Super Size your tow vehicle

[TimW451]

The 2023 Cadillac Escalade V Gets 682 HP From a Blackwing-Sourced Supercharged V-8 — Road & Track

It'll carry a starting MSRP of $149,990, weigh 6217 pounds and run 16.1-inch front rotors.

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@2kwik4u
@BlkGS

 

[RNYCLV]

holy big boy batman....

 

[BlkGS]

Very aware of this. Hoping for a Tahoe SS version. Or that these make people sell their low mile Hellcat Durangos and their prices come down a lot, haha.

Honestly it'll probably sell like crazy because the new escalade is insanely nice, and now you can get it with power that will give a cayenne turbo a problem, plus it's got a work truck underneath it so it won't break you with repairs.

That said, I dunno what they were going for with the seats, tire treads maybe, but they look horrible like 90s grand cherokee pillow seats. They should have gone with a traditional leather and Alcantara interior IMO.

Nothing but good things can come from this.

 

[adrianp89]

Awesome.

This thing would not give a new Cayenne Turbo any issues though. Porsche's advertised numbers are way slower than way they actually do.

 

[BlkGS]

Awesome.

This thing would not give a new Cayenne Turbo any issues though. Porsche's advertised numbers are way slower than way they actually do.

I think Porsche doesn't rate their cars with "break yo shitz" launch control and let's the car mags do that.

Tbh, a stock escalade V probably won't be out running a cayenne turbo s or GT or whatever their fast stuff is called now. But, it'll be more than fast enough (and can probably get a couple of wins in if they get the jump), can be pullied for even MORE power, and won't be draining your bank account in repairs. Plus it's bigger and tows more and costs less...not a lot less, but less. I don't think they're gonna get cross shopped much, this is more like a bigger bargain gls63. Weight and aero are what's gonna hold the V back.

 

[2kwik4u]

Nice looking SUV. That price tag hurts my head, but it's inline with what you would cross shop that with, so meh.

Needs about a 6in drop (maybe 4in is enough), that fender gap is absurdly bad compared to the competition. Should've at least stuffed the air suspension from the new Silverado EV under there. It's industry proven tech at this point, and can't be any more headache than the Magnaride shocks, or the POS lifters.

Having owned a Yukon years ago, I can agree that it's more of a clydesdale on steroids than a thoroughbred though. That 6.2k curb weight is up there. GL63 AMG is 5.7k though. Hell my Q7 is 5.5k and it's tiny compared to the big Cadillac.

Caddy - 9.09lbs/hp
GL63 AMG - 10.46lbs/hp
TBSS - 11.6lbs/hp
Q7 (with tune) - 13lbs/hp (Sq7 does better here with 500hp)
Hellcat Durango - 8.04lbs/hp (WOW)

 

[BlkGS]

Nice looking SUV. That price tag hurts my head, but it's inline with what you would cross shop that with, so meh.

Needs about a 6in drop (maybe 4in is enough), that fender gap is absurdly bad compared to the competition. Should've at least stuffed the air suspension from the new Silverado EV under there. It's industry proven tech at this point, and can't be any more headache than the Magnaride shocks, or the POS lifters.

Having owned a Yukon years ago, I can agree that it's more of a clydesdale on steroids than a thoroughbred though. That 6.2k curb weight is up there. GL63 AMG is 5.7k though. Hell my Q7 is 5.5k and it's tiny compared to the big Cadillac.

Caddy - 9.09lbs/hp
GL63 AMG - 10.46lbs/hp
TBSS - 11.6lbs/hp
Q7 (with tune) - 13lbs/hp (Sq7 does better here with 500hp)
Hellcat Durango - 8.04lbs/hp (WOW)

Air suspension is available on Tahoe and regular escalade. Air springs unfortunately have the opposite behavior you want for sporting vehicles, the lower they go, the softer their spring rate gets. So I don't think going with air springs is appropriate in a performance type vehicle.

I haven't driven the newest escalade, but the newest tahoes and yukon did feel a bit smaller than they are. Not to the extent that expedition does, but it's a dramatic improvement, even from the last generation, which was a big improvement too.

But really, this isn't meant to be a lotus to take corner carving. It's meant to drag a mustang at a stop light, then haul a boat, then haul your family, and be luxurious at all times. It's for the guy who had a vette but now has kids and a boat or rv. It's basically for someone like me, but with deeper pockets lol.

 

[2kwik4u]

<pulls out yet another flame suit>

I dunno......Maybe if it had a straight six in it I'd be more interested ?!?

 

[Julian]

Crazy that it only has 7000lbs towing stock.....didnt burrow to see what its tow package takes it to....

 

[2kwik4u]

Crazy that it only has 7000lbs towing stock.....didnt burrow to see what its tow package takes it to....

