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What's needed for CTS-V bumper?

108K views 206 replies 60 participants last post by  Rahdrd 
#1 ·
I know there has been a lot of talk about what is & not needed to complete the CTS-V Bumper swap, so I’m making this write up of what it took me to get the swap complete for other members that want to do this.

In this swap, I changed both the front & rear bumper covers to the “V” bumper covers.

The parts that are needed for the Front “V” Bumper:

Front "V" Bumper cover
Front Upper Grill
Front Lower Grill
Fog Lights
Fog Light Bezels
Left Brake Duct (1 piece)
Right Brake Duct (2 pieces)
Left & Right Front Half Inner Splash Shields
Lower Bumper Trim
Front "V" Bumper absorber

Once you have all of the parts needed & ready to get them installed, you should start by removing the old bumper. In order to do this, you need to do the following:

1) Remove the 6 plastic twist screws that hold down the plastic/seal that runs over the top of the radiator.
2) Remove the 2 plastic retainer clips that are at the far end of the bumper cover next to the headlights.
3) Remove the 2 10mm screws that hold the grill to the radiator core support.
4) There are 2 plastic retainer clips on each inner fender/splash shield that need to be removed. These hold the bumper cover to the inner fender. Once you have them removed, there is 1 10mm screw behind the inner fender on each side that holds the top of the bumper cover to the bottom of the fender. There is no need to remove the wheels. I was able to get the clips & the bolts of by just turning the wheels to either side.
5) Next there will be plastic retainer clips that hold the bottom of the bumper cover the lower engine cover. I forgot how many.
6) Once you have all of the clips & bolts removed, pull each side of the bumper cover away from the fenders.
7) Grab the grill & pull the bumper cover away from the car keeping the bottom of the bumper cover in an angle to keep the fender arch of the cover away from the fenders. Once you have the bumper cover free, set it on the ground.
8) If you have headlight washers, locate the hose that connects to the jet. There is a white retainer clip that holds the hose in. Press the clip & pull towards the end of the cover.
9) If you have fog lights, unplug them at this point.

Here are some pics showing where & what needs to be removed:











Now that the Front Bumper is off, there are 2 tabs on the bumper reinforcement bar that need to be cutoff cause the fog light housing on the "V" bumper sits in this area.

In order to get to the top welds of the tabs, the Bumper absorber needs to be removed. There are 3 plastic retainers that hold the absorber to the reinforcement bar. Once these are removed, the absorber will come right off.

These are the tabs


Area in red is where they are welded


This is what it looks like when removed




I ground down the welds & painted the bare metal




Next you need to swap out the front half inner splash shields. These are held in with some plastic retainers. Once you have them removed, its just a matter of taking out the old splash shields & putting in the “V” splash shields. Then connect the brake ducts to the splash shields. Last you need to install the “V” absorber. Bring the “V” bumper cover over to the car & connect the fog lights & headlight washers. Now the “V” bumper cover can be installed onto the car. From this point, the installation is the exact reverse of the removal.
 
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#36 ·
Re: CTS-V bumpers on a 08 CTS How-to

the bumper you put on your cts is it a oem or is it from umnitza.com i saw a pic of a car with the umnitza bumper on a car and i didn't like it the grill was a lil to fake but yours looks nice now I'm worried i thought yours was from umnitza and i ordered mine lol
 
#40 · (Edited by Moderator)
Re: CTS-V bumpers on a 08 CTS How-to

awwww shit:( now I'm worried:( ughhh
Don't worry, the umnitza bumper is a very good reproduction of the OEM, I have it... It fit perfectly with the rest of the OEM equipment. The reason I think you don't like the grill is because it looks big since there is no Cadillac emblem, but once The Cadillac emblem is on I think you will change your mind...
 
#39 ·
My CTS came with the HID package

----------

Just FYI:

The HID headlights are the same for both the CTS & the "V"

But to answer ur question, yes, they are pnp. You will have to pull ur DRL relay since ur CTS uses the low beam as its DRL. That & you will not be able to make use the AFL system.....u won't have any of the wiring for it.
 
#43 · (Edited by Moderator)
Forgive my ignorance, this is the first new car i have bought for myself (at 40) and new to me -2008 awd cts. Maybe i don't know what kind of lighting i have. I think i have the HID's. I definitely have the AFL. can you help me with that? The bulbs look like the ultra white bulbs you see on newer cars and i just upgraded my fog lights to the HOEN h11 and the match perfectly.
 
#49 · (Edited by Moderator)
Re: CTS-V bumpers on a 08 CTS How-to

Hey,
I was wondering what i would have to do to switch my halogens to the HIDS... I know that kits can be bought online but i want it to look like the factory HID set up.My headlights look like
Headlamp Automotive lighting Light Vehicle Auto part


and I would like for them to look like
Land vehicle Vehicle Car Automotive lighting Headlamp


what would be the best way to do it?

I had a question about the umnitza kit too... I heard a lot of people are having issues with getting the factory emblem to stick did you have any problems with it ? Are the grilles that they proved good quality?
 
#50 ·
My bumper & grill are OEM but you could always use jb weld to hold the caddy logo to the aftermarket grill.

As for the lights, mine are factory HIDs.....I haven't swapped them.

But all u need to do is get a set of OEM HID headlights. They are pnp. You will have to remove ur DRL relay &/or fuse since the HID lights have a separate DRL where the halogen headlight uses the lowbeam as the DRL. If u wanted to use the DRL in the HID headlight, u would need to run a power line to the correct pin on the light.

Hope this helps.
 
#53 ·
I got the bumper cover from a guy doing a Google search. It came with fog light bezels. I used the fogs from my old bumper. Got the grills from 2 different ebay sellers. Got the splash shields & bumper absorber from my local Caddy dealer with discount. Had it all painted (again through my local dealer) & installed myself.
 
#57 ·
Re: CTS-V bumpers on a 08 CTS How-to

Awesome write up... I'm still scarred to do this though. This is my first new car ever. Are there any differences between the '08 CTS write up and an '11 CTS coupe? :hide: I'm ordering the parts tomorrow and will be doing it by myself.
 
#59 ·
Re: CTS-V bumpers on a 08 CTS How-to

sfv41901, first of all a great write up and thanks for the detail and the inspiration. I wanted to double check that this bumper cover will fit botha coupe and sedan correct? I have a 2011 CTS Coupe and found one online for about $300 primed and ready to put on. Just to also double check the parts that i need to convert this over to an awesome CTS-V front end is only the following:

Front Bumper cover (CTS-V)
Front Upper Grill
Front Lower Grill
Fog Lights
Fog Light Bezels
Left Brake Duct (1 piece)
Right Brake Duct (2 pieces)
Left & Right Front Half Inner Splash Shields
Lower Bumper Trim
Front "V" Bumper absorber

Would you also recommend the hood or should it cross over no problem? What about the headlamps, no issues there??
 
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