Cadillac V8 Engine
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The term Cadillac V8 may refer to any of a number of V8 engines produced by the Cadillac Division of
General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...
since it pioneered the first such mass-produced engine in 1914. Most commonly, such a reference is to one of the manufacturer's most successful, best known, or longest-lived 90° V8 engine series. These include the pioneering
overhead valve An overhead valve (OHV) engine, sometimes called a ''pushrod engine'', is a piston engine whose valves are located in the cylinder head above the combustion chamber. This contrasts with earlier flathead engines, where the valves were located be ...
cu in introduced in 1949, made in three displacements up to ; a introduced in 1963 that grew to ; and a introduced in 1968 and enlarged to . Also notable was the
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, which debuted in 1992 as a 4.6 litre, and was also produced in 4.4 L and 4.2 L versions. When the
Northstar engine series The Northstar engine is a family of high-performance 90° V engines produced by General Motors between 1993 and 2011. Regarded as GM's most technically complex engine, the original double overhead cam, four valve per cylinder, aluminum block/alu ...
ended production in 2010 it became the last
General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...
division to retain its own proprietary V8 design. This changed when Cadillac created the twin-turbo 'Blackwing' engine in 2019.


L-head

The Type 51 was the first Cadillac V8. Introduced in 1914, it was the standard engine for 1915 Cadillac models. It was a 90° design with an L-head (
sidevalve A flathead engine, also known as a sidevalve engine''American Rodder'', 6/94, pp.45 & 93. or valve-in-block engine is an internal combustion engine with its poppet valves contained within the engine block, instead of in the cylinder head, as ...
) configuration and was
water-cooled Cooling tower and water discharge of a nuclear power plant Water cooling is a method of heat removal from components and industrial equipment. Evaporative cooling using water is often more efficient than air cooling. Water is inexpensive and non ...
. Bore and stroke was , for a total of of displacement. Output was . This engine was designed under the leadership of Cadillac's chief engineer (1914-1917), Scottish-born D (D'Orsay) McCall White (1880 -), later a vice president of Cadillac. Hired by
Henry Leland Henry Martyn Leland (February 16, 1843 – March 26, 1932) was an American machinist, inventor, engineer and automotive entrepreneur. He founded the two premier American luxury automotive marques, Cadillac and Lincoln. Early years Henry M. Lelan ...
for his V-engine expertise from his employment as chief engineer at Napier, and previously
Daimler Daimler is a German surname. It may refer to: People * Gottlieb Daimler (1834–1900), German inventor, industrialist and namesake of a series of automobile companies * Adolf Daimler (1871–1913), engineer and son of Gottlieb Daimler * Paul Da ...
at Coventry, he was later to move to Nash with
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. White was appointed to a committee of three to supervise the development of the V12 Liberty aircraft motor, that later contributed to cross town rival
Lincoln Motor Company Lincoln Motor Company, or simply Lincoln, is the luxury vehicle division of American automobile manufacturer Ford Motor Company, Ford. Marketed among the top luxury vehicle brands in the United States, Lincoln was positioned closely against i ...
introducing the
Lincoln L series The Lincoln L series (also called the Lincoln Model L) is the first automobile that was produced by the Lincoln Motor Company. Introduced in 1920, the L series would continue to be produced after the bankruptcy of Lincoln in 1922 and its purchase ...
much later in 1917. The engine was refined for 1923 with a cross-plane
crankshaft A crankshaft is a mechanical component used in a piston engine to convert the reciprocating motion into rotational motion. The crankshaft is a rotating shaft containing one or more crankpins, that are driven by the pistons via the connecting ...
that introduced the (now standard) 90° offset for each pair of cylinders which improved balance and smoothness. Power was up to . The L-head was on the Ward's 10 Best Engines of the 20th century list. L-head applications: *
Cadillac Type 51 The Cadillac V8, introduced as the Type 51, is a large, luxurious automobile that was introduced in September 1914 by Cadillac as a 1915 model. It was Cadillac's first V8 automobile, replacing the four-cylinder Model 30, and used the all new GM ...
* Cadillac Type 53 *
Cadillac Type 55 The Cadillac V8, introduced as the Type 51, is a large, luxurious automobile that was introduced in September 1914 by Cadillac as a 1915 model. It was Cadillac's first V8 automobile, replacing the four-cylinder Model 30, and used the all new GM ...
* Cadillac Type 57 * Cadillac Type 59 *
Cadillac Type 61 The Cadillac V8, introduced as the Type 51, is a large, luxurious automobile that was introduced in September 1914 by Cadillac as a 1915 model. It was Cadillac's first V8 automobile, replacing the four-cylinder Cadillac Model 30, Model 30, and us ...
*
Cadillac V-63 The Cadillac V-63 is a large luxury automobile that was introduced in September 1923 by Cadillac as a 1924 model, replacing the previous Type 61. It used the GM C platform and was replaced by the Cadillac Series 355 in 1931. It retained the nam ...
* Cadillac Series 341 *
Oldsmobile Light Eight The Oldsmobile Light Eight was an automobile produced by the Oldsmobile Division of General Motors in roadster, two-door coupe, four-door sedan from between 1916 and 1923. It was powered by a sidevalve V8 engine, the maker's first, and share ...
Cadillac created a new V8, the ''341'', for 1928. It was a engine and produced . The same year saw the introduction of the
synchromesh A manual transmission (MT), also known as manual gearbox, standard transmission (in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States), or stick shift (in the United States), is a multi-speed motor vehicle transmission system, where gear changes ...
transmission. This engine was used in the Series 341 and 341B cars of 1928 and 1929. From 1930 through 1935, Cadillac produced a version with an increased displacement of . This used a bore and stroke. This engine was used in the Cadillac Series 353 and Series 355.


