CTS-V

Talk about your other cars here.

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The Dark Side of Will
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Re: CTS-V

Post by The Dark Side of Will »

LOL.... Are the RB26's supposed to be bullet proof?

Told you before.... LS1 + Skyline = :-D :-D :-D :-D


If I were getting a CTS-V, I'd turbo it, but that's just me.
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Re: CTS-V

Post by crzyone »

They are strong, but any small displacement motor making over double it's original output is bound to have a shorter lifespan. I would not replace my engine with an LS1 even though it would be a pretty neat swap if I could figure out how to keep the AWD.

The LS1 is a dime a dozen engine. Cheap and plentiful. Not many RB26s on car-part.com lol.

As for turbo or supercharger on the V, supercharging is easier, cheaper and would make the right amount of power that I would want. Packaging a turbo or turbos on a V looks like it would be a nightmare, unless it was an STS kit and I'm not interested in those.
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Re: CTS-V

Post by Unsafe At Any Speed »

Haven't really done much with any of my cars lately as I've had a lot of bad shit going on, but it was time for some new front rotors, so I picked these up:
Image

The picture also shows my new front caliper color. :-D
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Re: CTS-V

Post by CincinnatiFiero »

Image
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Re: CTS-V

Post by Unsafe At Any Speed »

Indeed. They're seven pounds lighter EACH! I can feel the difference on turn in even on the street. Tomorrow will be the first true test though. I'm currently in my tent camping out at High Plains Raceway. It's a really good track and should be fun as always. There will be another V out here Sunday as well. His is fairly modded so it should be fun to compare laptimes.
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Re: CTS-V

Post by Unsafe At Any Speed »

New caliper color:
Image
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Re: CTS-V

Post by The Dark Side of Will »

"brake dust" is always the best color for calipers.
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Re: CTS-V

Post by Unsafe At Any Speed »

The Dark Side of Will wrote:"brake dust" is always the best color for calipers.
While some of it is dust, the rest is permanent. It's crazy that they used to be silver. I guess I'm using them right out there on the track. :-D

We had a couple of Vs on track this past weekend and a few more owners as well. I'm just going to quote a post from the cadi forum...
tweeter81 wrote:Unsafe haulin' ass around the track:

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My V on track:

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Me leaving grid:

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Crazy C4 Vette:

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Walkaround of tweeter81's and UnsafeAtAnySpd's Vs:

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Unsafe chasing a C5 Vette:

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Unsafe driving down pit lane (getting ready to lay down some nice lap times):

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Re: CTS-V

Post by Unsafe At Any Speed »

So I remembered I had this thread on here and thought I would post a quick update. Obviously a lot of time has passed since my last post and a lot of mods have gone on. Instead of trying to figure out what mods have gone on since my last post, I'll give a complete mod list that I've been compiling. I think I've remembered everything here, but I may have forgotten a few smaller changes.

Suspension
Coilovers (F/R) LG Motorsports
Swaybars (F/R) Hotchkis
Z06 Endlinks (F) General Motors
Strut Tower Brace (F) BMR
Strut Tower Brace (R)

Lighting
Halo Headlights
HID Lowbeams (6000K/35 watt) DDM Tuning
Highbeams (8000K)
HID Foglights (12000K/55 watt) DDM Tuning
LED Sidemarkers
Silver Front Turn Signals
LED Backup Lights
LED License Plate Bulbs
LED Interior Lights Precision LED

Exterior
Tint (5% all windows)
Clear Fog Lenses
Tinted Side markers

Interior
Brushed Al Radio Knobs/Door Locks
V Logo Floor/Trunk Mats
Brushed Al Pedals SRP
Rear Seat Removal
4-Point Roll Bar (Weld-in) Hanksville Hotrods
Evo Fixed Back Seats (Black) Sparco
Custom Seat Mounts Hanksville Hotrods
Clubman 6-Point Harnesses Schroth

Engine
Mail Order Tune Wait4Me
Dual Catch Can Seiko Michi
Spark Plugs NGK
8 MM Plug Wires MSD Ignition

Intake/Exhuast
Headers Kooks
Cat Delete Pipes Kooks
Electric Cutouts DMH
Catback Corsa

