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I am thinking once again about trying to bring up the HP on my 2008 DTS. I believe that it is rated at 275HP stock. The Platiinums I believe were 293HP(around there). What was the difference that created that extra HP? What changes could I make to increase the HP and by how much? Exhaust? Intake? Program?

Caddy_Grill.jpg2008 DTS
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I believe this is the difference between the STS platform at 300 HP or the VIN 9 engine or the non STS platform at 275 HP or the VIN Y engine.

The difference is due primarily to the CAMs, you would not be able to just change the cams on your car as it would create a problem with the PCM

You could improve the breathing by adding a CAI and by opening the exhaust. But keep in mind that the major bottleneck is the front to rear crossover part of the exhaust.

Pre-1995 - DTC codes OBD1  >>

1996 and newer - DTC codes OBD2 >> https://www.obd-codes.com/trouble_codes/gm/obd_codes.htm

How to check for codes Caddyinfo How To Technical Archive >> http://www.caddyinfo.com/wordpress/cadillac-how-to-faq/

Cadillac History & Specifications Year by Year  http://www.motorera.com/cadillac/index.htm

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I believe this is the difference between the STS platform at 300 HP or the VIN 9 engine or the non STS platform at 275 HP or the VIN Y engine.

The difference is due primarily to the CAMs, you would not be able to just change the cams on your car as it would create a problem with the PCM

You could improve the breathing by adding a CAI and by opening the exhaust. But keep in mind that the major bottleneck is the front to rear crossover part of the exhaust.

Can the PCM be changed? Is there any differences between the standard tranny and the ones in the platinums?

Caddy_Grill.jpg2008 DTS
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The two transmissions have different final drive ratios, you will get a P code immediately, the entire platform would need to be changed. THEN, I am not sure what other things would be an issue, suspension, struts, etc. The STS/ETC class cars have beefed up suspension. The PCMs have different top ends/fuel cut offs as a result.

The famous line used to be, if you want an STS class car or Corvette, buy it, but besides changing the intake plumbing (which may or may not give measureable changes), the only are where you can optimize is the exhaust system. There have been some that discussed a larger throttle body that permits the engine to gulp more air. The guru used to say that all of the low hanging fruit has been picked, to get any appreciable gains big money would need to be spent.

Pre-1995 - DTC codes OBD1  >>

1996 and newer - DTC codes OBD2 >> https://www.obd-codes.com/trouble_codes/gm/obd_codes.htm

How to check for codes Caddyinfo How To Technical Archive >> http://www.caddyinfo.com/wordpress/cadillac-how-to-faq/

Cadillac History & Specifications Year by Year  http://www.motorera.com/cadillac/index.htm

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Do a search for a Ported or Porting of the Northstar throttle body, they are opening them up to 85mm

Pre-1995 - DTC codes OBD1  >>

1996 and newer - DTC codes OBD2 >> https://www.obd-codes.com/trouble_codes/gm/obd_codes.htm

How to check for codes Caddyinfo How To Technical Archive >> http://www.caddyinfo.com/wordpress/cadillac-how-to-faq/

Cadillac History & Specifications Year by Year  http://www.motorera.com/cadillac/index.htm

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I am thinking once again about trying to bring up the HP on my 2008 DTS. I believe that it is rated at 275HP stock. The Platiinums I believe were 293HP(around there). What was the difference that created that extra HP? What changes could I make to increase the HP and by how much? Exhaust? Intake? Program?

Jeff,

As Mike said... the cams are what makes the difference in HP.

Beginning in 2006, the Engine Control Module (ECM) and the Transmission Control Module (TCM) can both be reprogrammed.

Yes, there are now two separate modules... one for the engine, located in the air intake by the drivers side of the radiator, and the TCM, located on the firewall, right in front of the driver.

I have had this done to mine and totally love it.

According to Bruce and his instrumentation... mine is around 330 HP now.

The guy that tuned mine also said it was around 330 HP... based on the monitored airflow at high RPM.

Not to disagree with Mike.. (Body By Fisher)... but you already have a CAI system.

It gets cold air from the tube that runs from the air filter to the hole beside the radiator.

Assuming you are still under warranty, you may want to consider getting different modules and having the new ones programed and keep the original ones... JUST IN CASE you needed to take it in to the dealer.

If not under warranty... use the modules that you have.

The guy that did mine will be back in Ft. Worth on March 30 and 31...

He can also do a remote tune.

