I'm pretty close to deciding to get a CTS-V. I've done
my negotiations with the local dealer and I have a decent
(I think) price.

This weekend I was doing a lot of research on the V and
over on http://www.cadillacforums.com/forums...splay.php?f=98

and I found a bunch of threads on the dreaded wheel hop.
In addition, it seems like many owners are having their
rear ends break, probably in part due to wheel hop but who
knows for sure. There was enough emotion on that forum
that they are starting a letter writing campaign to Cadillac.

So my question is how big a deal you guys think this is?

I was almost ready to pull the trigger on the car but this
is making me think I ought to stop. I mean I can handle
a little wheel hop when launching the car but over there
they are talking about wheel hop on wet roads, when
shifting from 1 to 2, etc. If it is that bad, doesn't that make
the car a pain to drive at times? And doesn't that imply
the rear ends are going to let go pretty regularly? Some of
those guys are on their third differential!

Information appreciated.

Pat

 

Well, I was aware of the "hop" before I bought, but I went ahead.

I think this issue will soon be solved.

But I, with some practice have been able to mostly avoid the "hop" but if you do break the tires loose expect to see it.

Now this is a BIASED opinion, but all the other attributes this car possesses, will overshadow the "hop".

 

Everyone complains about the hop, but I imagine only 20% see it on a daily basis. I have felt it a few times when I first got the car, then learned to control it. There will be a fix (better than BMRs AWHK, traction bars, etc) eventually. This car is not just a straight line car, but is really fun in the twisties (just to stop the spam responses now, I know people are experienceing wheel hop in turns, but I never have. the above was a GENERAL statement).

I say, pull the trigger. It will be the best decision that you have made and you will be happy.

Reed
http://www.cadillacfaq.com

 

but in reality, it's not htat big of a deal. I've only experienced it a few times, but then again I don't use my car as a dragster (most of the time ).

Most of the time that I need the car's power, is in a 30-60 kind of range (like getting around the slow guy in front of you in the left lane on the morning commute). I haven't experienced hop then. It's nice to have the machine to do that in.

 

I have experenced wheel hop only once and I was on it really hard (1-2 shift).
It is my daily driver that doesn't get used daily (I am retired).

There is a fix for the wheel hop if you drive the car really hard.

I hope this helps.

 

If you drive the car in a "normal", spirited fashion, you won't have any trouble. If you drop the clutch, with your right foot to the floor, you may have a problem. Some people can ruin anything made by man.

 

Pull the trigger already......

I have the same wheel hop problem in my Z06 and that did not stop me buying it....I did put drag radials on the rears, and that helped take away 75% of it...

You can control it with the clutch, but that more of experience and experimenting...

The only time it’s a pain for me is on dead stop acceleration and hard accelerations 10-50 mph.....

Pull the trigger already......

 

YAH DAT! I love my V.

 

I was part of that thread on the Cadillac forum you mentioned. While I'm frustrated Cadillac is not actively pursuing resolution, I'm confident one will be found. I was aware of the wheel hop when I purchased my V and would buy it again. I experience wheel hop when shifting between 1st and 2nd under hard acceleration. The few times I've redlined coming out of first I experienced severe wheel hop. Therefore, I now choose to keep RPM's lower when coming out of first into second. While I'm unable to achieve the published 0-60 in 4.6 seconds, I'm still a very fast four door sedan that can out-run most sports cars.

While I'm frustrated at Cadillac for not resolving the problem I would never recommend not buying the car. I can't wait to drive my V every day. This car has spectacular power mixed with tremendous handleing even if it does hop on occasion. If you are looking for a four door sedan with vette like power and handling the CTS-V is your only option.

Good luck!

 

Well, I was able to induce hop by simply flooring it in a nifty sweeper - or even when backing up in the snow (urggghhhh!) - UNTIL - I added FG2, GSD3 tires, and BMR AWH kit. I have eliminated 99% of the hop now - just have to watch those cradle bolts - 180 ft lbs front and 140 ft lbs rear - got it?

 

For the record, I decided against a CTS-V purely due to the rear-end problems. There are a huge number of people showing up with the problem, and quite a lot of people on their second or even third rear-end. When I read for the third time about someone actually splitting the casing in two pieces, that was the final straw for me. There is simply no way to excuse a car in stock form being able to split the differential housing into two pieces.

Certainly many of these are people "beating on" the rear-ends, but honestly, how often have you heard of high-factory-HP cars with that type of fatal flaw in the drivetrain? It's rare, and I believe there is no excuse for it. (The Vette may exhibit wheel hop, but they have a completely different rear-end design. I can hop the rear of my Viper if I really want to, but I am utterly confident it won't split in two, and they're off-the-shelf Dana 44 diffs, and they reguarly put up with 1000+ HP applications). Plenty of other examples of the right way to do this are out there. I believe GM simply made an engineering error, and is choosing to ignore it.

