My Northstar topped out at ONLY 107 mph???? Suggestions needed please.

[DTS_BOI]

My previous DTS would run hard all the way up to 130 mph before hitting the speed limiter.

Well, on a secluded highway section in Mexico (cough, cough) I stomped on my new V-8 STS and once I hit 107, it cut out and the LCD display read "Top speed reached". I am very very very very very very very pissed. 107 is much too slow for this car. Hell, it was barely even coasting at only 107. There are tons more power left in my car. HOW CAN I REMOVE THIS LIMITER? Is there any tuner support for Northstar speed limiter removal? Im not looking for any racing tune or anything. I would love to keep all the factory tuning the same, and simply remove the speed limiter.

What should I do or where should I look?

P.S. I read somewhere on here the if I turn off the traction control, the car will keep going past 107. Is this true?

[Benjamin Simon]

Originally Posted by DTS_BOI

My previous DTS would run hard all the way up to 130 mph before hitting the speed limiter.

Well, on a secluded highway section in Mexico (cough, cough) I stomped on my new V-8 STS and once I hit 107, it cut out and the LCD display read "Top speed reached". I am very very very very very very very pissed. 107 is much too slow for this car. Hell, it was barely even coasting at only 107. There are tons more power left in my car. HOW CAN I REMOVE THIS LIMITER? Is there any tuner support for Northstar speed limiter removal? Im not looking for any racing tune or anything. I would love to keep all the factory tuning the same, and simply remove the speed limiter.

What should I do or where should I look?

P.S. I read somewhere on here the if I turn off the traction control, the car will keep going past 107. Is this true?

I do not have an answer to your question. My STS does not have a speed limiter.
However, my question is where are you driving??

[c5 rv]

Do a search for posts by SuperJim in the DTS forum. He had his 06 DTS Performance tuned and raised the speed limiter:

http://www.cadillacforums.com/forums...top-speed.html (2009 dts top speed)

Also, contact Butch Brochu, the U.S. distributer for Wester's custom tunes to see if he has one for the STS Northstar:

http://www.westersales.com/

[Superjim]

Originally Posted by DTS_BOI

My previous DTS would run hard all the way up to 130 mph before hitting the speed limiter.

Well, on a secluded highway section in Mexico (cough, cough) I stomped on my new V-8 STS and once I hit 107, it cut out and the LCD display read "Top speed reached". I am very very very very very very very pissed. 107 is much too slow for this car.

HOW CAN I REMOVE THIS LIMITER?
Is there any tuner support for Northstar speed limiter removal? Im not looking for any racing tune or anything. I would love to keep all the factory tuning the same, and simply remove the speed limiter.

What should I do or where should I look?

What year is your STS?
I had my DTS tuned in person by Justin @ http://www.blackbearperformance.com/
I would say to contact him and see what he may be able to do for you.
Tell him the guy in Fort Worth with the Cadillac told you to call.

My first DTS would hit the speed limiter at 130 which was kinda OK.
My second DTS would hit it at 123 which sucked.

Now, since I had it tuned, I love it.
It runs better, shifts better, is more fun to drive..etc..etc.
When I first had it tuned, he set the speed limiter to 150.
But about three months later, I had a chance to GET ON IT and ran it up to 143 real easy.

It was still pulling pretty hard at 143 and if I ever got a chance to see what it REALLY CAN DO...I didn't want to hit the darn limiter again at 150.

So... the next time I saw Justin, I had him raise it to 180, just for the heck of it.

I will probably never get a chance to really top it out, but if I do...at least now I know I won't be limited by what some idiot gov bureaucrat says I am allowed to do.
I will be limited only by HP and aerodynamics.

I am thinking of buying the complete software package to put on my laptop so I can tweak it a little more whenever it needs it but the software is kinda pricey.

Thinking of playing with an ECONOMY TUNE for road trips even tho it does get better mileage now that it is tuned.

Texas Jim

[c5 rv]

Originally Posted by Superjim

... I will be limited only by HP, aerodynamics, and that puckering feeling in my butt. ...

Fixed it for you.

[submariner409]

Don't forget the tire speed ratings. On the door sticker. If you have S tires (112 mph rated) or T tires (118 mph) and get to 135 - 140 and a tire comes apart, you are very dead.

[Superjim]

Originally Posted by c5 rv

Fixed it for you.

Agreed...that puckering feeling will tend to slow you down some.