Monobloc

A "
monobloc engine A ''monobloc'' or ''en bloc'' engine is an internal-combustion piston engine some of whose major components (such as cylinder head, cylinder block, or crankcase) are formed, usually by casting, as a single integral unit, rather than being assemble ...
" was used in 1936's
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. It was designed to be the company's next-generation powerplant at reduced cost from the 353 and Cadillac V12. The monobloc's cylinders and crankcase were cast as a single unit, and it used hydraulic valve lifters for durability. This design allowed the creation of the mid-priced Series 60 line. Bore and stroke was . This engine was modified with a bore for the 1936-1948 engine. This was used in the Series 60/60S/61/62/63/65/67 and 70/72/75. It was also used in
tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engin ...
s, e.g.
M5 Stuart The M3 Stuart/Light Tank M3, was an American light tank of World War II. An improved version of the tank entered service as the M5 in 1942 to be supplied to British and other Commonwealth forces under lend-lease prior to the entry of the U.S. in ...
and the
M24 Chaffee The M24 Chaffee (officially Light Tank, M24) was an American light tank used during the later part of World War II; it was also used in post–World War II conflicts including the Korean War, and by the French in the War in Algeria and the Firs ...
, in
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
mated to a
Hydramatic Hydramatic (also known as Hydra-Matic) is an automatic transmission developed by both General Motors' Cadillac and Oldsmobile divisions. Introduced in 1939 for the 1940 model year vehicles, the ''Hydramatic'' was the first mass-produced fully-a ...
transmission.


LaSalle

In 1937, the new monobloc flathead gained in Cadillac V-8 models to , while the LaSalle
straight-8 The straight-eight engine (also referred to as an inline-eight engine; abbreviated I8 or L8) is a piston engine with eight cylinders arranged in a straight line along the crankshaft. The number of cylinders and perfect primary and secondary engi ...
of 1934–1936 that originated from
Oldsmobile Oldsmobile or formally the Oldsmobile Division of General Motors was a brand of American automobiles, produced for most of its existence by General Motors. Originally established as "Olds Motor Vehicle Company" by Ransom E. Olds in 1897, it produ ...
actually was replaced with the 1936 smaller version at . In 1941, the LaSalle nameplate was phased out along with the , and Cadillacs, all powered, were available with the new
Hydramatic Hydramatic (also known as Hydra-Matic) is an automatic transmission developed by both General Motors' Cadillac and Oldsmobile divisions. Introduced in 1939 for the 1940 model year vehicles, the ''Hydramatic'' was the first mass-produced fully-a ...
automatic transmission An automatic transmission (sometimes abbreviated to auto or AT) is a multi-speed transmission used in internal combustion engine-based motor vehicles that does not require any input from the driver to change forward gears under normal driving c ...
which debuted in Oldsmobile the previous year. These engines were produced through 1948.


