cylinder; instead you can place one or two extra injectors upstream in the air intake path. To achieve the best performance, you should install the extra injectors ahead of the throttle body in the intake path as this allows for better fuel distribution and aids fuel vaporization. However, with positive-displacement superchargers, such as Roots, Eaton, or Lysholm superchargers this is not possible because the throttle body must be placed ahead of the supercharger.
While the additional ECU in both systems are fully programmable, and while staged injection is more expressive and a bit more complicated than auxiliary injectors, it does give you far more tuning control and better fuel distribution as you have full programming control over both sets of injectors. Usually, the new injectors are larger than the stock injectors and become the primary injectors with the stock injectors becoming the secondary injectors. The secondary injectors only come online at high engine loads, when extra fuel in required. This setup allows for greater tolerance of minor variations in the air/fuel mixture, and a smoother transition when the secondary injectors are in use. Whenever I need to run larger injectors, and when my budget allows it, I'd go for staged injection every time.


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## LARRY01Z28 (Dec 4, 2010)

compliments of a efi tuning website.


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## Aeroscout977 (Nov 25, 2010)

Yeah on my car that has 310s and around 210whp I'm doing 90% max DC up to 8600 RPMs. I am wondering if this tune maxes out the stock injectors or not.


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## Cruisn'inCruze (Mar 1, 2011)

Does the tune change the rpm's from which the turbo spools?


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## shawn672 (Oct 31, 2010)

Cruisn'inCruze said:


> Does the tune change the rpm's from which the turbo spools?


Nope. With exhaust and intake mods Vince will be able to shift the power band some, I believe is what he said


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## Cruisn'inCruze (Mar 1, 2011)

Ok thanks. Is trifecta the only one who makes a tune so far?


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## shawn672 (Oct 31, 2010)

yup. a tuner working saab's is workign on something for the LUJ but nothing yet, so its only [email protected], but he's a smart dude...


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## Cruisn'inCruze (Mar 1, 2011)

Alright thanks Shawn. Im still learning about these tinker-toys and their electronics. My small blocks are caveman technology compared to this stuff...tuning is now done with something called a com-pew-ter I guess.


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## shawn672 (Oct 31, 2010)

haha yeah dude, it's a whole different world then how it used to be. the tunes are now loaded via laptop OR handheld tuner device (called a GT Tuner)


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## Yama1yzf (Feb 13, 2011)

What about warranty issues or general longevity issues with the setup?


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## rbarrera (Feb 9, 2011)

Yama1yzf said:


> What about warranty issues or general longevity issues with the setup?


 
Yes, does this affect the powertrain warranty?


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## shawn672 (Oct 31, 2010)

rbarrera said:


> Yes, does this affect the powertrain warranty?


It completely voids the warranty for the entire powertrain HOWEVER the tune is applied in a manner that is extremely difficult to find. The master log that records all previous ECM flashes isn't logged, so a dealer would really have to investigate and dig around to find it. You can always flash back to stock tune before you do any warranty work, which is what I did on my Cobalt using the same tuner company (Trifecta)


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## some_goat (Feb 21, 2011)

Does the stock computer keep record of any changes done to it ? For example , when they look at it , it would show an UPDATED log date , seemingly before the date brought into the stealership .


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## TGreyCruze (Feb 21, 2011)

So far im liking the trifecta tune and seriously considering doing this tune. I work at a dealer and im sure if the mechanic runs into anything that shows ill be ok and not get bothered by it. I have to admit though if it doesnt show history of anything being changed then even better. There customer service is really good as well. Thats actually the number one reason why i would go with them.


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## shawn672 (Oct 31, 2010)

It does NOT show in the update log guys. They call it a "stealth tune" because it doesn't write the master log so it's much more difficult to tell it's been flashed at all


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## Aeroscout977 (Nov 25, 2010)

^ Yeah dealership tried to call me out for my Honda when it had stock tune on it. I asked them to prove it, and they couldn't. They said they saw a "ghost file". Which was non-existent.


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## emazingli (Mar 9, 2011)

shawn672 said:


> You should not run regular with 20psi on this motor.. Even if you could, it would pull timing like crazy and just kill power


So what should we run sir? I am confused.


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## Zenman (Feb 13, 2011)

Once I get my Cruze, I might consider a tune if it didn't require the premium gas, and wasn't so severe. Couldn't a tune be made that didn't increase the HP & TQ so much? Like how about just a 15% increase in each? That would make me feel it wasn't putting too much added strain on the engine yet still would be noticeable, right?


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## Spaceme (Jan 20, 2011)

emazingli said:


> So what should we run sir? I am confused.


At that PSI of boost which is what the tune increases the boost to, it requires at least 91 octane or better.


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## Spaceme (Jan 20, 2011)

Zenman said:


> Once I get my Cruze, I might consider a tune if it didn't require the premium gas, and wasn't so severe. Couldn't a tune be made that didn't increase the HP & TQ so much? Like how about just a 15% increase in each? That would make me feel it wasn't putting too much added strain on the engine yet still would be noticeable, right?


I am sure Vince at Trifecta could make a tune for you that would do that, but any increase in your boost will require higher octane gas for a margin of safety.


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## Knightslugger (Jan 11, 2011)

boost gauge required for certainty on fuel. otherwise it's for safety margin like space said.


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