The third generation CTS-V leaves very little to be desired in the way of performance coming off the showroom floor. However, that does not mean that more is not readily available. We would like to introduce our in-house produced WXM Carbon V3 Intake for the CTS-V. This intake was developed and tested in our facility to ensure that you are getting nothing short of the best in affordable aftermarket performance, all without having to making adjustments to the stock ECU calibration (warranty blues...). Measurements on our Mustang 1100AWD Dyno showed consistently solid gains to the tune of 28rwhp without having to get your hands too dirty in the installation process. This intake can be unboxed and installed in about 10-20 minutes in your driveway.
The newer generations of GM LS/LT engines can be very responsive to modifications, but often as the result of a thorough tune to take advantage of them. While more power can be realized through tuning for this intake, picking up 28rwhp is as simple as bolting the Carbon V3 to your car. During our extensive testing, we found no areas of the stock drivability are sacrificed or compromised by running this intake on the stock ECU calibration. Power was found everywhere in the powerband, as well as the added bonus of an enhanced supercharger whine and more engine noise to entertain yourself with via your right foot.
In closing, those wishing to modify their CTS-V V3 without worrying about voiding their warranty are going to be hard-pressed to find a more simple and effective modification than our WXM Carbon V3 Intake package. Gains for days, and an overall improvement in driving experience await you.
Compatible with 87mm or 103mm throttle bodies. Includes heat shield, dry large mouth filter, couplers, & intake.
Click here to order this intake: WXM V3 Carbon Intake
As the former owner of a well modified supercharged car, here are a couple of thoughts and hints on how you might consider improving your system.
Thought: Yes, yes, it gives +28HP… with the hood open and a hurricane of cool ambient air caused by a huge fan. Does it do it in real life, daily driving? Not likely… and for a couple of easy to understand reasons.
- Hint #1: Get the air from the outside to the filter in the shortest, straightest path possible. That means that if it is not already, make the hood a functional “ram-air”. In my tests, where this became the greatest advantage was when the car was at speed (highway speeds). High IAT’s caused by driving in the city, heat soaked the air that was drawn in to the filter dropped many times faster thanks to the ram air effect over when I used the opening behind the headlight. That meant that on a typical 1/4 mile run, without ram air, IATs did not reach ambient temperatures until after the run was over. With the ram air, intake temps were within 1-2 degrees of ambient no later than the 250 foot mark and at ambient all the rest of the way down on my car.
- Hint #2: Under-hood air temps are ambient with the hood open and dyno testing. Unfortunately, in the real world, not many people drive with the hood open. Monitoring your IAT (intake air temps) will prove this. The solution is to separate the under-hood air from what goes in to the intake filter. This is done by doing 2 things: First, seal off the air box 100%. While you are there, 2 layers of insulation prevents hot underhood air from heating up the airbox. No hot under-hood air coming in, the better the results. Second, the carbon fiber intake looks nice, but dense rubber is cheaper and doesn’t absorb the heat from the engine compartment and pass it to the incoming air. In my tests, I was able to lower IAT by 4 degrees by not just using a nice dense rubber intake hose, but also by insulating it. 2 layers of reflectix (same stuff used on the airbox), and there came my additional 4 degrees of cooler air coming in to the engine.
Of course, it may not look as nice as it does now, but it sure will perform a lot better in the real world, not just on the dyno. Let the owners decide what they want, looks (more $$), or performance (less $$)? ;-)
Have a great day!