Cooling
Radiator Ron Davis
Power Steering Cooler Fluidyne

Brakes
SS Brake Lines Goodrich?
DTC-60 Pads (F/R) [Track] Hawk
HPS Pads (F/R) [Street] Hawk
2-Piece Rotors (F) UUC

Drivetrain
Short Shifter UUC
Poly Shifter Bushings UUC
Poly Trans/Engine Mount UUC
LS9X Clutch/Flywheel Katech

Electrical
Optima Red Top Battery Optima Batteries

Wheels/Tires
Stock Wheels (18x8.5) [Street] General Motors
TD Wheels (18x9) [Track] Team Dynamics
255/40/18 Ventus Evo Tires (F) [Street] Hankook
285/35/18 Ventus Evo Tires (R) [Street] Hankook

Removed Mods
Heavy's Fire Extinguisher Mount
CG Lock


Here's some pictures of the roll bar/seat install. I just got the car back on Friday with this done.

I have 5% on the side and rear windows. It's hard to see the bars with them up so that sleeper aspect is still intact if I want it to be. Also plan on 50% on the windshield once I get the cracked one I have replaced.

Anyway, some pictures. I suck at taking these kind of pictures, so if anyone wants anything specific, let me know.

These are with all windows up:
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And down:
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Here's an attachment point for the main hoop:
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It's hard to see here, but there are actually three separate attachment points per side in the rear.
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Here's where the hoop supports attach:
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And the strut brace and X bracing (the loose nut pictured has been addressed):
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Windows are open in these pictures. Bracing would probably be visible in direct sunlight:
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Image

The cross point of the X brace is low enough that a side of it is just barely visible in the rear view mirror along with the diagonal bar of the hoop. Which is nice to not have the view obstructed. Checking over my shoulder for blind spots while different now because of the seating position/harnesses, isn't obstructed either by the bars.
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Re: CTS-V

Post by Unsafe At Any Speed »

I also currently have a bunch of parts sitting on my bedroom floor waiting to go on. I'm moving to DC in a couple weeks though, so they will have to wait. That said, I have this stuff still to be installed:
-GForce Engineering 9" IRS rear kit (driveshaft, axles, pumpkin, housing, mounts, etc)
-SKF hubs for all four corners (solid upgrade that a lot of road course Vettes do)
-V2 calipers in yellow (upgrade to 6 piston calipers up front, the same as stock in the rear). This will have 15" front rotors to go with them
-Different, more OEM front turn signal/fog housings

Let me know if anybody wants any more info on anything. I haven't posted much lately but still lurk this forum all the time.
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Re: CTS-V

Post by The Dark Side of Will »

You're getting pretty serious with that monster.

Is there a Ford 8.8 kit? The 9" is very strong, but also inefficient. You'll lose power through it to parasitic loss and need significant diff cooling on track. The inefficiency is why Ford no longer uses it.

I've heard of the SKF hubs over on http://www.corner-carvers.com
I've been thinking about them for upgrades to The Mule.
Do the V's use the same hubs as the Vettes?
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Re: CTS-V

Post by CincinnatiFiero »

V's are 6 lug from the factory.

When you say you're going to corvette bearings, are you going to convert to corvette 5 lug too?
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Re: CTS-V

Post by The Dark Side of Will »

Yes.

However, that will be for scratch-built front and rear suspensions and will use custom 3 piece wheels, too.
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Re: CTS-V

Post by Unsafe At Any Speed »

The Dark Side of Will wrote:You're getting pretty serious with that monster.

Is there a Ford 8.8 kit? The 9" is very strong, but also inefficient. You'll lose power through it to parasitic loss and need significant diff cooling on track. The inefficiency is why Ford no longer uses it.

I've heard of the SKF hubs over on http://www.corner-carvers.com
I've been thinking about them for upgrades to The Mule.
Do the V's use the same hubs as the Vettes?
There is a 8.8 kit now as well, but I initially went with the 9" for the how complete the kit is to include the driveshaft and axles. That said, based on how long it took me to actually get the kit, I probably should've just gone with the 8.8. Now that I have it though, sticking with the 9". Not really neccesarry at my current power levels, but my diff is on it's way out and I needed a new driveshaft anyway. Plus, I do plan on a high hp build in the future. I want to upgrade the trans to a T6060/T56 hybrid as well.

The hubs are very similar to the Vette units with the exception of the 6 bolts as mentioned. That said, you can switch over to Vette hubs but I didn't want to mess with getting new wheels, etc (I have 3 sets of 6 bolt wheels).

