The DiabloSport Trinity is a serious performance tuner for the average joe. But despite it being simple to operate, it is one of the most advanced tuning devices on the market today with the capability to tune, log and record data, display and customize virtual gauges, read and clear trouble codes, and even compute multiple track times. The DiabloSport Trinity has a lot going for it. We decided to install a Trinity on a 2005 Mustang so we could get some hands on experience and show our views an inside look at the tuning device.

Text & Photos by powerTV & Fastest Street Car Magazine

Trinity & Our GT: The Background

The 2005 Mustang GT test subject subjected to dyno abuse here is equipped with some rather basic modifications: K&N Cold-Air Intake, 4.10 Gears, a modified shifter, and Cat-Back exhaust. For a baseline, we strapped it down to our Dynojet and it laid down 281.4 horsepower with an air/fuel ratio of 11.9 to 1, about average for a stock S197 with these modifications. The 2005 S197 is an OBD-II equipped vehicle and thus the Diablo Trinity is a quick and simple upgrade for it.

The Diablo Trinity is a “one part number fits all device.” Basically what that means is that the Trinity contains a large variety of tune files inside the device, so it can program many different types of vehicles (Dodge, Ford, Chevy, etc.) with the same part number. This is good for enthusiasts and good for Diablo since they don’t have to stock multiple Trinity parts for every make, model, and year of vehicle. Plus, the Trinity can store up to 5 custom tune files, so that means if you have some racing tunes as well as street tunes, you can store them all. This is an upgrade from the Predator’s capability to store 3 custom tunes.

Another cool feature we really like is the ability to have individual monitoring displays per vehicle; the Ford digital dash layout is different from the Dodge, and so on. The logging feature allows the user to customize what they want displayed on the screen, so if you want to show voltage, but not air/fuel, or coolant temp instead of fuel level, you can mix and match and basically, design your own display. The suction cup mount is nifty too, it’s fairly tough to remove, so we feel confident it will stay put when driving on the street over potholes and speed bumps.

Basically, the DiabloSport Trinity is an advanced tuning device with the capability to log and record data, display and customize virtual gauges, read and clear trouble codes, compute multiple track times, as well as tune your engine’s parameter. With a high-resolution color touch screen, state of the art graphics/GUI, and the ability to customize gauge layouts, the Trinity makes any OBDII-equipped hot rods dash layout bitchin.’ Additionally, the Trinity also has the capability to control/communicate external devices, such as the DiabloSport Extreme PowerPuck, DiabloSport EGT Module, and other third party devices.

Trinity Quick Specs

• Comes pre-loaded with multiple tunes for your vehicle including Economy, Factory, Performance, Towing, Extreme, CAI Tunes, Pulley Tunes, and many more (tune selection may vary from vehicle to vehicle).

• Built in Diagnostic Tool-save hundreds in dealership charges reading and clearing your own trouble codes (check engine lights)

• Virtual Gauges-customize your own gauge layout…View and record dozens of gauges at once

• Tune multiple supported vehicles (only 1 at a time), plus supports custom tuning-accepts up to 5 additional custom tunes

• Virtual Dragstrip-computes 1/4 mile, 1/8 mile, 0-60, and 0-100 track times. Option to start from a reaction tree or once accelerator is engaged

• Analog input/output to control external devices such as the DiabloSport Extreme PowerPuck and DiabloSport EGT Module

• Set up your own gauge alarms/shift lights using the Trinity’s LED lights

Installing the Trinity

After you select which vehicle you want to tune, the Trinity stores the factory tune as a backup if you ever want to revert back to the original parameters. However, before you can tune a second vehicle unlike the Predator, you can tune multiple cars with just one Trinity], the Trinity will prompt you to revert the first one back to stock before you can tweak another. You also have the ability to backup your factory tunes on a PC as well.

The Trinity also has individual tunes for most of the popular performance upgrades. If you have a modified setup with common bolts-ons, chances are DiabloSport has a specific tune-up for you. This is so the user gets the most ideal tune-up per their engine modifications. Larger throttle bodies, mass air meters, and cold air intakes are taken into consideration here. We had a K&N Air Filter, and 4.10 gears, so we checked to see if Diablo has pre-programmed that common setup. They had, so we got a custom tune for essentially free.

Here’s an example of the Trinity’s digital dash display for the Ford Mustang GT. This was one feature we really liked, and since you can choose what shows up on the screen, it makes it perfect for us gearheads that love to customize every aspect of our cars.

Once the installation was completed on the S197, we strapped it down to the dyno and got busy with it. We shot a quick video of several of the dyno runs, but rest assured, the power difference was noticeable right off the bat. Power increases from optimizing the timing and fuel curves stacked 19.4 additional horsepower on the 3-valve 4.6L giving us 300.8 rear wheel horsepower. Not bad for about 10 minutes of work. The Air Fuel Ratio was 12.7:1 during the entire WOT run, slightly leaner than the overly conservative stock tune up, but extremely safe.