He sends you a little box that you plug into the OBDII port under the dash... you go drive around and it records your engine parameters... based on that and what you tell him you are looking for... he writes the tune for your specific car.

Black Bear Performance Tune, Fort Worth, TX; March 30-31, 2012What: Black Bear Performance Tunes (98+ GM vehicles only)

Where: Fort Worth, TX

When: March 30-31, 2012

If you want to discuss it person to person... PM me and I will send you my phone number.

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Yes, I agree that an aftermarket CAI would probably reap minimal gains, and mentioned it above, thanks Jim

What a few have done is port their throttle body, see the discussion of porting the NS throttle body and using it on the 3800 here. I think they mentioned a firm that does this job

http://www.gmforum.com/showthread.php?t=239244

Pre-1995 - DTC codes OBD1  >>

1996 and newer - DTC codes OBD2 >> https://www.obd-codes.com/trouble_codes/gm/obd_codes.htm

How to check for codes Caddyinfo How To Technical Archive >> http://www.caddyinfo.com/wordpress/cadillac-how-to-faq/

Cadillac History & Specifications Year by Year  http://www.motorera.com/cadillac/index.htm

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Yes, I agree that an aftermarket CAI would probably reap minimal gains, and mentioned it above, thanks Jim

What a few have done is port their throttle body, see the discussion of porting the NS throttle body and using it on the 3800 here. I think they mentioned a firm that does this job

http://www.gmforum.c...ad.php?t=239244

Too bad we don't live a little closer together...

I would love to have you drive my car for a few minutes... I think you would like it. :)

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I am thinking once again about trying to bring up the HP on my 2008 DTS. I believe that it is rated at 275HP stock. The Platiinums I believe were 293HP(around there). What was the difference that created that extra HP? What changes could I make to increase the HP and by how much? Exhaust? Intake? Program?

Jeff,

As Mike said... the cams are what makes the difference in HP.

Beginning in 2006, the Engine Control Module (ECM) and the Transmission Control Module (TCM) can both be reprogrammed.

Yes, there are now two separate modules... one for the engine, located in the air intake by the drivers side of the radiator, and the TCM, located on the firewall, right in front of the driver.

I have had this done to mine and totally love it.

According to Bruce and his instrumentation... mine is around 330 HP now.

The guy that tuned mine also said it was around 330 HP... based on the monitored airflow at high RPM.

Not to disagree with Mike.. (Body By Fisher)... but you already have a CAI system.

It gets cold air from the tube that runs from the air filter to the hole beside the radiator.

Assuming you are still under warranty, you may want to consider getting different modules and having the new ones programed and keep the original ones... JUST IN CASE you needed to take it in to the dealer.

If not under warranty... use the modules that you have.

The guy that did mine will be back in Ft. Worth on March 30 and 31...

He can also do a remote tune.

He sends you a little box that you plug into the OBDII port under the dash... you go drive around and it records your engine parameters... based on that and what you tell him you are looking for... he writes the tune for your specific car.

Black Bear Performance Tune, Fort Worth, TX; March 30-31, 2012What: Black Bear Performance Tunes (98+ GM vehicles only)

Where: Fort Worth, TX

When: March 30-31, 2012

If you want to discuss it person to person... PM me and I will send you my phone number.

There used to be someone here in Tulsa that did reprogramming of these. For the life of me I can't remember who...

Caddy_Grill.jpg2008 DTS
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There used to be someone here in Tulsa that did reprogramming of these. For the life of me I can't remember who...

Just a thought... maybe look in the phone book for SPEED SHOPS and call around.

There are 2 software programs, that I know of , that support our cars.

EFI Live and HP Tuners...

A shop that uses either one should be able to tune both the ECM and TCM for you.

I had Torque Management taken off...

bumped up the total timing...

changed where the timing advance started...

changed the top speed limiter...

backed off the sensitivity of the knock sensors...

"LOWERED" the speed at which it would go into 4th gear...

raised the speed where it will downshift back to a lower gear...

changed how "QUICK" it will change from one gear to the next...

and a whole bunch of other thing that I can't think of right now.

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I had Torque Management taken off...

bumped up the total timing...

changed where the timing advance started...

changed the top speed limiter...

backed off the sensitivity of the knock sensors...

"LOWERED" the speed at which it would go into 4th gear...

raised the speed where it will downshift back to a lower gear...

changed how "QUICK" it will change from one gear to the next...

and a whole bunch of other thing that I can't think of right now.

