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My Trifecta ECM/TCM tuning experience - 2010 CTS-4 3.6L DI Wagon

84K views 152 replies 36 participants last post by  Good83knight 
#1 · (Edited)
After spending some time in this forum, as well as the Camaro forums, I've decided to go ahead and pull the trigger on the Trifecta ECM/TCM tune, commonly referred to as a Vince Tune, as Vince Geglia is the owner/operator of Trifecta Performance and custom writes each tune that goes out his door.


So, why do I want a tune? Well quite honestly, I'm addicted. Every car I own has been tuned in some way or another, all with great results. My 2010 AWD CTS Wagon, equipped with the 3.6L DI engine and 6sp auto slushbox, is in need of a kick in the pants. While the car is rated at 304bhp, it feels like it only has 2/3 of that. I believe the reason is more related to the crappy OE calibration of the TCM, more than it is about the calibration of the ECM. I don't know about your CTS, but mine is ALWAYS wanting to find 6th gear just as quick as it possibly can. So when a call for power is made from your right foot, it's not there. You have to wait for the car to downshift, spool up the revs, make a bunch of noise in the process, and then you're finally moving forward at a quicker pace. I don't like this. So now what? Well, a Trifecta ECM/TCM tune is what.


With only modest power gains, the real value in this tune is the ability to predefine at what speed you'd like to upshift/downshift at, and how firm/quick you'd like that event to take place. So, for normal A6 mode, you could keep the OE calibrations in effect, and unleash hell when you move the gearshifter into the "sport" position. However, that's not the approach I'm going to take. I'm going to have normal A6 shift points moved upwards so that the car holds steady in it's power band at each gear, but I won't change the firmness of the shifts. I'll call this "wife mode". But in sport mode, I'll have the shift points raised, I'll have throttle blip on downshifts like it does in manual mode, and I'll have it stepped up to the firmest/quickest shift allowable. I'll call this "Daddy Mode".

Another selling point of this tune is if I mod the car in the future, say an intake and/or exhaust, then a retune is free. This allows you to take full benefit of any hardware mods you may add at a later date.

I'll have the ECM timing advanced to take advantage of 93 octane, and I'll have it leaned out just a hair, but keeping the A/F ratio within safe limits. These cars are equipped with very advanced knock sensors, so I'm not really worried about detonation. Plus, we're not going to tune it aggressively enough to put the car in any real danger. And let's be honest here, we're talking about a naturally aspirated V6, not a Biturbo V12. It'd be pretty tough to mess up a tune on this engine.

Another nifty feature of the this tune, is the ability to reset the learning transmission adaptives. This is a particularly useful feature when the car has been driven as a daily commuter. Even though we're tuning the TCM, the adaptive nature of the tranny is still in play. So, it'll adapt itself accordingly, but on a sliding scale from our tuning points vs. OE calibrations. As part of your purchase, you'll download a software interface to your laptop, that when connected to your ECM via the OBD cable, you can reset the tranny adaptations with the click of a button. Neat.

There's also the "Ghost Cam" feature, that's available for the 3.6L DI. It's a gimmicky thing that allows you to click a sequence of buttons on the steering wheel, and enable a lopey idle, just as if the car had a big cam in it. You can preset how agressive you'd like it to lope, but I think this is probably more for the Camaro guys than the Caddy guys. Nonetheless, it's there if you want it.

I'm using Bad News Racing as the reseller for the tune. It's cheaper to purchase through them, then going direct to Vince and Trifecta. I paid $460, including the tuning cable needed to write the .net code to the car's CAN-BUS. Jerry, the owner of BNR, has been outstanding with communicating to me what to expect, what not to expect, and has always replied to my emails within 24 hrs.

I plan on updating this thread at each milestone to chronicle everything from purchasing experience to my thoughts on the tune, post install

2/8/11 - Purchased tune and cable via Bad News Racing's website, and received verification email

2/9/11 - Received email stating that order has been placed with Trifecta, and cable will be shipped directly from them. Tune will be developed and emailed to me.
 
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#110 ·
Well I received the cable on Thursday but didn't get the email with the tune yet. I sent jerry at bad news racing an email about it, so hopefully I get the tune file today and get the tune done today. Of course it's raining here in Cleveland which means no traction when I take it out!
 
#119 ·
I am personally trying to decide who to go with BNR or RevXtreme, I want someone I can get the best price from and someone who will answer their phone if I have questions (tune, cable, throttle, ice olater and dual stage can) all at one time. Be nice if there was a military discount to boot. Ok guys, give some feedback on who you have dealt with and if there was any problems. Thank you.
 
#120 ·
Either of us is going to be the best choice. RevXtreme and BNR work extremely closely with one another. I will say that we have the tune and cable for 20% off until 4/15 and RevXtreme makes the parts we sell- why not get the tune and cable from us and get the parts from RevXtreme? Whatever you decide both companies are going to help you the best we can :)
 
#129 ·
No reason to be salty about it. BNR responded to and pretty much answered your question shortly after you asked it...I don't know that any of us who rarely frequent this forum would have much else to contribute.

I have ordered parts from both and they are both great vendors to deal with. Like any small business who does a ton of E-commerce business it can be difficult to connect with them but they are stand up companies. Enjoy the parts and tune~
 
#130 ·
:cookoo: Salty me never! Thats why I said don't worry about it, money has been sent so lets roll. Just hope my experience with this 3.6 is as good as my tune that my 6.2 has. Anything has to be better than the shift it has now but I can say the awd is awesome in the mountains. No worries either way.
 
#131 ·
Lots of folks, myself included, have a sh!tty shift. I have not experienced such a crappy shift since the old PowerGlide, and that was a two speed automatic transmission for those of you who have no clue.
 
#138 ·
WRX, did you ever get your car fine tuned with the update? I did not read how it finally worked out, I read you had some harsh shifts and I definitely do not want that.
I wasn't able to connect again with BNR through email so I never received an updated tune. I ended up reverting to the stock TCM tune and it shifts fine now because I think it "learned" some of the firmness from my driving style and from the custom tune. It definitely shifts a lot quicker now than it did without the jerkiness / harshness of the custom TCM tune. The ECM tune is great though, especially on 93 octane it pulls noticeably harder and the power delivery is a lot smoother.
 
#133 ·
No, I didn't do it. Don't know why. I will be out of warranty in a couple of months and will strongly consider it then. I need to do the tune, get some wheels and a couple of other things. In the meantime,. I have to move out of my house inside of three weeks and I have no place to live! All of the underpasses on the nearby Interstate are already taken!
 
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#135 ·
Sorry we have not been on here the past week or so. We just finished the Vegas Spring Fling race (same as the Bristol one we have done the past 3 years, and the 4th year this May) and it was a huge success with over 400 entries!! So staff was mostly at the race and getting back today and tomorrow. Yes, BNR can take care of all as they are one of our dealers.

Again, our appologies for not keeping up on the forums.

www.RevXtreme.com
:thumbsup:
 
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