Cadillac STS-V inline flow-through intercooler tank

The Cadillac STS-V intercooler cooling system holds a total of 2.6 quarts of coolant.  That’s 0.65 gallons.  The benefit of having little coolant is that it heats up quickly, and it cools down quickly.  However, I wonder if there is more disadvantage to such a low coolant capacity.  The LS9 engine in the ZR1 has a small rectangular intercooler coolant tank inline to hold more coolant.  D3 offers a small cylindrical reservoir for the STS-V to hold more coolant and reports good results.

I have ordered one of these AVS tanks hoping I can find a good spot to fit it:

AVS 1 gallon aluminum tank

The tank is 15.5″ long x 3.5″ diameter with fittings at each end. The 1/2″ fittings will be a bit of a flow restriction for the 3/4″ inner diameter intercooler hoses.

For my next experiment I a hoping to use the OEM heat exchanger with a front mounted heat exchanger in series.  That in itself will add 1.9 Liters (2 quarts) of additional coolant inline.  But I’ll get the tank in hand and see if I can figure out a place to mount it for an experiment another day.  Then we can get some real data to answer this question.

3 thoughts on “Cadillac STS-V inline flow-through intercooler tank

  1. You bring up an excellent point – more coolant takes longer to ‘cool’ then less coolant. However, with more coolant it takes longer to heat.

    I suppose the real question is where you live, how hard you run the car and what is your ultimate goal in terms of power and performance.

    I expect it too is as varied as the folks who drive them; that said, your information is very valuable to one who is considering changes – no one else is making this type of contribution.

  2. I wonder if the LOW amount in the V (2.6 qts) is really below the minimum you would want to have even for the minimum. I also note they added an inline tank in the Corvette ZR1 of a similar size to the one I have on order, and that D3 reports good results after adding a 3Qt inline tank.

  3. Pingback: AVS 1 gal inline tank for the Cadillac STS-V intercooler loop | Cadillac Conversations

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