I'm sorry, but I need to throw in my 2 cents here. First, D3 is one of the ONLY companies that makes parts for the STS-V and XLR-V. I'd imagine they've spent a LOT of money and time on researching and developing new products for these two vehicles. This is not something they have to do for you, me or anyone else. I think we should at least show some appreciation for their effort. Understanding that not every project will net the results they (or we) desire as some things work well and some things don't. It's all part of R&D. From what I've read, they seem to have their stuff in order and they've done their homework.
Every single post they've made has shown some kind of evidence to back up their claim. If they say the new CTS intake and exhaust gained "X" hp, they provide before and after dyno sheets. The same for the STS-V and XLR-V mods.
I've owned (and built) several high horsepower cars before and just because they make the power to the wheels, doesn't mean the cars can pull off fantastic numbers in the quarter miles or skid pad. Did you read the entire article? D3 and Motortrend CLEARLY expressed this car could have performed MUCH better in the quarter mile if they had the proper suspension and most importantly, the proper tires. They chose to show 'real world' conditions with normal street tires, which I can respect and understand. Who the hell drives around with drag slicks and race suspension every day??
Also, there is a HUGE difference in the way these cars perform at different elevations and especially temperatures. ANYONE who has ever owned or driven an STS-V or XLR-V knows how big of a problem these cars have with heat soak. Ask anyone who owns one how much better their cars perform on a cold winter day vs hot summer day. They can tell you. D3 and Motortrend tested the XLR-V in the middle of summer at 1500 elevation. Drag times are going to suffer, even WITH the right suspension and tires. I think it's GREAT they made better times and mph with the 'wrong' suspension, 'wrong' tires and on a hot summer day!
Imagine this, you own a 100k vehicle, you have 20" wheels and 575hp through one of D3's packages. IMO, you have a sweet looking, killer ride. With 20" wheels and street radials there is NO way you'll be able to use that 575hp out of the hole. 100% traction probably isn't possible until third gear. What does this mean? You'll have a kick ass ride for killing the competition on the freeway with looks and styling to boot. If they happen to catch you at a red light, they might pull away initially, but they'll see you gaining faster and faster through the gears until they're eating your exhaust fumes with NO chance to catch up to you.
Give them some credit. They certainly deserve it. The STS-V and XLR-V is a different beast than the CTS-V. While you might have the 'luxury' of a dime a dozen manufacturers for aftermarket parts, the STS-V and XLR-V guys do not. While everyone is certainly entitled to their own opinions, remember this: D3 does not HAVE to provide parts for anyone. They CHOSE to.
I do admire Mark for putting himself (and the company) out like he did. I say it's your turn to step up to the plate and at least go for a ride with him. As he said, if their car doesn't perform, then you have every right to bad mouth them and their product. But if you don't even own an XLR-V and you won't take him up on his offer... personally, I don' think you have the right to say what you have. Come on now, go for a ride. What have you got to lose, except maybe your pride?
Show em what you've got!
Wow. Without getting into an internet pissing match on this one. I have a few comments.
1) Do you have any D3 mods on your car? If so please post your experience.
2) I apprecaite your automotive background. You have 5 posts here, and joined about a month ago. Your don't have much of a track record one way or another. I'll try to take you at your word.
3) I can also apprecaite your dilema regarding not having many vendors making stuff for your car. While the CTS-V has an LSx engine, and there are a lot of vendors that offer products for it, the other non standard GM bits have a serious lacking of vendor support (for example suspension, and rear end bits). This is frsutrating.
4) You are making assumptions regarding D3, that appear to me to be rose colored due to the lack of vendor support for the STS and XLR V models. Do you really have an idea how much R&D they've done? How much R&D does it take to make some body kits. Actually, I guess it take about 3 years worth :nono:.
5) For what I've read, D3 likes to talk alot. Lots of claims, promises, and desciptions. If/when they finally devliver a product, there tends to be more dubious claims. Dyno sheets don't mean much to me, as each dyno is different, and they can be easily manipulated. Then the HP/TQ claims are 'flywheel adjusted', which is just another layer of abstraction.
6) Stating that you've ready aevery single D3 post, is a bold statement. regardint them backing up thier numbers. I am more include to trsut the numbers from their customers that have done competent before and after dyno comarisons.
7) Regarding the excuses for why the car didn't perform; they are just that, excuses. The average reader that isn't biased one way of the other, is going to look at that and think it's not really moot. Another excuse could be that had the car had more HP, it could have been faster. The bottom line to me is that the 585 hp claim, doesn't match up top to the trap speed of 112.
8) Since I brought up the trap speed, if D3 can tell us when and where the test was performed, we can look up the conditions on drag times, and see how much that really affected the test (
http://www.dragtimes.com/da-density-altitude-calculator.php). I will assume the 1500' number was the corrected altitide and not the actual altitude. I looked up the conditions this morning at Irwindale. That track is at 250' above sealevel. At 8:37 this morning the temp was 72 degrees, the pressure was 29.91, and the humidity was 64%. In these conditions the DA was corrected to 1382. That's close to the 1500 that D3 threw out. Does anyone consider this horrific conditions? Conditions that would completely scew the trap speed for a 585 hp car?
9) Finally, the offer for a ride in the car is just a load of hogwash. You can look right at my profile for every post I make, and see I live in Elkridge Maryland. Craig knows I'm not going to fly 3k miles for a ride in that car. I could probabaly round up a SoCal CTS-V with a magnacharger (430 ish average RWHP) to go on a highway romp against that car, and report back the results. If that XLR has 585 hp it should
WALK a magnacharged CTS-V.
-Chris