# Questions about tuning, trifecta in particular.



## Thebigzeus (Dec 2, 2018)

1. It arguably could shorten the life of many components, but I dont think there is any direct evidence to this claim. It could also make issues you don’t currently know about become more pronounced.
2. Yes, run 93 If you want decent performance
3. Not really, it’s going to be fun though!


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## colinhuyck (Mar 4, 2021)

Thebigzeus said:


> 1. It arguably could shorten the life of many components, but I dont think there is any direct evidence to this claim. It could also make issues you don’t currently know about become more pronounced.
> 2. Yes, run 93 If you want decent performance
> 3. Not really, it’s going to be fun though!


Thanks for responding, didn't know if someone would. Thinking I am going to pull the trigger. Hoping it lives up to my expectations.


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## snowwy66 (Nov 5, 2017)

Turbo engines should always use higher octane regardless of tune.


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## JLL (Sep 12, 2017)

colinhuyck said:


> Hey everybody, new member here.
> 
> I have a 2011 ltz that has just over 96,000 miles on it. I have been looking into the different tuning options and have been looking at the trifecta advantage for right now, potentially upgrading to elite down the road. I have a few questions.
> 
> ...


ANY power enhancing modification that you do to an engine will negatively effect the reliability it.
That being said, a tune is definitely worth it in my opinion.


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## gringoo27 (Jun 19, 2021)

colinhuyck said:


> Hey everybody, new member here.
> 
> I have a 2011 ltz that has just over 96,000 miles on it. I have been looking into the different tuning options and have been looking at the trifecta advantage for right now, potentially upgrading to elite down the road. I have a few questions.
> 
> ...


Hey, what's going on colinhuyck! To help you with your questions:
1. TRIFECTA has more experience tuning the Cruze 1.4T than any other company except GM. Our products have been in service for over 10 years with ever level of mods from mild to wild.
2. Premium fuel is recommended for the most performance available, but not required.
3. With 2 pricing tiers, we make it easy to make a decision on which calibration to choose from. Advantage is catered towards a stock Cruze, whereas the Elite Tier offers specific calibration requests, aftermarket support and datalogging for remote diagnostics. We do also have an upgrade path from Advantage to Elite later, if Elite isn't the right fit today. 

If you have any more questions, please feel free to post here or contact our customer service team via our website: News - trifectaperformance.com !


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## JLL (Sep 12, 2017)

gringoo27 said:


> Hey, what's going on colinhuyck! To help you with your questions:
> 1. TRIFECTA has more experience tuning the Cruze 1.4T than any other company except GM. Our products have been in service for over 10 years with ever level of mods from mild to wild.
> 2. Premium fuel is recommended for the most performance available, but not required.
> 3. With 2 pricing tiers, we make it easy to make a decision on which calibration to choose from. Advantage is catered towards a stock Cruze, whereas the Elite Tier offers specific calibration requests, aftermarket support and datalogging for remote diagnostics. We do also have an upgrade path from Advantage to Elite later, if Elite isn't the right fit today.
> ...


Do you work for TRIFECTA?


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## gringoo27 (Jun 19, 2021)

JLL said:


> Do you work for TRIFECTA?


Hey JLL, I am a new social media/community engagement team member. Would admins/moderators prefer us to use the official TRIFECTA account to respond to posts?


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## JLL (Sep 12, 2017)

gringoo27 said:


> Hey JLL, I am a new social media/community engagement team member. Would admins/moderators prefer us to use the official TRIFECTA account to respond to posts?


Yes please, that way people aren't confused.


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## Mr_Pat (Mar 7, 2021)

colinhuyck said:


> Hey everybody, new member here.
> 
> I have a 2011 ltz that has just over 96,000 miles on it. I have been looking into the different tuning options and have been looking at the trifecta advantage for right now, potentially upgrading to elite down the road. I have a few questions.
> 
> ...


So I'm late getting to see this but I see somen people definitely have answers for you on this. I'm currently trifecta tuned myself. Though I opted to do the elite because I knew I would be modifying. . If you plan on keeping it stock go with the advantage. If you think your going to upgrade and you have the 100 difference just do the elite now would be my opinion. And dont hesitate to ask questions here on the forums as well as your tuner if your not sure about something.. always better to have the knowledge then to learn a lesson the hard way..


