A very respectful and knowledgeble poster (1Wayne or something, if memory serves) visited the CTS-V forums, chatting about the E55 AMG. I would venture to say that most, if not substantially all, of the "regular" CTS-V owners/posters on our forum hold the E55 in extremely high regard (more like worship... ). I know I am one of them.

In any case, per my discussions with 1Wayne, he informed me that this would be a good place to inquire if there were any So Cal E55 AMG owners (current, 469hp models) that would be willing to "play" a little with a CTS-V, for comparison purposes. Note that this is not a "pissing" contest, nor a "bragging rights" contest, or anything else that would otherwise cause hard feelings. This is merely intended to not only have fun, but compare/contrast the cars a little and also see how a modded CTS-V would fare against a stock E55 AMG. Well, I might drool a little as well, but that's just something you will have to deal with.

My car is modded a little, the most significant being the addition of a supercharger. This is where many of the CTS-V owners are very interested--many would like to see how a blown CTS-V fares against the mighty E55. NOTE THAT I'M LOOKING FOR STOCK (or substantially stock) E55 ONLY!! A modded E55 is going to *****-slap me around, which we already know, and I'm not interested!!

Anyone interested in having some fun for a few hours some afternoon?

Let me know your thoughts

Thanks

 

If my memory serves me right,i believe that the caddy comes with 469hp as well,so if it does why should a stock E55,go up against a modded caddy that makes 469hp stock.
I think a fair race would be stock against stock,or mod against mod.
Given equal drivers stock for stock,the MB would be the clear winner,but mod for mod the caddy would walk away from the MB.
There is a lot more go fast goodies readily available for the Caddy.Not to mention cheeper.

 

Memory serves you wrong. the Caddy has 400hp and is a stick. I am down and COMPLETELY stock. where are you and what kind of playing?? There are drag races at the Q all the time. We can even hit some twisties on the way up to Palomar Mountain. Or, I kknow a killer stretch of straights. Either way, i am down. No pissing match, but I may rub it in??

 

The STS-V is 469hp...the CTS-V is only 400hp N/A. You're not thinking about the same car.

dkm

 

Hey Luna, that was me Welcome to the board. I hope you can hook up with some E55 owners and have some fun. Lots of good guys over here and most of them are really into cars. I think a CTS-V with a blower on it would be a fun run with a stock E55. I wish you lived closer

 

Yes, the CTS-V is a 400hp / 6spd manual. Either the LS6 or the newer cars come with the LS2.

 

Welcome!

Do you have a dyno sheet of your moded CTS-V? And if so can you pls post.

TIA

 

I'm in OC. Send me a PM. Car is bone stock w 2000 miles on it.

What supercharger are you running? Roots??

 

I'm in between SD and OC area. Get at me, I won't be stock for long.

 

Hehe.....Woooohoooo!! CTS-V all blown up!! Have you run any 1/4 miles on it to see? Post em. There is a race night at the Q in San Diego on Saturday night. Bring it there for some runs. I love the CTS-V. A caddy, 400, stick, rear drive.....plus, yours is blown!! NICE!!

It may be OT, but post some pics and info!

Hey Jay55....MODS?? You *******..what you doing to that thing?? Between you and Jerry, I'm gonna get left behind!!

 

Hey Luna,

Good to see you over here. Luna is a solid contributor over at calliacforums CTS-V board. A great GREAT community over there.

I had bought a brand new 2005 CTS-V in September of 2005. Loved the car and was on the path to some major mods like the blower, having taken care of the standard mods (new UUC shifter, '06 differential, subwoofer addition, etc). The Magnadyne blower is a GREAT deal on the V, costing ~$6k installed, which is really amazing. Consider that the pulley and tune on the E55 costs almost the same amount and you can see why I was eager to get the exta power from the venerable LS6.

This was all cut short by one of the major problems with the '05's: the tires. The car came with F1 Runflats. Amazing tire in dry weather. Seriously sticky. Alas, wet weather performance was less than stellar.

I had been warned dozens of times on the CTS-V board to swap the tires out if I drive in heavy rain. Never having had a problem in wet weather with a car (and having driven some real POSs in my life), I figured I didn't need to worry about it. Baaad call on my part.