There was a post recently on cadillacforums claiming that somebody from GM said the entire platform will be revised in 2006, and that's when the problem will be fixed. I'll be watching closely, as I'm otherwise very impressed with the car.

 

corvettes don't have wheel hop. I've had a Z06 and a normal 6 speed c-5, niether car ever had wheel hop. Even with a set of drag radials and 487 hp to the rear wheels the Z06 never had wheel hop. Corvettes will hook up or spin that's all there is to it. you must be confusing your v-6 sonoma for a corvette.

 

I know of no one on their 3rd rear diff' due to wheel hop but it could happen. The 2006 CTS-V will be unchanged however the 2007 will be a significant improvement. The Corvette to CTS-V comparison is not valid. The rear set ups are completely different. The issue is with the geometry of the rear set up on the V. It's not an IRS or horsepower issue. BMR's kit helps, losing the runflats helps but nothing completely eliminates the problem.

 

The "third diff" thing comes from posts at cadillacforums.com. There are several threads -- it isn't hard to find.

I only mentioned the Vette thing because earlier in this thread somebody referred to wheel hop in their own Vette. The point of the comparison was to highlight the fact that if any such wheel hop exists, it certainly is not shattering rear ends.

I'm not trying to demonize the CTS-V -- as I stated, I actually like it a lot, and was ready to drop $50K last month until I started reading about how many failures occur. The guy who started the thread asked, and not surprisingly, he got a bunch of positive responses from current owners (and probably a few wannabes). I just thought I'd throw a dissenting opinion into the mix.

If the rear-end troubles don't bother you, you either haven't read enough, or you're simply not being realistic. That's just my opinion.

Believe me, I really hope they fix it whenever they revamp the platform -- I want one.

 

Pat,

I just picked up my 05 CTS-V recently and I havent had any issues with wheel hop yet. However, I have not tried launching exceptionately hard yet... so, we'll see.

How much have you and your dealer negotiated too? I got mine down to $47,600 after the GM Loyalty discount, so figure another $1500 if you dont qualify for that.

 

For a CTS-V w/ red line paint and the sunroof, we agreed
on $49,000. I don't qualify for the $1500 loyalty rebate.

Unfortunately, I have decided to hold off for a little while
to see how the whole wheel hop/differential thing develops
with Cadillac.

I am just finishing 3.5 years with an M3 and in that time
I've had the car recalled twice for engine rebuilds. It seems
the 3.2 liter, 6 cylinder engine which redlines at 8000 rpm
has some basic survivability issues as connecting rod
bearings are letting go. As a result, I am particularly
shy about getting into another situation wherein a major part of the driveline is questionable, especially if I have
warning up front.

I am not happy about this decision because I really like
the V but my M3 has been a giant hassle due to the
engine issues and I don't want to start that all over again
on my next car.

Pat

 

Hey Pat, you sound a lot like me. Before the V, I was strongly interested in an M3. (We're basically looking for a 4-seater with some power -- everything else we own is a truck or a 2-seater.) However, I had fears about the long-term reliability of such a highly-strung I6, and in the end the CTS-V was more fun to drive anyway. Not by a lot, though, I'll grant you.

Presently it looks like I'll end up with a Magnum SRT-8 (swinging towards the practicality end of the spectrum) until we see what Caddy does with the next rev of the CTS-V.

The funny part is, I *hated* the "new look" of GM -- including the CTS-V -- until a friend of mine talked me into test-driving one. The dealership had an old one they let people romp on pretty hard, and there was a nice long twisty office park roadway nearby which is deserted on weekends, so after a quick recon lap, I got to put some real road-course-style driving into it and was suitably impressed. And lo and behold, when I exited the driver's seat I suddenly liked it's looks quite a lot.

The other options for us were an Audi S4 (fun, but low on power and awful interior), a C55 AMG (pricey and automatic), or the M3. Nothing else really interested us like the CTS-V though. The only reason I ended up considering the Magnum we'll probably end up with, was that I got one as a rental car for a few days and was surprised to find that I liked it.

 

The SRT-8 version of the 300C would be nice as well, I wouldnt mind having one of those and still may one day:

http://www.300cforums.com/

There is a special section at 300Cforums dedicated to the SRT-8 version.

 

This is exactly like me. I'm looking for great power to weight
in a comfortable 4 seater. I also need a manual. I wasn't
impressed the V's looks either -- until I drove one. Funny how
that works.

The M3 is a great car to drive but, even ignoring the engine
issues, the thing has had terrible reliability and I feel I need to
get rid of it before the warranty expires.

Pat

 

Where can I get info on the 2007 V???