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Peabody
Peabody MegaDork
5/16/22 4:59 p.m.

In reply to bonylad :

I think they addressed that with the Dexos1 Gen2 spec. which includes an LSPI mitigation test. And you can get that oil anywhere

bonylad
bonylad HalfDork
5/16/22 9:33 p.m.
Peabody said:

In reply to bonylad :

I think they addressed that with the Dexos1 Gen2 spec. which includes an LSPI mitigation test. And you can get that oil anywhere

I did. I used just the same. Actually it's supposed to help but the phenomenon isn't fully understood or rather a permanent fix. This dramatically helps. Or so I've been told. 
 

 

bonylad
bonylad HalfDork
5/16/22 9:34 p.m.

Peabody
Peabody MegaDork
5/17/22 8:19 a.m.

I meant they addressed the oil availability with the updated spec so pretty much everybody makes it now and you're not limited to just Delco or Mobil. A tune on the auto version of that car should make a huge difference in day to day drivability

bonylad
bonylad HalfDork
5/17/22 10:58 a.m.
Peabody said:

I meant they addressed the oil availability with the updated spec so pretty much everybody makes it now and you're not limited to just Delco or Mobil. A tune on the auto version of that car should make a huge difference in day to day drivability

Heres hoping!

bonylad
bonylad HalfDork
5/19/22 11:32 a.m.

 

Trifecta ECM and TCM tune are on the way!

bonylad
bonylad HalfDork
5/22/22 3:35 p.m.

Waiting for the tune to arrive. 

Till then I decided to go ahead and work on my catch can. Short version is. It's a Moroso 5.3 catch can with 10mm ID refinforced silicon hose. Found a place to put it and I think it came out great!

 

bonylad
bonylad HalfDork
5/24/22 10:42 a.m.

Tune arrived!  Initial impression is very positive! Trans shifts so much better and quicker. Goes to redline now on aggressive throttle. Power under the curve is much improved as is top end. I'd say money well spent. 
 

I had once issue which could be several things. Once flashed the float on a wot pull felt like it was missing/surging. No codes and only under heavy load. Contacted Trifecta and they said I may need to close the gap from .035 to .030. Makes sense. 
 

This morning though. Ran fine. Did have to merge with traffic and had no issues. Take off from a stop and traction control is not happy. I can imagine with traction off it would burn the tires down easy.

 

I asked some LTG guys and got a recommendation for some NGK plugs which come pre gapped to .031. Picked up some of them as they are run in tuned modded cars.  
 

bonylad
bonylad HalfDork
5/24/22 12:03 p.m.

So far Trifecta has been great. I opened a support ticket and other than the plug recommendation about the gap. They said I could send a data log. Which tommorow I will. So here's hoping all is good!

Peabody
Peabody MegaDork
5/24/22 12:06 p.m.

The auto cars get an extra bonus as the trans, as good as they are these days, are usually set up for comfort over performance, and a good tune will make everything work much better together, and really wake it up

bonylad
bonylad HalfDork
5/24/22 3:14 p.m.

In reply to Peabody :

Probably help with longevity as well? Not as much slippage for comfort. Should help offset some wear on them clutch plates. 

bonylad
bonylad HalfDork
6/1/22 10:43 p.m.

Well. The catch can didn't do squat. Apparently I need to spend a E36 M3 ton in a Mishimoto setup that bypasses the internal pcv valve. I can't  justify 500 bucks for that. Really?  So I just redid the lines with reinforced 10mm silicon hose. Pretty nifty imo. I did find one of the plastic lines was splitting. May have affected the afr but never set a code.  Regardless. It's fixed. 
 

Idk. I may. I really want water injection. 
 

In the interim. Apparently the cabin air filter has never been swapped?  It's disgusting and I have never felt a filter that was......heavy. Like unnatural heavy. Ewwww. 
 

Off to the Advance to get a new one. Spend some speed perks points!  
 

Ewwwwww.

 

10001110101
10001110101 Reader
6/1/22 11:50 p.m.

Is this direct injection? If so, water injection isn't a bad idea as it would keep the carbon from building up as much on top of the valves. 

bonylad
bonylad HalfDork
6/2/22 8:04 a.m.

In reply to 10001110101 :

It is, yes. One of the reasons I want to do it. As well as the benefits to the intercooling. As a bolt in option does not exist for the LTG Regal (they do have one for the LHU), I figure its a best of both worlds sorta thing. Plan really to run just water.

bonylad
bonylad HalfDork
6/2/22 10:28 a.m.

We had one at work. It's heavy too. Idk. Buick?  Either way. Fresh............

759NRNG
759NRNG UberDork
6/2/22 2:56 p.m.

You put the stock intake housing back as it was with the K&N inside?

bonylad
bonylad HalfDork
6/3/22 7:52 a.m.