I was driving here in the SF Bay Area in a freakishly intense rain storm one evening. I was TOTALLY paranoid about the tires, so I loafed along in the slow lane @ ~50 mph, keeping plenty of distance on other cars. Then out of nowhere, on a TOTALLY STRAIGHT stretch of road, the right wheels hit a deep puddle and the car spun like a top, launching me straight into the center median nose-first.

I can't stress how powerless I was to stop this crazy hydroplane from hell. I've put in my fair share of track time, lived in Switzerland where twisty roads and snow are a daily occurrence, and pulled out of plenty of crazy unexpected surprises. This was on another level. The traction control lights didn't kick in, brakes didn't do squat, nothing. It was like the right tires had been replaced with blocks of ice.

Meanwhile, I'm told that a HUGE % of the CTS-V's from 2004 and 5 that were sold in Canada and the Pacific NorthWest have already been totaled in wet weather. GM stopped offering the F1's standard, though you can still get 'em as an option.

The V did really well in the crash. OnStar worked like a charm, the airbags weren't too fierce (Cruiser Weight power instead of Heavy ), and the front end of the car crumpled magnificently. A totall loss.

So, dear reader, that put some $ back in my pocket from the sale. That cash and a nice end-of-year bonus put me in E55 country and the rest is history.

V owners are almost invariably complimentary of the E and see it as a car most of them would like to own. There is some typical 'Merceds owners are snobs' 'tude, however.

Here's a good example of the anti-benz crap that get posted over there:

"
1. Mindblowing repair bills
2. Customer service that rivals Caddys in arrogance and apathy
3. Oil changes that cost 200 bux.
4. As$hole MB drivers that dont know road/race etiquette because they have more money than brains and think that since they spent huge $$'s for the car, they can be pr1cks.
5. see 4 above
"
though he goes on to praise the E55 anyway

All in all, the V community kicks butt. They are well informed, mods are plentiful, and they love mixing it up with any and everybody. Post a question and you'll have a dozen replies by day's end, even if the answer is already in the FAQ Oh, and an AMAZING FAQ! HUGE! And this is a Cadillac we are talking about, folks! A Caddy! Gotta love it.

I thoroughly enjoyed my V and will some day buy one as a spare car. The handling was unreal for a car that seats 5. With a blower adding the extra power, and a more reliable rear-end, it'd be a great car to own. Great brakes, handling, looks, and room at an amazingly low price. Infinitely mod-able. It isn't an E, but at $45k brand new, it is a definite over-achiever. Love that 6 speed. With the UUC Motorwerks shifter, it is short and crisp, I just used to love snapping through the gears (up AND down).

I'd take you up on the offer to run a comparison, but I'm in Norcal. Maybe we can get someone up here with a Maggie to join me up at Infineon, or at least the parking lot of Golden Gate Fields or something... I'm eager to see what my new baby will do. I take road-trips down to LA every few months; if I take the E, I'll drop you a line first and we'll go at it then!

Peace,

Skeeter

 

as a potential new E55 owner, I'm interested in the outcome.

From a stop, it would be hard to beat the E55 with the auto and great take off.

The caddy owner really needs to lay off the gas to avoid a cloud of smoke.

from a roll, I think the shorter gears of the Caddy could actually be an advantage, but it comes down to shifting.

From a stop, the E55

from a roll (depends who has the best power band)

top end, (1 extra gear and slightly slimmer Caddy should pull)

just my thoughts..

HOW much are putting down to the wheels? I guess this is the first questions the E55 owner should ask?

Anywhere from 390 to 425 RWHP should be a good race, anything above you are talking Stage 1 or Stage 2 E55's and it would not be a fair race.


I think the point that some Caddy owners would like to make, is that with about $10k+/- worth of mods (better wheels and tires, blower, and few bolt on) you can have a E55 beater.

So for about $60k you can have a car that takes and beats on the almighty E55. So those of you who are up to the challenge, just be aware you might be filmed and seen on other forums.

 

Heya buddy. Good to see you again. It's a pleasure to see many other car "dorks" like some of us on the CTS-V forum.

And yes, it's very unfortunate you don't live in So Cal!!

LOL. Sure you can rub it in. Couple things to consider though.

Firstly, many of us CTS-V owners, including myself, hold the E55 in very high regard. As such, there is no shame losing to such a fast automobile. Rub it in all you want--you may just hear in reply, "Damn right--E55s are FAST..."

If, however, I wanted to be a smart-a$$, I might have to jest back and ask you how much $$ you forked out for one though.

