Vtuner, SCR, Trifecta, bully dog, etc

[gdisgr8t]

New guy on the sonic scene but not to tuning or modding...

Just wondering about the best tuning out there....did read/search and this is what I have so far for our cars:

Vtuner...$400+...no laptop needed! Good numbers and support...dyno posted...32hp/29tq

SCR...$400+...no laptop needed! no dyno posted...no reviews..."claimed" 25hp/38tq increase

Bully Dog...$300+...no laptop needed...only 1 review (houser)..no dyno posted

Trifecta $varies...BUT laptop needed...kills it for me!!!!

So, unless I missed one..it brings it down to Vtunner, Bully Dog, or SCR....opinions? opcorn:

 

[$ub$onic]

Trifecta or vtuners IMO.

 

[River_Rat]

Agreed, only Trifecta and Vtuner have enough proven results to warrant a recommendation. Of course, this community has traditionally had a strong preference for Trifecta.

IMO, it is just silly that a laptop can be a dealbreaker. Used laptops can be had for dirt cheap.

 

[rdss]

Plus Trifecta and VTuner are the only tunes that offer custom tuning. The others are canned tunes that are designed so that they are safe on all engines.

 

[$ub$onic]

And you can get a little net book from Walmart for like 200

 

[sx sonic]

+1 VTuners and Trifecta have some proven results out.

 

[sx sonic]

Oh and Tri might be coming out with a thanksgiving sale so you could get a tune and cheap laptop/netbook for ~$500. Something to ponder.

 

[gdisgr8t]

And you can get a little net book from Walmart for like 200

true true...to bad my home system is beyond awesome...no need for small toys

 

[cndctrdj]

Hptuners... Best results for your car. But needs laptop and tuning knowledge or a dyno shop that uses it. Price varies by shop.

 

[cndctrdj]

Back in the day with the cobalts... The best tuning was trifecta base tune with hptuners to do the rest of the grunt .... But those guys usually made big power

 

[Foxbox]

true true...to bad my home system is beyond awesome...no need for small toys

Do you have friends & family? I'm sure one of them has a laptop you can just borrow.

 

[Insanika]

true true...to bad my home system is beyond awesome...no need for small toys

I have my regular home system and I picked up a used NetBook for less than $50. It's only used for my tune. Well worth it for me.

 

[sx sonic]

true true...to bad my home system is beyond awesome...no need for small toys

You could always do what another member did and drag the desktop outside and tune in the driveway, lmao. Pics floating around here somewhere.

 

[Foxbox]

You could always do what another member did and drag the desktop outside and tune in the driveway, lmao. Pics floating around here somewhere.

You can't data log like this though. You'd need one looooooooong extension cord lol.

 

[Eric Smit]

BNR loans netbooks too. only a reusable deposit is needed.

 

[ranvette]

Vtuner ! very fast service for data logging and all. And proven results.Plus no need for a lap top. I like the hand held myself and i do have 3 lap tops here.But Trifecta also does offer a very good tune. So you decide what works all around best for you !

 

[laborsmith]

HPTuners if your local dyno tuner is willing to tune a Sonic; as far as I can tell few are. Figure 3 or 4 hours of dyno time plus the HPTuners fee. No computer needed.

VTuners if you do not want to go the netbook route.

Trifecta if you are willing to go the netbook route/

All three are excellent choices. For what it is worth, as far as I can tell VTuners uses EFILive but that does not mean EFILive supports the Sonic (it does not).


Laborsmith

 

[ecohauler]

If you want to make a day trip to Richmond, I've got a laptop and a Trifecta cable you can borrow.

Also, datalogging with a desktop can be accomplished if you have a good power inverter.

 

[houser]

Some input from the Bully Dog Guy

You do need a Windows lap top to get started with the Bully Dog.
It comes with a multi program micro SD chip that needs to be updated to your car before it can be installed in the tuner.
My Lap top had just been fragged by a virus, My wife has a Mac, So i had to go to a friends house to install the updates before I could install the tune.

But the tune works well and keeps the MPGs up.
I noticed that none of the trifection guys are bragging about their gas milage.

 

[River_Rat]

I noticed that none of the trifection guys are bragging about their gas milage.

No offense, but you are not very observant. Most of the Trifecta-tuned guys/gals do brag about increased gas mileage.