Chevrolet Cruze Forums banner

Diesel Cruze Tuning Project

68K views 144 replies 35 participants last post by  Snipesy 
#1 · (Edited)
At this point I think its deserving of its own thread.

To those of you unaware, tuning the Diesel Cruze is a bit tricky because well, its protected. Like really protected. Some people managed to get past these protections like Fleece, Trifecta, and DuramaxTuner. Sadly they won't share :( .

WELL needless to say I made Trifecta share. Now the legality of that is kind of grey. I obviously won't release their tune or my methods of getting them, but the stock file is.... A different story.... Does Trifecta own it? No, but they spent thousands to get it in the first place. My inner lawyer (not a lawyer) would claim Trifecta only owns the modifications they do. Even then, say I did release the files. We'd see everyone and their dog offering tunes for the Cruze. And that's not something I want to happen out of respect for the people who read the ECU legitimately.

Anyway, I'm still thinking on that one. I made some quick documentation to go over what I have done thus far in terms of mapping out the ECM. Figured some of you may find it interesting.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1G4P68q0FbjTE03R2Y2Z0N2dk0/view?usp=sharing

Always looking for help. If you are proficient with Assembly and are willing to take up a challenge, then you have a new best friend.
 
See less See more
#2 ·
Would be nice if there was a way to activate a manual regen if needed.
 
#3 ·
It could be the same as the LMM diesel. In fact it probably is. But I have no idea where that information is, I only know doing a manual regen on those is possible with certain tools.

If its not the same, I wouldn't expect that to happen ever. Any device claiming to do manual regens would just spit back an error.
 
#4 ·
Can you explain to me why we have to be hooked up to the "GM Cloud" in order for a manual regen to happen? I do not understand why things like that can't be standalone.
 
#6 ·
Dealership $$$
 
#5 ·
Im a proud Diesel owner and Fleece tune user and i can say one conclusion about my experience : Not worth it. :signs053:

Unless you're willing to remove ALL the anti-polution devices on the exhaust, you can forget about it.

Why? Because of the soot build-up.

With Fleece, you have 3 tunes : 30, 40 and 50hp. The result is this :

- The 50hp is epic, punchy, powerfull and bring the car to a performance lvl near a stock GTI, very impressive. But because of the soot, you can use it in normal/aggressive driving for a couple of hour only before you get reduced power and check engine lights.

- The 40hp is about the same as the 50hp, but alot less punchy and powerfull, but you still get reduced power when pushing hard real soon. Imo the worst tune of the 3.

- The 30hp is the best, always performing the same, no check engine and decent performance. The main problem is that the power and driveablility is so close to stock that paying what Fleece is askin isnt worth it.

If i could go back in time, i would stay stock, especialy since as a Canadian, i paid, with the export and exchange rate more then 1100$ for the tune.

The ONLY Cruze Diesel tune that is worth it imo is someone that go straith-pipe from the Turbo to the back with the equivalent of the 50hp Fleece tune.
 
#9 ·
straith-pipe from the Turbo to the back
:)

Can you explain to me why we have to be hooked up to the "GM Cloud" in order for a manual regen to happen? I do not understand why things like that can't be standalone.
Really just milking money. GM also switched to a newer style for diagnosing in 2013 called the MDI. It replaced the old Tech 2 system which has been around for ages. I don't exactly have all the details but I am guessing the MDI costs around $1,000. Otherwise, a China ripoff could maybe slack it down to less than $400 but I would tread carefully on that one. Then you would still need access to the actual software which is subscription based. You can find info on that here https://www.acdelcotds.com/acdelco/action/subscribehome

Once you've got that, then you can do your service regen or idle regen as it may be called. A bunch of other neat tricks as well.
 
#8 ·
the only real thing stopping me from really buying a tune is say you run the tune and "clog" your dpf now your off to gm if we could do a manual regen to get it cleaned then i would be more onboard.
 
#10 ·
My brother in law has a Cummins diesel straight truck and it offers a driver actuated regen where a light goes on and he has the option to regen then or if not, the system will do it for him later. He laughed at idea that we'd have to take a car in for a manual regen since he always had the option to do it once the light comes on. Why did Chevy make it so difficult??
 
  • Like
Reactions: Snipesy
#13 ·
Maybe someone from GM will read this thread and engineer it in to the new one, but I am not holding my breath.

As for the manual regens "in the cloud" I wonder if this type of thing will render our cars unuseable after the 10 year support period by GM.
 
#17 ·
I don't believe in cloud storage/computing for my personal use, because I don't like not having control of my hardware. But from a corporate viewpoint, cloud makes a lot of sense, from a version control and distribution perspective. I'm a software engineer, and configuration management is by far the most painful aspect of this job. GM being able to update files in a central location and forcing every service site to use it guarantees that every car is using the same software on the road. It makes troubleshooting a whole **** of a lot easier when you know exactly what your starting point is.

It's what makes Apple software so easy to write and update...everyone has the same thing so compatibility is not an issue.
 
#18 ·
at work we were using a non updated version of diagnostic software for detroit diesel

various field mechanics would give us their log ins so we were able to keep access to it

we were able to diagnose and repair and reset things, etc...and as long as the laptop wasnt connected to web, all was good....we got things passed thru as warranty etc

then someone connected to the web, and lotsa info was then available to detroit and they saw what we had done, many times causing further problems , and then the warranty coverages became waaaaaaay less frequent, lol
 
#19 ·
You guys turned this into a GM rant.

