[swift996]

Since there isn't a place to post a build thread, I thought I'd set up a thread on my build progress.

Car:
2010 CTS-V Sedan
Black
6MT
Recaros, suede wheel/knob, ultraview roof
One previous owner, I bought with ~47-48k miles on it
Supercharger replaced at 49.8k miles (with Solid Isolator)

Updated: 4/12/15
Mods:
ZL1 Supercharger Lid
DeatchWerks 95LB Injectors
Metco 2.5" Upper Pulley
NGK BR7EF Plugs
LPE 160F Thermostat
Air Raid Intake
Mamo Ported Throttle Body
Weapon X - Track Attack Heat Exchanger (in black)
LPE/Varimax Heat Exchanger Pump
Eibach Springs
Plasti-Dip (grills and trim)
V2V Front Splitter (carbon fiber wrapped)
D3 Air Inlet Covers (w/o LEDs)
OEM Yellow Calipers
Stoptech Slotted Rotors
Carbotech XP-8 Pads & Motul RBF 600 Fluid
Michelin Pilot Super Sport Front Tires (275/35/19)
Tune via Jeremy Formato

Item's waiting to install:
CREE LED DRLs

Item's waiting to order:
Michelin Pilot Super Sport Rear Tires (295)
Aero Tech V Center Gauge
Flex Fuel Kit

Dyno:

 

[swift996]

A little bit of my past with cars. This will be my first American car.
Legacy cars:
Honda CRX SI (B16A)
Mazda RX7 Turbo (10th Anniversary)
Honda Prelude SI 4WS
Mazda RX7 Turbo
Mazda RX7 (3rd Gen)
Nissan Sentra SE-R Spec V
Mazda RX-8
Honda Prelude
Porsche 911 (996 C4)
Acura Integra GS-R Turbo (Track Duty)
Acura TSX
BMW M3 (e46)
Subaru BRZ (currently have - supercharged and about $21K into it - it's a beast at the track)

 

[swift996]

Update:
So my car was suppose to be delivered but the transport company was a total waste of my time and couldn't deliver. I ended up going to pick up my CTS-V.

About an hour into the ride I was cruising and came up to a stop light. No one around, I put it in second and ran through second into third. Out of no where a cop got me. My first ticket in about 7 years!

My initial thoughts about the CTS-V:
Very comfortable. I'm amazed on how smooth it rides. It is much different from what I'm use to. Power builds linear and it's easy to drive. Still learning the car a little bit but so far impressed with it.

Pros:
Nice quality interior - I love the soft touch dash, the stitching, and use of materials. I've never been a fan of chrome trim and while a few buttons look rental car like, overall the cabin is a great place to be. The recaros are great for a sedan. A very good multi use seat for comfort and performance. I really liked the accent lighting at night. Just a very clean design.
Headlights - They work great and one of the only cars I've been in with the adaptive lights that move when you turn that act like they should. Some cars I've been in leave the corner of a turn dark!
Performance - A great balance of power, chassis refinement, and solid brakes.
Styling - Looks awesome and the paint is a very nice quality

Cons:
Seat squeak - it's a perpetual squeak which is sort of annoying. I've never had a seat do that.
Throttle response - seems a little sluggish, you really have to get into it and when you let off it feels rougher than a German or Japanese engine
Tech - bluetooth music streaming and a nav unit with some more features would be cool
Weight - the car is heavy and it can be felt at all times
Shifter - no wonder the auto is faster, how can a shifter be so bad? I'm not use to American shifters, its not positive and the throws are about 8"
Steering rack/steering wheel - should have used a tighter ratio on the rack and the wheel is about 25% too big, feels like a school bus

Overall, I'm happy with the car and excited to mod it. I have a little over a month left on the bumper to bumper warranty. My plan is to feel the car out and make sure nothing is wrong before I put mods on it. I'm also selling my BRZ and that will free up some funds to buy parts. The only "damage" to the car is the front splitters. The previous owner liked to take his car up to the curb so there is some curbage on the plastic pieces and the one is almost hanging off one mount a little. That's no problem, I'm going with the V2V splitter anyways. I plan to plasti dip the trim first. When I pull the bumper, I will plasti dip the grills and install the V2V splitter along with the D3 ducts. I'm getting them without the LEDs. I don't like the look. I plan to retain the brake cooling function and with some leftover brake cooling kit parts I have from the BRZ, I'm going to scoop some air up and direct it towards the Air Raid intake. I'll likely throw that on pretty soon, just want to make sure everything is mechanically sound first. I also plan to change all the fluids out.

Finally some pics of the car:

 

[jb_bgg]

Nice ride, bummer about the ticket. Debadge...

 

[Montgb]

Ticket on the 1st day! You're definitely on the right track with this car.

The mod list looks good, although I'm curious why you'd want the D3 inlet covers w/o the LEDs.

