I Expected More !!!!

Ive always been interested in SLS andSTS models, I have heard for years how great they are ! Recently a 96 SLS fell into my lap for almost nothing, So i of course jumped at the chance to finally get my hands on one ! Its a relatively clean 110k car all stock .

So ! Whats the problem ? Right ? The car starts right up idles like a rock , has no signs of the infamous cooling system issues , But when i drive it i am convinced something has to be wrong ! I have over the years owned several older muscle type cars and there is in my opinion no way this car pulls like a 300 hp car !

What i get is , five or ten feet of rubber then ,a long boggy pull towards second gear ! Is this normal ??? It doesnt seem right to me ! What it reminds me of , if any of you remember , is and old badly tuned quadrajet lol !!

I haven't had a chance to check it out yet ,so any advice you guys could give as to where to start would be highly appreciated ....a friend advised to clean or replace the EGR valve so i guess ill start there !! As it is my old 180hp 4.5 Deville would probably dust this car !!! :((( HELP PLEASE

Reply to
MerliniHVAC
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The 1996 Cadillac SLS produced 275 Horsepower @ 5600 RPM and 300 ft. lb. torque @ 4000 RPM. It was the STS that produced the higher figures.

That being said, when looking for power in your car make sure to account for all the basics first. I'm eternally amazed at what gets overlooked because it's too simple a solution.

1) Plugs/Wires 2) Air Cleaner 3) Fuel Injector Cleaner

Has the transmission been flushed and cleaned out recently? How about the differential? Icky goo in there only adds friction, and friction robs power.

Also, it has 110K miles on it, have you checked the cylinder compression yet? Depending on how well it was maintained you may have compression loss due to worn rings and the like.

Cheers! Jody

Reply to
Jody F. Kerr

You shouldn't get even five or ten feet of rubber, with the traction control and all. The egr is full electronic and if it had a problem, it should set a performance type code. It will either stick closed, or stick open. Elaborate on the 'idles like a rock', is this a good or bad thing. The transmission is adaptive, if Grandma has been driving the car, then it will think Grandma is driving the car until it learns different. How does it accel when it is manually shifted through the gears? It is an SLS which is going to deliver you a bit less performance than the STS. It could be a little choked up with carbon as well, a lot of people don't drive these cars like they need to be driven. If at higher rpms of hard accel, you see a trail of gray sooty emissions, it is carbon. Check the plugs, found to run best on ac delco platinums. Use a good brand of mid grade fuel as well. Have the cooling system tested for presence of combustion gases.

Reply to
Certainly

Thank You both very much for the tips and info.......I will be giveing the car a good going over this weekend .......plugs wires air filter etc .ill let you know how it goes As far as it "idles like a rock " i meant it shows no sign of skipping or misfireing .......thx again

Reply to
MerliniHVAC

I too have owned and been involved with muscle cars for entire adult life. My wife has a 2005 STS, with the 320hp northstar engine, which is some 45+ hp more than your 96 SLS. Designed to be Caddy's top of the line 4 door performance sedan, the STS is very quick for a heavy 4 door luxury sedan, loaded with options, but at my 5,500' altitude, is some 1-2 seconds slower

0-60 and 2 seconds slower through the quarter than my stock 305hp 2000 LS1 Trans-am (5.1 sec 0-60, 13.6 sec, 106mph -quarter mile). Even though, compared other 4 door luxury sedans it is outstanding, I'd of been quite surprised had the Caddy come any closer to the T/A.

You are trying to compare apples to oranges. You didn't buy a muscle car, you bought a performance oriented, quite heavy luxury automobile. It should compete quite well with similar year Beemers, Lexus and Mercedes, which, inspite of all the bullshit they put in their advertising, are not muscle cars either.

What were your 0 to 60 and quarter mile times compared to you old Caddy? I think the seat of the pants difference you perceive in performance between your old caddy and your new one is just the difference in ride and sound proofing a newer caddy enjoys over the old runs. Go stomp on a old rattlely '59 Deville hard top or 'vert and it will sound an vibrate the seat of your pants like it is going a heck of a lot faster than it really is.

Reply to
Morty McSnerd

On Sun, 10 Feb 2008 09:14:41 -0700, "Morty McSnerd" wrote something wonderfully witty:

Just wait till I get my grubby little paws on the 2009 CTS-V. Then we will be talking about a Luxury Muscle car that will be a World Beater on any other platform out there in its price class. All I'll to do is move to Montana so I can always drive pedal to medal.

My 07 Northstar SRX ain't bad for what it is, and it is nice. However, the `09 CTS-V is going to be a shit screamer!!

Reply to
The Wolf With the Red Roses

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