LaCrosse 5.3 V8 spy shot

[Barney Eaton]

Here is a link to a couple of spy shots.

http://www.sema.org/main/semaorghome.aspx?id=56591

[JohnD1956]

Oh boy, A v8 that's not a Norstar..

JD

[Guest ZondaC12]

wow, cool.

now lets see RWD!!!!

[NTX5467]

From what I've seen, the "mechanical heritage" of the LaCrosse Super is the Grand Prix GXP, which was the first application of the 5.3L V-8 in that platform. It has lots of heavy duty performance items on the chassis, plus mis-matched tire/wheel sizes for added handling/performance capabilities (wider on the front).

Then came the Impala SS with more "consumer-friendly" equipment, which could also be read "taxpayer-friendly" for incognito police packages (if they might exist). The Chevy got a different chassis tuning situation with the same size tires/wheels at all four locations (tires which were Goodyear Eagle RS-A tires rather than what the Pontiac had on it). Softer sway bars too, from the way CAR AND DRIVER talked about it. Yet when the handling numbers for the Impala SS and GP GXP were compared, the Impala was not that far off course from the Pontiac. C&D did complain about the lean in the turns on the Impala vs. the GP. From my observations, they did not consider that many of Chevrolet's chassis tuning calibations are "works in progress", which leaves the customer leeway in adding performance springs/struts/sway bars to their liking.

From the accompanying article on the SEMA website, it mentions MagneRide for the LaCrosse. Probably a more evolved setup of electronic struts similar to those used on other GM cars with that system. How well it performs can be a variation of what the particular software program is that runs them. On the Cadillac SRX, there are many inputs to the computer that runs the struts (i.e., vehicle speed, lateral acceleration, steering wheel angle and rate of change). As each of these input variables escalates suddenly, the struts are stiffened accordingly from their normal calibration. With a little software tweaking, it might be possible to have a firmer base calibration, I suspect (but I have not fully investigated this theory). In theory, this setup could be the "end all" system as it should compensate for wear (possibly) and also give the smoooooth ride that a Buick customer might desire with the performance capabilities of a performance-oriented vehicle when the need arises. It will be interesting to see what the "press" says about this setup.

By the same token, cross-breeding a salvage GP GXP with a LaCrosse Super might well yield the ultimate GM car on that platform. The Buick luxury with a trick suspension system, add the Pontiac's BAER brakes and sway bar setup (the Pontiac's "direct-link" front sway bar will bolt into the same place as the LaCrosse's normal sway bar setup, best I can tell), with some upgraded tires on the LaCrosse's factory alloy wheels . . . another great "sleeper" of a car with a Buick nameplate.

Interesting that Buick allegedly has to have "high tech" engines in their CXS model (the 3.6L VVT DOHC V-6), but in the V-8 performance models, pushrods seem to be acceptable (as it IS an engine related to what's in a Corvette). I still think it would be nice to be able to get the Supercharged 3800 in a LaCrosse rather than the high-feature 3.6L V-6 (with less power and torque), but I guess you have to give something away to meet the expectations of the customers who did not grow up with motors that made low rpm torque? Be that as it may . . .

Just some thoughts,

NTX5467