[Superjim]

Originally Posted by submariner409

Don't forget the tire speed ratings. On the door sticker. If you have S tires (112 mph rated) or T tires (118 mph) and get to 135 - 140 and a tire comes apart, you are very dead.

It has "H" rated tires...good for 130 mph sustained driving.
I would thing that the built in safety factor, should be good for just a few seconds above the 130 rating.

When they get replaced, I will probably go with "Z" rated tires if I can find some I like.

Texas Jim

[hugo]

Just out of nosieness, I have a 2008 STS DI AWD. Has anyone opened one of these up?

[lreddiablo]

hey Jim, I c that you are in Texas and black bear is in Nor Cal, at least 530 area code is. Did you have this done in person and where? And how much did it end up costing you? If you did it yourself by mail can you explain what you ended up having to do. I am in southern california so I could take a drive up north I guess if neccessary to get the best tune on my '05 STS4 V8.

[Superjim]

Originally Posted by lreddiablo

hey Jim, I c that you are in Texas and black bear is in Nor Cal, at least 530 area code is. Did you have this done in person and where? And how much did it end up costing you? If you did it yourself by mail can you explain what you ended up having to do. I am in southern california so I could take a drive up north I guess if neccessary to get the best tune on my '05 STS4 V8.

Yep..I am in Texas.
Blackbear is in Northern Virginia...not Northern California.

I had it done in person, by Justin, here in Ft. Worth.
He was in town for three days, to tune about 30 Chevy and GMC pickups.

Contact him about a LOGGED TUNE.
He sends a data logger for your car...then you send it back to him and tell him what you want done. he then programs the ECM and TCM.

I just noticed you have a 2005...contact him and see if he can do a 2005.
On the DTS he only does 2006 and newer...something to do with the encryption of the ECM on the DTS.

Texas Jim

[cnotesonly]

Originally Posted by DTS_BOI

My previous DTS would run hard all the way up to 130 mph before hitting the speed limiter.

Well, on a secluded highway section in Mexico (cough, cough) I stomped on my new V-8 STS and once I hit 107, it cut out and the LCD display read "Top speed reached". I am very very very very very very very pissed. 107 is much too slow for this car. Hell, it was barely even coasting at only 107. There are tons more power left in my car. HOW CAN I REMOVE THIS LIMITER? Is there any tuner support for Northstar speed limiter removal? Im not looking for any racing tune or anything. I would love to keep all the factory tuning the same, and simply remove the speed limiter.

What should I do or where should I look?

P.S. I read somewhere on here the if I turn off the traction control, the car will keep going past 107. Is this true?

I guess you already know that you bought a rental car. I drove a 2008 rental from the dealer and it topped out at 107mph...I am sorry for your loss! Here is a thought, take it back to the dealer and tell them to remove the governor. That car should do 142.5 off the show room floor. That is what you were expecting, right?

[Superjim]

Originally Posted by cnotesonly

I guess you already know that you bought a rental car. I drove a 2008 rental from the dealer and it topped out at 107mph...I am sorry for your loss! Here is a thought, take it back to the dealer and tell them to remove the governor. That car should do 142.5 off the show room floor. That is what you were expecting, right?

Dealer WILL NOT remove the governor... No way..no how.

If they did that and you had a high speed accident, your heirs would OWN that dealership.

His car is not necessarily a rental.
I have drove several from Enterprise that would do 112 mph.
Had a CTS rental a while back...I quit at 125...it was still pulling.
Had a DTS from Avis that would also do 112.

I would explore the possibility that the ECM is mis-programmed.

Texas Jim

[c5 rv]

Originally Posted by Superjim

... I have drove several from Enterprise that would do 112 mph.
Had a CTS rental a while back...I quit at 125...it was still pulling.
Had a DTS from Avis that would also do 112.

I sense a pattern here. I know! You're the guy on Top Gear who's always in a racing suit and full face helmet.

[Superjim]

Originally Posted by c5 rv

I sense a pattern here. I know! You're the guy on Top Gear who's always in a racing suit and full face helmet.

Hmmm...need to watch that a time or two.
May be my evil twin brother.

But seriously ...out here in Texas...once you get away from town...especially if you are heading west on I-20...a lot of the time regular traffic is running around 85.. sometimes a little more. Part of the interstates speed limits are 75mph but nobody pays any attention to them.

It doesn't seem like a big deal to run up to 100/110 or so every once in a while. You ain't going THAT much faster than everybody else.

Texas Jim