MENUHolden 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 by as much as 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.
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How to tune your car
- Improve the handling
Focus on Suspension improvements, such as coilovers and make sure the bushings are in good order and that the alignment is correct. Then focus on improving the brakes, with a big disk brake conversion kit and fast road brake pads.
- Remove restrictions
Focus on the intake and exhaust with filters being the common point of restriction in a tuned car. Intercoolers may also become restrictive on turbo engines so this may also need to be uprated.
- Burn more fuel & air
Increase the fuelling so it matches the air coming into the engine. The ratio is important so you need to improve the fuel pump and injectors, so the head mods, big valve conversions, fast road camshafts and forced induction upgrades extra supply of air is adequately met.
- Test and replace any weak parts
Weak areas are commonly the clutch, the turbocharger and pistons and crankshaft in a highly tuned engine. Makes sure these components will cope with your power aspirations.
- The Tune or Remap
A cars ECU controls the fuel, timing, spark and even the turbo in some cases, so to fully extract your gains you should remap the car last and this will fully release the power. Some cars are easy to map, and others require piggyback ECU's or aftermarket ECU's but this is the most vital step of your tuning project.
Modifying to Stage 1:
Remap, Sports exhaust, Panel air filter, Alloy wheels, Lighter flywheel, Suspension upgrade (drop 30-40mm).
Modifying to Stage 2:
Power/Sport clutch, Fast road cam, fuel pump upgrades, high flow fuel injector, Ported and polished head.
Modifying to Stage 3:
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. NASP engines do not achieve big power gains if you remap them, unless you have done extensive modifications. With turbocharged engines this is another story. A 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.
For more information 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.
Please help us improve these tips by sending us your feedback in the comments box below. We love to hear what our visitors have got up to and which mods work best for them on each model of car. Comments are used to improve the accuracy of these articles which are continually updated.
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