Mine is off right now as well. Been curious about this myself


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How long? I notice a/c drip, that is one thing.

 

Mpg?

 

16 combined

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I do a lot of highway and get 21

 

I’m getting like 13 but it has a lot to do with the supercharger and the fact that I’m always wide open. lol


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Your wish for "bottoms off" all the time has been granted!

 

Think of the splash shield (belly pan) as a cup for your engine. You rarely, if ever, need it but if and when you do, you'll be glad you had it.

It also reduces drag and high speed uplift.

 

Mine keeps getting scrapped off going through the neighborhood gate and then dragging shaving off some of the trim holes

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I thought of fabricating one from aluminum and bolting it in where the front shield bolts to the rear bolts. Those cheap push pins are what failed.

 

Question - so that I'm clear on this subject - the "front splash shield" is basically under the radiator and the "rear splash shield" is under the engine - does this have to be removed when the oil gets changed (my car does not have this one currently)? Is there a splash shield that goes under the transmission?

 

The one pictured above covers the transmission and the back end of the engine, the front shield covers the front end and the radiator

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For some reason my cut and paste of an exploded view of the underside shields is blocked.
I went to gmpartsdirect and went to "body" , drilled down to "splash shields" and there they are, all in vivid black & white.

 

LEARNT SUMTIN!!!:yup:

 

Didn't want you to grow up in ignorance.

 

My RWD has to have the shield removed for oil changes.

 

Not necessarily, only caution for Not have the front shields is the brake duct hoses falling off and damaging the wiper fluid reservoir (for the v bumper). As stated before I've had mine off for over 2 years and some, the inner wheel liners attach to the front bumper. That's all it needs.



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I'm a fan of keeping that plastic stuff in order. Too bad the factory didn't do a little nicer job for us, but these panels do have effects like aero which is MPG and reduction in lift, not to mention keeping the engine clean. And then there are the brake ducts on the '08-'09. I spent $40 replacing missing parts that some lazy oil change (or other) guy lost before I bought the car. I can feel those ducts work during those rare hard braking events.

I always keep a few extra of the plastic christmas trees and push-pins around. It is easy to order extras online at the same time you buy your replacment panel.

In a few years you won't have the luxury of buying replacement underbody plastic parts. Consider yourself lucky you can easily replace it today.

 

In a few years you won't have the luxury of buying replacement parts. Consider yourself lucky you can easily replace it today.

Good point. Perfect example is the wagon crossrails that are now non-existent.

 

+1 on Life's preferences. My '11 came to me with no front shield, and a mangled rear. Got the OEM front after learning on here that the aftermarket fronts are not good. Trimmed the ragged edge on my rear cover. Only takes a minute extra to remove for an oil change.

 

Are there supposed to be two shields ? My '11 Coupe RWD just has one that goes to the front valence and back about three feet.

 

Front shields are the same on all models, the rear differs between awd/rwd. Awd is the one with #8

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What I have is #7.

 

That is the RWD under engine shield. The piece under 2 and 3 is the front shield. It covers everything from the bottom of the bumper cover back to that #7.

gm 15263372

My earlier thread about splash shields:

https://www.cadillacforums.com/foru...13-cadillac-cts-general-discussion/1054289-tell-me-about-my-splash-shields.html

 

Snipe

 

Pretty much just for nicer airflow. The V guys claim it makes their hoods shake at V speeds, from air pressure difference, but that's with both shields off. If you're just missing the rear shield, no big deal, just dustier. And yeah, easier oil changes.

 

An occasional 90+ mph, but if it shakes then I shouldn't be going that fast anyway.

 

that's "fast"? wow, I'm still trying to beat the 200 miles in 2.5 hr barrier I always get behind sumguy in a wagon slowing me down! lol He was my friend last w/e thou...or we be pen pals :canttalk:

 

One thing that was mentioned in the link @jayoldschool posted was airflow management for the cooling system. While we usually take this for granted as the design is already done for us, airflow through the radiator is every bit as important as radiator size/capacity when it comes to cooling. I was surprised at how small the CTS radiator is, as well as how much hot air blows out from underneath the car when the electric fan is on.

 

I recall reading that the splash shield was integral to air flow management for proper cooling of the engine. But then I've read where folks have ditched the splash shield and not had a problem. I even had a Cadillac dealer replace my huge AWD splash shield with the smaller RWD one and try to tell me it was OK. Seems to be many opinions on the worth of the splash shield.

 

I recall reading that the splash shield was integral to air flow management for proper cooling of the engine. But then I've read where folks have ditched the splash shield and not had a problem.

One would have to test over a wide range of temperature, speed and load to prove the *lack* of a problem. Having been through a few cooling airflow experiences with other cars I'm willing to give the engineers the benefit of the doubt regarding airflow.

 

I'll let you know. Two weeks of 96 degrees F and no end in sight. I'm certain to be caught in stop and go traffic. I do have to add that one time I was in a store for close to an hour. In 90 degree sunshine I left my dog in the car with the engine and a/c running. I checked often and the temp needle never moved off of normal. I was impressed with the cooling system. This was at idle with zero airflow.

 

Electric fan is pretty good and critical to AC working. My experience is V6s and particularly NA aluminum ones are easy to keep cool.

I expect spikes in May-June and then just plain hot until mid-September.

Here in O'town we've started getting a few showers at random times.

ps "normal" on mine is 203F. Personally expect a good cooling system to go no more than 100F over ambient.