And you went from 293HP to 330HP after changing the programming? Do I need to know specifics to tell someoen on how to program / what to change?

Caddy_Grill.jpg2008 DTS
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I had Torque Management taken off...

bumped up the total timing...

changed where the timing advance started...

changed the top speed limiter...

backed off the sensitivity of the knock sensors...

"LOWERED" the speed at which it would go into 4th gear...

raised the speed where it will downshift back to a lower gear...

changed how "QUICK" it will change from one gear to the next...

and a whole bunch of other thing that I can't think of right now.

And you went from 293HP to 330HP changing the programming? Do I need to know specifics to tell someoen on how to program / what to change?

I am not swearing to the 330hp.... :)

That's just what I was told by both Bruce and also by Justin, of Blackbear Performance.

I have not had it on a dyno to verify any of that... so take it with a grain or two of salt.. :) :)

It will spin the tires pretty easy and if you are on anything other than a fairly new textured concrete surface and stomp it at about 35 and it downshifts back to 1st gear... it will almost invariably spin a little bit (or a lot, depending on the road surface,) and then do it a just little bit more when it changes to 2nd.

I took it to the 1/4 mile track last summer...

I could not get any decent launches off the line because of excessive wheelspin.

But even with close to 100 degree temps, lots of wheelspin, 3/4 tank of gas and a bunch of luggage in the trunk, it still ran a 15.1... which isn't all that bad, when everything is taken into consideration.

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Yes, I agree that an aftermarket CAI would probably reap minimal gains, and mentioned it above, thanks Jim

What a few have done is port their throttle body, see the discussion of porting the NS throttle body and using it on the 3800 here. I think they mentioned a firm that does this job

http://www.gmforum.c...ad.php?t=239244

Too bad we don't live a little closer together...

I would love to have you drive my car for a few minutes... I think you would like it. :)

I have no doubt about that Jim, I forget that you can mod the PCM on your year...

Pre-1995 - DTC codes OBD1  >>

1996 and newer - DTC codes OBD2 >> https://www.obd-codes.com/trouble_codes/gm/obd_codes.htm

How to check for codes Caddyinfo How To Technical Archive >> http://www.caddyinfo.com/wordpress/cadillac-how-to-faq/

Cadillac History & Specifications Year by Year  http://www.motorera.com/cadillac/index.htm

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Yes, I agree that an aftermarket CAI would probably reap minimal gains, and mentioned it above, thanks Jim

What a few have done is port their throttle body, see the discussion of porting the NS throttle body and using it on the 3800 here. I think they mentioned a firm that does this job

http://www.gmforum.c...ad.php?t=239244

Too bad we don't live a little closer together...

I would love to have you drive my car for a few minutes... I think you would like it. :)

I have no doubt about that Jim, I forget that you can mod the PCM on your year...

They no longer really have a PCM.

They have an ECM and TCM and both of them can be modified... :) :)

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Nice, I hope that don't ever prevent that from happening much like the differences between OBD1 and OBD2

Pre-1995 - DTC codes OBD1  >>

1996 and newer - DTC codes OBD2 >> https://www.obd-codes.com/trouble_codes/gm/obd_codes.htm

How to check for codes Caddyinfo How To Technical Archive >> http://www.caddyinfo.com/wordpress/cadillac-how-to-faq/

Cadillac History & Specifications Year by Year  http://www.motorera.com/cadillac/index.htm

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Nice, I hope that don't ever prevent that from happening much like the differences between OBD1 and OBD2

Maybe I wasn't clear .... sure woluldn't be the first time... :) :)

The newer cars still use OBDII just as the older ones do.

The big difference is the PCM is now split into two separate pieces, an ECM for the engine, and a TCM for the transmission.

This gives it far more computing power and allows for more precise control of the engine and transmission...

For instance, on my car...

Imagine this....

I am coming around a clover leaf or a big sweeping entrance ramp from one freeway to another...at a relatively high "G" force...

If I am accelerating through the turn and the transmission drops to the next lower gear, if I need to let off of the gas a little, it "DOES NOT" immediately change back to the next higher gear.

It will stay in the lower gear, all by itself, using inputs from the steering wheel position sensor and inputs from the lateral accelerometers.

As lateral forces decrease and the steering wheel comes back to a more centered position, and assuming you didn't press the accelerator pedal down some more... it will then shift back to a higher gear.

It is a pretty smart control system... :) :)

And, at the same time, the MAG RIDE controller stiffens the struts on the outside of the turn and softens the ones on the inside of the turn to help keep the car LEVEL as you negotiate the turn.