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## Thebigzeus (Dec 2, 2018)

JLL said:


> Yes please, that way people aren't confused.


Yeah I was VERY confused…


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## colinhuyck (Mar 4, 2021)

gringoo27 said:


> Hey, what's going on colinhuyck! To help you with your questions:
> 1. TRIFECTA has more experience tuning the Cruze 1.4T than any other company except GM. Our products have been in service for over 10 years with ever level of mods from mild to wild.
> 2. Premium fuel is recommended for the most performance available, but not required.
> 3. With 2 pricing tiers, we make it easy to make a decision on which calibration to choose from. Advantage is catered towards a stock Cruze, whereas the Elite Tier offers specific calibration requests, aftermarket support and datalogging for remote diagnostics. We do also have an upgrade path from Advantage to Elite later, if Elite isn't the right fit today.
> ...


Thank You!


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## colinhuyck (Mar 4, 2021)

Mr_Pat said:


> So I'm late getting to see this but I see somen people definitely have answers for you on this. I'm currently trifecta tuned myself. Though I opted to do the elite because I knew I would be modifying. . If you plan on keeping it stock go with the advantage. If you think your going to upgrade and you have the 100 difference just do the elite now would be my opinion. And dont hesitate to ask questions here on the forums as well as your tuner if your not sure about something.. always better to have the knowledge then to learn a lesson the hard way..


Yes. I think I will keep it stock, but thats what everyone says😂. Thanks for the input.


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## cruze991 (Jan 4, 2020)

I can vouch for trifecta. Mine is modded pushing double the power on E85 and at 94k miles it’s running better than it ever has.


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## XjJunky (May 28, 2020)

What plug gaps are you all with the tune?


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## Mr_Pat (Mar 7, 2021)

I'm running ..028 I believe. I was debating closing it up some.


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## XjJunky (May 28, 2020)

That's what I'm at now. Was thinking about maybe dropping to .025 for the tune. Went through a bunch of the old threads and that's kinda what I put together so I dont know.


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## cruze991 (Jan 4, 2020)

On E85 I ram .020 with copper spark plugs but they changed gaps in like a month so I got the new ruthenium plugs and just left them how they came. .027 I think


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## Blasirl (Mar 31, 2015)

XjJunky said:


> That's what I'm at now. Was thinking about maybe dropping to .025 for the tune. Went through a bunch of the old threads and that's kinda what I put together so I dont know.


I am Trifecta tuned and recommend .024 -.025

EDIT: Fixed a minor error


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## Mr_Pat (Mar 7, 2021)

Blasirl said:


> I am Trifecta tuned and recommend .24 -.25


you forgot the zero sir.. please dont try to gap plugs to 1/4 inch ... .


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## XjJunky (May 28, 2020)

Incase anyone is wondering, I just got an email back from Trifecta and they say they recommend..025. So thank you everyone going to regap plugs and install the tune after work today.


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## Blasirl (Mar 31, 2015)

gringoo27 said:


> Hey, what's going on colinhuyck! To help you with your questions:
> 1. TRIFECTA has more experience tuning the Cruze 1.4T than any other company except GM. Our products have been in service for over 10 years with ever level of mods from mild to wild.
> 2. Premium fuel is recommended for the most performance available, but not required.
> 3. With 2 pricing tiers, we make it easy to make a decision on which calibration to choose from. Advantage is catered towards a stock Cruze, whereas the Elite Tier offers specific calibration requests, aftermarket support and datalogging for remote diagnostics. We do also have an upgrade path from Advantage to Elite later, if Elite isn't the right fit today.
> ...


Welcome Aboard!

Don't forget to introduce yourself here.


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## Blasirl (Mar 31, 2015)

Mr_Pat said:


> you forgot the zero sir.. please dont try to gap plugs to 1/4 inch ... .


Well, at least you would get crazy good fuel mileage!


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## Cruton (Sep 19, 2017)

Disclaimer: I don't work for Trifecta, nor do I have any type of association with them other than as a very happy customer ('Cruzero').

