# TRIFECTA: Making Auto Stop more performance oriented. Meet Performance Auto Stop Mode



## TRIFECTA (Feb 17, 2011)

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TRIFECTA: Making Auto Stop more performance oriented. Meet Performance Auto Stop Mode.*

In an effort to meet ever-more stringent various fuel economy and emissions targets, most automakers, including General Motors (GM), have turned to “auto-stop” (or sometimes called start-stop) technology. Basically, the engine shuts itself off when the vehicle comes to a complete stop (in traffic, or at red-lights, etc.), and then restarts itself automatically as soon as the driver takes his or her foot off the brake pedal.

The downside to auto-stop is that in some cases, the engine restart sequence introduces an unacceptable delay to take-off. After interviewing 2016 Chevrolet Cruze “gen-II” owners in our target segment, we found that while many people appreciate the fuel-saving technology, in some cases it interferes too much with sporty driving maneuvers. To that end, we put our best engineering minds on finding a way to allow the driver to recalibrate auto-stop into a sport mode, on an as-needed basis.

We are pleased to announce the availability of TRIFECTA Performance Auto Stop Mode on 2016 Chevrolet Cruze “gen-II” vehicles so equipped with AutoStop from the manufacturer as a standard-available feature for our upcoming 2016 Chevrolet Cruze “gen-II” calibration (tuning) product!

*Auto-stop: Behind the technology*

So, now we know how auto-stop works, what's happening behind the scenes? It turns out there's much more to it than just an engine control module (ECM) controlled starter motor. However, the starter motor is a great place to start in discussing the technology.

If you listen to a vehicle start up that has auto-stop technology, you'll note the starter sounds much different than a vehicle with a conventional starter. That's because an auto-stop equipped vehicle will see much higher start motor usage than a vehicle without auto-stop technology. As such, the starter motor has the following upgraded features:

High performance electrical windings and characteristics
Improved-strength starter pinion gear engagement system
Improved design to both reduce starter noise and decrease engine start times

In addition to improving the starter motor, battery monitoring technology must be improved as well, to more accurately measure the state of the battery charge. A modest count of auto-stop cycles can lead to a discharged battery relatively quickly since the starter motor requires so much current to operate. In order to more accurately measure the state of charge in the battery, there is an intelligent battery sensor connected to the battery which continuously monitors both the charge state and the overall health of the battery itself.

Another major component of the auto-stop system is an auxiliary fluid accumulator for the automatic transmission. This is an ECM-controlled unit which accumulates and captures transmission line pressure from the transmission, and then allows it to be supplied to the transmission to begin clutch engagement when the vehicle is transitioning from auto-stop to engine running mode.

Beyond these major components, many subsystems are monitored in order to determine either whether an auto-stop event can be allowed, or if a transition to engine-running should be performed.


_Conditions to allow auto-stop to occur_

General vehicle state:

Hood is closed
Driver's door is closed
Driver seatbelt is buckled

Vehicle operating conditions:

Vehicle is moving less than 3MPH
Initial drive cycle reaching 12MPH
Engine speed is below 1500 RPM
Engine is not in an overheated conditions
Transmission is in DRIVE (L or M range disables auto-stop)
Brake is depressed
No pending or set diagnostic trouble codes for auto-stop (and related) subsystems
Auto-stop active for less than 2 minutes

Environmental conditions:

Warmer than 40*F outside
Battery temperature warmer than 32*F and less than 131*F
High demands on HVAC system are not requested (inc. defrost)

All of the above conditions are continuously monitored, and if any of the criteria fail to be met, the engine will restart.

*TRIFECTA Performance Auto Stop Mode*

How it works is simple: When the cruise control subsystem is armed (via the steering wheel button), auto-stop works normally, just as it did from the factory. When the cruise control subsystem is disarmed, auto-stop events are re-calibrated with sport and performance strictly in mind.

Furthermore, the feature can be enabled and disabled at any time. For example:

If the vehicle is auto-stopped, switching the cruise control subsystem off causes the engine to restart immediately.

If the engine is running because no auto-stop event could occur due to the cruise control system being disabled, enabling it will cause the engine to stop immediately, provided all of the other auto-stop criteria above is met as well.

All of this, and there is no effect on the operation of the cruise control system.

