Category Archives: Cadillac Models

Cadillac STS-V a Cadillac made by Craftsmen

Posted on by
Reply

In 2006 Cadillac introduced the STS-V, an all-out, no holds barred assault on the world’s luxury performance cars.  Sporting a hand-made, supercharged 4.4L Northstar V8 engine, and hand-cut and sewn interior leathers, the STS-V exceeded initial estimates of 440 hp and with tuning achieved 469 hp.  This made the STS-V the most powerful Cadillac made up to that time; the emergence of the 556 hp 2nd Generation CTS-V in 2009 has since grabbed the most powerful crown.

Supercharged Northstar

Press info:

STS-V

The supercharged 2007 Cadillac STS-V is GM’s most intense expression of Cadillac power and performance. It carries all the sophistication of its STS sibling, yet elevates the performance and luxury attributes of the brand’s V-Series lineup to their fullest extent. The STS-V represents an historic combination of performance technology and hand-crafted elegance.

The 469-horsepower (350 kW)* STS-V is the most powerful Cadillac ever, and is capable of exceptional performance for an automobile of its size. Each 4.4L Supercharged Northstar V-8 engine is hand assembled to exacting standards at GM’s Performance Build Center in Wixom, Mich., and is built from start to finish by a single expert craftsman. Production is limited to ensure exclusivity in the marketplace.

The engine is paired with the GM Hydra-Matic 6L80 six-speed automatic transmission with driver shift control. This powerful combination enables 0-to-60 (mph) acceleration in less than five seconds. The STS-V includes numerous chassis enhancements, including massive Brembo brakes with air cooling, larger wheels and tires for better grip and larger front and rear stabilizer bars for better performance.

The interior features extensive use of leather wrapped surfaces, created by craftsmen who cut, wrap and sew leather around components individually. Kinetic aluminum accents adorn the steering wheel and instrument panel. STS-V features deep-tinted Olive Ash Burl wood accenting the center stack and door trim.

All STS models are built at GM’s state-of-the-art Lansing Grand River assembly center in Lansing , Mich.

2006 Cadillac STS-V

STS-V Interior Tango Red option shown

What makes the STS-V Special?  It is after all on the Sigma platform, similar to the CTS.  Besides the great engine, it also has Brembo brakes front and rear for high performance, fade free braking.  It has tuned Sachs performance struts/shocks front and rear FE4 suspension as well as high precision ZF Steering gear and limited slip differential.  So from a performance view, it is a complete package.  But what the STS-V also brings is luxury features not found on other V-series models.

Lane Departure Warning senses if the STS-V has crossed over a lane border line and alerts the driver.

Memory Package, recalls 2 driver “presets” for 8-way power driver seat with easy exit, outside mirrors, power tilt and telescoping steering wheel with easy exit and audio system/climate control settings

Head-Up Display, (2008-2009) 4-color, reconfigurable, with digital readouts for vehicle speed, selected gear, Adaptive Cruise Control indicator, audio system information, high-beam indicator, fuel level and 5 language capability (English, French, German, Italian and Spanish)

Heated driver and front passenger seats, as well as heated outboard rear passenger seats. Seat trim, Nuance full-leather with perforated Preferred sueded fabric material inserts.

Steering wheel, heated and leather-wrapped with kinetic aluminum trim.

Wood trim, Olive Ash burl on doors, shifter knob and center console with Kinetic aluminum accents

Compared to the 2009+ CTS-V, the STS-V lacks the newly tuned MR suspension.  MR suspension was available in 2006, but it did not give the performance level at the time that the Sachs adjustable shocks offered.  That has since been corrected for the CTS-V, but the STS-V was not updated.  The CTS-V receives the Supercharged OHV 6.2L LSA engine for 556 hp vs the LC3 32V DOHC Supercharged 4.4L Northstar engine in the STS-V; each engine is specific to that model.  Both cars are approximately the same weight due to all of the high performance equipment.  The CTS-V has more raw performance, the STS-V has more luxury features and is a bit larger.

The STS-V was phased out of production in 2010, so it ran from 2006-2009, with very few 2009 models produced.

When is 3L better than 3.6L?

Posted on by
3

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.

CTS Seat Experiment — The Loaner CTS

Posted on by
Reply

Took my 2005 Cadillac CTS over to Crest Cadillac in Plano, Texas today to see about the Service Air Bag light on from The Great Cadillac CTS Seat Experiment. I had emailed and called ahead to make an appointment, and my Service Adviser was waiting for me when I arrived.  We briefly discussed the situation, and then I worked with the Loaner Car desk to get the Loaner car setup and I was off.  In and out around 20 minutes total.  Everyone was very nice and helpful, especially since I arrived at the extended hours opening time of 7 am.  Crest’s service hours make it super easy to drop off your Cadillac for service and still get to work on time.

The Loaner CTS appears to be a 2010? Cadillac CTS 3L with 9k miles or so.  Light platinum exterior, neutral leather (now called cashmere?) interior.

UPDATE:  the loaner car is a 2010 CTS 1SD 3.0L Luxury Model.  So it has Luxury Level One Package, including (ARH) heavy-duty pet guard cargo net, (RYJ) retractable cargo area shade, (UA6) theft-deterrent alarm system, (U2R) audio system, and (TSQ) accent lighting, 6 disc CD player, leather upgraded seats, and bluetooth.  The wood trim accents are also part of this package.


No insignia on the rear left which I think indicates this is the 3.0L model and not the 3.6L model.


These wheels are a 1000% improvement over the 08-09 base model wheels. I love these, although I suppose they are difficult to clean. Certainly worth the trouble though.


Engine compartment shot. No markings on the engine cover, which seems uncharacteristic. I would have expected the cover to say VVT, DI, 3L etc. Look at that strut brace! Here is a closeup:


This has a very ‘aftermarket’, serious look to me with the exposed weld. I like it, but surprised to see it as the ‘stock’ piece.


I am a sucker for the wood trim steering wheel and shifter.

Overall this CTS drives very well. I am jealous of the manual-shift option on the 6-speed automatic transmission, and it holds selected gears which is perfect.  The 3L seems to have plenty of power for the CTS.  This combination has gotten a lot of mixed reviews from the buff books, but I am not sure why.  The 3L and 6-speed automatic seem to work very well together to me.

Hopefully I’ll get my 2005 CTS back today; God willing and the creek don’t rise they just need to run a diagnostic to correct the airbag issue.  I have ordered a new control panel for the driver’s door to address the new discovery that the new driver’s seat is a memory seat.  In other words, it wants to move to the position that I select when I open the door with my remote so it is ready for driver 1 or driver 2.  Unfortunately, my CTS does not have the position selector switch, so I have ordered one.