Author Topic: Cadillac CTS-V Coupe  (Read 5171 times)

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Offline Jay Lane

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Cadillac CTS-V Coupe
« on: September 23, 2014, 09:35:58 PM »
Hey all,

I've got a 2012 Cadillac CTS-V Coupe that I've raced at the Texas Mile in March '13, October '13, March '14 and soon again this October.  The car is a 6-spd manual (t-6060) and currently puts down 600whp.  The mods are 2.4 upper pulley, ported supercharger snout, lid spacer, CAI, long tube headers, cat-less X-pipe and ID850 injectors.

Thus far, my fastest speed has been 169mph (March '13) but that was with a healthy tailwind.  That speed was achieved when the car was 100% showroom stock.  Last March, 600whp, it ran 168.6 into a 15mph headwind so I'm expecting an improvement assuming more ideal conditions.

One issue that I ran into back in March was that my IAT2s were getting high enough at the 3/4 mile mark that the engine started to pull timing.  This is normal for an LSA and occurs when IAT2s reach 140*.  To address that, I will be upgrading the factory h/x and installing an ice box which should allow me to complete the full distance under full power due to keeping my IAT2s in check.

The only other mods I have planned for the event next month are taller rear tires, 315/40/19 Hoosier R6 and a ported LS7 throttle body.  The tires should keep me from having to continue to shift into 6th gear (around 3/4 mile) as soon and the throttle body is larger than the factory one. Hopefully the larger tb will help with airflow and thus create more power.

The car seems to have two large issues which are weight, (+4300lbs) and an unfavorable drag coefficient of .036.  That being said, it's my current weapon of choice and I love the car.  So, I'll be making due with what I've got even though there may be better choices out there.  That said, if anyone has any tips or advice for a newbie, feel free to share.  I'm open to ideas and I'm looking for advice on how to maximize what I've got before I throw more money and hp at he car.

Thanks,
Jay


Offline doug

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Re: Cadillac CTS-V Coupe
« Reply #1 on: September 23, 2014, 10:22:24 PM »
Hey all,

I've got a 2012 Cadillac CTS-V Coupe that I've raced at the Texas Mile in March '13, October '13, March '14 and soon again this October.  The car is a 6-spd manual (t-6060) and currently puts down 600whp.  The mods are 2.4 upper pulley, ported supercharger snout, lid spacer, CAI, long tube headers, cat-less X-pipe and ID850 injectors.

Thus far, my fastest speed has been 169mph (March '13) but that was with a healthy tailwind.  That speed was achieved when the car was 100% showroom stock.  Last March, 600whp, it ran 168.6 into a 15mph headwind so I'm expecting an improvement assuming more ideal conditions.

One issue that I ran into back in March was that my IAT2s were getting high enough at the 3/4 mile mark that the engine started to pull timing.  This is normal for an LSA and occurs when IAT2s reach 140*.  To address that, I will be upgrading the factory h/x and installing an ice box which should allow me to complete the full distance under full power due to keeping my IAT2s in check.

The only other mods I have planned for the event next month are taller rear tires, 315/40/19 Hoosier R6 and a ported LS7 throttle body.  The tires should keep me from having to continue to shift into 6th gear (around 3/4 mile) as soon and the throttle body is larger than the factory one. Hopefully the larger tb will help with airflow and thus create more power.

The car seems to have two large issues which are weight, (+4300lbs) and an unfavorable drag coefficient of .036.  That being said, it's my current weapon of choice and I love the car.  So, I'll be making due with what I've got even though there may be better choices out there.  That said, if anyone has any tips or advice for a newbie, feel free to share.  I'm open to ideas and I'm looking for advice on how to maximize what I've got before I throw more money and hp at he car.

Thanks,
Jay


There was a black 4 dr CTS that raced on the salt on 05 or 06. Went 220ish (iirc) with 1100 hp. Don't know if they had it sorted out or not. I think it was Lund out of Arizona.

Offline Jay Lane

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Re: Cadillac CTS-V Coupe
« Reply #2 on: September 24, 2014, 08:43:34 AM »
I'd love to try Bonneville or El Mirage at some point.  Since this car is still a daily driver, it may be a while before I tear into the interior enough for it to pass tech inspection at one of those events.  For better or worse, the Texas Mile does not require the same safety items.

If anyone has any ideas of how I can reduce the cd, or any other items I should address, please feel free to reply.  Not sure how much taping off gaps matters, but I have at least been doing that. All additional info is welcome and I forgot to mention that I'm shooting for 175-180mph.

Offline scrapiron aka Park Olson

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Re: Cadillac CTS-V Coupe
« Reply #3 on: September 24, 2014, 09:25:21 AM »
 Outside mirror's on or off ?