These SKF hubs were actually used on the 2006 STS-V and some other upgraded STS model. Expensive, but another area I was due for replacement, so I went with the upgrade.
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Re: CTS-V

Post by Unsafe At Any Speed »

Here's some of the stuff waiting to go on:
Image
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Re: CTS-V

Post by The Dark Side of Will »

I love big piles of parts staged for installation.
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Re: CTS-V

Post by Unsafe At Any Speed »

If I wouldn't've been waiting for that 9" kit for like five months, it would already be on the car. :(

Any suggestions in the DC area for a shop to do the install? It's pretty straight forward with a minor cut and reweld required for the cradle.
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Re: CTS-V

Post by The Dark Side of Will »

I've had a smidge of welding done at Mach V Motorsports.
http://www.machv.com/
They're a Subaru-oriented Subaru/Evo shop. They have a good reputation and their welder/fabricator is supposed to be pretty good also.

I had my car dyno'd at
http://www.mooreautomotive.com/
They're an Evo oriented Subaru/Evo shop. They had some decent rides there when I was there, but I've heard more about their dyno tuning than their fab work.

I just today heard about Sterling Hot Rods from a reliable source (restored a '65 Vette...)
http://sterlinghotrods.com/
They look capable of decent work, but I've never been by there.

Got a pic of what needs to be done? How hard is a complete subframe pull-out vice doing the work in situ?
I can hook you up with a welder who can fix anything but the crack of dawn and a broken heart... but he's in Lynchburg, so there are logistical complication.
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Re: CTS-V

Post by Unsafe At Any Speed »

The Dark Side of Will wrote:I've had a smidge of welding done at Mach V Motorsports.
http://www.machv.com/
They're a Subaru-oriented Subaru/Evo shop. They have a good reputation and their welder/fabricator is supposed to be pretty good also.

I had my car dyno'd at
http://www.mooreautomotive.com/
They're an Evo oriented Subaru/Evo shop. They had some decent rides there when I was there, but I've heard more about their dyno tuning than their fab work.

I just today heard about Sterling Hot Rods from a reliable source (restored a '65 Vette...)
http://sterlinghotrods.com/
They look capable of decent work, but I've never been by there.

Got a pic of what needs to be done? How hard is a complete subframe pull-out vice doing the work in situ?
I can hook you up with a welder who can fix anything but the crack of dawn and a broken heart... but he's in Lynchburg, so there are logistical complication.
I know a little bit about Mach V from when I used to be on the DSM forums all the time.

It actually requires the rear cradle to be dropped from the car. Not that complicated from the looks of it, just a lot of little things to do that I won't have the time or space to do once I move (just going to get an apartment somewhere until I get back from my deployment). Here's a writeup of how to do the job:
http://ls1tech.com/forums/cadillac-cts- ... te-up.html
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Re: CTS-V

Post by The Dark Side of Will »

Unsafe At Any Speed wrote:
The Dark Side of Will wrote:I've had a smidge of welding done at Mach V Motorsports.
http://www.machv.com/
They're a Subaru-oriented Subaru/Evo shop. They have a good reputation and their welder/fabricator is supposed to be pretty good also.

I had my car dyno'd at
http://www.mooreautomotive.com/
They're an Evo oriented Subaru/Evo shop. They had some decent rides there when I was there, but I've heard more about their dyno tuning than their fab work.

I just today heard about Sterling Hot Rods from a reliable source (restored a '65 Vette...)
http://sterlinghotrods.com/
They look capable of decent work, but I've never been by there.

Got a pic of what needs to be done? How hard is a complete subframe pull-out vice doing the work in situ?
I can hook you up with a welder who can fix anything but the crack of dawn and a broken heart... but he's in Lynchburg, so there are logistical complication.
I know a little bit about Mach V from when I used to be on the DSM forums all the time.

It actually requires the rear cradle to be dropped from the car. Not that complicated from the looks of it, just a lot of little things to do that I won't have the time or space to do once I move (just going to get an apartment somewhere until I get back from my deployment). Here's a writeup of how to do the job:
http://ls1tech.com/forums/cadillac-cts- ... te-up.html

The fab portion of that looks pretty cakey. When will you be in town?

Also, that fabbed housing is pretty impressive.
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