Anyone have any experience with one of these swaps? I know lingenfelter and mallett both offered conversions. I just drove my neighbor's and I can't stop thinking about owning one...but the thought of a heavily modified CTS-V with no warranty scares me a bit.

Any owner experiences/troubles?

 

Sorry, no direct experience.. but, IMO an '09 might be a better choice than putting the 427 (overkill for a non-track focused car) in it - more hp and more torque than the 'stock' 7.0L anyway (and has a warranty)

 

And I think the older CTS-V's had a rear end issue, not sure if they fixed it or not, but it was pretty bad I think. I wouldnt want to add too much power to it without looking into it.

But I completely agree with HIRISC, by the time you buy a 427 and pay the labor for an install you could have had a new one with a SC. Simply put a pulley change and tune will get you as much as you would get safely from an NA 427 unless you really built it, and even then the power levels are much easier to achieve with the blower.

 

The 04 & 05s were known to have weak diffs. Fortunately the 06+ diffs are a direct swap in. I gave thought to an 09, but I think my neighbor might be in dire straights and willing to unload it on the cheap...plus the thing sounds like pure sex

 

Tell you what, those V's are fun as hell to drive, and handle great. The previous gen wasn't as refined as an e39 M5 but it was more fun imo, just had a nice raw character to it and so easy to mod. If you can do the work yourself you can do the swap for a good price. I can't remember what Lingenfelter charged but their prices were always $$$ so I imagine not cheap, pry be not far off from a new V when all is said and done (including cost of buying a last gen V).

If your going to buy a last gen V, I would just mod and go forced induction instead of a n/a 427 swap.

 

Yeah, I know a lot of people end up going with the maggie s/c. I need to do some research on remote mounted turbos....I know the idea is gaining some traction with the f-body crowd

 

I know i've seen a 427 swap. Search LS1Tech CTS-V forum...you'll probably find it there...apparently it's possible. STS is introducing a rear-mount turbo system and many people are using maggies on their LS6's and LS2's...I would do that if i were just looking for the power...if you just have to have a "one-off" I guess the 427 would be an option.

I would brace the diff regardless of what year...it's not necessarily a weakness in the gears but more a pinion angle issue from what i understand. a couple of hundred dollars will greatly help the situation.

Love my '05V !!!

 

do a TT setup. the 427 V will not be much of a daily driver type...