I still haven't even flashed the file in yet to you know... See if it even works! Be embarrassing if it didnt. All the work for nothing. Tough to justify flipping the switch when it only has 5K miles.
Any volunteers?
No?
:uhh:
 
#20 ·
I will enjoy watching from the sidelines. :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: KpaxFAQ and _MerF_
#25 ·
Is it possible? Yes. Feasible? No.
Such an emulator either doesn't exist or is not publicly available. Even if there was an emulator, you would still need to rig up every single sensor and develop a system to control said sensors AKA more emulation on top of your emulation. At that point, its cheaper to just buy a whole new vehicle.
 
#28 ·
Ah this stuff....

So the map I called Smoke map, although probably true for a European turd, not true for American Engineering. It's a bit more complicated. I think. Or maybe I was right. The thing is I can both be right and wrong. As in sure if it works who the **** cares as long as it works. But what if I'm wrong? What if EFI Live is wrong. I DONT KNOW.

How the heck did Trifecta figure it out?
 
#30 · (Edited)
So here are my new maps for what I've done today. Mostly by looking at EFI Live maps and trying to figure out what they did in a 2015 3500 Silverado

DPF Pressure Fuel Reduction Factor ( new map) or it might be coolant temp
It is coolant. If anyone is wondering the Cruze will start decreasing power after 226 degrees Fahrenheit. If it gets to 284 degrees it will pretty much force an idle.
Intake Temp Fuel Reduction Factor (used to be the N75 temperature map I listed)
Maximum Fuel Quanity Final (new map) or could be some Fuel Limit, eitheir way does the same thing.
Maximum Fuel Quanity Before Reduction 1 (used to be the smoke map)
Maximum Fuel Quanity Before Reduction 2 (new map)
 
#33 ·
Snipsey,

If you change the suspected DPF switch programming to all zeros, what do you think the worst would happen? exception error and brick the the ecu or is the programming such that it would execute an error and continue on with the rest of the program. Does the ecu have a bootloader / bios, so if we mess up the programming we can reflash to stock? or is this thing like firmware and one and done if you mess it up.
 
#35 ·
am I missing something here? If you turn the DPF programming off, it will get clogged with soot and eventually the exhaust system will become plugged, rendering the car undrivable. Unless you are talking about removing it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: oilburner
#38 ·
Looking into the edit post functionality.
 
#39 ·
Lots of brain cells were killed on this one.

I present... The DEF Tank Low Speed Limiters!



When you run low/out of DEF you have 3 warning stages. I labeled each stage here. 24500 seems to be Stage 0 (no problem). Not sure what that lingering 8850 is doing there. Stage 1 is 10465, which is 104.65 KMH or 65 MPH, and... You get the idea. Eventually it limits you to 5 mph at stage 3.

SO! Switch them all the 24500, and you will no longer have to worry about being stranded! The vehicle will still yell at you, but just can't win everything.
 
#40 ·
So those injection timing maps. Must of been on some really good stuff when I called those out. Those are uh... Something else. I found the real injection maps; there's alot of them. Not surprising, right next to the injection maps are the pilot injection maps. From my understanding Pilot Injection will spray some fuel before the main injection event. You can read more on that elsewhere, but if you wanted the Cruze to sound like a true Diesel you can modify those. All of this puts my total number of maps to over 300. 500 if you include the Duramax.
 
#41 ·
It already sounds like a true diesel, and that's one of the reasons I love it. Standing outside with the hood open and the plastic cover removed, it makes quite a racket/
 
  • Like
Reactions: izedaman
#44 · (Edited)
Removing the DEF Fluid CatchBox (not the real name, just what I call it) will probably net around 5 to 7 mpg to about 51 MPG total. This would be in line with the Australian model.

Removing the DPF.... Hard to say what gains there will be.... I think up to 20 mpg is definitely a reasonable estimate. Could be even more.

And removing the EGR would gain a couple mpg as well.

A realistic MPG after removing all three systems is going to be around 60 to 70. And that's with what I would call normal driving style. If you keep the vehicle clean and drive mostly interstate, mid 70s and maybe even breaking 80 is definitely a possibility.

Power wise is tough to say; this is all going to be silly speculation. If I remember, Stock Cruze peaks at 130 HP, and somewhere around 250 ft lb (pretty pathetic, this engine is capable of so much more). The Deletes alone will probably make those numbers hit 150 HP (+20) and 280 ft lb (+30). A mild tune, since we don't have to worry about the DPF anymore, can probably reach 200 HP (+70) 340 ft lb (+90). From there we start to push the stock components. As a wild guess I think a reasonable limit for the stock components is going to be around 240 HP (+110). Which is insane, that's almost double what we started with. Anything further and I would start to worry about not getting enough fuel, not enough air, etc. If you fixed those issues (new turbo, new injectors, pump) your next limitation is going to be when something really bad happens.

Of course this would be less speculation and more show if I had 4 years experience dealing with Duramax ECMs and a nicer shop to play around in. But, those who have such luxuries are obviously not interested in the Cruze.
 
#55 ·
Never give up, us poor souls here who dont have access to bradher and jdrurys source need a cure for the diesel delete
I know who they are. They are respectable and are one of the few companies in the world that can actually tackle something like this. Not really sure what their plan of action is for the long run.

As for me... I am going to try and wrap up what I've done and release it in the form of an EFI Live .cax extension. Maybe try to figure out exactly what situation a map is used for something else. Stuff like that. EFI Live also has that fancy mode assignment window I haven't figured out how to make.

It'll look something like this (but even more complicated) in the end. I'm trying to make it look nearly 1:1 with the Duramax to keep things similiar.

http://i.imgur.com/lIQrCkp.png
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top