Cadillac CTS-V - First Post, CTS-V Ordered Yesterday, I Have Questions.

Well, yesterday was a long, long time coming and I was finally able to put a deposit down on a 2013 CTS-V. A few of the important details are; black raven, ebony interior, composite rims, Recaro seats, sun roof, M6, etc. I was interested in the Black Diamond, but once I saw it, it was too "sparkly" for my taste, just too much flake for me, so I settled on black raven.

Now on to the questions. I will be interested in performing some slight modifications to the car, just the usual stuff though, CAI, cat-back, possibly LT headers, that's about it for performance. I heavily modified my LT1 and I simply don't want to go down that path again.

So, I've read most of the posts on this forum and was curious if there is a consensus on some of the better parts for the above? Also, I've searched for black chrome grills for the CTS-V and haven't found anything to my satisfaction, but have noted several photos on this forum with black grills, can someone point in that vendors direction? I've read about the plasti-dip method and it doesn't interest me much.

TIA!

Frankly, most of us know the first generation CTS-V a lot better than the second generation CTS-V. That's not to say that this forum is worthless, but you're probably better off posting on the 2009+ CTS-V forum on the CadillacForums.com. Link:

http://www.cadillacforums.com/forums/cadillac-cts-v-series-forum-2009/

I love my airaid cai and lots of other v2 owners do as well. You can find them for around 280ish I think. I think mine cost me 284.

I did electric cutouts for the exhaust but if I was going cat-back I'd go with stainless works. They have a very nice full system if you want the headers as well. The stock exhaust flows pretty well as it is and can handle mild mods just fine. You should think about an upper pulley upgrade and tune to go alone with that cai.

BTW, great choice on the black raven m6! with recaros :)

I'm not a fan of the black diamond and if you ever get damage it is near impossible for even a good paint shop to match it back up. You made the right choice.

Another forum that'll turn you into a mod junkie: www.ctsvowners.com

Yo...you ever use your gat yo!?

Did you get the new red brake calipers? Also, when you get it, can you take a picture of the new front rotors? It sounds like they should be two-piece.

Well, yesterday was a long, long time coming and I was finally able to put a deposit down on a 2013 CTS-V. A few of the important details are; black raven, ebony interior, composite rims, Recaro seats, sun roof, M6, etc. I was interested in the Black Diamond, but once I saw it, it was too "sparkly" for my taste, just too much flake for me, so I settled on black raven.

Now on to the questions. I will be interested in performing some slight modifications to the car, just the usual stuff though, CAI, cat-back, possibly LT headers, that's about it for performance. I heavily modified my LT1 and I simply don't want to go down that path again.

So, I've read most of the posts on this forum and was curious if there is a consensus on some of the better parts for the above? Also, I've searched for black chrome grills for the CTS-V and haven't found anything to my satisfaction, but have noted several photos on this forum with black grills, can someone point in that vendors direction? I've read about the plasti-dip method and it doesn't interest me much.

TIA!

First off, congrats on the new V! You are going to be in love for a long time. As far as mods, you seem to be looking for sound more than power. The mods you are looking at will be pricey for the amount of power you get. Personally, I love the stock exhaust. A quiet rumble with some good sound at wide open throttle. I haven't looked in to the black grills, but a lot seem to do it. I would start with http://www.ctsvowners.com and http://www.cadillacforums.com. Both have good info, but I prefer ctsvowners.com since the other site looks like a billboard. :barf:

I love my airaid cai and lots of other v2 owners do as well. You can find them for around 280ish I think. I think mine cost me 284.

I did electric cutouts for the exhaust but if I was going cat-back I'd go with stainless works. They have a very nice full system if you want the headers as well. The stock exhaust flows pretty well as it is and can handle mild mods just fine. You should think about an upper pulley upgrade and tune to go alone with that cai.

BTW, great choice on the black raven m6! with recaros

I'm not a fan of the black diamond and if you ever get damage it is near impossible for even a good paint shop to match it back up. You made the right choice.

Great advice here also.:nod:

Good luck, and if you have any questions, feel free to shoot a pm also.

Ben

Congrats on the new ride. Just don't forget those tech two's the dealers use will now pick up on ecm mods quickly and void your warranty very quickly. I'd drive that thing stock for a while in case there are some gremlins hiding in there.

I love my airaid cai and lots of other v2 owners do as well. You can find them for around 280ish I think. I think mine cost me 284.