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Yes, it can be difficult writing sometimes, I think you are misunderstanding me also, :lol:

I do understand that the PCM is now the ECM and TCM, and I am aware that OBD2 is still used

The point I was making was that CURRENTLY as your system is set up, you have been able to 'mod' certain parameters, similar to the 'freedom' that was permitted in the OBD1, I could overide all kinds of parameters in OBD1, I can buy performance chips for the OBD1....

THEN, OBD2 came around and things changed,

My point by saying "I hope that don't ever prevent that from happening much like the differences between OBD1 and OBD2"

was, I hope that don't stop future cadillacs from being able to be 'modified' or tweaked, as OBD1 was able to have done to it, where they stopped that type of tweaking starting in 96

Does that make sense?

Pre-1995 - DTC codes OBD1  >>

1996 and newer - DTC codes OBD2 >> https://www.obd-codes.com/trouble_codes/gm/obd_codes.htm

How to check for codes Caddyinfo How To Technical Archive >> http://www.caddyinfo.com/wordpress/cadillac-how-to-faq/

Cadillac History & Specifications Year by Year  http://www.motorera.com/cadillac/index.htm

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Yes, it can be difficult writing sometimes, I think you are misunderstanding me also, :lol:

I do understand that the PCM is now the ECM and TCM, and I am aware that OBD2 is still used

The point I was making was that CURRENTLY as your system is set up, you have been able to 'mod' certain parameters, similar to the 'freedom' that was permitted in the OBD1, I could overide all kinds of parameters in OBD1, I can buy performance chips for the OBD1....

THEN, OBD2 came around and things changed,

My point by saying "I hope that don't ever prevent that from happening much like the differences between OBD1 and OBD2"

was, I hope that don't stop future cadillacs from being able to be 'modified' or tweaked, as OBD1 was able to have done to it, where they stopped that type of tweaking starting in 96

Does that make sense?

It does now.... LOL LOL

I kinda thought that was what you meant, but wasn't entirely sure.

If/when I get a newer DTS... that will be the first thing I do to it... TUNE it just like I have this one.

I have the complete kit from EFI Live and I think all I will have to do is just read the file from the one I have now, pull the stock file from the new one... change all the parameters and reload it to the new car.

Probably take an hour or so to do it all.

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Anyone?

I know you have a 2008 and this Corsa exhaust covers 01 to 05 but see this

http://www.corsaperf.com/product_display.aspx?product=625

Pre-1995 - DTC codes OBD1  >>

1996 and newer - DTC codes OBD2 >> https://www.obd-codes.com/trouble_codes/gm/obd_codes.htm

How to check for codes Caddyinfo How To Technical Archive >> http://www.caddyinfo.com/wordpress/cadillac-how-to-faq/

Cadillac History & Specifications Year by Year  http://www.motorera.com/cadillac/index.htm

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Ok, so what I can gather is that you can not purchase a complete manifold back exhaust for this car. Is that correct? What is changed to get the most HP gains out of this exhaust?

Caddy_Grill.jpg2008 DTS
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As far as I know... there is no manifold back exhaust system for the DTS or the older Deville.

I could be wrong, but I have always thought a set of custom fabricated headers would help a lot... but you are talking some pretty serious bucks then.

I never did pursue the idea after a good shop told me it would be in excess of 2K for the headers and that didn't include the rest of the exhaust system.

If I was going to do it, I would order the Corsa system for the 2005 Deville and use it.

It might (or might not) need some tweaks to make it fit right... but that's where I would start.

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That is a good idea Jim, I will go to rockauto later and download the muffler layouts and post them to see how similar the layouts are.

Pre-1995 - DTC codes OBD1  >>

1996 and newer - DTC codes OBD2 >> https://www.obd-codes.com/trouble_codes/gm/obd_codes.htm

How to check for codes Caddyinfo How To Technical Archive >> http://www.caddyinfo.com/wordpress/cadillac-how-to-faq/

Cadillac History & Specifications Year by Year  http://www.motorera.com/cadillac/index.htm

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That is a good idea Jim, I will go to rockauto later and download the muffler layouts and post them to see how similar the layouts are.

I am reasonably sure there are differences... or Borla would have updated the website.

But hopefully it isn't TOO much different.

I would think that the 2005 and 2006 would be similar underneath... if for no other reason for cost saving in the manufacturing process at GM.

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