Probably the same to be honest. Lots of luxury to take away from tow rating

 

[BlkGS]

Probably the same to be honest. Lots of luxury to take away from tow rating

And GM has historically had a bit of a problem with keeping supercharged v8s cool...

 

[Julian]

Probably the same to be honest. Lots of luxury to take away from tow rating

The 420HP Escalade rating is 8300lbs.... strange

 

[2kwik4u]

And GM has historically had a bit of a problem with keeping supercharged v8s cool...

I swear GM engineers don't understand safety factor, or accounts don't understand the need for multi inch thick radiators.

My ZR5 overheated all the time. My TBSS overheated all the time. My Traverse was marginal at best.

My German and Asian cars have never had a problem with any of that.

 

[BlkGS]

I swear GM engineers don't understand safety factor, or accounts don't understand the need for multi inch thick radiators.

My ZR5 overheated all the time. My TBSS overheated all the time. My Traverse was marginal at best.

My German and Asian cars have never had a problem with any of that.

Yeah, they do well at cooling their base engine, but their upgraded engines, they seem like they don't provide e ough room for a bigger radiator.

Didn't your tbss have head issues though? Lol.

 

[2kwik4u]

Yeah, they do well at cooling their base engine, but their upgraded engines, they seem like they don't provide enough room for a bigger radiator.

Didn't your tbss have head issues though? Lol.

My SS had everything issues. I replaced all the rubber, the water pump thermostat, and upgraded the radiator. Added electric fans to it as well. Bear change was moving the trans cooler to the brake duct, and taking it out of the front stack loop. Helped a little, but not enough. Finally gave up when I found the head gasket leaks. Even when I could keep coolant in it, I had to watch how hard I pushed it or it would overheat. Worst was coming off the expressway, then sitting at a light at the bottom of the ramp. Efans on full blast the temp gage would spike high.

The ZR5 was just too much motor in a tiny package. It wasn't even a hot motor, just the stock 4.3L. Went in under warranty 3 times for overheating while idling in the summer. I added a thicker radiator and efans to that one, then took the trans cooler out of the front cooling stack and put it under the bed with dedicated fan. Couldn't run the A/C unless you were moving above 15moh and below 65mph. Most guys that kept those trucks ended up with auxillary coolers for everything scattered all around the truck.

Now, the RX8 was great. Lots of people had cooling issues with those, but mine had the factory "aero kit" on it that includes a front lip spoiler. That lip spoiler kept air flowing over the radiator and the 3 oil coolers. Never had an issue despite seeing lots of others fight it.

The Q7 (aside from the water pump) has a pretty stout cooling setup. Something like 10gal of capacity, a super thick radiator, and two auxillary coolers in the brake ducts for the supercharger. I've beat and beat on it, towing in FL with A/C on full blast and it's never had an issue. Guys tow out west over the mountains report same performance.

I'm fairly certain it's a design philosophy difference. GM designs around expected horsepower draw or use assuming you hit peak power for a few moments, while Audi designs around max power produced and 100% duty cycle.

With all that said, the 5.3's in my Yukon and Sierra were rock solid and never had a single issue. Even at full send with heavy trailers, high elevation and freeway speeds. Small engine in a big truck though, so very easy to put a big radiator in there. Also, to your point, base engines in both.

 

[BlkGS]

I think gm also does way better with their trucks and corvette than anything else. The more DNA you have from those, the better.

My tbss doesn't get warm in FL so far, but it's probably due for a coolant change and is on the gigantic mechanical fan that's something like 45000cfm or something absurd. But stuff like the oil pan with its pickup in the front, and mine being AWD has half shafts poking through it... That's stupid.

In college I had a satrun vue Redline, and while the engine never overheated, the ac system was undersized because they took it off one of their smaller cars and slapped it right in. That car could never cool the inside in FL heat.

As a kid my friends dad had an early 90s silverado work truck with the 5.7, and it wouldn't die. It didn't get oil changes, we did one and legit black muck came out. Not oil, but like muddy clumps. That was the only oil change I think it ever got. Last time I drove by the old hood a year or two ago, that pos was still there and towing his work trailer that it towed every day. So clearly GM can build something good, they just gotta focus, which they're bad at doing.

 

[GTBRMC]

Had a 2012 Tahoe LTZ with all the goodies including right final drive for my last tow vehicle. Loved it.
HOWEVER, $150,000 for a GM SUV?
Um, absolutely not.

 

[2kwik4u]

@BlkGS Have a friend that owns a '95 Tahoe. Treated the same way as your buddies dad's truck. His once girlfriend drove it to work for a week with the "check engine light" on....come to find out it was the check gauges light, and she had been driving it without coolant. Put something like 250 miles on it that way. He fixed the leak (busted plastic adapter at the back of the intake manifold), filled it with coolant and put another 100k miles on it. Thing was just this side of non-destructible.