I did electric cutouts for the exhaust but if I was going cat-back I'd go with stainless works. They have a very nice full system if you want the headers as well. The stock exhaust flows pretty well as it is and can handle mild mods just fine. You should think about an upper pulley upgrade and tune to go alone with that cai.

I'll definitely give the Air Raid CAI a look, I was also thinking about cutouts, but want to ensure I like the exhaust as is. I only test drove it once, so I'm not sure if I like the OEM exhaust or not.

Did you get the new red brake calipers? Also, when you get it, can you take a picture of the new front rotors? It sounds like they should be two-piece.

I didn't even know you could get them in red, when I was ordering it I even stated, "these should come in red too." I've contacted the dealer and inquired if I can change my order from yellow to red. So, thanks for the heads up. You're correct the front rotors should be two-piece, but I'll photo them so you can confirm for yourself.

Personally, I love the stock exhaust. A quiet rumble with some good sound at wide open throttle. I haven't looked in to the black grills, but a lot seem to do it. I would start with http://www.ctsvowners.com and http://www.cadillacforums.com. Both have good info, but I prefer ctsvowners.com since the other site looks like a billboard. :barf:


Thanks! I've found a few of the mentioned forums already, but it's always good to hear of well respected forums. I chose LS1Tech because it was known to me from when I was into racing/modding my LT1.

Congrats on the new ride. Just don't forget those tech two's the dealers use will now pick up on ecm mods quickly and void your warranty very quickly. I'd drive that thing stock for a while in case there are some gremlins hiding in there.

Sage advice, I don't intend on modding it quickly, I just wanted to start doing the due diligence so I make informed purchases :)

All others, thank you for the kind words, replies, and links. They are all very much appreciated!:thumb:

Enjoy your new ride. Basic mods for a Gen 2 V are usually a smaller upper pulley, a CAI, a 160 thermostat, and a tune. Picked up almost 100 rwhp for me over stock. There are pulleys that look just like stock, you can do an airbox mod to move more air and still look stock, and some tuners can make your tune come up with a stock check sum. I'm not saying you should try and fool the dealer, just sayin.:D

I can't wait to see pics.

...and some tuners can make your tune come up with a stock check sum.

This is news to me. I didn't know you could revert back to the stock check sum.

Enjoy your new ride. Basic mods for a Gen 2 V are usually a smaller upper pulley, a CAI, a 160 thermostat, and a tune. Picked up almost 100 rwhp for me over stock. There are pulleys that look just like stock, you can do an airbox mod to move more air and still look stock, and some tuners can make your tune come up with a stock check sum. I'm not saying you should try and fool the dealer, just sayin.:D

Question. I know forced air induction motors are sensitive to changes in A:F, will the MAF be able to keep up with the changes of a new CAI and are the fuel tables able to compensate? I've been reading that some CAI units are causing misfires/lean conditions (mostly the D3 model) without some type of programming, is this accurate?

Also if you could provide vendors/links for those able to mail a tune with an OEM check sum, I'd be very appreciative. Which pulley are most of you going with, whats the installation difficulty, is a pulley puller necessary? I've only used NO2 as a power adder, so I'm a bit out of my depth with a S/C.

I can't wait to see pics.

I take delivery in 6-8 weeks. :)

Question. I know forced air induction motors are sensitive to changes in A:F, will the MAF be able to keep up with the changes of a new CAI and are the fuel tables able to compensate? I've been reading that some CAI units are causing misfires/lean conditions (mostly the D3 model) without some type of programming, is this accurate?

Also if you could provide vendors/links for those able to mail a tune with an OEM check sum, I'd be very appreciative. Which pulley are most of you going with, whats the installation difficulty? I've only used NO2 as a power adder, so I'm a bit out of my depth with a S/C.

I take delivery in 6-8 weeks. :)

I've had my Airaid on the car for about 2 months now. There is a noticeable throttle response with the CAI on. And you don't need a tune. Since I didn't want to tackle the tune on this car(I little more difficult than your average LS vehicle), I decided that I would bring it in for a dyno tune. I'll be dropping mine off tomorrow, so I should have numbers on Tuesday. Mine will be tuned with the following mods:Airaid CAI, Moroso Air/oil can, Metco 2.50 upper pulley, Metco 100mm upper idler, Lingenfelter solid isolator and porting the blower snout. I'm having the shop put the the pulley on since you need a press to install it and I don't have one.

