CT5-V C&D blew up their long term CT5-V BW

[Ergoc5]

First time hearing about an LT4 engine failure...

We Blew Up the Engine in Our Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing during Initial Testing

GM says this is the first such failure of any supercharged LT4 V-8.

www.caranddriver.com

 

[Likuid]

Ouch, bad luck for GM happening on a press car.

If I know anything about the press though, they were probably excited. More content and drama = more clicks.

 

[565565]

I remember someone mentioning that C&D had a long term 5BW in March and given how much they loved the car I was so surprised they never published anything on it. Now we know why.

 

[Slick Blackwings]

I’m scared now, last night coming back from dinner I matted it ran through a few gears pulled in garage saw smoke from under hood pushed oil dipstick out dumped some oil! Could I have not put it fully back in, possibly. Had to work today cleaned it early morning will run it tomorrow. 3000 miles

 

[SIX 40]

"Who signed that engine!? Get them in my office...!"

 

[white98ls]

That sucks. You know some people are going to jump to the conclusion that these are unreliable now, which seems unfair given the freak nature of the failure and the reliability of other LT4s.

Glad to see they got the engine replaced in a decent amount of time and are back to testing.

 

[Exia]

20k LT4s seems to small a number.

I swear GM has produced 50-60k to date. The C7 Z06 was 60 short of 40k being produced. Which would mean almost 40k LT4 engines just from the Corvette not including the 3rd gen CTS-V, 6th gen Camaro ZL1 and now the Blackwing and Escalade V.

Where did the 20k number come from?

 

[Speed Racer 007]

Shit happens, unfortunately for this Mag, but more clicks for sure.

It's great to hear/see the confidence within the engineers when this car was first talked about.

 

[Neveready]

That sucks. You know some people are going to jump to the conclusion that these are unreliable now, which seems unfair given the freak nature of the failure and the reliability of other LT4s.

Glad to see they got the engine replaced in a decent amount of time and are back to testing.

Let them believe that, less demand from those who are in the know.

The comments section had some possible explanations. Could be foreign containments, could be a fouled spark plug or maybe they shouldn't have done 15 standing-start launches on a 1500 mi engine. That was most likely factory oil, I wonder how long that car was sitting in the Lot of Doom and how old that oil was.

I'm still not 100% convinced that the oil change interval should be based on the OLM, esp when the engine is that new. All LT4 engines in the Camaro ZL1 are wet sump, like the BW. The ZL1 requires mandatory oil changes at 500 and 1500 along with the diff oil.

ZL1 and ZL1 1LE 500/1500 Mile and Beyond Service Info - CAMARO6


The explanation for the Dry Sump Corvette LT4 engine as to why the oil needs to be changed out at 500 mi.

Corvette Break-In Oil Change Information – TechLink

gm-techlink.com

Something doesn't add up here.

 

[Snowwolfe]

I mentioned this on another forum but something aint adding up. Why would GM either share photos with C&D or allow them to photograph the damage and then publish the photos ?

 

[Daijoubu]

Exactly what I was thinking. You just never hear of LT4, LT1, LS3, LSA engines blowing up (stock ones, at least). LT4s going into limp mode? yes, but fixed. LS7 dropping valve problem? Maybe overblown, but fixed. GM has figured out how to build a reliable V8, so not worried about that.

20k LT4s seems to small a number.

I swear GM has produced 50-60k to date. The C7 Z06 was 60 short of 40k being produced. Which would mean almost 40k LT4 engines just from the Corvette not including the 3rd gen CTS-V, 6th gen Camaro ZL1 and now the Blackwing and Escalade V.

Where did the 20k number come from?

 

[NorCal Blackwing]

I mentioned this on another forum but something aint adding up. Why would GM either share photos with C&D or allow them to photograph the damage and then publish the photos ?

Full transparency; the cat is out of the bag so might as well engage instead of let C&D speculate.

