DiabloSports Trinity T-1000 Tuning System - Cracking The Code - Mopar Muscle Magazine

Technology has certainly advanced since the automobile was invented, and these advances have never been more apparent than in the latest offerings from Chrysler. And while some of these cars, like the new Dodge Challenger, may resemble muscle cars of the ’70s, the fact is that nearly every system in a new Chrysler vehicle is controlled by a computer or electronics. In fact, almost none of your new Challenger or Charger’s features—from the brakes, to the transmission, the throttle, or even the engine’s air/fuel ratio and ignition timing—are directly controlled without the driver’s input first going electronically through one of the car’s computers. And while the days of tuning your car for more power by tweaking the carburetor or twisting the distributor are long gone, in many ways tuning your late model Mopar for more power has become easier thanks to these electronics.

Unlike the first and second generation Hemi engines, the third generation Hemi isn’t equipped with a carburetor or distributor. In fact, there isn’t even a provision for a distributor on the latest Hemi engine. With electronic fuel injection and coil-on-plug ignition, the 5.7, 6.1, and 6.4 Hemi engines are far more efficient than the older versions, and adjustments to engine tuning are performed electronically, sometimes while the car is driving. Thanks to these electronic controls, ideal fuel and timing curves can be had throughout the engine’s rpm range, improving torque, idle quality, throttle response, and drivability among other things. There are, however, functions programmed into the engine computer that actually decrease performance.

01] The Trinity is a compact unit, but is packed with features for performance tuning, diagnostics, and engine monitoring. Additionally, the Trinity has some cool racing features that give zero to 60 mph and zero to 100 mph, plus quarter- and eighth-mile times and speeds. Each Trinity T-1000 comes with the necessary cords to connect to the car, a suction cup mount, software CD, and instructions.

New cars are designed for a variety of drivers, including those who aren’t necessarily looking for optimal performance, so auto manufacturers also use the car’s computer(s) to control functions that affect ride quality and drivability in ways that don’t benefit the car’s performance. Ignition timing is often retarded during transmission up shifts in order to ensure smoothness of operation. The throttle on the late model Hemi is also controlled by the computer instead of direct linkage, and the computer doesn’t always allow the throttle to be opened quickly or even fully, as it would be with direct linkage. Additionally, manufacturers program a safety margin in the computer, knowing that not all car owners will opt for premium gasoline, so the computer doesn’t allow ignition timing or fuel curves to be optimized for maximum power.

In older Mopars, ignition timing and fuel parameters were easily adjustable by twisting the distributor to add timing, and jetting the carburetor to get more fuel to the engine. In modern cars, however, this is all controlled by computer software which is often encrypted to keep the average car owner from changing anything. Chrysler is no different, using special codes in their computers to keep their pre-programmed engine parameters from being altered. Thanks to the free market economy, however, there are companies who realize that car owners sometimes want a little more power from their vehicles, and work hard to crack the computer codes used for changing the tuning parameters of these vehicles.

Diablosport is one such company, and thanks to their efforts we can now tune our 2011 and up Mopar vehicles for more torque, more horsepower, and better throttle response, along with a host of other performance enhancing and convenience features with their Trinity T-1000 tuning system. The Trinity tuning system has been around for a while, and the same unit supports a variety of vehicle brands and engine combinations including Mopar’s Hemi and Cummins powered diesels. The latest Trinity offers pre-packaged tuning programs for both 91 octane and 93 octane gasoline for the late model Hemi, and the big news is that it now supports the 2011 and up vehicles. And if you want to customize your engine’s tuning, the Trinity allows that as well. Parameters such as spark advance and fuel tables at wide open throttle can be modified to match your engine and any modifications that have been done to your Hemi. Other custom tuning options include cooling fan on/off temperature, idle rpm, gear ratio, rev limits, speed limits, shift rpm and pressure, and tire size. As an additional benefit, this tuning often results in improved economy as the engine is working more efficiently.

The Trinity also has a monitoring feature, which allows the driver to monitor a variety of systems in real time, through either pre-set or custom gauge layouts on the screen of the unit. Nearly any engine parameter, including rpm, oil temp, water temp, ignition timing, and more can be monitored, and the user can choose which systems are monitored. Gauge alarms can also be set as a nice safety feature, and the Trinity can data-log parameters as well for future review. The Diablosport tuning system can also be used to review and clear diagnostic trouble codes, eliminating the need for a separate piece of equipment to accomplish this function.

Another cool feature of the Trinity is the “Racing” screen, which is a virtual racetrack that will allow “Christmas Tree” starts with the digital LED lights on the front of the unit. The racing feature will give reaction time, zero to 60 mph, and zero to 100 mph times, as well as eighth-mile and quarter-mile times and speeds. We’ve tested this feature on other Diablosport equipment, and have found it to be very accurate. Of course if you’re going to be racing we advocate obeying all traffic laws and doing it on the track, just like we do here at Mopar Muscle. But if you’re lucky enough to live in a state without interstate speed limits, this is a cool way to test the performance of your vehicle without going to the track.

Tuning for the 2011 up Mopar has been a much-anticipated occurrence, so we had to acquire one of these units and check it out for ourselves. Luckily, Diablosport is located right here in Florida, so we went there in person to pick up one of their Trinity units. A few days later Angela Hawthorne, one of our readers and local Mopar club member, brought her 2011 Dodge Challenger R/T to our shop, so that we could install the performance tune and test the results on our chassis dyno.