*Conclusion*

We have always prided ourselves on providing value-added features to vehicle owners through our calibration products. TRIFECTA Performance Auto-Stop Mode is no exception, and we believe it will become very popular as more vehicles incorporate auto-stop technology!

- TRIFECTA Advanced Software Division


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## Greggul8r (Apr 20, 2016)

I didn't see the Gen2 on your site how much is it


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## TRIFECTA (Feb 17, 2011)

Greggul8r said:


> I didn't see the Gen2 on your site how much is it


It's in development still and not available for retail just yet. We are sharing features and information as we go


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## sparkman (Oct 15, 2015)

I'm a bit confused. So it just makes the cruise control button a start button essentially?


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## gyrfalcon (Dec 27, 2013)

If you were concerned about performance or reliability you wouldn't use auto-stop to begin with. What an asinine idea to save a bit of fuel...


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## TRIFECTA (Feb 17, 2011)

sparkman said:


> I'm a bit confused. So it just makes the cruise control button a start button essentially?


Well, basically, if you want this feature, when in Sport mode (tuned/performance mode) the Auto Stop function will be disabled. When in Stock profile, the vehicle will function just as it does now with Auto Stop working like it does from the factory.

The cruise control is really the activator for the power profiles: CC On = Stock and CC Off = Sport mode. What we did is simply tie the new feature of being able to disable the Auto Stop function, to our Sport mode, CC = Off. The Auto Stop function, on it's own, is not specifically tied to the cruise control, the power profiles are


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## alexalexanders (May 22, 2016)

WOT-Tuning said:


> Well, basically, if you want this feature, when in Sport mode (tuned/performance mode) the Auto Stop function will be disabled. When in Stock profile, the vehicle will function just as it does now with Auto Stop working like it does from the factory.
> 
> The cruise control is really the activator for the power profiles: CC On = Stock and CC Off = Sport mode. What we did is simply tie the new feature of being able to disable the Auto Stop function, to our Sport mode, CC = Off. The Auto Stop function, on it's own, is not specifically tied to the cruise control, the power profiles are


What if you have a l or ls Cruze with no cruise control?


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## Marcoab (Jul 5, 2016)

Chevrolet recientemente me dio un Cruze LTZ 2016 Gen2 1.4T MT. Para mi sorpresa este deshabilita o no tener el sistema de arranque / parada. El motor no se detiene por cualquier razón, empecé a leer el manual del propietario y el fusible 32 es el único que se refiere al sistema de arranque / parada no está presente o contactos son los mismos.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

gyrfalcon said:


> If you were concerned about performance or reliability you wouldn't use auto-stop to begin with. What an asinine idea to save a bit of fuel...


Auto-stop has been in use for several years and hasn't been a major reliability issue. Also, short periods where the engine is off at stop lights can really save on fuel consumption and reduce air pollution in our cities. 80-90% of all driving occurs in cities so this can really help air quality and fuel consumption.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

WOT-Tuning,

Thank you for posting the analysis of the conditions required for auto-stop to operate.


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## ChevyGuy (Dec 13, 2014)

So, the Cruze start/stop is a conventional starter design and not using the alternator as a starter motor?


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## dhpnet (Mar 2, 2014)

Great idea, thanks for looking into this. The main reason I don't plan to upgrade my Cruze anytime soon is because of the new start-stop technology. My coworker has a Mercedes with start-stop, and it can be very annoying at times. In my opinion, any car with Start-Stop should have the ability to disable the system. My car also has daytime running lights, and they probably improve safety, but I can turn them off if I want. It annoys me that GM is wont allow me to choose whether I want to use the start-stop system, like we are too stupid to make our own decisions.


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## es8m (Jun 22, 2012)

I have a 2016 Premier and it does not seem to care about most of the conditions you list above for the engine to stop. A/C maxed out in yellow, no
seatbelts, still cuts off. Take the shifter out of drive or unhook the hood latch sensor seem to be the only things that defeat it.
If you really have a cure for this you should sell it before someone else does...


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## cyteen (Dec 18, 2015)

I put post #8 by Marcoab in a couple of online translators. He seems to be saying that fuse 32 controls the auto stop/start feature and with it out it does not work. Does anyone know anything about this?


