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Thread: Chevy Sonic turbo

  1. #1
    Tuner in Training
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    Chevy Sonic turbo

    Hey guys. I?ve got a 2015 Sonic RS 1.4t that I?m teaching myself to tune with. I?ve been at it for the better part of 6 months now, maybe more...? Time flies. I?ve been doing pretty good. My question is how can I set up the cruise control button to switch between a stock tune and my high boost tune? Trifecta tuning does this so I know that it?s possible. I?ve been researching like crazy but haven?t found any for sure concrete answers. I?ve seen talk of layered tuning, which I?m not at all familiar with, RTT, and the User Defined Parameters feature. I see in my ECM (E78) that there?s already slightly different maps for Eco/Sport/Tow, and Winter/4x4 modes. That?s strange because Sonics don?t have any of that. The 1.4t Trax/Encore does have flex fuel but my Sonic ECM has no maps for that. I?m not sure why GM left the different mode maps in but not flex fuel. It makes me think that trifecta tells the ECM somehow that the cruise control button also functions as an Eco mode button, and then the different map can be used on the fly.. I apologize for my long winded post, but I greatly appreciate any help I can revive with this. Thank you

  2. #2
    Advanced Tuner
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    From experience I can tell you Vince at Trifecta knows may things we, or at least I do not know.

  3. #3
    Tuner
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    I have been looking for the same thing. Cannot figure out how he did it. Also, their tunes don't affect the write number on the ECM, leading me to think that they are somehow stashing the tune in the BCM or something like that. I don't know. One thing I have been thiking about doing is experimenting with doing with the TC tables to do that. I haven't looked in a bit, but perhaps using the limiting factors on there, the TV or stabilitrak system's tables can do something similar.

  4. #4
    Tuner in Training
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    Jun 2016
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    Sorry to be a pain by resurrecting an older thread, but did you guys have any issues with having to purchase an additional credit to tune your Sonic?
    I have a 2016 Sonic LT 1.4 turbo automatic.
    Every time I try to write an adjusted tune I just saved, it tells me I don't have permission and need an additional credit to write to it.

    The website says you only need 2 credits.

    I have already purchased the additional credit, but don't want to use it if HP Tuners can tell me what I did wrong in using the 2 credits I got with this MPVI2.
    Last edited by BigEd; 05-28-2020 at 08:50 PM. Reason: adding information

  5. #5
    Advanced Tuner ZeroBoostBuick's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by BigEd View Post
    Sorry to be a pain by resurrecting an older thread, but did you guys have any issues with having to purchase an additional credit to tune your Sonic?
    I have a 2016 Sonic LT 1.4 turbo automatic.
    Every time I try to write an adjusted tune I just saved, it tells me I don't have permission and need an additional credit to write to it.

    The website says you only need 2 credits.

    I have already purchased the additional credit, but don't want to use it if HP Tuners can tell me what I did wrong in using the 2 credits I got with this MPVI2.
    Contact support. they will straighten things out for you.

  6. #6
    Advanced Tuner
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    May 2006
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    Seattle, WA
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    Quote Originally Posted by BigEd View Post
    Sorry to be a pain by resurrecting an older thread, but did you guys have any issues with having to purchase an additional credit to tune your Sonic?
    I have a 2016 Sonic LT 1.4 turbo automatic.
    Every time I try to write an adjusted tune I just saved, it tells me I don't have permission and need an additional credit to write to it.

    The website says you only need 2 credits.

    I have already purchased the additional credit, but don't want to use it if HP Tuners can tell me what I did wrong in using the 2 credits I got with this MPVI2.
    Make sure you licensed your stock tune you read out from your car. If a tuner has provided a file, you need to copy the differences into your stock tune otherwise you'll have to pay 2 more credits to license the file.
    ~Erik~
    2013 Sonic RS - manual, CGM, 6M, sunroof, mods in process
    2008 TrailBlazer 3SS AWD LS2, loaded, dropped, modded, SE22 Performance tuned. And then some...
    2002 TrailBlazer LT 4WD 4.2L I6, lifted, tires, exhaust, SE22 Performance tuned

  7. #7
    Tuner
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    Do NOT just flash another car's tune to your ride. Just copy the data (do a compare and move the data over, but again, be diligent and extremely cautious). As for those tables, the e78 is in a few different vehicles that have different trim packages, and maybe every sold under different names in other countries (Euro Opel Astra J, if I am not mistaken is a cruze with an e78, essentially. Something like that). Not every table will be directly useful to you, but for those tables you mentioned, all except for the reduced power one, just make sure when you change the first one, copy that table to the others like you do with the high and low spark tables. Remember that this stuff is not directly from GM. It's all reverse-engineered, so sometimes they have funky ways of acting, or a certain condition may tell the ECM to use one table vs another (like the high/low spark tables). Like, my car doesn't have DoD (Displacement on Demand), but sure as shiza, I got them in my VVE tables. I just work the first one, and copy that to the other 3, so that it will always reference the same thing. It works for me, and was what I have learned to do from others who have been tuning GM longer than I have.

    Also, you are not licensing the file itself. You are licensing a tune that has a different VIN and ECM serial number, which is how (at least partly) they determine if someone is trying to put something into a car they didn't pay for (so they basically charge for anything that could happen that would let you tune someone else's car for free, even if that is not the case. If your ECU dies, and you buy another one, for YOUR own car.... yeah. gotta buy the licenses again too. Pretty weak, if you ask me. I get why, but once-bitten, twice shy is not a good look for a software company).