Category Archives: Cadillac Engines

When is 3L better than 3.6L?

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Cadillac replaced the LY7 non-direct injected 3.6L V6 as the base engine in the CTS Family in 2010.  The new base engine is the LF1 3.0L direct injected V6.  How do these two engines compare?

The LY7 V6 was used by Cadillac from 2004-2009.  Originally it made 255 hp, but was improved to 263 hp in 2008 in this application.  To be specific, 263 hp (196 kW) @ 6400 rpm and 253 lb-ft (342 Nm) @ 3100 rpm of torque.

The LF1 V6 is a 3L variant of the direct injected 304 hp 3.6L V6 in the CTS Performance or Premium models. In the CTS family it makes 270 hp.  To be specific, 270 hp (201 kW) @ 7000 rpm and 223 lb-ft (302 Nm) @ 5700 rpm.

It is sometimes said that people buy horsepower, but they drive torque.  The 3.6L non-DI LY7 V6 in this case makes more torque than the LF1 3L V6, and it makes it much lower in the rpm band.  Both these engines are variable valve timing engines, so although it looks like the 3L is ‘tuned’ for power at higher RPMs, the technology should allow for both low-end power and high-end power.

The difference in displacement, in this case 20%, from 3L to 3.6L, allows the 3.6L to make 253 lb ft of torque at 3100 rpm where the LF1 3L appears to be making around 215 lb ft of torque.  That is a big difference in how these two engines would feel in the CTS.  The LF1 is making good power, but it will need to be wound up a bit to do so.

There may be other advantages to the 3L direct injected engine over the 3.6L non-DI engine in terms of emissions.  Direct injection’s high pressure fuel delivery system allows for partially stratified operation, helping to reduce emissions up-to 25%, on cold starts – the time when most engine emissions are typically created.    Having both engines in the CTS use the same type of fuel injection may also help simplify the configuration of the vehicle — same fuel pumps for example — over producing variants with non-DI and DI engines together.

The clear boost for the 3L LF1 engine would be to introduce a supercharged or turbocharged variant of this power plant.  This engine family was originally developed to be well suited to work under pressure.

Automobile history about Change

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Cadillac as a car company started from the ashes of a re-organization.  Henry Leland was actually brought in to value the remaining hard goods by a board of directors of a car company about to dissolve.  Leland had a reputation for precision machinery, and an interest in the new automobile market.  He also had an improved, high-efficiency automobile engine, and convinced the board of directors to try to make a go of marketing a new car using his engine instead of closing down the business.  The new company became Cadillac.

The history of the automobile industry in general is competition, competitive intelligence, surprising or reacting to the market.  Knowing what your current (and new) competitors are bringing to market, anticipating the whims of the buying public, and reacting to outside stimulus (oil embargo, financial crisis).  It takes some preparation to make a hundred thousand of something.  Design, work, customer clinics, testing, tooling, manufacturing planning, and finally factory warm-up, piloting, and initial production.  It is hard to “turn on a dime” when you need years of development to bring a product to market, but that is exactly what today’s automobile companies NEED to be able to do in order to react to market changes.

GM and Cadillac plan to announce another major re-organization today.  I like the fact that Management is impatient with progress.  I think as a company you have to put your best team on the field, but if that line-up does not produce results then you change the line-up until you find one that does.  I know that this means more ‘churn’ and stress for the Employees at the company, but if the last few years have shown nothing else I think it HAS shown that they are both flexible and resilient.  The main reason that someone would still be working at General Motors today is likely that they want to see GM rise from the ashes of bankruptcy and become again the great automobile company that they can be.

Expect more.

Waystones:

  • Real car guys know how to sell cars
  • Collaborate with the Dealers; treat them as a partner and give them more voice at the table
  • Make  the Voice of the Customer resound in the Board Room, in the Design Studios, and on the Factory Floor
  • Fix reliability issues, keep fixing them and keep them fixed
  • Reward those who are taking Risks, even if they are not successful.  Reward innovation.

Cadillac 3.0L vs BMW 3.0L: Sports Luxury Engine Comparison

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BMW has established its brand personae by edging toward the performance end of the luxury versus performance scale.  Mercedes traditionally leans toward the luxury end of the same spectrum.  Both BMW and Mercedes have released cars which pressed the boundaries of their traditional inclinations of course.  Cadillac has also released luxury performance models across the spectrum, from the speed demon super car sedan CTS-V to the sporty but efficient SRX SUV.

The mainstream Cadillac base engine in the CTS Family and 2010 SRX is the new 3.0 L VVT direct injection V6, the LF1.  The latest BMW 3.0L is not the normally aspirated 3L used in the BMW 3-series, but rather a related engine called N52B30 used in the X3 and X5 SUV’s making 260hp, and in the 2009 BMW Z4 sDrive30i subcompact convertible making 255 hp.

Let’s compare how the Cadillac engine stacks up with the Sporty BMW power plant.  I think everyone agrees that BMW knows how to make engines — the engine, along with the steering quality, get the most comments / compliments from the automotive press in BMW reviews.  So the question is, how well does the Cadillac LF1 Engine compare?

BMW 3L:

The 6-cylinder normally aspirated engine: powerful and light thanks to magnesium.

Offering spontaneous power and performance, excellent motoring refinement and outstanding efficiency, the 6-cylinder naturally-aspirated engine … offers the very best in its segment. Weighing just 355 lb thanks to its composite magnesium/aluminum crankcase, cylinder head cover made of a special synthetic material and lightweight camshafts with aluminum VANOS control unit, is exceptionally light.

While BMW’s VALVETRONIC engine management controls valve stroke on the intake valves, double-VANOS varies the angle of the intake and outlet valves in an infinite process. This allows particularly efficient use of fuel, providing a “beefy” torque curve and giving the engine instant response.

The engine in the BMW Z4 sDrive30i develops maximum output of 255 hp from 3.0 liters capacity at an engine speed of 6,600 rpm. Maximum torque of 220 lb-ft, in turn, comes at just 2,600 rpm.

The Cadillac LF1 3.0L: 2010 GM 3.0L V-6 VVT DI (LF1)

The 3.0L V-6 VVT DI LF1 is part of GM’s growing global family of V-6 engines. They were jointly developed for applications around the world, drawing on the best practices and creative expertise of GM technical centers in Australia, Germany, North America, and Sweden.

These engines apply the most advanced automotive engine technology available, from state-of-the-art casting processes to full four-cam phasing to ultra-fast data processing and torque-based engine management. Each delivers a market-leading balance of good specific output, high torque over a broad rpm band, fuel economy, low emissions and first-rate noise, vibration and harshness control, with exclusive durability enhancing features and very low maintenance.

Features of this engine include:

– Direct Injection Technology

– Aluminum engine block and cylinder heads

– Dual overhead cams with four valves per cylinder and silent chain cam drive

– Composite upper intake manifolds

– Integrated exhaust manifolds

– Optimized exhaust manifolds

– Fully isolated composite camshaft covers with added acoustic treatment

Engine Dyno for the Cadillac LF1 V6:

Comparative Stats:

Engine HP RPM Torque RPM
Cadillac LF1 (CTS) 270 7000 223 5700
BMW N52S30 (x3) 260 6600 225 2750

Conclusions?

These two engines appear to have very similar performance.  The Cadillac puts out a bit more power, but the BMW is tuned for slightly more low-end torque.  Another factor to consider is that the BMW apparently requires premium fuel, while the Cadillac makes similar power using regular unleaded fuel.