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## es8m (Jun 22, 2012)

If you had an export version of this car with this type of fuse box it might work but, on mine I would be pulling out one of the Body Control Module fuses which resides in position 32. Unhooking the hood latch switch does it for me...


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## pontiacgt (Jan 12, 2011)

I had my 2016 for over 3 months and I don't even notice it much anymore. I just no its there. Its a just a quirk you will get over it soon. If not then get the tune so you can turn it off. I don't mind not using gas when at a long stop light.


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## ChevyCanuck (Sep 27, 2016)

I don't get all the hate for the auto stop system. Many reviewers have stated that the Cruze has one the smoothest systems around and I've not tried others but it is quite unobtrusive. Like it or not, I think more and more cars are going to get this system and we won't be able to disable it.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

ChevyCanuck said:


> I don't get all the hate for the auto stop system. Many reviewers have stated that the Cruze has one the smoothest systems around and I've not tried others but it is quite unobtrusive. Like it or not, I think more and more cars are going to get this system and we won't be able to disable it.


Some seem to jerk a little bit when hot. I believe there was a defective right tie rod on 2016 models that Chevy has an updated part number for.

The rest of the time, it is an extremely smooth system and it really isn't bothersome unless it's shutting off in stop-and-go traffic (it seems to shut off again if you get up to 3rd gear and then stop again).

Not running the engine at stoplights makes absolute sense to me, and the stop-start system doesn't bother me at all about 95% of the time.


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## es8m (Jun 22, 2012)

Well, there seems to be a feeling here that everyone lives in a congested urban environment. For those of us that don't, it makes no sense for the car to cut off every time you are at a stop sign or pull over to check your mailbox. The real benefit for those in congested
urban areas would be to use public transportation. Start/Stop only leads to the same amount of cars on the road, running or not...
Unhook the hood latch wire, ignore the little yellow light, and drive on.


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## bigredgto (Mar 20, 2013)

If you don't like stop/start then just put the car in "L" instead of "D" and hit the plus button giving the car access to all 6 gears. BOOM - start/stop is defeated. I do that whenever the start/stop annoys me and it works flawlessly


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## opsguy (Jan 27, 2017)

bigredgto said:


> If you don't like stop/start then just put the car in "L" instead of "D" and hit the plus button giving the car access to all 6 gears. BOOM - start/stop is defeated. I do that whenever the start/stop annoys me and it works flawlessly


I do the exact same thing as bigredgto to bypass Auto Stop and it works perfectly. I drive it that way full time because if I allow the Auto stop feature then I have chronic issues with the car stalling at take off from a stop. I have taken it to the dealer and they found no error codes and could not reproduce the issue. Of coarse they only drove it 7 miles.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

opsguy said:


> I do the exact same thing as bigredgto to bypass Auto Stop and it works perfectly. I drive it that way full time because if I allow the Auto stop feature then I have chronic issues with the car stalling at take off from a stop. I have taken it to the dealer and they found no error codes and could not reproduce the issue. Of coarse they only drove it 7 miles.


Have you had the brake light recall done? Is there water in your battery compartment area?


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## Blasirl (Mar 31, 2015)

I have a 2014 auto and I like the auto stop. The only time I have an issue is when taking it out of park on a slight incline.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

Blasirl said:


> I have a 2014 auto and I like the auto stop. The only time I have an issue is when taking it out of park on a slight incline.


I'm not sure we're talking about the same thing. Auto stop is only Gen 2 and shuts off the engine when you come to a complete stop in Drive. Restarts when you're ready to move off again.


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## Blasirl (Mar 31, 2015)

Mine does that to, or at least it disconnects from the engine anyways.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

Blasirl said:


> Mine does that to, or at least it disconnects from the engine anyways.


Neutral, yes. Complete engine shut off, no.


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## Merc6 (Jun 8, 2013)

jblackburn said:


> Neutral, yes. Complete engine shut off, no.


Yeah, the needle falls in the spot on the tach that says "auto stop" when it turns off temporarily. Pic for reference...











Has anyone gotten the tune yet? Gen 1 tunes are all over haven't seen much for the Gen 2's.


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## Blasirl (Mar 31, 2015)

jblackburn said:


> Neutral, yes. Complete engine shut off, no.


