# 1.4t 6spd Trifecta tune



## 14silvercruze (Mar 29, 2014)

Would it be a waste of money to buy the Trifecta economy tune or should i just wait and save for the other one. Right now my car is bone stock im hoping to get a cold air intake and maybe some other bolt ons


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## sciphi (Aug 26, 2011)

Get the premium tune. If you decide to do a lot of bolt-ons, the tune needs to be tweaked to adjust for the slightly increased airflow. The premium tune can be tweaked, while the budget tune can't be. Running lean on a turbo car is not good at all.


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## 14silvercruze (Mar 29, 2014)

Im not planning on going crazy at least not till next year. I think i may just get the intake and economy tune for now i wanna be able to hear the turbo and wastegate


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## Psychomidgit (Jun 9, 2013)

If you want to hear the turbo I believe that downpipe/mid-pipe combo would be best, especially since you're planning on getting the tune. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong


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## Sanjay Collins (Jun 25, 2013)

The intake makes you able to hear the bpv, and the downpipe will allow you to hear the turbo wheel spool. If you have the catless midpipe and a cat-back you'll hear the turbo a lot more in the exhaust.

This is mine with the K&N intake, BNR downpipe, ZZP midpipe and Borla cat-back

http://youtu.be/QLFWA3IOOuM


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## 14silvercruze (Mar 29, 2014)

I message a couple ppl with intakes for sale but no response yet.


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## sciphi (Aug 26, 2011)

Keep in mind that if you do decide to get a down/midpipe the economy tune will need to be upgraded to a premium tune to let the tune get customized for those parts. Check the pricing to be sure, but last I checked it was cheaper to do the premium tune from the get-go than upgrading an economy tune. Also, if your engine doesn't play nicely with an intake for whatever reason, having the ability to datalog and get the tune tweaked is worth it. 

I've been in tuned cars with intakes, and driven my tuned car with the OEM resonator removed out of the wheel well. Sound-wise, they both sound the same. The intake was a little louder. Both can hear the BPV clearly when letting off. Power-wise, an intake makes no power on these cars since the OEM intake flows more than even a tuned engine can handle. There's a reason that a good number of intakes are for sale. Aside from the underhood bling and a touch more noise than a modified OEM setup, they don't do anything on a Cruze with bolt-ons, even exhaust bolt-ons. That's why I've been saying to try modifying the OEM setup first.


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## Psychomidgit (Jun 9, 2013)

Really? So ZZP's claim of gaining power is incorrect?


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## Sanjay Collins (Jun 25, 2013)

I think those number are done on an untuned car, just like many intake numbers. The numbers from supporting mods are typically lower when tuned because the A/F ratio is leaned out and corrected.


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## sciphi (Aug 26, 2011)

Psychomidgit said:


> Really? So ZZP's claim of gaining power is incorrect?


They're not incorrect. They're just the best numbers seen when the car was dyno'd. What those numbers might not tell you is the ambient temperature, the humidity, whether there was a fan blowing onto the engine to get air moving over the intercooler, what dyno pull they achieved that number on, or what octane gasoline they were running. Unless it's as close to laboratory conditions as possible with the only variable being changed being the intake, we can't be certain. ZZP isn't wrong, they probably did make power on an untuned car for that particular dyno pull. However, the power will go away when the PCM adjusts to the increased airflow or throws a CEL for the MAF. 

And, on a tuned car, the mods are taken into account and corrected for. The big restrictions in this car for top-end power are in the turbo, intake manifold, intercooler, and head. They're not in the intake or exhaust. It's telling that the tuned Cruzes making the most power so far have very few bolt-ons, but very good tunes.


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## Psychomidgit (Jun 9, 2013)

Hmmm, interesting. my actual thought was to get the ZZP intake, Intercooler, Downpipe, and Mid-pipe. Will it be pointless to buy those pieces? My power gain goal was to get in between the 180's to 200's.


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## Sanjay Collins (Jun 25, 2013)

They aren't pointless by any means, they just free up the restrictive factory system. You'll benefit the most from the tune and a downpipe. There are plenty of dynos with the tune and bolt ons getting into the 160 whp range and a little more with the manifold ported.

MPFab's Sonic with the same motor, tune, bolt ons and ported manifold dyno'd 174 whp (Mustang Dyno) which is right around 200 at the crank.


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## Psychomidgit (Jun 9, 2013)

Which bolt-ons did they do?