OHV


331 series

For 1949, Cadillac and
Oldsmobile Oldsmobile or formally the Oldsmobile Division of General Motors was a brand of American automobiles, produced for most of its existence by General Motors. Originally established as "Olds Motor Vehicle Company" by Ransom E. Olds in 1897, it produ ...
each produced a new V8 design (the Oldsmobile engine was the
303 __NOTOC__ Year 303 ( CCCIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. It was known in the Roman Empire as the Year of the Consulship of Diocletian and Maximian (or, less frequently, y ...
). Both of the engines were
overhead valve An overhead valve (OHV) engine, sometimes called a ''pushrod engine'', is a piston engine whose valves are located in the cylinder head above the combustion chamber. This contrasts with earlier flathead engines, where the valves were located be ...
designs, pioneered by Buick. The Cadillac 331 engine featured a "dry" (coolant exited through an assembly attached directly to the cylinder heads), open runner (requiring the use of a tappet valve cover)
intake manifold In automotive engineering, an inlet manifold or intake manifold (in American English) is the part of an engine that supplies the fuel/air mixture to the cylinders. The word ''manifold'' comes from the Old English word ''manigfeald'' (from the ...
, rear-mounted
distributor A distributor is an enclosed rotating switch used in spark-ignition internal combustion engines that have mechanically timed ignition. The distributor's main function is to route high voltage current from the ignition coil to the spark plugs ...
, and shaft-mounted rockers. Crankshaft end play is carried by the rear bearing on the two GM engines. It has the lighter 'skirtless' block where the oil pan flange does not descend appreciably below the crankshaft centerline and they both have a partial integral cast iron clutch housing that compares to the early Chrysler Hemi V8 design. 1955 331 engines went to a lighter "flat back" that bolted to a clutch and flywheel housing at the front of the transmission. Bore and stroke are for an overall displacement of . This engine features an oiling system which uses a central cast-in passage between the lifter galleries feeding oil to the cam and crank by grooves machined into the cam bores. A single drilled passage per bearing saddle feeds both cam and crank journals. Shared with the Oldsmobile Rocket V8 is how the lifters are supplied oil through small 'bleeds' instead of placing the lifters directly into the right and left side oil supply galleries. Many early racers would replace the Cadillac hydraulic lifter and rocker assemblies with the solid lifters and adjustable rockers from the Studebaker V8 for operation at higher engine speeds.


365

Displacement was increased to for 1956 by increasing the bore to while maintaining the stroke. For the 3 years that the 365 was made, the base versions had a single 4 barrel carburetor. The 1956 version produced 285 horsepower. The 1957 version raised that base engine output to 300 horsepower, while the 1958 base version cranked out 310. Eldorados featured multi-carb engines in all 3 years. The Eldorado engines were optional on all other Cadillacs too. The 1958 Eldorado 3-2bbl version produced .


390

A longer, stroke pushed displacement to for 1959, yielding , while the Eldorado Tri-power reached .


390 series

For the 1963 model year Cadillac redesigned its V8 engine, modernizing the tooling used in the production line while optimizing the engine's design. Although it shared the same layout and architecture with the 1949-vintage engine, the revised engine had shorter
connecting rod A connecting rod, also called a 'con rod', is the part of a piston engine which connects the piston to the crankshaft. Together with the crank, the connecting rod converts the reciprocating motion of the piston into the rotation of the cranksh ...
s and was lower, narrower, and shorter. The accessories (water pump,
power steering A power steering is a mechanical device equipped on a motor vehicle that helps drivers steer the vehicle by reducing steering effort needed to turn the steering wheel, making it easier for the vehicle to turn or maneuver at lower speeds. Hydraul ...
pump,
distributor A distributor is an enclosed rotating switch used in spark-ignition internal combustion engines that have mechanically timed ignition. The distributor's main function is to route high voltage current from the ignition coil to the spark plugs ...
) mounted on a
die-cast Die casting is a metal casting process that is characterized by forcing molten metal under high pressure into a mold cavity. The mold cavity is created using two hardened tool steel dies which have been machined into shape and work similarly t ...
aluminum Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. It has ...
housing at the front of the engine for improved accessibility. An
alternator An alternator is an electrical generator that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy in the form of alternating current. For reasons of cost and simplicity, most alternators use a rotating magnetic field with a stationary armature.Go ...
replaced the former
generator Generator may refer to: * Signal generator, electronic devices that generate repeating or non-repeating electronic signals * Electric generator, a device that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy. * Generator (circuit theory), an eleme ...
. The
crankshaft A crankshaft is a mechanical component used in a piston engine to convert the reciprocating motion into rotational motion. The crankshaft is a rotating shaft containing one or more crankpins, that are driven by the pistons via the connecting ...
was cored out to make it both lighter and stronger. The revised engine was lighter than its predecessor, for a total dry weight of . The revised engine shared the same bore and stroke of its predecessor, for an unchanged displacement of . Power was unchanged at , as was torque at .


429

For 1964 the engine had a bore and stroke, raising displacement to . Power rose to and torque to . It also included its first
emission control system Vehicle emissions control is the study of reducing the emissions produced by motor vehicles, especially internal combustion engines. Types of emissions Emissions of many air pollutants have been shown to have variety of negative effects on public ...
, a
positive crankcase ventilation A crankcase ventilation system removes unwanted gases from the crankcase of an internal combustion engine. The system usually consists of a tube, a one-way valve and a vacuum source (such as the inlet manifold). The unwanted gases, called "blow- ...
unit was installed beginning in the 1964 model year. The 429 was used through the 1967 model year. (It is not uncommon to find an early 1964 model year with the '63 390 V8 as Cadillac tried to use up the older engines in stock.)