I believe that Magna Charger (affectionately called a "maggie" to us CTS-V owners) is, by far, the most common supercharger installed. The boost is NOWHERE near what you guys typically run though. Generally, and, of course, depending on the size of the pulley, these blowers produce anywhere from 6lbs to 8 lbs psi.

The maggie is a hybrid-roots blower pump.

I have NOT run a 1/4 miles yet. While I'd love to see what my car can do, there are several other considerations that I must factor in.

Firstly, CTS-Vs, ESPECIALLY the '04 and '05 models (I have an '05 model), have HORRIBLY under-performing differentials. They can come apart VERY easily, particularily when supercharged, to say nothing about doing 1/4 miles runs. The '06 differential has been upgraded, fortunately, as GM took the differential from the STS-V and gave it to the CTS-V. I have yet to upgrade my differential, however, to the '06 one.

Also, CTS-V suffer from wheel-hop like few other cars can. Quite frustrating. This not only makes it harder to launch, but it is also believed by many to drastically shorten the life of the differential. I have ordered, and expect to receive shortly, the "best" anti-wheel hop kit out there, but I haven't received it yet.

As far as my car, here are a few things...

With a 2.8" pulley, my car dynoes (on a dynojet) about 450 rwhp, 410 rwtq. For comparison purposes, and for those interested, a stock CTS-V will generally produce about 330-340 rwhp. Redline for a CTS-V is about 6,850 rpm.

I'm NOT sure what a stock E55 AMG dynoes in at. Reading a little on this forum has informed me a lot, but I still haven't run that search yet. Can anyone let me know?

As E55 AMGs are very intimidating though, I just might have to go with a 2.6" pulley. This would put me at about 470 rwhp/460 rwtq.

And yeah, if someone with a modded E55 wants to beat up on me, that's fine. Just let me know what mods/how much rwhp/rwtq you have so I don't feel totally pathetic.

Here is a video of my car. This was shot in an effort to help market Zoomers Exhaust systems (not race), but it should give you a general idea of what a supercharged CTS-V (with 2.8" pulley) is like.

http://www.zoomersexhaust.com/cadillac/default.htm

EDIT--Good to see you Skeeter! Thanks for the complements.

 

The auto/tq converter and incredible low end TQ give the advantage to the E55. A stock CTS-V is going to lay around 340hp to the wheel with right around the same amount of tq.

You'll probably see 100rwhp or so from a roots-style blower on the CTS-V, so figure 440-460rwhp with a good tune and a couple other minor bolt ons with the same increase in tq. Even with the blower, the E55 still has a broader tq curve and therefore more area under the curve.

An E55, driven by someone who knows how to launch, will hang with or beat a CTS-V with a blower. This assumes both cars are on street tires. The E55 is a ****ing rocket out of the hole on DRs, you will pull so hard out of the hole that it won't be a race, IMO. The CTS-V has a weak rear, nobody is going to be doing any bonzai clutch drops on sticky tires. A stock E55 can break into the 11s at sea level with DRs. I don't see a blown CTS-V doing that on DRs.

Anyway, just my opinion based on my limited experience

PS - don't take my opinions as bashing the CTS-V... I think it's a great car for 1/2 the cost of the E55. I'm speaking purely of acceleration times.

 

I think most E55s see around 400-410hp/440-450tq at the wheels, stock. Someone with more E55 dyno experience will correct me, I have only raced my car, never dynoed

 

'04 and '05 models come with LS6s. '06s have the LS2s.

 

Interesting. I'm guessing that the E55 AMG redlines right around 6k then, yes? (as my car with the 2.8" pulley is making more HP, but less torque)

I believe the E55 is a bit heavier (~4,100 to ~3,850) and doesn't have quite the RPM range, but I'm a torque fiend, so I'm getting a little nervous.


I totally agree by the way. The CTS-V requires a lot of skill to launch 1/2 way decent, especially when blown.

 

so the real question here is where the CTS-V+K can hang or beat the E55 stock from a roll to 150?

fair question... with the 2.7" pulley, down a bit on torque but the Caddy has the HP

with a 2.6".. it would be the caddy according to the figures provided.

I understand the value of the CTS-V, specially the 06 model, but at this point you can have 03 E55's for mid to low 50's and with another $5k for the STAGE 1 (pulley and kit) you can have a nice package. The drivertrain is proven, the transmission can handle tons of torque, and the smoothness and luxury is pretty good.