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## sciphi (Aug 26, 2011)

http://www.cruzetalk.com/forum/34-1-4l-turbo/60577-custom-tuning-results-black-label-tuning.html

And there's an example of a tune-only Cruze getting 157-160 whp. That's tune-only, on a decidedly conservative tune. 

All the bolt-ons when put together will help some. Doing just one or another won't help much. They also need to be accommodated for during the tuning process. But, at the end of the day, it'll be a lot of money for not much power. A tune itself is the biggest bang for the buck modification that can be done to a 1.4T Cruze. 

At the end of the day, a used 260 hp Verano Turbo with a 6MT is $25k. If you want power on a Cruze chassis, sell your Cruze and buy a used Verano Turbo. That's 100 more HP stock than a tuned Cruze. And, that car can be pretty easily tuned to make ~290-300 hp.


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## blk88verde (Apr 30, 2011)

> At the end of the day, a used 260 hp Verano Turbo with a 6MT is $25k. If you want power on a Cruze chassis, sell your Cruze and buy a used Verano Turbo.


 This makes sense, but I wonder what the real world availability of a 6MT Verano would be. I am sure they are scarce. The reason I bring this up, I have been looking to test drive both the Honda Accord Sport 6MT and BMW 320i 6MT cars. Dealers just do not stock these cars, nor do they want them in inventory.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

I don't think the Verano was ever released as a MT.


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## sx sonic (Nov 25, 2013)

Sanjay Collins said:


> They aren't pointless by any means, they just free up the restrictive factory system. You'll benefit the most from the tune and a downpipe. There are plenty of dynos with the tune and bolt ons getting into the 160 whp range and a little more with the manifold ported.
> 
> MPFab's Sonic with the same motor, tune, bolt ons and ported manifold dyno'd 174 whp (Mustang Dyno) which is right around 200 at the crank.


His last DynoJet run with the Trifecta tune was 188hp and 237 ft lbs tq. He is now pushing a bit more with an HPT tune that's done away with some safety features that Trifecta won't touch and also a few creative tweaks.



Psychomidgit said:


> Which bolt-ons did they do?


-Tune.
- MPFab production intake, intercooler/plumbing, anaconda (downpipe midpipe).
-Custom catback
-Ported intake manifold
-Bypass, bypass mod.

Still on stock injectors and running 93oct.



14silvercruze said:


> Would it be a waste of money to buy the Trifecta economy tune or should i just wait and save for the other one. Right now my car is bone stock im hoping to get a cold air intake and maybe some other bolt ons


By economy tune are you refering to the budget tune as opposed to the full tune?


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

blk88verde said:


> This makes sense, but I wonder what the real world availability of a 6MT Verano would be. I am sure they are scarce. The reason I bring this up, I have been looking to test drive both the Honda Accord Sport 6MT and BMW 320i 6MT cars. Dealers just do not stock these cars, nor do they want them in inventory.


I've seen the 4 cyl Accord Sport MT's everywhere!

The Buicks are rare though. I went to test drive a Regal, and they didn't have a single MT in stock.



> I don't think the Verano was ever released as a MT.


It sure was.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

Learn something new every day. Thanks J.


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## spacedout (Dec 7, 2010)

jblackburn said:


> I went to test drive a Regal, and they didn't have a single MT in stock.


It surprised me when I noticed last year the verano and regal had optional manual transmissions. Most people buying a buick are not looking for a true performance car and even those that opt for the 2.0T 99.9% of them will be automatics. Plus if your going to offer in some models why not offer in more? Seems the Encore would be great with a 1.4T and a MT.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

spacedout said:


> It surprised me when I noticed last year the verano and regal had optional manual transmissions. Most people buying a buick are not looking for a true performance car and even those that opt for the 2.0T 99.9% of them will be automatics. Plus if your going to offer in some models why not offer in more? Seems the Encore would be great with a 1.4T and a MT.


I can't remember the last time I saw ANY crossover with a manual transmission. It would probably have to be the early 4-cylinder Escapes or Jeep Libertys. 

Buick's trying to re-invent themselves to younger buyers looking for a semi-luxury car, and are trying to compete, in some way, with Mercedes/BMW/Audi. I was seriously impressed - it's a fun car that's not lacking in performance or handling. If I had $10K more to spend on a car, I really wouldn't mind owning the Regal. I don't like the Verano though - it feels like a fat, overweight Cruze. And it's ugly. Stupid eyebrows.


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## Psychomidgit (Jun 9, 2013)

I really do want the downpipe and mid-pipe though more for the sound and a little for the performance too.


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