472 series

Cadillac introduced an all-new engine for 1968. Although the modernized 390 series engine was compact and light for its displacement and output, represented the limit of the original architecture's expansion, and it had been surpassed by
Chrysler Stellantis North America (officially FCA US and formerly Chrysler ()) is one of the " Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is the American subsidiary of the multinational automoti ...
's
440 Year 440 (CDXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Valentinianus and Anatolius (or, less frequently, year 1193 ''Ab urbe ...
and
Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincoln ...
's 462 and 460. Cadillac went bigger - with provision for even more expansion. At introduction, the new engine had a bore and stroke for a displacement of . "Extensively redesigned" to ease maintenance, it used 10% fewer parts and 25% fewer gasketed joints as before. It delivered at 4400 rpm and a massive torque at just 3000 rpm. The new engine was about heavier than its predecessor. It was used through 1974. It was designed with potential for a displacement.


500

For 1970 Cadillac fitted a crankshaft with a stroke, increasing total displacement on the engine to . At its introduction it was rated at , SAE gross, and of torque. For 1971 compression was reduced from 10.0:1 to 8.5:1, the lowered compression ratio dropped the 500's gross output from to , or in the new SAE net ratings. By 1976, its final year, it had fallen to . However, a new Bendix
electronic fuel injection Manifold injection is a mixture formation system for internal combustion engines with external mixture formation. It is commonly used in engines with spark ignition that use petrol as fuel, such as the Otto engine, and the Wankel engine. In a mani ...
system was offered as an option, and it increased power output to . The 500 was exclusive to the
Eldorado El Dorado (, ; Spanish for "the golden"), originally ''El Hombre Dorado'' ("The Golden Man") or ''El Rey Dorado'' ("The Golden King"), was the term used by the Spanish in the 16th century to describe a mythical tribal chief (''zipa'') or king o ...
until 1975 where the powerplant was standard in all Cadillacs except for the Seville, which was powered by a fuel-injected Oldsmobile 350.


425 series

Starting in the mid to late 1970s Cadillac expanded its product range offering more mid sized vehicles, i.e. sedans and coupes. While initially the
Cadillac Seville The Seville was manufactured by Cadillac from 1975 to 2004 as a smaller-sized, premium model. It was replaced by the STS in 2004. Origin of the name The name of "Cadillac's first small car" was selected over a revival of LaSalle or the GM des ...
for example, which was positioned in the mid sized segment used a variant of Oldsmobile based architecture V8, Cadillac also began work on its own proprietary engines. In 1977 Cadillac introduced a new V8, based on the architecture of the 472, but with a smaller, bore and the same stroke. The new engine was also lighter. The 425 was offered in L33 form, with a four-barrel carburetor, producing at 4000 rpm and of torque at 2000 rpm, and L35 with electronic
multi-port fuel injection Fuel injection is the introduction of fuel in an internal combustion engine, most commonly automotive engines, by the means of an injector. This article focuses on fuel injection in reciprocating piston and Wankel rotary engines. All compr ...
for and of torque, but peaked at 2400 rpm. The 425 was used through 1979 on all Cadillacs except the Seville and 1979 Eldorados.


368

In 1980 the 425 was replaced with the L61, which was the same basic 472 family engine de-bored to but retaining the 472 and 425 engines' stroke for a total displacement of . The reduction in displacement was largely an effort to meet
CAFE A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-caf ...
requirements for fuel economy.
Throttle-body fuel injection Manifold injection is a mixture formation system for internal combustion engines with external mixture formation. It is commonly used in engines with spark ignition that use petrol as fuel, such as the Otto engine, and the Wankel engine. In a mani ...
was now standard on Eldorado and Seville when equipped with the 368.
Rear-wheel drive Rear-wheel drive (RWD) is a form of engine and transmission layout used in motor vehicles, in which the engine drives the rear wheels only. Until the late 20th century, rear-wheel drive was the most common configuration for cars. Most rear-wheel ...
cars and the Commercial Chassis for hearse and ambulance builders used the
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Quadrajet The Quadrajet is a four barrel carburetor, made by the Rochester Products Division of General Motors. Its first application was the new-for-1965 Chevy 396ci engine. Its last application was on the 1990 Oldsmobile 307 V8 engine, which was last us ...
4-barrel
carburetor A carburetor (also spelled carburettor) is a device used by an internal combustion engine to control and mix air and fuel entering the engine. The primary method of adding fuel to the intake air is through the venturi tube in the main meteri ...
. Cadillac referred to this new TBI (throttle-body fuel injection) system as Digital fuel injection (DFI); this particular induction system was later adopted by other GM divisions, except on Oldsmobile V8s, and was used well into the 1990s on GM trucks. Power output dropped to at 3600 rpm and torque to at 2000 rpm in DEFI forms as used on the
front-wheel drive Front-wheel drive (FWD) is a form of engine and transmission layout used in motor vehicles, where the engine drives the front wheels only. Most modern front-wheel drive vehicles feature a transverse engine, rather than the conventional longit ...
Seville and Eldorado but on the 4-barrel Quadrajet-equipped RWD models. This engine was standard on all Cadillacs except the redesigned
Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...
, in which it was optional.