The mod difficulty on the car is really not hard. I think the hardest one is the upper pulley because of the press needed. You can do a lower crank pulley a lot easier, but they are about 7 times the price of an upper pulley. Also, anything more than a about 13-14 psi and you'll be looking at bigger injectors and a HX. I plan on looking at the addition of a 9.1 crank pulley, HX, ported blower, ID 850 injectors, exhaust and then headers for a stage two build. I think I'll be happy with that for a while.:D

I have a CTS-V pulley combo .pdf that I can send you if you would like, just shoot me a pm with you email.

Ben

Enjoy your new ride. Basic mods for a Gen 2 V are usually a smaller upper pulley, a CAI, a 160 thermostat, and a tune. Picked up almost 100 rwhp for me over stock. There are pulleys that look just like stock, you can do an airbox mod to move more air and still look stock, and some tuners can make your tune come up with a stock check sum. I'm not saying you should try and fool the dealer, just sayin.:D

Just curious what software would be used to bring up an oe checksum? Us diesel nuts would pay an arm and a leg for this when making small mods such as egr blocks etc.

Congrats on the V2 purchase!!

I give you 1 month and then the mods bug will bite! Congrats in the new v!

Question. I know forced air induction motors are sensitive to changes in A:F, will the MAF be able to keep up with the changes of a new CAI and are the fuel tables able to compensate? I've been reading that some CAI units are causing misfires/lean conditions (mostly the D3 model) without some type of programming, is this accurate?

Also if you could provide vendors/links for those able to mail a tune with an OEM check sum, I'd be very appreciative. Which pulley are most of you going with, whats the installation difficulty, is a pulley puller necessary? I've only used NO2 as a power adder, so I'm a bit out of my depth with a S/C.



I take delivery in 6-8 weeks. :)

Jesse at wait4me performance (574-267-3630 keep trying, he's sometimes hard to catch) can provide you with a tune like that. Also the pulley that looks stock. With just those two parts my auto sedan went from 445/446 sae rw to 533/557 sae. Yes, some CAI's require tuning or they will throw codes. I did the airbox mod (look at the lingenfelter site for instructions) Gives you all the cold air you'll need for these minor mods, and looks box stock, and my LTFT's are in the -5 to +5 all the time. It's probably 50/50 on upper or lower. If you are wanting to be able to swap pulley sizes you will want the lower. But it doesn't look stock and costs more. If you do the upper you need to pull the snout and use a press to remove/install the pulley.

Would someone please order the same V2 without a sunroof and then keep the miles down? ...for my next used car purchase. Thxbye.

Well, yesterday was a long, long time coming and I was finally able to put a deposit down on a 2013 CTS-V. A few of the important details are; black raven, ebony interior, composite rims, Recaro seats, sun roof, M6, etc. I was interested in the Black Diamond, but once I saw it, it was too "sparkly" for my taste, just too much flake for me, so I settled on black raven.

Now on to the questions. I will be interested in performing some slight modifications to the car, just the usual stuff though, CAI, cat-back, possibly LT headers, that's about it for performance. I heavily modified my LT1 and I simply don't want to go down that path again.

So, I've read most of the posts on this forum and was curious if there is a consensus on some of the better parts for the above? Also, I've searched for black chrome grills for the CTS-V and haven't found anything to my satisfaction, but have noted several photos on this forum with black grills, can someone point in that vendors direction? I've read about the plasti-dip method and it doesn't interest me much.

TIA!



If I were you... CAI, Pulley, Tune, Headers and cutouts. That would be it.

Would someone please order the same V2 without a sunroof and then keep the miles down? ...for my next used car purchase. Thxbye.

Mines got no sunroof... but it's silver lol and wont be for sale anytime soon either. Sorry haha

Congrats on the V2. I'm in the same boat as you. I had a 408 in a 2000 SS and many more mods. I miss the raw power, but after the engine went down with too few miles I don't want to go that route anymore.

I'm running a New Era CAI, and thats the only performance mod. I like it, but the filter sets low so I worry about high water. I haven't seen any decent black grill options, so I painted mine. It didn't last long until it started chipping though.

Congrats on the V2. I'm in the same boat as you. I had a 408 in a 2000 SS and many more mods. I miss the raw power, but after the engine went down with too few miles I don't want to go that route anymore.

I'm running a New Era CAI, and thats the only performance mod. I like it, but the filter sets low so I worry about high water. I haven't seen any decent black grill options, so I painted mine. It didn't last long until it started chipping though.

Might want to consider a catch-can setup on there too. Those things suck a good bit of oil.

http://www.ctsvowners.com/forum/showthread.php/2792-Dual-catch-can-thread-as-promised-install-and-very-interesting-finds?highlight=catch

Mines got no sunroof... but it's silver lol and wont be for sale anytime soon either. Sorry haha

I have a no sunroof, M6 wagon here, and it will not be for sale for a long time! Try finding a M6 no sunroof sedan, let alone the same in a wagon.:eek2:

Might want to consider a catch-can setup on there too. Those things suck a good bit of oil.

