sixspeed-z

I was gettin pretty surious about finding a 04-05 V since i sold my 4th gen convertible camaro a couple months back. The biggest problem is there are not many, or any V's around South Dakota. I drove 4 hours and test drove an 05 but it wasn't in the best of shape for the money they wanted. I like the V's better but don't want to be worried about the rear end whenever I drive it. The other option was to get a GTO which are a little easier to find around here. I don't have the ability to go and test drive both to compare at the same time. I drove a GTO a couple months back and liked it a lot, but the outside of the GTO doesn't appeal to me much. The V looks better on the outside and has some extra goodies that i like. I do like the fact that the GTO rear seems to hold up better. Either car I will have to drive at least 4-5 hours to find a decently priced one, and I want to know for sure that that is the car I want. The main question is how serious the rear end problem is in the V? If I have to start saving for a new rear right after I buy the car I'm not sure i want it then. Any advice would help a lot, very confused. Also if anyone can think of any others cars with a M6 that are similar to a V, meaning fast and nice inside for under $18000?
sorry for the long read.

demang

iTrader: (3)

dont drag race the car and the rear on any year should be fine.

EdmundGTP

OR just make sure the V that you DO buy has an upgraded/replaced diff with the latest version. And if it doesn't have one, just budget an extra $1400-1600 to buy a replacement for if and when it goes. When I was originally looking to buy a V, I had also planned on buying a spare Gen3 differential immediately afterward just to have one on hand in case of failure. But as it turns out, I bought an 07 and didn't need to.

sixspeed-z

For a while that I have been on here I have been gettin the drift that many V's already have upgraded rear and that if driven decent should not give any problems. The last couple threads about the rear I have seen have had some saying that they can go out just driving along. I just want to not have to worry that a little spirtited daily driving and taking off quick is gonna lead to the car sitting there while i save money for a diff.

GhettoTy

iTrader: (2)

Quite a few of them already have the newer diff's since that was GM's solution with the warranty. I'd just save up the 550 for the gforce axles and it should be fine.

TriGuy

iTrader: (1)

Mine is an 05 but had the diff replaced in '07 according to the GM records. I still in the process of saving money for the gforce axles just as a little added comfort.

sixspeed-z

Pretty much if i am smart about driving it I should be ok if its a newer diff. Do you think taking it to an unprepped track about 4 nights during the summer would be too hard on it. I took my camaro last year and it was impossible to hook so i had to play with the clutch a lot to launch. I just want to make sure i get something i can have fun with, but not expect something to break, would rather have it be more unexpected. If that makes any sense.

tweeter81

You will be just asking for trouble going to the drag strip multiple times. The GForce axles will help eliminate the wheelhop from the point that you install them, forward, but will not take away any of the other abuse the diff saw prior to their install.

My advice would be to get the car (they are very fun and cool cars) but learn to drive around the one big deficiency. I take my car to the road course, which is 100x more fun than the drag strip anyway. This doesn't mean you can't have fun with the car though. Just a few weeks ago, I layed down a nice 85' burnout in Spearfish, SD (absolutely no wheelhop). If you learn to shift smoothly (rev-matched downshifts when needed, coasting to stop lights, etc.) most of the time during normal driving, you can be hard on the car once in awhile and not have to worry about the diff breaking.

I have lived in SD with my car for awhile (I'm from the Black Hills area) and now I live in Wyoming, but you really don't want to have to deal with the GM dealer service departments around the area if you do break something. Most of them have never seen a CTS-V and don't have a clue as to what they are about. So, it would be good to avoid doing things with the car that very well could land it in the service department. I have a buddy that has a GTO and him and I are pretty much neck and neck when we roll race (so his car is fast), but I hate the way those goats look, they are hideous. Go with the classier, much more limited-production V and be prepared for all the attention and looks you are going to get driving one in SD.