In reply to 759NRNG :

I did. Yes. Its apparently from the sources I am able to find, the best option. Using a scan tool and monitoring IAT, I can believe it. IAT is right exactly with outside air or a degree higher.  Flows more than enough for the stock turbo and the power level.

Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter)
Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter) PowerDork
6/3/22 8:31 a.m.
bonylad said:

In reply to 759NRNG :

I did. Yes. Its apparently from the sources I am able to find its the best option. Using a scan tool and monitoring IAT temps, I can believe it. IAT is right exactly with outside air or a degree higher.  Flows more than enough for the stock turbo and the power level.

Color me shocked. wink

I have yet to see an aftermarket "cold air intake" that actually helps performance in any way. Most of them just raise IATs by sucking in underhood air. To me, they are good for two things: Cool intake sounds and underhood bling. If that's your thing, go for it, but don't expect any performance gains.

bonylad
bonylad HalfDork
6/3/22 8:43 a.m.

In reply to Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter) :

Lol. Which is why I ran the intake I did have just once. Said NOPE.......not only was I fairly certain it didnt increase power, it sounded way too out of pocket for me. Constant whooshing noise that IMO messed up the character of the car as I wanted it to be. 

bonylad
bonylad HalfDork
6/3/22 8:47 a.m.

The car is fun to drive, the platform is what it is. Solid and very tossable in corners. I imagine when I upgrade the tires to something better than the Uniroyal Tiger Paw's, I will see more of what the chassis can do. Its quiet and so far as power goes.....its very fun. Its not going to pull on everthing, but it would on some cars that would not expect it. Very nice platform.

bonylad
bonylad HalfDork
6/9/22 8:00 a.m.

I had planned to do the PCV valve under the valve cover, but opted to wait till I could paint the valve cover (possibly or at least REALLY clean it). Both PCV valves in the rear require destroying the bolts to remove them. Sooooo, yeah there is that.  

I also removed my catch can setup as it appeared to not do a damn thing. So instead, I just replaced the brittle plastic lines with the reinforced silicone hoses, looks better IMO. One of the ones on the front was leaking oil onto the valve cover, very SLIGHTLY. So its a good thing I got that sorted. I did discover that the factory already had a catch can of sorts installed. That little resonator on the intake pipe is there to actually catch vapors as well.

I was on the fence about a Water injection kit or a Down pipe. I am leary on the water kit, as its a unknown to me and I just dont want to mess it up. Maybe later. 

Also on the fence about removing the red T badge in the back and slapping this on.

So I went with a ZZP catted DP (ahem.....they call it a O2 housing). I have read anywhere from 10-15 hp gain (IDK) , with a huge increase in responsiveness and some added turbo noise.  Which all sounds great. The one gripe I have and IDK if its all LTG Regals or what, is the lag though minor is still a thing. If I can gain some HP and gain some response.  Winner. I MAY delete the secondary cat (ahem.....remove its insides and still appear to be there for a visual) and see how it sounds. I anticipate some increased noise from the exhaust with a high flow cat and a removed cat. Dont thing I will pull the resonator just yet until I hear how that sounds. 

 

ZZP has a program where they will buy back the existing Cat and give me a credit. I may do that and buy either a trans mount or a heat shield. Some bling cant hurt.

bonylad
bonylad HalfDork
6/20/22 7:39 a.m.

Installed the ZZP O2 housing. Feels stronger, though not a huge difference. More responsive and more gutsy.  Havent really flogged it yet, so I am sure it gave me gains. Just not huge gains like the tune did. 

Super easy install. I had soaked the nuts with PB a couple days before and driven it. I hit them again before the install. LIterally took maybe an hour? If that?  I also relieved the inside of the secondary cat of its contents.

I may pull the valve cover and paint it. Or at the least strip it to a bare rough aluminum.  I still have my PCV to install (primary under the cover).

 

 

bonylad
bonylad HalfDork
6/27/22 12:00 p.m.

Small improvements here and there. I did flash the ECM again with the codes for P0420 and P0430 removed. I mean the 420 code is still present but no longer causes a SES light. 
 

Ordered a specific to the LTG catch can which at most may require a bracket to be tweaked. Either way it seems to be an improvement over what I had. It also helps I had a credit with ZZP. I also picked a billet oil and coolant cap. Cause I had a credit that covered it all. Figured why not?

Will update. 

bonylad
bonylad HalfDork
6/30/22 8:11 p.m.

Added some bling. ZZP Oil cap and coolant cap. I made a bracket to use their catch can set up from a Cadillac ATS and bolted it right up. 
 

 

 

Wessley88
Wessley88 None
7/9/22 4:15 a.m.

I also recently bought a '16 LTG Regal with AWD and I love all you've done so far with yours so far. I wondered if running the zzp downpipe was ok with the basic trifecta tune or if you had to upgrade to the elite tune in order to run it. I'm definitely going to start building mine soon, but I'm still doing research on what's good and what to stay away from.

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