[CTS-VR]

In case some are curious, the build still lives on in the southeast. It has had its' fair share of changes, but it is still an absolute monster. Maybe more to come...

 

[CTS-VR]

At the very least it would be interesting to hear what you know of the history of the car since this thread died off 8 years ago. And do you have any leftover carbon fiber bits you want to part with?

Well, Junior1 ran the car until about 2016, after that he had to park the car due to things in his personal life. However, he still took great care of it by running it every so often. I was talking to him via Facebook in an ATS-V group back in 2021 (we both have owned ATS-V's) and he mentioned he had some spare parts he was needing to sell, as well as the car. So, we started talking about the car and a week later I was driving to New York to pick it up. I then sold my other CTS-V track car.

After getting the car home, I changed the fluids, swapped the 6-year-old Hoosiers for some fresh Falken 200TW, and headed to VIR for my first event in the car in August '21 about two weeks after picking it up. My plan was to drive the car in "as-received" form, then develop from there. Immediately after that event, I put the wing on the car, as it had an APR splitter and the rear of the car really wanted to wander in braking zones. That alone improved the car tenfold. Otherwise, I made no major changes for a while. I had the Penske shocks rebuilt in January '22 since they had not been touched since they were installed in 2011. I built a new splitter for the car in March, then the stock LS6 failed (rather spectacularly) at VIR in April, with around 14,700 miles on the odometer.

After the engine failure, I replaced the windowed LS6 with a crate LS376/525 hp long block from GM, which made about 454 whp, and 388 whp in NASA ST3/TT3 trim. Then after a couple of events in July '22, I proceeded to five lug swap the car, as well as put an AP Racing big brake kit on the front. As of November '22 I have run four NASA competitions this year with the car, all in TT3, with two wins, one third, and one fourth. Never finishing in the bottom half of any field.

I plan to run ST3 for most of next year. Maybe American Iron at the NASA Championships at Pitt Race in September. Overall, the goal is to keep the car together, continue to upgrade it, and spend less money than I did this year.

I don't plan to sell any of the carbon bits, I plan to get the doors wrapped next spring and lay down a couple glory laps at Road Atlanta and VIR on full power with minimum weight.

If anyone any particular questions about the car, feel free to ask in the thread or reach out. If you'd like to see more pictures, I am on instagram @ CTSVR

Until next time,

-Chris

 

[CTS-VR]

Thanks for the update! Is the AP Racing setup you're using this kit for the V2 - AP Racing by Essex Radi-CAL Competition Brake Kit (Front 9668/372mm)- Cadillac CTS-V 2009-2015 (V2) | Essex Parts Services, Inc. - or some other setup?

What wing are you running?

I have another car sitting in my driveway that is supposed to become the dedicated track car, so I really don't need to be thinking about CF parts for my CTS-V. Couldn't help but ask, though!

So, when I planned on doing the AP Racing setup, I was talking to them back in August of '21, and explaining the similarity of braking components for V1s, V2s, and 5th gen Camaros. They did not offer a single Cadillac kit at the time, but I told them their 5th gen Camaro kit should bolt right up to a V2 with no modification, and a V1 with minor modification. I bought a used 5th gen kit from a friend, just in case it did not work out I was only out a few thousand dollars, instead of six thousand. However, with the engine failure, I did not get around to installing it until September of '22. The only modifications needed (as predicted) was enlarging the spindle mounting holes to accept the M14 bolts for the 5th gen/V2 setup, and increasing the hub bore of the rotors from 66.9 mm to 70.3 mm to fit my C5/C6 Corvette SKF Race Hubs.

I am currently running a Nine Lives Racing wing, it is an aluminum extruded element, with a universal pylon to mount to the trunk. I plan to eventually change it for a carbon one, potentially an Aj Hartman unit, but that is low on the priority list. It works fine for the moment, but with the splitter changes I plan to make over the winter, I think I will exceed the efficient operating range of the wing.