hey quick questions people.......superjim you may know the awnser to this, but im wondering what are the differences in the engines between a performace and a luxury II ( i think my vehicle is a luxury II i dont even know, i have navigation, 17' chrome wheels, sunroof)....the reason i ask is because i want to make my car faster, horsepower, and performance...

thanks in advance.

Biggest difference is Performance has Magnatrak suspension, 3:71 gear ratio and the cams are different as the performance models rev about 300 RPM higher then non performance ones.

You're not going to make the car any faster without very deep pockets as you'll find there is almost little to no aftermarket go fast parts.

The cheapest thing you could do is swap the 3:71 differential and get the PCM to tuned for it. Seeing as the 2006+ are easier to tune then older Northstars.

hey quick questions people.......superjim you may know the awnser to this, but im wondering what are the differences in the engines between a performace and a luxury II ( i think my vehicle is a luxury II i dont even know, i have navigation, 17' chrome wheels, sunroof)....the reason i ask is because i want to make my car faster, horsepower, and performance...

thanks in advance.


ltdltc sums it up pretty well.

He is right...there are no "GO FAST" parts for the DTS.

I am assuming that yours is a 2006 or newer.
One thing I did to mine... I had the Engine computer and the transmission computer Professionally TUNED for more performance.


If you have 17 inch wheels, it is NOT the performance model.
They came with 18 inch wheels.
Do you have the COOLED seats?
They were standard in the LUX lll, and optional in the LUX ll.
The NAV is optional on all trim levels...except maybe the Platinum model.
Most LUX ll's did not have NAV.
NAV was a lot more prevalent in the LUX lll.

Did you know that you can go to your local Caddy dealer and they will print off the complete "BUILD SHEET" for your car?
Pretty nice to have.
You will then have a complete list of everything on your car, along with the RPO codes.
If you ever need to order a part, you will have the "CORRECT" RPO number to give to the parts guy to make sure you are getting what you want.

Texas Jim

You might have noticed that unlike earlier models, the 300 HP model (actually 292 HP) no longer has that on the engine cover. A few years ago the Feds started requiring that car manufacturers stop raising the quote HP rating to next highest 10 HP increment and only specify the exact tested HP rating. Cadillac, rather than lower the number on the engine cover from 300 to 292 chose to eliminate the writing on the engine cover entirely.

You might have noticed that unlike earlier models, the 300 HP model (actually 292 HP) no longer has that on the engine cover. A few years ago the Feds started requiring that car manufacturers stop raising the quote HP rating to next highest 10 HP increment and only specify the exact tested HP rating. Cadillac, rather than lower the number on the engine cover from 300 to 292 chose to eliminate the writing on the engine cover entirely.


It is true that they eliminated the HP numbers on the engine cover...
but the Performance Model does have "NHP" on the engine cover... meaning, I suppose, Northstar High Performance. :) :)

Texas Jim

yes superjim my dts is a 2006, i do have cooled seats, and i think my rims are 17", and it does have navigation.....so if i want to get my engined and transmission tuned, does this void the warranty?

yes superjim my dts is a 2006, i do have cooled seats, and i think my rims are 17", and it does have navigation.....so if i want to get my engined and transmission tuned, does this void the warranty?


Sounds like you may have a LUX lll.
Do you have MASSAGING SEATS?
The rectangle button for that is to the rear of the round button that controls the lumbar support.
I "THINK" that the massaging seats are only available on LUX lll and up.
Not available on LUX ll.

The "VOIDING THE WARRANTY" question is a big gray area.
If you have the engine and transmission computer tuned, and then you have engine or transmission trouble and they check the computer and it is not "STOCK"... then very likely they"WILL NOT" cover the repairs.

If you had trouble with the power seats or the NAV system or the AC system ...it would not affect THAT part of the warranty.

There are ways around GM finding out...
It is not completely ethical and I do not want to post it in a public forum.
PM me for more info on THAT.

If you don't mind saying...what part of the country are you in?
The guy that tuned mine, travels all over the country doing tunes to GM vehicles.

I also had my 2006 Chevy tuned and my son had his 2007 GMC Sierra Denali tuned.

Texas Jim

Sounds like you may have a LUX lll.
Do you have MASSAGING SEATS?
The rectangle button for that is to the rear of the round button that controls the lumbar support.
I "THINK" that the massaging seats are only available on LUX lll and up.
Not available on LUX ll.

The "VOIDING THE WARRANTY" question is a big gray area.
If you have the engine and transmission computer tuned, and then you have engine or transmission trouble and they check the computer and it is not "STOCK"... then very likely they"WILL NOT" cover the repairs.

If you had trouble with the power seats or the NAV system or the AC system ...it would not affect THAT part of the warranty.

There are ways around GM finding out...
It is not completely ethical and I do not want to post it in a public forum.
PM me for more info on THAT.

If you don't mind saying...what part of the country are you in?
The guy that tuned mine, travels all over the country doing tunes to GM vehicles.

I also had my 2006 Chevy tuned and my son had his 2007 GMC Sierra Denali tuned.

Texas Jim
yes i do have the massaging seats on dts, and i am from British Columbia Canada.....i wouldnt want to do anything that voids the warranty...especially if i want too re-extend.....always appreaciate the help, thanks Jim

With the massaging seats...you most likely have a LUX lll...not a LUX ll.
To the best of my knowledge, massaging seats were not an option on the lux LL, but were part of the LUX lll package.

Texas Jim

I have often wondered what the letters NHP following the "NORTHSTAR V8" on the engine cover meant. If it, in fact, is an abbreviation for "Northstar High Performance", that mystery, even though it is somewhat redundant, is solved. So, I would expect the lower HP motor not to have NHP on the engine cover.

I have often wondered what the letters NHP following the "NORTHSTAR V8" on the engine cover meant. If it, in fact, is an abbreviation for "Northstar High Performance", that mystery, even though it is somewhat redundant, is solved.

So, I would expect the lower HP motor not to have NHP on the engine cover.


In answer to your last question...you are correct.
Only the Performance Model engine cover has the NHP...
I suppose you could retrofit the NHP cover to any of them...but not sure why anyone would want to. :) :)

Texas Jim

I certainly wouldn't.
I want everybody to know that I have more torque than the Performance Model. What the PM has that I would kill for is that Magnetic suspension in the rear........ You can keep the "performance" engine. ;)

Southern is correct in that the lower HP version of the Northstar engine has more torque than the higher HP version. I verified this when I had a 1995 Eldo with the 275 HP motor (who knows what it really was - less than 275, I'm sure). In any case, my wife doesn't really care about torque - higher HP is always better for her. So, her car is the Performance version.

I wish I'd known about the performance model before I got mine. I like that black grill too. Lesson learned for next time around. Any word on the DTS replacement yet?