Offline Crackerman

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Re: Cadillac CTS-V Coupe
« Reply #4 on: September 24, 2014, 09:29:44 AM »
Closing up any grill spaces will help direct air around the car and not through the parachute of an engine bay. Also, any pressure inside engine bay creates lift(and drag) the surface area of a hood is large, even a few psi over that large of an area will have detrimental effects.
Essentially, tape up just enough to keep water from boiling

Offline redhotracing

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Re: Cadillac CTS-V Coupe
« Reply #5 on: September 24, 2014, 02:06:37 PM »
Lower the car as much as possible. Mirrors just depend on the make/model of the car; I've heard of
some cars actually adding Cd with the removal of mirrors. Easy enough to make a blank off plate out
of sheet metal. As mentioned above, blocking/taping off the grill helps.

Do you NEED to shift into 6th? Not sure on the final drive ratio of your V, just remember that with our
Z-28 (360rwhp at the time) we were able to run 160-ish in 5th (Maxton)... 600rwhp is a lot of power
for 169, wondering how much speed you're losing due to shifting. I'm sure that with idle winds, you'll
be in the mid to high 170's.

Here's a link to estimate your speed: http://www.apexgarage.com/tech/gear_ratios.shtml

I believe 5th gear is .80 on your V, not sure on the final drive ratio.






Luke- Winston Salem, NC
Loring 2 Club- 201.252 (2010)
Ohio 2 Club- 203.712 (2013)

Offline Jay Lane

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Re: Cadillac CTS-V Coupe
« Reply #6 on: September 24, 2014, 09:09:27 PM »
Lower the car as much as possible. Mirrors just depend on the make/model of the car; I've heard of
some cars actually adding Cd with the removal of mirrors. Easy enough to make a blank off plate out
of sheet metal. As mentioned above, blocking/taping off the grill helps.

Do you NEED to shift into 6th? Not sure on the final drive ratio of your V, just remember that with our
Z-28 (360rwhp at the time) we were able to run 160-ish in 5th (Maxton)... 600rwhp is a lot of power
for 169, wondering how much speed you're losing due to shifting. I'm sure that with idle winds, you'll
be in the mid to high 170's.

Here's a link to estimate your speed: http://www.apexgarage.com/tech/gear_ratios.shtml

I believe 5th gear is .80 on your V, not sure on the final drive ratio.








Thank you all for the tips and please keep them coming.  Unfortunately, with a 3.73 rear end, I do have to shift into 6th gear and it's usually around the 3/4 mile mark.  Not ideal for the mile race, but pretty handy for 1/2 mile events where I've seen 150mph in calm weather.  Cadillac went with this final drive ratio to help get the 4300lb behemoth off the line.

The manual trans CTS-Vs top out in 6th whereas Corvettes and many other cars top out in 5th. Many other cars have a 6th as a highway cruiser.  At 70mph, I'm turning slightly over 2k rpms in 6th gear.  That being said, 6th gear 70mph RPM is with the factory size tire which is a 285/35/19. My hope is that the 315/40/19 will help reduce the final drive enough to finish the mile in 5th gear. 

At the March event, I had not upgraded the heat exchanger and the motor was pulling timing (due to high IAT2s) from roughly the 3/4 mile mark.  This has been addressed with a much larger aftermarket unit and an Ice Box.  I should be able to at least make full power for the entire distance this time around and hopefully the taller tires will keep me out of 6th.  Thoughts on tires size helping?

Offline redhotracing

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Re: Cadillac CTS-V Coupe
« Reply #7 on: September 29, 2014, 09:33:02 AM »
Tallest you can fit with a solid contact patch :-) Remember that drag radials will grow, so leaving room for that is essential. More sidewall with less PSI will definitely help traction and rigidity; we run ~20 to 25 in our M/T depending on track conditions. You'll find the sweet spot. Good luck!
Luke- Winston Salem, NC
Loring 2 Club- 201.252 (2010)
Ohio 2 Club- 203.712 (2013)

Offline Jay Lane

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Re: Cadillac CTS-V Coupe
« Reply #8 on: September 30, 2014, 11:30:30 AM »
I'm not sure where to air these tires since they aren't technically a drag radial.  From what I can tell, the Hoosier R6 is a road racing tire so I would assume it has a fairly still side wall.  

The past few events, I've aired up the stock Michelin Pilot Sport 2s to around 40psi.  Not sure if this helps, but I figured it would lower the rolling resistance.  I know it makes traction harder to get..  Am I doing the wrong thing by running that high of an air pressure?  

Based on the pictures, are there any ideas on what I can do to lower the cd on this car?  I normally tape the gaps but have not taped anything else off.  I know that blocking off the upper and lower grill will help, but I do need airflow through part of the grill in order to keep my iat2s down.

« Last Edit: September 30, 2014, 11:58:37 AM by Jay Lane »