V8-6-4

For 1981 Cadillac introduced a new engine that would become notorious for its unreliable electronics, the V8-6-4 (L62). The L61 had not provided a significant improvement in the company's CAFE numbers, so Cadillac and
Eaton Corporation Eaton Corporation plc is an American-Irish multinational power management company with 2021 sales of $19.63 billion, founded in the United States with global headquarters in Dublin, Ireland, and a secondary administrative center in Beachwood, ...
devised a
cylinder deactivation Variable displacement is an automobile engine technology that allows the engine displacement to change, usually by deactivating cylinders, for improved fuel economy. The technology is primarily used in large, multi-cylinder engines. Many automobil ...
system called Modulated Displacement that would shut off two or four cylinders in low-load conditions such as highway cruising, then reactivate them when more power was needed. When deactivated,
solenoid upright=1.20, An illustration of a solenoid upright=1.20, Magnetic field created by a seven-loop solenoid (cross-sectional view) described using field lines A solenoid () is a type of electromagnet formed by a helix, helical coil of wire whose ...
s mounted to those cylinders'
rocker arm In the context of an internal combustion engine, a rocker arm is a valvetrain component that typically transfers the motion of a pushrod to the corresponding intake/exhaust valve. Rocker arms in automobiles are typically made from stamped steel ...
studs would disengage the
fulcrum A fulcrum is the support about which a lever pivots. Fulcrum may also refer to: Companies and organizations * Fulcrum (Anglican think tank), a Church of England think tank * Fulcrum Press, a British publisher of poetry * Fulcrum Wheels, a bicycle ...
s, allowing the rockers to "float" and leave the valves closed despite the continued action of the
pushrod A valvetrain or valve train is a mechanical system that controls the operation of the intake and exhaust valves in an internal combustion engine. The intake valves control the flow of air/fuel mixture (or air alone for direct-injected engines) ...
s. These engines are easily identified by their
rocker cover Rocker covers are covers that are bolted on over rocker arms in an internal combustion engine. They are called valve covers in the United States, Canada, and in situations where Rocker Arms are not present, such as some Overhead Cam, and most Du ...
s, which each have elevated sections over 2 cylinders with electrical connectors on top. With the valves closed the cylinders acted as air-springs, which both eliminated the feel of "missing" and kept the cylinders warm for instant combustion upon reactivation. Simultaneously, the engine control module would reduce the amount of fuel metered through the TBI unit. On the dashboard, an "MPG Sentinel" digital display could show the number of cylinders in operation, average or current
fuel consumption A fuel is any material that can be made to react with other substances so that it releases energy as thermal energy or to be used for work. The concept was originally applied solely to those materials capable of releasing chemical energy but ...
(in miles per gallon), or estimated range based on the amount of fuel remaining in the tank and the average mileage since the last reset. Another rare and advanced feature introduced with DFI was Cadillac's truly "on-board" diagnostics. For mechanics who had to deal with the 368s, the cars contained diagnostics that did not require the use of special external computer scan-tools. The new
Electronic Climate Control An electronic control unit (ECU), also known as an electronic control module (ECM), is an embedded system in automotive electronics that controls one or more of the electrical systems or subsystems in a car or other motor vehicle. Modern vehi ...
display, along with the MPG Sentinel, provided on-board readout of any stored trouble codes, instantaneous readings from all the various engine sensors, forced cycling of the underhood solenoids and motors, and on the V8-6-4 engines, manual cylinder-pair control. The L62 produced at 3800 rpm and at 1400 rpm. Cadillac hailed the L62 as a technological masterpiece, and made it standard equipment across the whole Cadillac line. While cylinder deactivation would make a comeback some 20 years later with modern computing power (and using oil pressure to deactivate the valves by collapsing the lifters) Cadillac's 1981 V8-6-4 proved to have insurmountable engineering problems. The main issue was that the Engine Control Module simply lacked the robustness, programming and processing speed to efficiently manage the cylinder-deactivation under all load conditions. In the era before electronically operated EGR valves, the engineers also made an error in using a "back-pressure-type" EGR valve. While this early effort to match the vacuum-controlled EGR volume more accurately to the engine's load made sense in a 'normal' engine, it had the effect of causing pinging (detonation) problems in the V8-6-4 engine, because 4 cylinders operating under higher load needed more EGR, while they were actually producing less exhaust flow and therefore less back-pressure to operate the valve. In an effort to increase reliability, Cadillac issued thirteen updated PROM chips for the ECMs, but many of these engines simply had their Modulated Displacement function disabled by dealers, leaving them with permanent eight-cylinder operation. This was accomplished by merely disconnecting a single wire from the transmission's "3rd-gear switch", or running it through a switch inside the car for manual override. The 368 was dropped from most Cadillac passenger cars after the 1981 model year, although the V8-6-4 remained the standard engine for Fleetwood Limousines and the carbureted 368 remained in the Commercial Chassis through 1984. The 368 has the distinction of being the last traditional "big-block" cast-iron pushrod V8 engine available in a production car. It lasted through 1984 in the limousines. Rival big blocks, 396, 400 (Chrysler & GM), 402, 426, 440, 454, 455, 460, etc. disappeared between 1976 and 1978. RWD models were coupled with the heavy duty THM400 transmission, the last factory-produced GM passenger car fitted with this transmission.


