Do we have any former CTS-V owners here?

[LesBaer]

I'm still tossing around the idea of trading in my Charger for a gen 2 CTS-V sedan and possibly canceling my order. I've always been enamored with the V but haven't been able to find one close by for sale with the Recaro seats. I'd love to hear from a current / former gen 2 V owner or someone who's had some experience with it that can help me make the right decision.

[huggercamaro21]

I had a gen two. what do you wanna know?

[jessrayo]

Is your car a DD? Will you race it? 1/4, road course, do you typically mod your cars? All of these are important questions,

I had a '12 CTS-V coupe, '13 ZL1, '14 C7 Z51 Stingray and just got my '16 SS. The stingray stayed basically stock, rest of the cars either are or will be modded. I'm really liking the '16 SS. It is an evolution in performance and efficiency. Caddy was a little more spacious and comfortable, it was faster right off the floor. Mods are readily available for just about any power number you want on an LSA car.

[LesBaer]

Oh nice, you both had the car I'm looking at. If I went with the V, it would be my DD. I'd be buying a second set of wheels for Blizzaks for winter commuting. Is this a bad idea? Also, how is the weight distribution on the gen 2?

With the SS, I haven't decided on the extent of my modding. The SS is currently planned as my weekend car and will only be on the road for 6 months of the year when the weather is nice. I'd keep my Charger for DD in winter. For both cars, I'm definitely going to add a tune, long-tubes, and potentially a cam and Magnuson (SS).

The performance numbers for both cars seem similar, but I wasn't sure how the torque distribution differs or which car provides me with the best starting point for mods? Also, I don't know much about the rear-end of the V and how well it puts the power down to the road once you start modding. For either car I wouldn't be drag racing (maybe a track day here and there since I'm close to Limerock), but would definitely do some light modding and add a tune.

[jessrayo]

Originally Posted by LesBaer

Oh nice, you both had the car I'm looking at. If I went with the V, it would be my DD. I'd be buying a second set of wheels for Blizzaks for winter commuting. Is this a bad idea? Also, how is the weight distribution on the gen 2?

With the SS, I haven't decided on the extent of my modding. The SS is currently planned as my weekend car and will only be on the road for 6 months of the year when the weather is nice. I'd keep my Charger for DD in winter. For both cars, I'm definitely going to add a tune, long-tubes, and potentially a cam and Magnuson (SS).

The performance numbers for both cars seem similar, but I wasn't sure how the torque distribution differs or which car provides me with the best starting point for mods? Also, I don't know much about the rear-end of the V and how well it puts the power down to the road once you start modding. For either car I wouldn't be drag racing (maybe a track day here and there since I'm close to Limerock), but would definitely do some light modding and add a tune.

I get very little snow in my town but from what I hear you need to get a set of winter tires for any of these cars to be usable in the snow.

The CTS-V of all the GM cars I mentioned had the most problems for me road racing. I was overheating everything..... boiling over the engine water, oil temp was in the red, brake pads were melting supercharger was retarding timing a lot from heat.... Was getting a rear differential overheat light on the dash. The car was right there with about anything for about 3 laps but when you run 10/10's in the south, it can't hang for very long. A lot of people are able to drive the CTS-V at 8/10's all day. My girlfriend was passing mustangs and miatias all day with nothing in the red but as soon as I got behind the wheel and started running down the 911's, it was toast. Having said that it was the most comfortable road car. Magride tuning was softer than most and the cabin was really nice and quiet. The LSA motor was always pretty thirsty for me (heavy foot) I think I averaged 18 mpg in that. LSA is super easy to mod.... there are many many parts for whatever horsepower number you want and a lot of tuners that know the engine very well.

ZL1 is a much better road racing car right from the factory. There are built in brake ducts, it has a rear diff cooler, the engine water never overheats unless the supercharger is about to melt down. The magride is tighter everywhere, street is rougher, track is tighter. It is lighter than the V. But compared to V, it feels a little raw, a little crude when driving in town. To me the ZL1 is loud. If you get on the gas you will draw attention if you want it or not because it is loud. All in all, it is the fastest road racing platform I have ever had. I will admit, I bought my ZL1 and set it up to road race before the Z/28 was released. If I knew the Z/28 was coming I probably would have got the Z/28. Instead my ZL1 turned into a horsepower monster and lost some of the road course savy. Fuel mileage in this has averaged about 13 but this car has never been a daily driver.