The Diablosport Trinity T-1000 comes with everything needed to tune the vehicle, including the unit itself, a six foot long OBD II cable, suction cup mount, manual and CD, and six foot mini USB to USB cable to connect the unit to a computer for registration and updates. Installing the tuner is as easy as plugging the unit into the car’s OBD II port under the dash, and following the on-screen prompts to remove the factory tuning and install one of the pre-set Trinity tunes. Menu items can be selected by either the physical buttons or the touch screen, but we found the touch screen to be easiest. With the Trinity plugged in, we chose the packaged tune for 93 octane fuel, and the Trinity prompted us through the setup procedure. The unit actually saves the factory tune to its memory before installing the performance tune, and the factory settings can be re-installed at any time.

08] With the Challenger back on the dyno, we made two more pulls to measure the improvements. Both torque and horsepower were up significantly, especially in the midrange rpm area.

Angela’s 2011 Challenger R/T had already been modified with an aftermarket cold air kit and aftermarket exhaust behind the factory catalytic converters. To establish a baseline, we strapped the Challenger to our chassis dyno to measure the 5.7’s torque and horsepower prior to installing the tune. Installing the tune only takes a couple of minutes, and involves turning the car’s ignition on and off several times as prompted by the Trinity. With the tune installed, we made two more dyno pulls to measure the improvements to torque and horsepower not just at peak rpm, but throughout the Hemi’s rpm range.

A common misnomer regarding torque and horsepower is that improvements at peak are all that matter. In reality, we are much more concerned with average torque and horsepower increases as an increase in power through the midrange will more greatly benefit a car’s performance. Since each car is different, as well as each dyno, there is no hard number associated with a specific tuner or car with regards to how much improvement can be expected. As the dyno graphs below show, the 5.7 Hemi equipped 2011 Dodge Challenger R/T we tested showed gains in peak torque and horsepower, with peak horsepower climbing from 333 to over 341. Even more significant improvements were shown through the midrange rpm with torque more than 10 lb-ft higher at some engine speeds. It’s these midrange torque and horsepower improvements that really give the driver a seat of the pants feeling that the car is quicker, so we feel that Diablosport did a good job in this regard.

After driving the car for a couple of days, Angela reported that throttle response, off the line performance, and overall performance had definitely improved. She also claims that the other features of the Trinity don’t just make her Challenger more fun to drive, but are useful as well. Since this is the first version of tuning for the 2011 and up Hemis, we’re sure Diablosport will make revisions to their Trinity software for even better results in the future. A nice benefit of the Trinity is that as updates to the tuning software become available, Angela can download them directly from Diablosport’s website free of charge. And if Angela decides to add a supercharger or nitrous to her Hemi, the Trinity will allow custom tuning to make sure she gets maximum power without damaging the engine in her car. The features, additional power, and peace of mind the Trinity give make this unit one of the best buys for a late model Mopar.

Costs for Diablosport Trinity Tuner: $599

Run Notes: Baseline
RPM x1000 HP FT-LBS 3.40 175.56 271.19 3.50 202.59 303.99 3.60 237.78 346.91 3.70 244.09 346.48 3.80 250.19 345.79 3.90 262.71 353.79 4.00 273.41 358.99 4.10 283.69 363.41 4.20 290.19 362.89 4.30 293.41 358.37 4.40 305.05 364.13 4.50 312.00 364.15 4.60 312.04 356.28 4.70 316.48 353.65 4.80 320.73 350.94 4.90 329.22 352.88 5.00 330.84 347.52 5.10 331.91 341.81 5.20 333.91 337.25 5.30 325.67 322.73 5.40 316.13 307.47 5.50 313.35 299.23

Run Notes: Diablo Tuner
RPM X1000 HP FT-LBS 3.30 208.72 332.20 3.40 217.93 336.64 3.50 232.62 349.07 3.60 241.11 351.76 3.70 246.01 349.21 3.80 254.86 352.25 3.90 263.11 354.33 4.00 273.55 359.18 4.10 284.22 364.09 4.20 289.24 361.70 4.30 301.65 368.44 4.40 310.11 370.17 4.50 315.17 367.85 4.60 313.73 358.21 4.70 316.69 353.89 4.80 322.42 352.79 4.90 330.27 354.01 5.00 337.35 354.36 5.10 336.78 346.83 5.20 341.87 345.29 5.30 339.83 336.76 5.40 333.02 323.90 5.50 329.17 314.33

As the dyno numbers show, the Trinity-using the 93-octane performance tune, resulted in both torque and horsepower gains throughout the engine's rpm range. Peak horsepower was up from 333.91 to 341.87 and peak torque rose from 364.15 to 370.17. Better yet, average torque between 3,500 and 5,500 rpm climbed from 344.7 to 351.8 and averaged power in the same rpm range rose to 300.6 from 294.4. Remember these numbers are at the rear wheels, and flywheel numbers would be 25-30 percent higher.

10] The Diablosport Trinity T-1000 offers a lot of features in a small package, and the owner of our Challenger test car has been enjoying the additional torque, horsepower, and fuel economy her Hemi now gives her. Assuming a 30 percent loss through the drivetrain, power climbed by more than ten peak horsepower and torque by nearly 10 lb-ft. We’re happy that Angela’s Challenger gained more power, and also for the fact that we can finally tune the 2011 and up Mopar products.