Basically it seems in the southern central part of TX there is a very limited amount of tuners for those of us that decide to boost our Ecotecs.
Does anyone know of any capable performance shops that are confident in tuning ecotecs?
Are there any local/semi-local tuners that use HPT or Trifecta that are able to tune when its needed?

Seems when the subject comes up a few shops come to mind but when i contact them or research the shops they dont really 'prefer' to work on our 2.2 Ecotecs simply due to a lack of experience on them.

Understandable that people have lives..school, work, family, etc...but its kinda tiring not being able to install mods unless you can get the tuner to work with you on a schedule. Basically getting a tune seems like pulling teeth when you simply want to install mods but cant because people are not available or once you've paid, or its almost like it doesnt matter anymore after the initial tune (even if its not right). I'd pay for a quality tune if I can drive somewhere or have a tuner come to me for a fair price/compensation.

The possibility to learn to tune myself is there but its such a long drawn out process it takes years to confidently do it. In the mean time, knowing who can do it confidently is the goal here.


04 Cav. 2dr. 5spd. My DD. 'Nuff said.

Since you're in SA you could talk to Alan Nelson from Nelson performance on Roosevelt. He tunes LS based vehicles but it's worth a try to at least talk to the guy and see if he can do anything. He's one of the best tuners in the country and owns a 9 sec twin turbo truck.

http://nelsonperformance.com/

Cool thanks for the input! Ill call and at least see if he can do anything.
Being a top tuner I bet its top cost too though..but hey if a shop can squeeze all the power out of a setup its worth it


04 Cav. 2dr. 5spd. My DD. 'Nuff said.

They have an in house dyno and it's a top of the line shop. They work on a lot of boosted vehicles so they know what they're doing

Yeah but a lot of shops wont touch our ECU's...we're not set up for HPT and most shops probably dont use Trifecta...but it cannot hurt to check!
Ive been so distracted with work and stuff I havent contacted anyone yet, but Ill give them a call ASAP and let you guys know. It would be nice to know if you can take an Ecotec somewhere for tuning...the cost may just be worth it if its tuned right and tweaked for the most power!


04 Cav. 2dr. 5spd. My DD. 'Nuff said.

i have been running into the same problem here finding somebody to even look at my car. so i've resorted to trifecta hopefully they wont @!#$ it up too bad. im just having them to a couple tweaks to my reflash and leaving the tune alone for the most part...

Yeah the problem is it takes so damn long to get any feedback. I dont know if its Vince not being able to get to it or the datalogger sitting on it and not getting my request to Vince and getting back to me quicker.
Either way it is terrible to have to wait this long (going on 9 months) to have a properly running tune when you've paid in full.
Im just waiting to have my richness issue resolved so its actually worthy of driving hard...let alone the new parts i have. Jesus..if i put in the cams and springs and meth, it could take a YEAR to get my car back on the road and it'll just sit in a garage without seeing daylight.
Im surprised they're wiling to work with you Austin, I heard they are turning down trifecta tuning for the s/c cavaliers because they dont want to work on the platforms anymore.


04 Cav. 2dr. 5spd. My DD. 'Nuff said.

I contacted Nelson Performance and we'll see. I tried driving by (other side of the damn city!) but they were closed, I think for the holidays.
I just want my damn car running normal so I can race it in December....lskjfhjsghdjklfghkljsdfhgjkhskldfghjksdfhklgsdfghshdlfjkghksdfgljksdfg! okay ive vented.


04 Cav. 2dr. 5spd. My DD. 'Nuff said.

Nelson Performance is out. They lock tunes and cant do HPT on my car.
Dataloggers are impossible to find, theres none in San Antonio and the ones (or one that i know of) in Austin is too busy (life happens..).

I am willing to drive to Houston area or something if someone can schedule an actual live session with Vince from Trifecta, so I can get a quality tune and then make sure we can get a few in before I leave.
Im getting really tired not having a quality tune after paying for one and its almost a year now without a car I can actually take to the track or even run confidently on the road at WOT.

So if any of you guys know of a reliable datalogger I can come to, let me know. thanks!


04 Cav. 2dr. 5spd. My DD. 'Nuff said.

do you have a wideband? .. and whats wrong with the tune you currently have?

yes I have a wideband, and its way too rich. Has been since the build last Feb/March.
Basically WOT is useless.

Justin hasnt responded since last week and he's busy with his new job. San Antonio has no reliable datalogger. So I just need someone who can put the updated software on my computer, datalog, and help me fix the rich issue. The cams/springs/meth/etc can wait until later...


04 Cav. 2dr. 5spd. My DD. 'Nuff said.

what do you consider too rich?
and yes justin just started a job and is in training everyday so we havnt made any out or town trips lately

well when he was available I was actually planning on coming to him if he were to still datalog. I wouldnt expect someone to come to me unless you guys were in the area for something.