Good info! I forgot about that. I have a Moroso Catch Can, and it does catch a decent amount of oil, that would otherwise be going into the blower.

Where did you find the option for composite wheels?

Might want to consider a catch-can setup on there too. Those things suck a good bit of oil.

http://www.ctsvowners.com/forum/showthread.php/2792-Dual-catch-can-thread-as-promised-install-and-very-interesting-finds?highlight=catch

Haven't noticed any oil usage to date, but I'm also used to the LS1 EGR that dropped a quart every 2.5k miles or so.

Give us a call!

We built the fastest CTS-V In the world!

Well, tomorrow at 1000 I pick her up. I feel like a kid on Christmas Eve. So far, all I've decided on for mods are DHS low profile e-cutouts, still looking for a CAI I can find a consensus on. Pictures to come...

Where did you find the option for composite wheels?

I found it on Caddy's "build it" site, it's one of three wheel options you can choose. :)

https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/554838_516016785091957_1719110842_n.jpg

Just a real quick cell phone shot...more to come later.

Sunroof just adds weight......no thanks.

Congrats on the V2!

Sunroof just adds weight......no thanks.

Congrats on the V2!

LOL, if I was concerned about weight, I'd have bought the two door model :)

...and thanks!!!

Stunning! I wish I could afford one of these. Going to play the lottery.

Well, yesterday was a long, long time coming and I was finally able to put a deposit down on a 2013 CTS-V. A few of the important details are; black raven, ebony interior, composite rims, Recaro seats, sun roof, M6, etc.

Where did you find the option for composite wheels?

I found it on Caddy's "build it" site, it's one of three wheel options you can choose.

I see the aluminum wheels finished in 'Black Satin', but no composite rims.

LOL, if I was concerned about weight, I'd have bought the two door model

Actually, the sedan is only 22 lbs heavier than the coupe!

Anyway.... enjoy your new ride. Looks really sharp :thumb:

Beautiful!! So many happy miles ahead.:burn:

And with a few simple mods, the LSA can make any weight disadvantage disappear.:nod:

Congrats! Let the modding begin! :drive:

Mean Dean with the V. Congrats.

They are pretty easy to get into the 10's. You will loved it.

I see the aluminum wheels finished in 'Black Satin', but no composite rims.



Actually, the sedan is only 22 lbs heavier than the coupe!

Anyway.... enjoy your new ride. Looks really sharp :thumb:

Ah, I see your point now, the dealer kept calling them composite and there was even a box titled "Composite Wheel Package" when I filled out the paper work, perhaps the dealer created that paper work too, at any rate, they're black and awesome and that's all I wanted, lol :cool:

Mean Dean with the V. Congrats.

They are pretty easy to get into the 10's. You will loved it.

Well, well, holy crap man. It's been a long time! Thank you for the congrats, I've been wanting this car (or something like it) for quite a few years now. After driving her about a bit, all I can say is that she is both a sledge hammer and scalpel...and I have a ridiculous perma-grin stuck on my face.:rock:

Sunroof just adds weight......no thanks.

Congrats on the V2!

This would matter more if we were on the c6 z06 section, at 4300lbs or so i think you can get away with the sunroof.

Well, well, holy crap man. It's been a long time! Thank you for the congrats, I've been wanting this car (or something like it) for quite a few years now. After driving her about a bit, all I can say is that she is both a sledge hammer and scalpel...and I have a ridiculous perma-grin stuck on my face.:rock:

Just ad 200 more hp and tell me how it feels. Lol

:nod:

Is it too late the change the delivery location to my home address???

Jk bud! Congrats on the purchase! Sounds like the perfect pick to me! My buddy is running the D2 or D3 intake on his I believe. Can't remember which of the two it is since I'm not in a fancy V2 yet. Lol for exhaust he's running kooks long tubes, no cats and magnaflow catback. Looks nice and sounds nice and the price is right.

Congrats on the V2... very nice

This would matter more if we were on the c6 z06 section, at 4300lbs or so i think you can get away with the sunroof.

The double-panel sunroofs on the Cad CTS-V2 from '09 & up has it's own closet gremlins & demons to play with.
Mine is a solid roof also, and I don't regret it 1 bit. In 5 turbo Buicks all have been solid roofs too.