CTS-V vs Impala SS (LS4)

[whisler151]

I Had a run in with a red Impala SS (unsure of exact year) this weekend. I'm not sure if he knew what a CTS-V was and wanted to see me run, or just heard me rumbling next to him and thought he could take me, either way, when the light turned he hit it. Obviously it was not a close race. I shut it down in mid 3rd as we merged onto the tollway. He was a good sport and as we passed each other on the tollway he clapped and gave me the thumbs up, and I reciprocated.

Its always fun when both parties involved are good sports.

[CadillacSTS2003]

no such thing as an LS4 Impala to my knowledge
i think you mean an LT1 with an LT4 hot cam...

[I~LUV~Caddys8792]

LS4 is the new fwd 5.3L V8 Impala SS.

[whisler151]

Originally Posted by CadillacSTS2003

no such thing as an LS4 Impala to my knowledge
i think you mean an LT1 with an LT4 hot cam...

The LS4 comes in the Impala SS, Monte Carlo SS, Pontiac Grand Prix GPX, and Buick LaCrosse Super. It is a 5.3L small block with 303hp 323tq sharing the cylinder heads of the LS6. The Impala SS and Monte Carlo SS got it in 2006-present, the Grand Prix GXP got it in 2005-present, and the Buick LaCrosse Super received it in 2008.

[mighty_quad4]

they run ok. theyll run a mid 14 to low 14 bone stock and high 13s with a few bolt ons. the ecm nannies keep you from having any real fun as theres ALOT of power being held back in the engine. obviously no match for a CTS-V.

[CadillacSTS2003]

when people say Impala SS i think 1994-1996
i dont even think the newer 4 door monte carlos should carry that name
that model completely slipped my mind hence the LT1-LT4 comment

[ryannel2003]

My grandfather has an '06 and it'll blow the doors off my Seville. I have to admit the car is really great and if I needed a cheap, V8 car I'd go for one.

[I~LUV~Caddys8792]

They're OK cars, but they don't look that interesting, their interiors are boring, and they lack the pizzazz of the B Body Impala SS's. But they are fast.....

[whisler151]

Originally Posted by I~LUV~Caddys8792

They're OK cars, but they don't look that interesting, their interiors are boring, and they lack the pizzazz of the B Body Impala SS's. But they are fast.....

I agree...they look very plain. He did catch me off guard, as I was on my phone and not expecting him to floor it. I didnt have time to down shift to first so I had to floor it in second at 2500 rpm. Far from optimal but once it got to 3500rpm and up to 6000 it was not even close.

[ryannel2003]

I find the SS models tastefully done with the polished wheels, spoiler, subtle grille and "SS badging". The interior, while plain, is extremely well assembled and uses much higher quality materials than my STS does. I do have to say with the woodgrain it looks much cheaper... the fake carbon fiber is much nicer to look at.

The only problem with the 5.3L/FWD combo is the terrible torque steer. You'd better hold on to that steering wheel or you'll be run up a tree. Chevrolet engineers should've taken a page from the Seville STS and found a way to control the torque steer in a similar way. The only time it's noticeable on my car is flooring it when coming out of a corner.

[mighty_quad4]

Originally Posted by ryannel2003

The only problem with the 5.3L/FWD combo is the terrible torque steer. You'd better hold on to that steering wheel or you'll be run up a tree. Chevrolet engineers should've taken a page from the Seville STS and found a way to control the torque steer in a similar way. The only time it's noticeable on my car is flooring it when coming out of a corner.

the reason the SS is so much faster than the STS is mainly due to the less refined torque management. the SS gets to have ALOT more wheelspin, access to preload the converter for a good launch, and it doesnt kill the engine too bad in first gear.

sure, the STS is much more refined but its also slower because of it. also, once the the STS is rolling its a much closer race though the SS is still faster up to 110ish or whatever their cutoff is.

my friends SS runs around 75mph in the 1/8th mile for trap speed while the STS runs 73.9-74.1mph trap speed. i get screwed on the launch because of all the damned ecm nannies while he gets to cut 2.19-2.20 60ft times in his car. i get stuck in a timing pulled, cylinder deactivating 2.6 60ft time. theres just not much you can do with the 2000+ Northstar cars.

[LS1Mike]

The Grand Prix GXP actually uses different size tire from front to rear in order to limit torque steer.
The Impala does not, just a slight difference between Pontiac and Chevy.
I like both of them, I just think the GXP looks better.

[I~LUV~Caddys8792]

Yeah, I agree. The GXP is superior due to it's more flamboyant exterior and interior design.

[mighty_quad4]

Originally Posted by LS1Mike

The Grand Prix GXP actually uses different size tire from front to rear in order to limit torque steer.
The Impala does not, just a slight difference between Pontiac and Chevy.
I like both of them, I just think the GXP looks better.

while what you said is true, it would be more correct to say that the fwd GP GXP uses a wider wheel up front in conjunction with a wider tire vs the Impala SS.

the Impala uses a 235/50/18 on a 7" wide wheel and the GXP uses a 255/45/18 on an 8" wide wheel. overall contact patch ends up being about 3/4" to 1" wider for the GXP.

if i were to buy a GXP, i would just use 8" wide wheel all the way around and match it up. i agree that the GXP looks better. the SS is too plain lookin by comparison.

[ryannel2003]

Eh I find the GXP interior unattractive. Too many cheap looking surfaces and too "Pontiacy" in style. On the other hand, the Impala has a simple, yet nice looking dash with really great looking aqua backlighting and higher quality materials.

As for the exterior, the GXP is better by a small margin. Never been a huge fan of Grand Prix's.