LUNA: I give you credit for being up front and very honest about your car. You have a little monster with that set up and i bet you catch many Vettes and Mustangs off guard. They are increbible deals on E55's now and even new ones. It's never too late to cross over to the dark side? (j/k just a quick joke) Enjoy your car and hopefully you can stick around on our forum.

 

Let's keep the bang to the buck part out of here. I may have paid 90K, but a 50K Caddy just wouldn't have done the same, regardless of speed. That simple.

That CTS-V seems awesome!! Lets do it whenever you want. I'm a little confused, though. If you don't want to do 1/4 mile runs, why do you want to guage against me? Is it not going to break then too?

The other question I have is this. If something does break, I hope it is at least upgradeable?? Hehe, then you don't have to wait for the new parts to race me. If not, do you want to wait to get the parts?

I wonder if part of your launch problems are not actually a result of the LOWER weight?? I have faster times (straight line) with a passenger in the back!!

Welcome to the forum. Feel free to hang out as you seem pretty cool!!

 

Sure--that would be one thing I would be interested in seeing. It should be a fun race.

From a dead-stop, I'd probably still have trouble. I've seen a few videos of E55s coming out of the hole on a 1/4 mile run and they are just stellar in that regard.


Unfortunately, I didn't learn about the E55AMG until after I purchased my CTS-V. To be honest, I'm not certain that I'd not purchase the CTS-V anyways, but the E55AMG would garner very serious consideration.

Thanks. Like I said, my offer is nothing more than to have some fun, learn more about some high-performance cars, and post some threads that will make people green with envy they didn't get to participate. I'm definitely not trying to make any claims whatsoever about how a CTS-V is a "better" car or any other nonsense. Like Skeeter said, many (if not most) CTS-V owners realize that E55AMGs (& M5s) are pretty much the top of the food-chain when it comes to 4-door performance cars & the respect level is pretty damn high.

I will definitely contact some of the people who have responded and have some fun.

(NOTE that I did NOT mention the STS-Vs. I'm still very disappointed in GM for NOT putting a powerplant in there that has more power. They have a "aftermarket" STS-V that has a blown LS2 (not a blown northstar motor) and THAT STS-V is a monster, but that is another story...)

As far as catching a Vette/Mustang off guard...

LOL. The ONLY Vette I have gotten a response from (on the freeway) handed me my a$$!! Well, he didn't "destroy" me, but he was walking away from me all the way from 70ish to around, say, 130. I was laughing, saying, "Jesus..." as he was just spanking me. lol

I receive no play from Mustangs. It's like they know what a V is or my exhaust scares them. And the SVT Cobras are no joke by the way... I would expect some of them to run with E55AMGs as well.

 

Pls do tell. What's the setup and what kind of whp are we talking about? Btw i wouldn't mind running you if you're close enough around the area.

 

this is LUNA's current set up

"With a 2.8" pulley, my car dynoes (on a dynojet) about 450 rwhp, 410 rwtq. For comparison purposes, and for those interested, a stock CTS-V will generally produce about 330-340 rwhp. Redline for a CTS-V is about 6,850 rpm."

 

Yes i know that. I was asking for the STS setup he's talking about.

 

No way!! As stated in the above post, the E55AMG is pretty much the top of the food chain when it comes to 4-door performance cars. One does, however, have to pay to get that. As such, I would have to give you some grief back if you were going to "rub it in."


Thanks! San Diego should work very well, as I'm in the area very often.

As far as 1/4 mile runs, all I am saying is that I'm a little nervous about "banging" away on the differential doing 1/4 mile runs. I figure, however, we could run them in a whole host of ways, 1/4 mile or not.

I am anticipating the receipt of an anti-wheel hop kit that will reduce my concern a little in regards to shredding the differential. I'm not sure when I will upgrade to the '06 differential though. I expect fairly soon.

See above. The differential is the "weak-link" in these cars and they have been upgraded with the '06 model. Further, we have 2 sources (one very good one in Australia) that is building a monster differential that should handle substantially all abuse that the CTS-V owners can dish out. Then, the concern becomes the transmission I suppose (but that is not nearly the concern that the differential is).

And I would expect we could have some fun before such upgrades become available.

 

Here is the STS-V that I was referring to: http://www.autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dl...73238467524762

What area are you in by the way?