Cadillac High Technology engine

The
OHV An overhead valve (OHV) engine, sometimes called a ''pushrod engine'', is a piston engine whose valves are located in the cylinder head above the combustion chamber. This contrasts with earlier flathead engines, where the valves were located bel ...
Cadillac High Technology engine The Cadillac High Technology Engine was a V8 engine produced by the Cadillac division of General Motors from 1982 to 1995. While the High Technology engine was being developed, due to higher Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards being phased i ...
was produced from 1982 to 1995 in displacements of , , and .


Northstar

Cadillac's
DOHC An overhead camshaft (OHC) engine is a piston engine where the camshaft is located in the cylinder head above the combustion chamber. This contrasts with earlier overhead valve engines (OHV), where the camshaft is located below the combustion c ...
, four valves per cylinder
Northstar Northstar may refer to: * Polaris, a star Arts and entertainment * Northstar (band), an emo band from Alabama * Northstar (rap group), a rap group affiliated with the Wu-Tang Clan * "Northstar", a 2019 song by XXXTentacion from the album ''Bad Vi ...
debuted in 1992, its most technologically advanced engine ever. Although
Oldsmobile Oldsmobile or formally the Oldsmobile Division of General Motors was a brand of American automobiles, produced for most of its existence by General Motors. Originally established as "Olds Motor Vehicle Company" by Ransom E. Olds in 1897, it produ ...
,
Pontiac Pontiac may refer to: *Pontiac (automobile), a car brand *Pontiac (Ottawa leader) ( – 1769), a Native American war chief Places and jurisdictions Canada *Pontiac, Quebec, a municipality ** Apostolic Vicariate of Pontiac, now the Roman Catholic D ...
, and
Buick Buick () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM). Started by automotive pioneer David Dunbar Buick in 1899, it was among the first American marques of automobiles, and was the company that established General ...
have borrowed the Northstar architecture for their V8 (and even V6) engines, it was not until the 2004
Pontiac Bonneville The Pontiac Bonneville is an automobile built by Pontiac (automobile), Pontiac from 1957 until 2005. Bonnevilles were full-size car, full-sized, with the exception of a brief period of mid-size car, mid-size between 1982 and 1986. The brand was in ...
that a non-Cadillac used the Northstar name. The Northstar has been produced in , , and versions:


4.6 L

The version was available starting in 1993 on the Seville SLS and Eldorado ESC. The Allante, the Seville STS and the Eldorado ETC had the version of the Northstar. In 1994, the DeVille Concours received the version of this engine. By 1996, the Northstar engine became standard equipment in the front-wheel-drive Cadillac line. The engine was in the Seville SLS 1993–2004, Eldorado ESC 1993–2002, Standard Deville 1996–2005, Devile d'elegance 1997–1999, and Deville DHS 2000–2005. The version was used in the Seville STS 1993–2004, Eldorado ETC 1996–2002, Deville Concours 1997–1999, and Deville DTS 2000–2005. Its final appearance was in the final generation of the DTS series, produced from 2006 to 2011. Non-Cadillac uses: The version of the Northstar was also standard equipment in the top GXP trim level of the
Pontiac Bonneville The Pontiac Bonneville is an automobile built by Pontiac (automobile), Pontiac from 1957 until 2005. Bonnevilles were full-size car, full-sized, with the exception of a brief period of mid-size car, mid-size between 1982 and 1986. The brand was in ...
, produced only in 2004 and 2005. It was also the top engine option available in the
Buick Lucerne The Buick Lucerne is a full-size car manufactured by General Motors from 2005 to 2011. Named for the city of Lucerne, Switzerland, it served as Buick's top-of-the-line sedan until it was replaced by the second generation Buick LaCrosse. History T ...
CXS and a 292 hp (218 kW) NHP (Northstar High Output) version in the Buick Lucerne Super. produced from 2006 through 2011. The Lucerne shared its platform and the Detroit/Hamtramck assembly plant with the final generation of the Cadillac DTS.