He says OK, and is last seen walking away with his tail between his legs...
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--Y-2GQYoNck/T0a3wkhhpiI/AAAAAAAACkE/UWqBt2UDJB8/s1600/sorry.gif


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

Merc6 said:


> Has anyone gotten the tune yet? Gen 1 tunes are all over haven't seen much for the Gen 2's.


Some guys in the FB group have. They say it really wakes it up, especially with the sleepily tuned manual.


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## jsusanka (Jan 31, 2011)

bigredgto said:


> If you don't like stop/start then just put the car in "L" instead of "D" and hit the plus button giving the car access to all 6 gears. BOOM - start/stop is defeated. I do that whenever the start/stop annoys me and it works flawlessly


So is that the same as driving the gen1 in manumatic mode and shifting when you want to go up to the next gear?


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

jsusanka said:


> So is that the same as driving the gen1 in manumatic mode and shifting when you want to go up to the next gear?


No. It's like the Eco automatics - it's a gear range limiter. L4 will use gears 1-4 and the car will decide when to shift. L6 will use all 6. 

I kinda like it better, except that sometimes I want it to hold 5th and not drop to 4th when I'm trying to pick up speed on the highway. The trans is quite slow to respond to manual inputs anyway.


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## Merc6 (Jun 8, 2013)

jsusanka said:


> So is that the same as driving the gen1 in manumatic mode and shifting when you want to go up to the next gear?


No, you select 6th gear and it shifts up and down like its in D.


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## Flickspeed (8 mo ago)

es8m said:


> If you had an export version of this car with this type of fuse box it might work but, on mine I would be pulling out one of the Body Control Module fuses which resides in position 32. Unhooking the hood latch switch does it for me...


No DO NOT remove F32 that is completely wrong information. F32 messes with transmission and not the auto stop feature of the transmission. Don't even try it. I tried it, and when changing from P to D thought I ruined the transmission for good. Good thing I did it while stationary.

3rd best solution: Disconnect the hood sensor works like a charm but will trigger the check engine light and maybe remind you that the car needs service every time you start it, so every month or so you wanna reconnect the sensor to make sure you don't actually have an actual fault or use some OBDII scanner to make sure car is OK. Also remote Start feature from smartphone will not function. Not sure about key fob remote start yet, will update.

2nd best solution is probably the module which tricks the car battery voltage sensor. It wont trip any sensors and does the job, not sure what it does to the battery charging function though. Gen1 method was placed on the hood latch which also resulted in inability to use remote start.

1st best solution, get a software package from trifecta or similar either the normal start stop disable or with an engine tune.


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## snowwy66 (Nov 5, 2017)

The module does absolutely nothing with the charging system. 

It only tricks the hood sensor.


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## Flickspeed (8 mo ago)

snowwy66 said:


> The module does absolutely nothing with the charging system.
> 
> It only tricks the hood sensor.


In the tutorial they show the sensor mounting on the battery in the trunk.
So I don't see how that affects the hood.
Then they write:

11. Installation is complete! Auto-stop will now be disabled after the vehicle is locked and not driven one time for at least 8 consecutive hours (typically overnight).

8 hours for what? Hood does this instantly, as for the voltage reading to come down you may need 8 hours that is why I am thinking this new method is via the battery voltage.


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## snowwy66 (Nov 5, 2017)

Flickspeed said:


> In the tutorial they show the sensor mounting on the battery in the trunk.
> So I don't see how that affects the hood.
> Then they write:
> 
> ...


Mine plugged right in to the hood.


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## Flickspeed (8 mo ago)

ad


snowwy66 said:


> Mine plugged right in to the hood.


That was the earlier module which restricted the use of remote start. I updated my post above.

Quote from FAQ:

*Didn't the first generation SmartStopStart product plug into hood switch connector? Why did generation II change to the battery sensor.*
This improvement allowed for elimination of remote start restrictions, wider coverage across additional GM vehicles and improved reliability without sacrificing easy installation.


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## Flickspeed (8 mo ago)

Flickspeed said:


> ad
> 
> That was the earlier module which restricted the use of remote start. I updated my post above.
> 
> ...



People have been on the subject for 5 years, but I am the first one who mentioned this. Funny how most people just post and then not care about posting their findings for others to waste less time with methods like removing fuse 32.


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