I've had this tune for 300 miles now and I love it! I put a sports muffler and exhaust tip on my 15 Malibu and it sounds great. I would say thus tune should be the first modification done. It has more hitch in her giddy up! Next thing I'm getting is the k&n typhoons cold air intake. It's amazing how sweet this tune is. It unleashes this power and drive trains full potential.
TRIFECTA Stage 1 Kit Available for 2013--2016 Malibu 2.5 (LCV/LKW)
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I'm just about ready to pull the trigger on this tune myself for my 15 Malibu but wanted to know if it also deletes the AutoStop feature or will I need to get that download separate from the tune itself?
I wanted to keep autostop too, I emailed them and they sent me a new tune with the feature enabled so I have two tunes now in case I want to switch back.
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So the tune by default deletes AutoStop? If so, that's fine with me and what I wanted to know. Wasn't sure if the tune did that or if I had to get the delete update separately.
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I just put in my order for the tune. Looking forward to the gains and smoother transmission from this. I went from having the Turbo to the 2.5L for my replacement Bu. The 2.5L definitely needs all the help it can get........lol
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Folks, I finally got a chance to install the tune after having it for a few days loaded on my computer and ready to go and I have to say new life has been given to Bu. Definitely has a little extra pep now for sure and its mainly due to how much smoother the transmission shifts go now. Night and day difference which was the big improvement I wanted more than anything else. I also got the annoying auto stop feature turned off as well. I held off on getting this tune for so long but it is definitely worth the purchase. I'm not sure I'll be touching the extra 25 lb/ft torque and 35 whp much as I don't drive my car that hard at 6000-6500 rpm to get those numbers but for my normal daily driving at around 2000 rpm I'm probably actually feeling 1-3 extra horses and 5-6 extra lb/ft torque overall. I'm a happy man overall. Might get the cold air intake down the line but I'm fine with the stock airbox setup for now.
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I've installed the tune in my '15 and the car has a new personality now. Gas pedal now has V6 response, higher shift points IE less ''eco'' too soon upshifts. Autostop gone. I'm still burning off a tank of 87 so after a few fills of 93 I'll be able to see how the WFO runs are. I though I heard some ping but I'm trying to restrain myself until burn off the regular fuel. I still need more miles for my full honest review but car has a more sporting personality.
Installed the tune today and I am very satisfied on my initial drive! Throttle response is way better, shifts are crisp, and it does feel like it has more power as stated. If you are on the fence about getting the tune, do it, best upgrade you can do for this car. Like others have stated, I need to retrain my right foot to get used to this. Nicely done Trifecta!
One month update:
I had to clear the TCM adaptives again and re-flash the tune. I was getting jerky shifts randomly and it was starting to get annoying. Since the re-flash its been better which I am thankful for.
Anyone else experience any issues after 3-6 months after install?
I had to clear the TCM adaptives again and re-flash the tune. I was getting jerky shifts randomly and it was starting to get annoying. Since the re-flash its been better which I am thankful for.
Anyone else experience any issues after 3-6 months after install?
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Zero issues with mine, it's been installed for almost a year now. Premium gas is a must to stop the pinging in my car with WFO throttle shifts but not a issue with me. In fact better quality higher cleaners in the gas in a DI motor is better for it.
I made sure at installation the transparency option was selected also.
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I flashed my tune a few days ago - I don't regret it a single bit. Yea you have to run premium gas, but the car sips gas (if you're not pedal to the floor... but it's kinda hard not to with the tune installed.) To and from work today I got 31.1 MPG, it's about 70% Highway 30% start-stop, 50-mile round trip. I'm very satisfied with my purchase and will definitely recommend this tune to anyone with the 2.5. Throttle response is WAAAYYY better. Car is way more fun to drive. If you are on the fence about buying the tune (Like I was for 2 months) go ahead and purchase it, you'll thank me later 
I've been thinking about the CAI but like... I dunno. Yeah it sounds cool and the dyno shows it makes more power with the intake on... but I feel like you can't even really call it a "Cold" air intake. It's literally sitting in the same place as the stock airbox. If anything, I feel like it gives it less protection from sucking stuff into the engine. Thoughts from anyone out there?
I've been thinking about the CAI but like... I dunno. Yeah it sounds cool and the dyno shows it makes more power with the intake on... but I feel like you can't even really call it a "Cold" air intake. It's literally sitting in the same place as the stock airbox. If anything, I feel like it gives it less protection from sucking stuff into the engine. Thoughts from anyone out there?
My thoughts about replacing the stock air box with a CAI kit:
- Don't use any kit that doesn't seal off from the engine bay 100% and get all of its air from outside the wheel well, like the stock does.
- Don't use any kind of oiled air filter. Over time, 2 things happen:
- a little oil tends to deposit on the MAF, eventually leading to DTCs and/or driveability issues,
- the higher flow is usually due to allowing larger particles to enter the air stream, causing the engine to grind itself to death over time.
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I purchased the tune about 2 months ago, but have not been able to install it until yesterday morning. The install went smoothly and the car seemed to drive perfectly. This evening I was driving around town and the car went into Autostop mode at a stop sign which the tune was supposed to turn off. After that, I've had a check engine light on. Any ideas what could be causing this?
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Hey 1stmalibu2015, the calibration issued, the autostop feature is disabled only when the cruise control system is not active. If you would like it gone entirely, that can be accomplished for you. As far as the check engine light, please use the EZ Flash to scan for the codes and reach out to the support team so they can assist you with a diagnosis.
I have been running this tune for a couple of months now and it has been great. I only had my factory tune for a day after buying my car, but I could tell immediately in the mid and upper range how much more responsive it is.
You just aren't getting more power, you are getting a completely new drivability package that GM should have made their cars with from the factory.
I had no idea you could keep the auto start/stop system working as well with the tune. I never got to really see mine work since I had it stock for a day, but I've heard the system on the Malibu was the smoothest out there at the time.
You just aren't getting more power, you are getting a completely new drivability package that GM should have made their cars with from the factory.
I had no idea you could keep the auto start/stop system working as well with the tune. I never got to really see mine work since I had it stock for a day, but I've heard the system on the Malibu was the smoothest out there at the time.
I am all for companies able to make a reasonable amount of money off of their product. And this leads me into my next comment. I am looking to disable the start stop feature on my Malibu but since I recently bought it and wasn't aware of the annoying feature at the time of the test drive, I don't want to pay $190 for that feature to turn off. The dealer who sold me the car is no help at all. Is there any other option to permanently disabled the start-stop feature on my 2015 Malibu?
Put the shifter in L.
Unplug the hood latch.
There may be other ways. The shifter is free, the latch will cause a CEL.
Unplug the hood latch.
There may be other ways. The shifter is free, the latch will cause a CEL.
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And a CEL will disable remote starting.
Just wanted to chime in with my experience on the Trifecta tune on a 2015 LS. I've owned the car since Fall 2014 and have been drove it daily from Fall 2019 until now, the tune was installed 6 months ago and I have 3k miles on it since then. The engine definitely feels stronger, but the main improvement is transmission response time. In stock form it would sometimes take 2 seconds to find a gear (specifically when going from a 10mph coast to rolling on the throttle), that hasn't happened since the tune. It's worth every penny IMO.
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