4.4 L

The versions were all supercharged, exclusive to Cadillac's V-series. The present STS-V engine, since 2006, produces and under the SAE certified rating system. The 2006 - 2008 XLR-V uses the same supercharged Northstar V8 as the STS-V, though output is down somewhat due to design changes made to accommodate the model's more limited underhood space. For the XLR-V, the SAE certified output is and . The
supercharger In an internal combustion engine, a supercharger compresses the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to produce more power for a given displacement. The current categorisation is that a supercharger is a form of forced induct ...
and four
intercooler An intercooler is a heat exchanger used to cool a gas after compression. Often found in turbocharged engines, intercoolers are also used in air compressors, air conditioners, refrigeration and gas turbines. Internal combustion engines Mo ...
s are built into the intake manifold. The bores were reduced in size to increase block strength, increasing the safety margin under boost.


4.0 L

The is the
Oldsmobile Aurora The Oldsmobile Aurora is a luxury sports sedan, manufactured and marketed by General Motors from 1994 until 2003 over two generations — sharing platforms with Buick Riviera and using the Cadillac-derived G platform. At the time of product ...
variant, never installed in a Cadillac. The Aurora's cylinder heads had lower flow characteristics to match the engine's reduced size. This engine produces .


Cadillac use of non-Cadillac V8s


Fleetwood (RWD)/Deville (RWD)/Brougham (RWD)

The 1976 through 1979 Seville was only available with Oldsmobile engines. (The engine was "marketed" as a Cadillac engine and was exclusive to the Cadillac product line, but was in reality produced by the Oldsmobile division). Buyers were able to choose between 350 gas and 350 diesel versions. From 1982 to 1985, all
rear-wheel drive Rear-wheel drive (RWD) is a form of engine and transmission layout used in motor vehicles, in which the engine drives the rear wheels only. Until the late 20th century, rear-wheel drive was the most common configuration for cars. Most rear-wheel ...
Cadillacs (except for the limousines) could be ordered with the Oldsmobile LF9
Diesel Diesel may refer to: * Diesel engine, an internal combustion engine where ignition is caused by compression * Diesel fuel, a liquid fuel used in diesel engines * Diesel locomotive, a railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engin ...
V8. In fact, for most of its life, the 1980-1985 version of Cadillac's Seville came standard with Oldsmobile's V8 diesel, with the gas engine being a no-cost option. From 1986 to 1990, the rear-wheel drive
Cadillac Brougham The Cadillac Brougham was a line of full-size luxury cars manufactured by the Cadillac Motor Car Division of General Motors from the 1987 through 1992 model years and was marketed from 1977 to 1986 as the Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham. The optio ...
used a carbureted Oldsmobile V8 (replacing the Cadillac HT-4100). In 1990 a , fuel-injected small-block Chevrolet L05 V8 (became a
Regular Production Option A Regular Production Option (RPO) is a General Motors standard coding for vehicle configuration options and began in 1970. These codes are a combination of 3 alphanumeric characters and refer to a specific option or modification to the vehicle inc ...
(RPO) when the towing package was selected. In 1991 the Oldsmobile 307 was replaced with a throttle body fuel-injected small-block Chevrolet L03 V8 - same powerplant used in Chevrolet's Caprice and C/K light trucks). In 1993 the L05 V8 became standard in the newly renamed
Cadillac Fleetwood The Cadillac Fleetwood is a model of luxury car that was manufactured by the Cadillac division of General Motors between 1976 and 1996. The "Fleetwood" name was previously used as a prefix on several of Cadillac's models dating back to 1935. F ...
. In 1994 the L05 was replaced with an iron headed small-block
Chevrolet Corvette The Chevrolet Corvette is a two-door, two-passenger luxury sports car manufactured and marketed by Chevrolet since 1953. With eight design generations, noted sequentially from C1 to C8, the Corvette is noted for its performance and distinctive ...
LT1 V8 with , which the Fleetwood used until discontinued at the end of the 1996 model year. With the introduction of the Escalade to the Cadillac lineup, the small-block Chevrolet L31 V8 (Vortec 5700) was used, as it was part of the Chevy truck line on which the Escalade was based. In 2001, the new redesigned Escalade picked up the performance version of the 6.0 L Generation III series engine (RPO code LQ9). Since 2007, all Cadillac Escalades have been equipped with Generation IV 6.2 L engines. This new engine option is shared with the GMC Yukon/Yukon XL Denali.