 

[swift996]

Ticket on the 1st day! You're definitely on the right track with this car.

The mod list looks good, although I'm curious why you'd want the D3 inlet covers w/o the LEDs.

I just personally think the LED lights on them look cheap/tacky. It just doesn't fit the car to me. Without them it gives it a very aggressive look (massive openings). Just personal preference, I think it will come out looking good. Hopefully I can chip away at all that here soon.

 

[houdini]

2010 black manual ftw! Welcome and congrats.

 

[swift996]

Forgot to mention I averaged 20.2mpg on the trip home! Light foot after the ticket but a little better than expected.

 

[papi]

Welcome from SoCal!

 

[CJ11V]

Since you'll likely be road racing the car... You'll want a track attack, not a low mount.

-----
Sent with my Galaxy Note II

 

[rsutton1223]

Nice! Congrats and welcome to the 6MT club. I have a Subaru in the garage that needs to go as well to free up more mod money. I know the feeling...

 

[V locity]

Congrats on the new purchase. I can assure you that after you modify & tune this gal, she will be more responsive than you could imaging! Prepare for new rear tires

 

[swift996]

I picked up some fluids to top things off. I plan to change out the oil, trans, and diff fluid here in the next week or two. I also got some plasti dip in and trim brite black out tape coming tomorrow.

I plan to install the Air Raid intake on Monday. I also want to begin my plasti dip experiment with the chrome piece on the trunk. I plan to use the tape for the window trim but if I can't get it to look good, I'll just use the plasti dip. I'm going to wait to do the grills because I want to pull the bumper to install the D3 ducts and V2V lip. I haven't ordered those yet but plan to soon. I also am going to use some left over parts from a brake cooler kit to bring some air up from the D3 duct and to the air filter. I want to retain the brake cooler too though.

 

[shuluke]

Why change fluid now (oil) instead of waiting for the system to notify you to change fluids? My car says I'm still at 43%... I heard the dealer won't even change till your under 30% anyway..

Sent from my XT1058 using Tapatalk

 

[Silentj]

Outside of the ticket, glad to hear the pickup went well. Good to see another black V2 in Fairfax Va!

 

[swift996]

Update:

I took the car on a road trip this weekend. Rides very smooth, the Recaros, well the perpetual squeaking got a little old but oh well. I was able to spot a Lambo Murcielago on a back road and messed with him for a mile or two. The V was hanging right there. He was much better in brake zones and faster out of corners. I'm assuming he was at 7 or 8/10ths not all out. I was pushing hard but still a new car so not 100% yet.

Lambo (was a super nice guy):

When I got home this evening, I was thinking I wanted to test out this plasti dip stuff. Let me start by saying I'm not a crafty guy. I can turn wrenches but not someone who enjoys doing about anything else to cars other than driving. I tapped things off and applied by first coat. The first coat went on really nice. I waited about 25-30mins between coats. As each coat went on, I might have gotten a little worse with my application.

It went on easy and came out pretty good. I need to see it in sunlight to see if I want to keep it that way. The job was easy and peeling the excess off was simple. There are a few areas with thin layers that I could get off with my finger but I think I'll get some goo gone and go over it a little to clean up any other residue.

I get my trim brite black out tape in tomorrow, so I might try that out on the trim and see how it looks. I'm hoping to do my intake tomorrow evening if I have time.

 

[swift996]

Update:
I decided to plasti dip the chrome trim on the hood and the side vents while I was installing the Air Raid intake. The install on the intake was pretty straight forward but not the easiest thing to do considering it's an intake.

Air Raid Intake:

I noticed the power difference from a quick spin, feels noticeable from 4k-6k a nice harder pull. The sound is also a nice addition. The only bad thing is I guess this is the first time I had the engine cover off when it was idling and low and behold I hear SUPERCHARGER RATTLE! I guess I will need to install the factory air box back on so I can take it in.

 

[swift996]

Update:
I plasti-dipped the chrome window trim. It came out pretty good, a few rough spots but for now it's alright. I reinstalled the stock air box (intake for a day!) and am taking the car to the dealer tomorrow to address the supercharger rattle.

I also ordered my V2V front splitter (carbon fiber wrapped) and the D3 inlet ducts.

 

[swift996]

Update::
I took the car into the dealership this morning to address the supercharger rattle. They gave me 14 ATS which was a pretty nice car. I'd say it's competitive with the Acura ILX/TSX, Audi A3, and Mercedes CLA. I don't think it's as refined as a BMW 3 series yet but very impressed with the chassis and brakes on the car. It's the perfect size sedan for me, if they had the CTS V-sport engine in it, we'd be talking.

The dealer acknowledged it was the supercharger and replaced it.

New blower unit:

Not sure what this nipple is for, it's capped off via the red cap:

 

[Red Baron]

I see "the right stuff" in that list