But its very rich, like instant 10.0 on the wideband, cant read how low it goes, and it bogs bad. I can floor it on the highway and it'll hesitate while its accelerating..if i let off it'll buck and then give it gas again it'll kick in but bog again. Basically a flooded carburator type scenario. Im not exagerating..I can get about 10mpg if Im lucky if I were to floor it. I can WATCH the gauge go down flooring it twice.

Lets just say..if I were as rich as my car, I wouldnt have to work for the rest of my life


04 Cav. 2dr. 5spd. My DD. 'Nuff said.

yea 10 is far too rich..and if im not mistaken i believe your gauge actually wont read anything richer than 10..so it COULD actually be running somehting like 9 or 8 and you not even know it cus the gauge wont read that low. either way it needs fixed. i dont see any reason why justin couldnt datalog for you on a weekend?... ill talk to him about it

can i get a datalog just so i can get better mileage lol

Scott I guarantee you its hitting much richer than 10.0. And you're correct, it only reads 10 (AEM UEGO).
He texted me earlier to say he'd call but I know he's busy too. I just want to at least get running the way its set up now to take it to the track and actually see how she runs. The other parts will have to wait until i can get a solid set date on when i can tune immediately after. (im assuming cams, throttle body and valve springs alone wont make it drivable, let alone meth without a proper tune). parts are collecting dust lol

Appreciate the help though Scott. I am starting to get the 'do i want this car anymore' feeling...early March will be my 1 year mark for the install date..and its still not tuned right lol


04 Cav. 2dr. 5spd. My DD. 'Nuff said.

chris rod wrote:can i get a datalog just so i can get better mileage lol

go home 4dr cav, you're drunk


04 Cav. 2dr. 5spd. My DD. 'Nuff said.

ah, i see the problem now. you have a boosted cav. vince doesnt seem to want to tune boosted cavs anymore..not sure why. Although i realized you PAID for a tune already so i see no reason why he shouldnt set you straight. ive discussed it with justin and he is probably talking to vince about fixing your tune. i dont see any reason at all why he couldnt lean you out alittle and at least get it to where it runs properly under wot.

Well I know he was having second thoughts lately on turbo cavs, but im supercharged. I heard that wasnt an issue with him. But maybe things changed.

you're spot on with the 'already paid' part. not to mention its been a year now. Ive had 2 basic tunes, one to get it running (literally able to drive it), and another just to get it drivable as my dd. but even this one is no acceptable. current mods, a reliable healhty tune, and im set for now. i was however told the cams and other mods would be included in my tune if i could ever install them and schedule a retune. once this is done, im done with this car. its literally like pulling teeth to get a tune and nerve wracking to have so many mods waiting and not able to just put them in and run it and enjoy the car.

like i said, appreciate the word to justin..hopefully he can get vince to work something out. ill come to you guys whenever something can be done on your schedules (weekends or right after work or something)


04 Cav. 2dr. 5spd. My DD. 'Nuff said.

4drs need love too

buy Austins s/c sedan...its already got a little love!


04 Cav. 2dr. 5spd. My DD. 'Nuff said.

did he get ahold of you? seems like vince used to be easier to work with before he started making so much money..now hes just picky

yes Justin contacted me i think Wednesday on my way home from work. Dont like being on my phone in the car but I needed to talk to him, so we cleared a few things up.
He said once i get my bigger throttle body on (after i get my tb adapter in) then to let him know and we can try to setup a time with Vince. Im going to order the adapter ASAP (like maybe now from work) because I NEED that car running right at higher speeds. I ran a C5 and a 5.0 during a cruise the other night with a local car club.....and it was an interesting run


04 Cav. 2dr. 5spd. My DD. 'Nuff said.

Trifecta is no longer managing my tune. Basically Trifecta is out of the jbody scene altogether and Vince was cool about it, it was basically his decision anyways.
Got my cavy HPTuned. quality tuner local here to SA whos fluent with the software. and lets just say the car NEEDED it bad..it woke up like night and day...half/three quarter throttle pulls were much harder than its WOT before..it was that much of a gain..

however, the tune woke up a dormant issue I was already having and I believe I bent an exhaust valve last Thursday. 0 compression in cylinder 4. motor is apart and being rebuilt then will get a good fresh tune on top of the many go fast goodies going on
she's gonna scream....


04 Cav. 2dr. 5spd. My DD. 'Nuff said.

If anyone needs HPTuner assistance, I finally got someone who's been doing it for a long time. San Antonio doesn't have many options but finally there is one locally. So if you have any questions about it let me know, Ill pass along the info!


04 Cav. 2dr. 5spd. My DD. 'Nuff said.