CTS-V

The 2004 to 2005
Cadillac CTS-V The Cadillac CTS is an executive car that was manufactured and marketed by General Motors from 2003 until 2019 across three generations. Historically, it was priced similarly to cars on the compact luxury spectrum; but it has always been size ...
used the previous generation Corvette C5 Z06's 5.7 L LS6 V8. The 2006 and 2007 CTS-V uses the 6.0 L LS2 V8, similar to that used in the standard
Corvette C6 The Chevrolet Corvette (C6) is the sixth generation of the Corvette sports car that was produced by Chevrolet division of General Motors for the 2005 to 2013 model years. It is the first Corvette with exposed headlamps since the 1962 model. Pro ...
.The 2009-2015 CTS-V carries a supercharged 6.2 L LSA variant, producing at least , while the 2016-2019 model carries a supercharged 6.2 L LT4 with .


Cadillac 4.2 liter twin-turbo V-8 LTA engine

The 4.2 liter V8 engine (GM RPO code LTA) is an eight-cylinder,
dual overhead cam An overhead camshaft (OHC) engine is a piston engine where the camshaft is located in the cylinder head above the combustion chamber. This contrasts with earlier overhead valve engines (OHV), where the camshaft is located below the combustion c ...
(DOHC) twin turbo engine produced by General Motors specifically for use in Cadillac luxury vehicles. The engine is the result of a new clean-sheet engine design as well as Cadillac's first
twin-turbo Twin-turbo (not to be confused with a twincharger setup, which is a combination of a supercharger and a turbocharger) refers to an engine in which two turbochargers work in tandem to compress the intake fuel/air mixture (or intake air, in the case ...
V-8 engine. It first launched on the 2019
Cadillac CT6 The Cadillac CT6 (short for ''Cadillac Touring 6'') is a full-size luxury car manufactured by Cadillac. The CT6 was introduced at the 2015 New York International Auto Show and went on sale in the U.S. in March 2016. It is the first car to adopt ...
.


See also

*
Cadillac V16 engine The Cadillac V16 engine was a type of automobile engine produced in the 1930s. Cadillac produced two of only three production, gasoline-fueled V16 engine models in history. Both were used in the Cadillac V-16 automobile, the first from 1930 until ...
(used during the 1930s) From the 1950s through the 1970s, each GM division had its own V8 engine family. Some were shared among other divisions, but each respective design was engineered and developed by its own division: *
Buick V8 engine The Buick V8 is a family of V8 engines produced by the Buick division of General Motors between 1953 and 1981. The first version replaced the Buick straight-eight. Displacements vary from (for the division's unique all-aluminum early 1960s engi ...
*
GMC V8 engine GMC has both shared engine designs and architectures with other General Motors divisions as well as having a history of developing and using its own unique engines and powertrains such as for instance its line of their straight-6 and V8 engines ...
*
Chevrolet small-block engine Chevrolet small-block engine refers to one of a number of gasoline-powered vehicle engines manufactured by the General Motors company. These include: * The III, IV, V generation of LS-based GM engines. * The I, II generation of non-LS Chevrolet ...
*
Chevrolet big-block engine The Chevrolet "big block" engine is a term for a series of large-displacement, naturally-aspirated, 90°, overhead valve, gasoline-powered, V-8 engines; that were developed and produced by the Chevrolet Division of General Motors, from the 1 ...
*
Oldsmobile V8 engine The Oldsmobile V8, also referred to as the Rocket, is series of engines that was produced by Oldsmobile from 1949 until 1990. The Rocket, along with the 1949 Cadillac V8, were the first post-war OHV crossflow cylinder head V8 engines produced by ...
*
Pontiac V8 engine The Pontiac V8 engine is a family of overhead valve 90° V8 engines manufactured by the Pontiac Division of General Motors Corporation between 1955 and 1981. The engines feature a cast-iron block and head and two valves per cylinder. Engine bloc ...
*
Holden V8 engine The Holden V8 engine is an overhead valve (OHV) V8 engine that was produced by the Australian General Motors subsidiary, Holden (GMH), between 1969 and 2000. The engine was initially fitted to the Holden HT series in 1969 and was later utilise ...
GM later standardized on the later generations of the Chevrolet design: *
General Motors small-block engine "LS engine" is the colloquial name given to the third and fourth generation small-block V8 gasoline engine used in General Motors' vehicles. The name evolved from the need to differentiate the Gen 3/Gen 4 small blocks from the original Gen 1/ ...
*
List of GM engines This list of GM engines encompasses all engines manufactured by General Motors and used in their cars. Divisions When General Motors was created in 1908, it started out with Buick and soon after acquired Oldsmobile, Cadillac and Oakland. There we ...


References

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