sixspeed-z

I liked taking turns more than just goin strait but there just aren't a lot of options in SE SD for road course action that I know of anyway. I don't know how much I would trust the dealerships around here with any car, let alone a rare one.

bamacaddy

iTrader: (1)

I have an 04 with the 2nd gen diff that was warranty replaced long before I got the car. I've put 25k or so on the car since having it and have made about 4 trips to the track.... I'm just really careful to get off of it when it wheels hops....hardly ever launch over 2,500 but I will double clutch in 1st or 2nd and have done ohhh i don't know probably 50 dougnuts or so on the last tire day and haven't had a problem yet......I know it may blow tomorrow morning because I've heard they're a ticking time bomb.....For now I beat on it pretty hard and am glad I chose the V over the GTO and the G8 I was considering.

tweeter81

Not sure what part of SD you are from (edit: oops, I saw SE, so that must be Sioux Falls or thereabouts), but I go to Colorado to do my track days. Pueblo, CO has PMP; Byers, CO has HPR, and Castlerock, CO has PIR. All fun and all worth it (I haven't lapped at PIR, just heard about it, but I have experienced the other two and had a blast).

If you live eastriver, you could hit up Road American in Minnesota (don't know the exact City offhand), or Hastings Motorsports Park in Hastings, Nebraska. I know it sounds crazy driving a long ways to get in some track time, but once you do it, you will be hooked.

You could try to the dragstrip too, I'm not saying that it will immediately cause a catastrophic diff failure, but the diff problems are cumulative. So if you learn to drive the car correctly and drive around the wheelhop 95% of the time, you can beat on the car on occasion and probably not have anything to worry about.

Good luck on the purchase! I've had my V since March of 2005 (right before I graduated from college) and have loved the car ever since. I haven't had any big unresolved problems, never been left on the side of the road, and had some of the best times of my life driving the big Hotrod Caddy on the track. These cars are special, and they will be a true collector's item in the future, as they are only getting rarer and more in demand.

07CTS-V

iTrader: (6)

The first two gens of differentials will be fine if you don't launch with car with wheel hop too often and don't bang 2nd gear. The car is faster if you shift into 2nd gear smoothly anyhow. I wouldn't let the talk on the forums about exploding diffs deter me from buying an older V. I would definitely get the GForce1320 axles tho. Probably the best $550 I ever spent. I only have wheelhop over 5000 rpms after installing them.

sixspeed-z

Thanks for the replies. I feel better about moving on with the search. Now I just have to find some within a couple hundred miles.

4doorvetteLV

iTrader: (1)

Not sure if they make a G8 GT with an M6, but a G8 GXP is also an option for a few more bucks (or maybe they've come down to 18k-ish too!).

sixspeed-z

The GXP's that I have seen on Autotrader where still at around 30K

ColeGraham

iTrader: (8)

one thing that will help with the rear is try and leave traction control off.

RedHotG8

iTrader: (1)

I think you mean leave the traction control on. If he turns it off the rear end will receive max power delivery. The G8 GT doesn't come with a manual, only the GXP does and they are way out of your price range. An 05-06 GTO has the LS2 and is available with a 6-speed manual. I feel that's a better drivetrain than the one in the 04-05 CTS-V.

Fuzzy_Wuzzy

iTrader: (8)

One thing that rules the GTO out to me was the lack of side airbags. Most any side crash test shows serious injury without them, and a good chance of walking away with them. (i figure those are the airbags taht protect most against other bad drivers)

As far as traction control, leaving it off will allow the wheels to spin, instead of start to spin, then harshly cutting the power off.

http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/...son/index.html

motor trend compared the CTS-V, GTO, and 300 SRT-8, might help in your choice.

RedHotG8

iTrader: (1)

When the traction control engages it doesn't harshly shut it off, and I don't know about on the CTS-V but on my G8 the wheels flat out don't spin at all.

Fuzzy_Wuzzy

iTrader: (8)

OK, maybe not harshly, but i can get a little spin/slip out of it before it engages.