Holden Trailblazer Tuning

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Engine options on the second generation Trailblazer from 2012 included...

• 3.6 L V6 (gasoline) 110–132.5 kW (148–178 hp; 150–180 PS) (2.5 L)
• 2.5 L Duramax I4-T (diesel) 132.5–147 kW (178–197 hp; 180–200 PS) (2.8 L)
• 2.8 L Duramax I4-T (diesel) 178–208 kW (239–279 hp; 242–283 PS) (3.6 L)

The trailblazer is based on the Colorado platform, with a revised rear from the A pillar.

The only thing holding you back in your Trailblazer project is time, money and your imagination We see people wasting money on their Trailblazer doing the wrong mods and then having to start over. Follow our guides to avoid making the common mistakes

Improving the handling for many tuners first priority in your Trailblazer tuning project. Drop the car optimally somewhere in the region of 35mm and fit performance stiffer dampers, bigger drops will need other modifications in most instances.

Our aim in Trailblazer engine tuning should be to increase peak power and Torque at the top end.

Smaller engines do not provide much of a return in terms of power so start with a bigger engine. Engine swaps are a good option if you have a small engine size.

Engine tuning mods.

This list of the stages and performance mods are usually carried out by our members, decide how far you want to go before you start.

Getting the right modified upgrades for your planned usage of the car is essential. Stage 3 competition upgrades just don't work well on the road making the car difficult to drive.

Please watch our video which covers the 5 principles of tuning your car. Be sure to keep up with our latest YouTube content and subscribe.

Best Engine Mods for your car

1. Engine Tunes - engine tuning/remapping provides the most advantage in terms of cost savings,  aftermarket ECUs, and piggyback ECUs are all alternatives.
2. Fast road cams are one of the most significant mechanical changes, but they must be installed by someone who knows what they're doing and they are not always easy to source but you might find a local firm to regrind a stock camshaft.
3. Intake and Exhaust - Note that on their own these mods will NOT ADD POWER in most cases, but they can help enhance power after other mods by removing the restriction.
4. Upgrades to turbochargers and superchargers - forced induction is the most efficient approach to increase air supply, allowing you to burn more fuel and make more power. It is one of the most costly upgrades but provides the best gains.
5. Head work - The goals of porting and flowing the head are to get air flowing into the engine while removing flow restrictions and turbulence.

Typical stage 1 mods often include: Remap, Sports exhaust, Panel air filter, Alloy wheels, Lighter flywheel, Suspension upgrade (drop 30-40mm).

Typical stage 2 mods often include: Power/Sport clutch, Fast road cam, fuel pump upgrades, high flow fuel injector, Ported and polished head.

Typical stage 3 mods often include: Sports gearbox, Engine balancing, Competition cam, Internal engine upgrades (pistons/head/valves), Adding or upgrading forced induction (turbo/supercharger).

Your aim when modding the engine should be a wide torque output. You don't want all the power to be at the top end of the rev range unless you are creating a competition car.

The aim of our articles is to give a little insight into the world of car tuning mods and point you in the right direction, our forum is the place to go for detailed advice and tips on your tuning project, the best sport parts and all aspects of modding cars.A fast road camshaft is one of the best NASP power mods you can do from a single upgrade to your engine.

It improves the intake and exhaust flow and increases the power if done right. Ideally you'd add other mods and finish up with a performance chip. TorqueCars would caution you not to go with a motor sport cam as this affects the engines idling and general town driving characteristics.You will need to ensure that the engine is not starved of fuel so will need to increase the fuelling.

Frequently power losses, and erratic idling after sports kits are done can usually be traced to timing or fuel delivery issues.Uprated injectors will enable you to supply sufficient fuel to the engine. If have increased your fuelling with bigger injectors you will also need to get a bigger fuel pump to supply it.

Intake and Exhaust Tuning.

The next area for modification is the intake and exhaust. Please note that WE DO NOT RECOMMEND INDUCTION KITS, unless you have tuned your car extensively and are finding that the standard air intake has become a restriction. Derestricting the air feed into the engine is the primary part of car tuners so get a better flowing air filter if you find that the car is running lean only if you find the car is running lean. Induction kits can sound sporty but due to the warm air in the engine bay they will not add noticeable power and usually rob you of power on most cars.

Do not go with the biggest exhaust you can find this will slow up the exhaust flow rate - the best for power gains are usually between 1.5 to 2.5 inches. It is the shape and material more than the bore size.

Getting the cylinder head gas flowed will allow you to get more air into each cylinder. This is definitely a job for a pro with a flow bench. Your clutch can slip as you increase the power if it starts to weaken and the standard clutches are only ever good for power gains of up to 45%. Fit a power clutch to avoid power loss through the transmission. NA (naturally aspirated) engines do not achieve big power gains if you tune/remap them, unless you have done extensive modifications. With turbocharged engines this is another story. A tuned/remapped turbo will give significant power gains and take full advantage of the strength of the block.

We've also seen some tuners experimenting with twin charging applications and making some seriously high power gains.

Adding forced induction will see massive power gains but this is usually too expensive to be cost effective. Turbos are generally harder to add than a supercharger. With a turbo the power curve is related exponentially to the engine speed making it difficult to map fuelling with.

Superchargers however will give a boost which is proportional to engine speed so is simpler. Adding forced induction will nearly always require a lower compression ratio or water injection.

Alloy wheel upgrades.

The benefits of alloys include a lower unsprung weight and better brake cooling. The drawback to large rims on your Trailblazer is that you're changing your final drive ratio and this will have a detrimental effect on acceleration and performance.

Because of this try to keep the overall rolling diameter of the wheel the same as supplied from the factory. In all cases avoid going larger than 16 inches.

If you would like to know more, or just get some friendly advice on Tuning your car please join us in our friendly forum where you can discuss Trailblazer options in more detail with our Trailblazer owners. It would also be worth reading our unbiased Holden tuning articles to get a full grasp of the benefits and drawbacks of each modification.

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This article is flagged for an update, so please pass on specific tips below that I can include. All articles, and content was written by me, Waynne Smith TorqueCars founder. Some outlines are just too general so I appreciate your feedback and suggestions. This entry was filed under Holden. You can leave a response below or join our forum to discuss this article and car modification in detail with our members.

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