The failure is worrying, but GM's engagement is reassuring; they've acknowledged the issue in a very public way. If there is a repeatable root cause, bad batch etc. you can bet they are looking into it.

 

[Mcard23]

Curious to see if anything comes of this….My car ate a spark plug in cylinder 6 (Same as C&D) and was throwing all kinds of CELs and idling rough. Thankfully a new spark plug solved the issue and my engine didn’t go boom lol. Happened at around 3k miles, car had already been tracked two full days at Road America and had all fluids changed immediately after break in.

 

[Powerhungry]

Let them believe that, less demand from those who are in the know.

The comments section had some possible explanations. Could be foreign containments, could be a fouled spark plug or maybe they shouldn't have done 15 standing-start launches on a 1500 mi engine. That was most likely factory oil, I wonder how long that car was sitting in the Lot of Doom and how old that oil was.

I'm still not 100% convinced that the oil change interval should be based on the OLM, esp when the engine is that new. All LT4 engines in the Camaro ZL1 are wet sump, like the BW. The ZL1 requires mandatory oil changes at 500 and 1500 along with the diff oil.

ZL1 and ZL1 1LE 500/1500 Mile and Beyond Service Info - CAMARO6


The explanation for the Dry Sump Corvette LT4 engine as to why the oil needs to be changed out at 500 mi.

Corvette Break-In Oil Change Information – TechLink

gm-techlink.com

Something doesn't add up here.

just so I understand (not being a real techie guy) - are you suggesting it's advisable to change at 500 and 1500? And after that what interval would you recommend? Thx..

 

[Neveready]

just so I understand (not being a real techie guy) - are you suggesting it's advisable to change at 500 and 1500? And after that what interval would you recommend? Thx..

Yes. That was what was recommended for every LT4 prior to the BW. Why the BW LT4 interval changed, I don't know.

So I changed my oil at 531 mi a few days ago, it was $95 at the dealership and I used the GM rewards to pay for it, plus I got another $100 worth of points to use for another oil change or the diff fluid. They offered it for free as the 1st maintenance is included, but I chose to use my points.

After 1500 mi, you follow the regular interval which is based on the dash telling you when to change your oil. I don't plan to change my diff fluid till 1500, because I don't plan to beat on it all that much or track it till after that.

This was discussed a few times over the forum, most guys just started ripping on their BW at 501 mi. They'll probably be fine, but I don't take chances for a few hundred bucks on an engine.

I think I'll check my plugs too, just to make sure they look ok.

this is all cheap insurance and even though a warranty would cover something like this, I don't want to worry about a replacement engine if I can help it.

 

[poor-sha]

My 5BW also had what the tech described as a broken spark plug. I don’t know which cylinder and I discovered it as a stutter under acceleration. It happened on the street but was after my first track day.

The calls for early oil changes came because the sealant used in the engine was causing oil foaming when new. I presume GM found another sealant that didn’t have this problem and removed the requirement for a 500 mile oil change. The 1500 mile break in is primarily for the transmission and diff.

 

[Neveready]

The calls for early oil changes came because the sealant used in the engine was causing oil foaming when new. I presume GM found another sealant that didn’t have this problem and removed the requirement for a 500 mile oil change. The 1500 mile break in is primarily for the transmission and diff.

They pointed to the dry sump sealant, but the ZL1 is wet sump so why the 500mi oil change?

My point is, why take a chance. I'll probably swap plugs alot more often. Until this problem surfaces.

 

[Ergoc5]

Is the 1500 mile differential oil change a must or only if you are tracking the car?

 

[poor-sha]

Is the 1500 mile differential oil change a must or only if you are tracking the car?

It’s 1500 miles before you track and then change the diff oil after your first track day.

 

[Ergoc5]

It’s 1500 miles before you track and then change the diff oil after your first track day.

Yeah that's what Mirza told me ...but no need to do it if not tracking the car I assume?