C7 corvette stingray, this is an amazing car. It is light efficient, and fast. I took a completely bone stock model to the local road course and pushed all kinds of heavily modified cars, decimated everything that was stock. (it did boil the stock brake fluid and overheat the transmission when driven hard). The limits are astronomical and even as you cross the limits the slides are extremely predictable and controllable. I read a magazine that said this C7 stingray makes idiots drive like experts and experts drive like idiots..... I have never seen a better quote on the car. It is cramped but feels more luxurious than the Camaro, it gets a lot of looks. The magride is very good. I averaged 22 mpg with a heavy foot. The downside is if you drive it like it can and wants to be driven....on a public road, you will end up in jail. And since it was my daily driver and I often found myself "running behind" I soon realized that I needed to get rid of the car if I wanted to keep my license. As much as I loved driving it I knew it was going to be trouble.

Now this is the 3rd day I have had the 16 SS and I have only put on about 125 miles. It is incredibly tight inside the car. I barely have room for my hand sanitizer and other little items for work. I don't know what secret sauce they put in the C7 stingray to make it run as fast as the gen 6 Z06 on the racetrack but they obviously put some of that in the new Camaro. Unless you turn the traction control off and power oversteer it, this Camaro is not going to slide easy on a public road. (it is pretty easy to drift it with the traction control off if you desire). It doesn't beg to be pushed like the stingray does but if you decide to give it a shot it doesn't flinch a lick. I really want to get it on the racetrack because on the public roads, it is very capable.... The SS is new and the mod market is just getting it's hands on the car. Some of the parts that fit the stingray engine are going to fit the SS. But things will be limited for a while because this is basically a brand new engine also. I have not finished a tank of gas so I can't compute actual mileage, the car is telling me I'm averaging 18 but based on what I have seen in my other cars, those numbers are usually a little optimistic compared to actual fuel used verses actual odometer. None of the Camaros I have owned have been eye magnets like the stingray and the V. Everybody stared at those cars, I have only seen one or two people that even seemed to noticed my 16 Camaro is any different than any other Camaro on the road. There were several people in the know that realized my ZL1 was special but most thought nothing of it. I kind of like that. I do enough crazy stuff to draw attention that I don't want a unique car to draw even more attention.

I suspect that at the track the SS will be faster in the corners and the ZL1/CTS would be faster on the straights. I suspect the new Camaro will have less heat issues but until I get mine on a track I really won't know. In a roll race I'm pretty sure the power advantage of the supercharged LSA would mean more than the weight advantage of the new SS. Same at the drag strip.

Hope this all helps.

[bobby35ny]

Great post Jess!
=Bobby

[matt55]

In town (driving like a teenager ) I get 12-13 mpg and 19 mpg highway . Just something to think about for daily use .
I loath the sunroof, if you can get one with out.
With just a tune and Airaid it is shockingly fast (to me at least) .
And yes wait for the recaro's great seats , but some have rocking issues.
And a word to the wise ... buy or spend UNDER your budget and leave your self some mod/tire $$$ because the supercharger whine is just like crack .

Edit ..and its something about blowing the tires at 40 mph in a 4dr Cadillac :-D

[huggercamaro21]

Originally Posted by matt55

In town (driving like a teenager ) I get 12-13 mpg and 19 mpg highway . Just something to think about for daily use .
I loath the sunroof, if you can get one with out.
With just a tune and Airaid it is shockingly fast (to me at least) .
And yes wait for the recaro's great seats , but some have rocking issues.
And a work to the wise ... buy or spend UNDER your budget and leave your self some mod/tire $$$ because the supercharger whine is just like crack .

Yeah **** the sunroof. It creaks really bad. Other than that and the MPGs sucking balls, my V was a bad bad bad dude.