Photo: Trifecta
Tuning the Chevy Corvette C8 is not an easy task, as GM opted for an encrypted ECU that was out of reach for tuners. What tuners have done is use a piggyback device to trick the engine into delivering more power, which is not the best solution. This is why cracking the encryption of the C8’s ECU is a big deal, and Trifecta Performance is credited with being the first company to natively tune the C8.
The Corvette C8 has been on the street for more than two years and until now no one has managed to natively tune its engine. Trifecta is the first company to announce success in tuning the C8, although this does not come with the increase in performance that everyone expected. According to Trifecta, GM has done such a good job fine-tuning the Corvette that there’s very little for tuners to do without using aftermarket parts.
“We absolutely respect what GM has built here,” said Vince Geglia II of Trifecta Performance. “Aftermarket tuners have a tendency to cast themselves as smarter than the OE engineers as a dubious marketing strategy for their services. GM without question put their best foot forward with the C8, and from a tuner’s perspective, this car deserves nothing less than the humblest approach.”
No matter how Trifecta adjusted the air to fuel ratio, ignition timing advance, DI injection timing, DI rail pressure, and variable cam phasing angles, there were no measurable power gains from the LT1 V8 engine. The work was not in vain though, as cracking C8’s ECU encryptions opens up a whole world of possibilities. For instance, Trifecta found out that the C8’s software largely works the same way as the older ECUs, like the E92. This allows modifying the parameters required to make power adders work on the C8 without stand-alone or piggyback systems.
According to Trifecta, a piggyback system gets the job done “by persistently lying to the engine control module (ECM) about what’s going on with the engine in order to push the ECM into behavior that allows the power adder to work correctly.” The downside is that other components, like the transmission, get overpowered when they are blindsided by the piggyback device. For instance, when changing gears, the transmission control module (TCM) will normally request a reduction in torque from the engine but with a piggyback device, the TCM does not coordinate with the ECU.
With native tuning, not only power adders can work, but they can work reliably with OE-level control and diagnostics. For instance, turbocharger builds can have octane scalar-based airflow limits enabled, while supercharger builds can limit boost based on incoming air temperature. This opens up a wide range of possibilities for engine tuning companies.
“We absolutely respect what GM has built here,” said Vince Geglia II of Trifecta Performance. “Aftermarket tuners have a tendency to cast themselves as smarter than the OE engineers as a dubious marketing strategy for their services. GM without question put their best foot forward with the C8, and from a tuner’s perspective, this car deserves nothing less than the humblest approach.”
No matter how Trifecta adjusted the air to fuel ratio, ignition timing advance, DI injection timing, DI rail pressure, and variable cam phasing angles, there were no measurable power gains from the LT1 V8 engine. The work was not in vain though, as cracking C8’s ECU encryptions opens up a whole world of possibilities. For instance, Trifecta found out that the C8’s software largely works the same way as the older ECUs, like the E92. This allows modifying the parameters required to make power adders work on the C8 without stand-alone or piggyback systems.
According to Trifecta, a piggyback system gets the job done “by persistently lying to the engine control module (ECM) about what’s going on with the engine in order to push the ECM into behavior that allows the power adder to work correctly.” The downside is that other components, like the transmission, get overpowered when they are blindsided by the piggyback device. For instance, when changing gears, the transmission control module (TCM) will normally request a reduction in torque from the engine but with a piggyback device, the TCM does not coordinate with the ECU.
With native tuning, not only power adders can work, but they can work reliably with OE-level control and diagnostics. For instance, turbocharger builds can have octane scalar-based airflow limits enabled, while supercharger builds can limit boost based on incoming air temperature. This opens up a wide range of possibilities for engine tuning companies.
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