When I bought my 2014 1.4T back in 2017 it couldn't get out of its own way. 0-60mph was close to 10 sec and the AT shifting was frustrating to say the least. I bought the Advantage tuning from Trifecta and it made a significant difference all by itself in power gained and transmission shifting. It brought a smile to my face. I then replaced the air filter with a K&N slab filter (it works better than most CAI that cost big $$ and do nothing but suck in hot air from the engine bay) and installed the ZZP catless downpipe and NGK copper plugs gapped at 0.028. It ran mid 6's. I wanted more ...much more. Next step was a significant one. I upgraded to the "Elite" tune from Trifecta, put in Bosch 42# injectors, MSD coil, gapped the plugs at 0.025 and tuned it on e85. Holy crap! 

Using the home made launch control: left foot hard on the brake, right foot on gas pedal, rev it up to 4k and let it rip (please, spare me the "that will damage the transmission, etc." platitudes), it would lay rubber for approximately 40ft ...if I wanted to, and chirp the tires with authority on the 1st-2nd shift . Back to the point, I haven't timed the 0-60 blast recently but it is dead even with a newer Mustang V-6 and has pissed off plenty of people that had dismissed the Cruze as a slow poke, easy to leave in their wake. 

I just received the forged Waste Gate Actuator (WAG) from trifecta and will be installing it as soon as the calibration is received via email. I will datalog it and do a timed 0-60 run with performance-oriented tires. All this, of course, in the name of science and research to help save the planet.

I am one of many customers that Trifecta has, however, Michael and Stephen have always made me feel as if I was their only customer and responded with amazing speed to my inquiries. For goodness sake, late at night on July 3rd I sent them an email about my calibration and Michael replied first thing in the morning on July 4th; a freaking holiday! True patriots, ready to respond.

Last, my car runs like a top, has been extremely reliable and the Trifecta tunes have not caused any damage while making the Cruze a joy to drive. So, a big unsolicited shout out for Trifecta.
I cannot imagine driving my car as it was originally....


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## Thebigzeus (Dec 2, 2018)

Don't you have to turn T/C off to get it to rev past say 1k? I know I do at least.


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## Cruton (Sep 19, 2017)

Thebigzeus said:


> Don't you have to turn T/C off to get it to rev past say 1k? I know I do at least.


Yes. I turn off the T/C and also the a/c compressor. Actually, it's my granddaughter than turns off the t/c and a/c. She knows the routine .


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## JLL (Sep 12, 2017)

Thebigzeus said:


> Don't you have to turn T/C off to get it to rev past say 1k? I know I do at least.


Say what?


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## Thebigzeus (Dec 2, 2018)

JLL said:


> Say what?


Mine doesn't if I hold brake and gas.


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## Mr_Pat (Mar 7, 2021)

Brake torque to build.boost... essentially.


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## cruze991 (Jan 4, 2020)

Cruton said:


> Disclaimer: I don't work for Trifecta, nor do I have any type of association with them other than as a very happy customer ('Cruzero').
> 
> When I bought my 2014 1.4T back in 2017 it couldn't get out of its own way. 0-60mph was close to 10 sec and the AT shifting was frustrating to say the least. I bought the Advantage tuning from Trifecta and it made a significant difference all by itself in power gained and transmission shifting. It brought a smile to my face. I then replaced the air filter with a K&N slab filter (it works better than most CAI that cost big $$ and do nothing but suck in hot air from the engine bay) and installed the ZZP catless downpipe and NGK copper plugs gapped at 0.028. It ran mid 6's. I wanted more ...much more. Next step was a significant one. I upgraded to the "Elite" tune from Trifecta, put in Bosch 42# injectors, MSD coil, gapped the plugs at 0.025 and tuned it on e85. Holy crap!
> 
> ...


I had the same exact experience as you with the same mods and E85. That Wastegate actuator is a very noticeable mod and it will pull even better at high rpm. I did time a 0-60 back in winter when I was on a 93 octane tune, I got 6.7 seconds. Your right about the heat soak because I have the zzp cold air and it loses so much power in the heat. I think I could get low 6s for the 0-60 now that I’m on E85.


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## thebac (Jul 29, 2017)

Apples to oranges, but I had Trifecta tuning on my '14 diesel and was satisfied with it. 
Ended up putting one of their tunes on my daughter's '16 Gen2 recently in order to get rid of the start-stop garbage and its a whole different car now.

IMO, their tuning is excellent, and they have good customer service, too. I would have no issues running their tuning on a Gen1 1.4, even using 87 octane gas.


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