Finally upgraded the sway bars

[DarkThinker]

Today after work, I finally got the super duper awesome CTS-V sway bars installed.

My friendly local car shop which services I used today for the very first time are awesome gear heads. They not only charged half the labor price than anyone had quoted me for the job, but served me some refreshments and insisted I enter the shop to hang around and chat about cars with them and had no problem with me observing every step and taking plenty of pics and most important of all, they let me bring my own parts and get them installed as opposed to almost every other auto chain around which rejected the job straight out. Hats off to these guys they rock!

Pics below:

Stock base CTS front and rear sway bars removed (very thin indeed):




Down comes the sub-frame for easier front sway bar access


In goes the much thicker and much stiffer - heavier CTS-V front sway bar


Out goes the thin and light rear CTS sway bar


In goes the thick and stiff CTS-V rear sway bar


Today I am a happy panda, I'm glad I followed the advice from some here, what a difference in handling these bars make. This was a cheap upgrade, the bars were a steal and the labor charges were decent.

Took it for a fast and twisty test drive on a back road and WOW is all I can say, hands down the best upgrade yet to go on this sedan. No more bouncing around the car for this ATer

Cheers!

 

[Supersonic64]

Which reminds me I need to get some sweet sway bars for my Focus.

 

[angry hampster]

Very cool! I love down-to-earth auto shops. I've got one guy here in Iowa City that I recommend to anyone I know just because he's a good guy. I know he won't try to cheat anyone and he's always good for shootin the shit.

 

[JulesMaximus]

And I need some sweet sway bars for my '86 Monte Carlo! Viva la Mexico!!!

 

[DarkThinker]

Which reminds me I need to get some sweet sway bars for my Focus.

Which reminds me, I read the thread about your focus, yes some upgrades would make your focus a nicer ride to drive, want to put a decent low cost pair of sway bars, go ahead, want to enhance the look a bit sure, but my advice to you is to not invest a decent amount of money into a FWD car to turn it into a fast car. Get a RWD car that is affordable to you and will not cost you an arm and a leg and mod away and keep it to enjoy like I am doing with my CTS. All the FWD cars I owned didn't get any performance mods of whatsoever, my gear head friends strongly advised me not to and they were right, I am putting my mods money into the right car now and it's much more rewarding.

Very cool! I love down-to-earth auto shops. I've got one guy here in Iowa City that I recommend to anyone I know just because he's a good guy. I know he won't try to cheat anyone and he's always good for shootin the shit.

Absolutely, good mechanics are hard to come by. These mechanics as soon as they saw me open the trunk with two thick and beefy sway bars, they treated me much different than the rest of their customers, they let me in they chatted with me, they lowered their labor, they appreciate people who really love their cars like they do.

Even though they are a regular chain auto tire and lube place, I showed them my retarded CTS muffler end:






And how I would like to have the end chopped off and have sport CTS tips welded like in here to turn into something like this:



They said no problemo, just bring us the tips you like!

Though this is a custom job that usually performance and sports exhaust shops usually take which chain stores turn down, they said they will do it under one hour if I bring them the tips I would like installed. Which I will probably salvage from a wrecked sports CTS or CTS-V.

Last week I called a nearby performance exhaust place abotu a quote for such a job, they absolutely refused that I bring my own tips for them to wled, they told me to check their tips collection pick one I like nad they will install. The tips I would like they make bust would cost me $150 for a pair, and if you add labor, I would probably spend $300 to have it doen which is insane at best. I said no thanks I know I can get this done for under a $100, they said good luck and I was right. The Cadillac dealership I go to for warranty repairs quoted me $300+ in labor for the sway bar swap!! And the guy wasn't sure he could let me have my own bars in their. GM sells the bars for $300+ easy! That's a $700 total...I barely paid a $100 at this place + a $100 for the bars which is way lower.

Additionally, I am very very lucky that 30 minutes away from me, there is a HUGE junk yard specializing in wrecked high performance luxury cars like CTS-V, Corvettes, GTOs, whom are gearheads as well. Imagine they gave me the CTS-V bars with bushings and end links on them for $50 a piece!!! They can easily let me have the tips for cheaps if they have them. I am truly blessed to have moved to an area with decent gearheads, were I was before this was a dream at best.

 

[thescreensavers]

why not just get an aftermarket Axle back that sounds better?

 

[DarkThinker]

why not just get an aftermarket Axle back that sounds better?

Well, I'd rather keep things as stock as possible, sway bars from a CTS-V will probably go unnoticed and considered no issue, but a custom muffler / exhaust system will give them an excuse to escape repairs should something exhaust related occur. I love my free repairs and I want to keep it that way...well I hope at least.

 

[JulesMaximus]

That's a $700 total...I barely paid a $100 at this place + a $100 for the bars which is way lower.

Additionally, I am blessed that 30 minutes away from me, there is a HUGE junk yard specializing in wrecked high performance luxury cars like CTS-V, Corvettes, GTOs, whom are gearheads as well. Imagine they gave me the CTS-V bars with bushings and end links on them for $50 a piece!!! They can easily let me have the tips for cheaps if they have them. I am truly blessed to have moved to an area with decent gearheads, were I was before this was a dream at best.

Do you have any idea how easy it is to replace sway bars?

And FTR, you are not blessed...you just live in an area with idiots who have a lot of disposable income and who wreck their cars.

 

[Howard]

Yours is a 3.6L, right? Just put in a CTS-V exhaust. Frees up some HP and sounds better, to boot.

 

[DarkThinker]

Do you have any idea how easy it is to replace sway bars?

