Hello everyone,
I am a new owner of a 2014 v-sport (previous 2012 CTS-V 6at, 2013 CTS-V 6MT coupe) and I feel the car is leaps and bounds better than the previous model. On Friday I made a few baseline passes in the car and my best pass was a 13.2 at 107 with a 2.2 60 foot (traction issues), I was able to cut a 2.0 on a different pass it was not as fast as I was experimenting with shifting the car with the paddles (not as fast like I thought it). The car actually got faster the more it was driven so I think it has to do with a heat exchanger system issue, I do not hear the pump at idle so it may only be running in boost (should be able to be turned on with ignition in a tune and run consistently). On drag radials/slicks this car should have no problem cutting a 1.6/1.7 with loaded turbos and should run a 12.5 on the stock tune.
Over the weekend I started examine the intake system and learned that this intake is VERY restrictive from the factory (quite possibly the most restrictive system I have ever seen on any vehicle). The passenger side being the worst side, as the track of the intake is very long, and the inlet to the turbo resonator is much smaller than the drivers side. The air box has a very small inlet on the bottom side. there is also a intake duct on the drivers side of the center front grill, but it looks to have a very small outlet on the backside.
I made a few modifications to the intake system and the car is already performing much better, I wish I wish I made a baseline dyno, but I will go off the trap speed for gains. The first modification was to the bottom lid of the air box, I used a dremel with a cutting wheel and cut the entire bottom side of the airbox off, but left the plastic on the engine side, down to the frame rail to prevent heat soat. I also trimmed all of the ribs out of the airbox bottom to help with turbulent airflow concerns with the stock mafs. All mounting points are left intact and it seals just like the factory, just with MUCH more airflow. The second modification I made was to the turbo resonators themselves (pre turbo) I took a carving tool, cutting wheel and other dremel bits and carefully removed the white silencers inside the resonators themselves. This is a major pain to do, but well worth it as the car sounds great now and the turbos spool faster. When these are manufactured from the factory, the resonator is 2 pieces of plastic fused together. I did not want to brake this factory seal and introduce the chance of unmetered air into the system. Take your time and it is possible to removed them, a few pieces at a time is the way to go!
Next weekend I plan to take off the outlet tubes and examine them as well, there seems to be a resonator in these as well, and I will be checking for airflow restrictions.
I also was trying to get rid of the wastegate rattle. I placed a small shim between the actuator rod and turbo actuator arm on the drivers side and it still rattles on cold start and acceleration/decel around 1500-2500 rpms. I will look into some other ways to get rid of this rattle and i have a few ideas on how to do so.
A few more observations:
*turbos have VERY SMALL cold sides and the inlets are flattened to fit behind the belt run accessories
*Heat exchanger upgrade in the center grill will be very easy as there is a hose that runs directly between the stock heat exchangers
*stock heat exchanger pump looks to be of good side
*stock muffler looks terrible, but exhaust systems looks great (car will benefit greatly from a rear suitcase muffler delete with straight though bullet mufflers added)
*downpipes look to be an easy swap
*all vacuum sources are plastic hoses and click type connectors (very nice)
I will check back with more findings!
-Steve
I am a new owner of a 2014 v-sport (previous 2012 CTS-V 6at, 2013 CTS-V 6MT coupe) and I feel the car is leaps and bounds better than the previous model. On Friday I made a few baseline passes in the car and my best pass was a 13.2 at 107 with a 2.2 60 foot (traction issues), I was able to cut a 2.0 on a different pass it was not as fast as I was experimenting with shifting the car with the paddles (not as fast like I thought it). The car actually got faster the more it was driven so I think it has to do with a heat exchanger system issue, I do not hear the pump at idle so it may only be running in boost (should be able to be turned on with ignition in a tune and run consistently). On drag radials/slicks this car should have no problem cutting a 1.6/1.7 with loaded turbos and should run a 12.5 on the stock tune.
Over the weekend I started examine the intake system and learned that this intake is VERY restrictive from the factory (quite possibly the most restrictive system I have ever seen on any vehicle). The passenger side being the worst side, as the track of the intake is very long, and the inlet to the turbo resonator is much smaller than the drivers side. The air box has a very small inlet on the bottom side. there is also a intake duct on the drivers side of the center front grill, but it looks to have a very small outlet on the backside.
I made a few modifications to the intake system and the car is already performing much better, I wish I wish I made a baseline dyno, but I will go off the trap speed for gains. The first modification was to the bottom lid of the air box, I used a dremel with a cutting wheel and cut the entire bottom side of the airbox off, but left the plastic on the engine side, down to the frame rail to prevent heat soat. I also trimmed all of the ribs out of the airbox bottom to help with turbulent airflow concerns with the stock mafs. All mounting points are left intact and it seals just like the factory, just with MUCH more airflow. The second modification I made was to the turbo resonators themselves (pre turbo) I took a carving tool, cutting wheel and other dremel bits and carefully removed the white silencers inside the resonators themselves. This is a major pain to do, but well worth it as the car sounds great now and the turbos spool faster. When these are manufactured from the factory, the resonator is 2 pieces of plastic fused together. I did not want to brake this factory seal and introduce the chance of unmetered air into the system. Take your time and it is possible to removed them, a few pieces at a time is the way to go!
Next weekend I plan to take off the outlet tubes and examine them as well, there seems to be a resonator in these as well, and I will be checking for airflow restrictions.
I also was trying to get rid of the wastegate rattle. I placed a small shim between the actuator rod and turbo actuator arm on the drivers side and it still rattles on cold start and acceleration/decel around 1500-2500 rpms. I will look into some other ways to get rid of this rattle and i have a few ideas on how to do so.
A few more observations:
*turbos have VERY SMALL cold sides and the inlets are flattened to fit behind the belt run accessories
*Heat exchanger upgrade in the center grill will be very easy as there is a hose that runs directly between the stock heat exchangers
*stock heat exchanger pump looks to be of good side
*stock muffler looks terrible, but exhaust systems looks great (car will benefit greatly from a rear suitcase muffler delete with straight though bullet mufflers added)
*downpipes look to be an easy swap
*all vacuum sources are plastic hoses and click type connectors (very nice)
I will check back with more findings!
-Steve