Yes I do know how to replace the sway bars, however the situation is I am in a new area, away from my tools and garage, I do not have the tools, the space nor the time now to adventure with my commuter, I left the job to who can do it right quicker and for sure.

I monitored every step of the removal and installation, the tools they used I had none of and even with the car on a lift, the rear sway bar was an easy job the front sway bar however required the front subframe to be dropped for a hassle free installation, the front sway bar on the CTS isn't the easiest thing to mess around with and I am glad I handed it over to a professional.

And FTR, you are not blessed...you just live in an area with idiots who have a lot of disposable income and who wreck their cars.

And if that isn't a blessing I don't know what is, it means cheap parts for me and that's all that matters. Eibach and Hotchkis want $300 and $400 for their sway bars for instance, if I hadn't had access to that nearby junkyard (conisder the shipping savings as well) I would have probably had to get me a pair of Eibachs.

 

[DarkThinker]

Yours is a 3.6L, right? Just put in a CTS-V exhaust. Frees up some HP and sounds better, to boot.

I thought about that, a CTS-V I can probably get a CTS-V exhaust from that place I go to, but I don't know of anyone whom has done that, I am not sure how the car would sound and I am not sure about a performance boost either. Can you link me to some thread some where of a guy doing that?

 

[Howard]

I thought about that, a CTS-V I can probably get a CTS-V exhaust from that place I go to, but I don't know of anyone whom has done that, I am not sure how the car would sound and I am not sure about a performance boost either. Can you link me to some thread some where of a guy doing that?

Lots of people have done it before.

http://www.cadillacforums.com/forum...00677-exhaust-install-anyone-whos-done-v.html
http://www.cadillacforums.com/forum...neration-forum-2003/197836-cts-v-exhaust.html
http://www.cadillacforums.com/forum...n-forum-2003/179257-cts-vs-cts-v-exhaust.html
http://www.cadillacforums.com/forum...ion-forum-2003/176210-cts-v-exhaust-info.html
http://www.cadillacforums.com/forum...um-2003/172065-cts-v-exhaust-fit-cts-3-a.html
http://www.cadillacforums.com/forum...orum-2003/171676-v-exhuast-goes-tomorrow.html
http://www.cadillacforums.com/forum...on-forum-2003/166659-v-exhaust-installed.html
http://www.cadillacforums.com/forum...-2003/161036-exhaust-note-v-exhaust-3-6l.html
http://www.cadillacforums.com/forum...on-forum-2003/58398-dyno-results-3-6-w-v.html -> 25hp? wtf?
http://www.cadillacforums.com/forum...ration-forum-2003/151424-v-exhaust-3-6-a.html
http://www.cadillacforums.com/forum...003/151229-exhaust-v-upgrade-need-advice.html
http://www.cadillacforums.com/forum...on-forum-2003/117470-3-6l-cts-2005-cts-v.html
http://www.cadillacforums.com/forum...um-2003/108968-cts-v-exhaust-system-3-6l.html
http://www.cadillacforums.com/forum...8465-v-exhaust-x-pipe-magnaflow-mufflers.html

 

[DarkThinker]

Lots of people have done it before.

http://www.cadillacforums.com/forum...00677-exhaust-install-anyone-whos-done-v.html
http://www.cadillacforums.com/forum...neration-forum-2003/197836-cts-v-exhaust.html
http://www.cadillacforums.com/forum...n-forum-2003/179257-cts-vs-cts-v-exhaust.html
http://www.cadillacforums.com/forum...ion-forum-2003/176210-cts-v-exhaust-info.html
http://www.cadillacforums.com/forum...um-2003/172065-cts-v-exhaust-fit-cts-3-a.html
http://www.cadillacforums.com/forum...orum-2003/171676-v-exhuast-goes-tomorrow.html
http://www.cadillacforums.com/forum...on-forum-2003/166659-v-exhaust-installed.html
http://www.cadillacforums.com/forum...-2003/161036-exhaust-note-v-exhaust-3-6l.html
http://www.cadillacforums.com/forum...on-forum-2003/58398-dyno-results-3-6-w-v.html -> 25hp? wtf?
http://www.cadillacforums.com/forum...ration-forum-2003/151424-v-exhaust-3-6-a.html
http://www.cadillacforums.com/forum...003/151229-exhaust-v-upgrade-need-advice.html
http://www.cadillacforums.com/forum...on-forum-2003/117470-3-6l-cts-2005-cts-v.html
http://www.cadillacforums.com/forum...um-2003/108968-cts-v-exhaust-system-3-6l.html
http://www.cadillacforums.com/forum...8465-v-exhaust-x-pipe-magnaflow-mufflers.html

According to the guys in this thread; (http://www.cadillacforums.com/forum...ion-forum-2003/176210-cts-v-exhaust-info.html)

A V exhaust has a minor negative impact on the power, but improves sound. A member adds if doing for looks then tips are the way to go which I agree with, I am interested in the look. I love the look of the CTS sport tips, very unique.

 

[fbrdphreak]

Larger diameter exhaust piping isn't worth it on most non-performance motors. The cumulative effect of exhaust + headers + intake AND a retune would likely have a nice result, but that's a ton of money for not a lot of power in return.

The tips should be a nice look. Having mufflers welded in is the best way to get a bit more aggressive sound. And that would have no effect on your warranty btw.

I'd say stick with the stock mufflers though. Every V6 CTS with aftermarket mufflers I've heard sounds like shit.

 

[thomsbrain]

:thumbsup: for doing both front and rear at the same time. I constantly do a facepalm when I hear about people doing only front sway bar on cars. "It's so much more stable now!" No shit, dumbass, it's understeering like a pig now!

I've been thinking about heavier bars for both my cars, too.