VF II SS V - lost its growl!

[duaned]

Your head is telling you to attach a blower between the heads of your engine! And for extra whine, drive with your wife in the passenger seat.

 

[panhead]

Any advice is really appreciated!

Shake her up by exiting the driveway sideways each morning.


.

 

[Davison]

Hi guys!

Im a proud owner of a 2016 vf SS V and WHAT A CAR!! What sold it for me was the natural noise that came from the car (the roar, the crackle). But (sadly) after driving it for 15000kms now, it's lost its grunt and all the noise with it.

It sounds really below average and very different to when I bought it. The power and general responsiveness is different too. Even when starting it up, it sounds average, and that's regardless of the bi-modal.

At my last service (done at Holden) the techs summarised the issues I raised and blamed it on the engine and gearbox being "adaptive" and said I needed to drive it harder to get the noise I want. It isn't a track car and I commute daily in traffic, I call BS on their reasoning to be honest.

Has anyone else had or heard of a similar issue with their LS3's?

Any advice is really appreciated!

Well goddamn, it's happened to someone else too. Mine did exactly the same thing about a month ago, for a solid 7 days the exhaust was very muted and it was definitely missing grunt. No classic crackle on overrun, very underwhelming in the tunnels, it was as if the bimodal valves were playing up and the ECM was pulling timing or something. I first suspected a fuel issue but a fresh tank did nothing. Next I disconnected the battery in an attempt to reset KAM, about a day later she came back to life. Very bizarre, interesting to know it's not unique to my car. Start by disconnecting the battery overnight and go from there.

 

[EYY]

They'll do that on a hot day. Heat's a real performance killer - they don't sound as crisp and seem quite flat in power delivery when they're sucking hot air.

Remember that 91 isn't as resistant to pre-ignition as 98. 91 may be fine in cooler weather, but it certainly my won't be helping your case in the heat.

 

[monstar]

They'll do that on a hot day. Heat's a real performance killer - they don't sound as crisp and seem quite flat in power delivery when they're sucking hot air.

Remember that 91 isn't as resistant to pre-ignition as 98. 91 may be fine in cooler weather, but it certainly my won't be helping your case in the heat.

Yes it is either fuel, heat, or both retarding Spark to protect your engine.
Intake Air Temperature around 60° is common in traffic where ambient is over 35°, as are coolant temps 100°-110°.
Under these fairly typical summer conditions the ECU pulls spark 11° out of around 21° flooring it with 98, so it's like trying to accelerate with idle spark.
I can't imagine what flooring it with lower octane in typical hot summer traffic would be like but I see that sort of thing all the time... one person daily commute wasting money on cheap, barely refined toxic fuel powering a full sized performance sedan, crawling along with lukewarm a/c on full bore, sun beating down on bitumen bubbles that crackle and pop as the V8 CO2 generator (with Full Bolt Ons) drags its boiling two tonne arse through another non-stop three-in-a-row summer drive time.
Flex your fuel, solves the problem. Made in Australia for us for good reasons.

 

[NewbC4KE]

 

[MYVESSV8]

Yes it is either fuel, heat, or both retarding Spark to protect your engine.
Intake Air Temperature around 60° is common in traffic where ambient is over 35°, as are coolant temps 100°-110°.
Under these fairly typical summer conditions the ECU pulls spark 11° out of around 21° flooring it with 98, so it's like trying to accelerate with idle spark.
I can't imagine what flooring it with lower octane in typical hot summer traffic would be like but I see that sort of thing all the time... one person daily commute wasting money on cheap, barely refined toxic fuel powering a full sized performance sedan, crawling along with lukewarm a/c on full bore, sun beating down on bitumen bubbles that crackle and pop as the V8 CO2 generator (with Full Bolt Ons) drags its boiling two tonne arse through another non-stop three-in-a-row summer drive time.
Flex your fuel, solves the problem. Made in Australia for us for good reasons.

like the response, heat will kill it, so will 91, I'm in Brisbane too like the op and you do notice it, I like flex fuel but mines not set-up for it, have been looking into it

 

[bigjim92]

I've got a VF2 Redline, and so does mum.
My car cops a hard time, response and exhaust noise has never altered, that said it's had a couple of little changes and is maintained religiously. Throttle/Maf/OTR filter cleaned every 5000kms, oil and filter changed every 5000kms.

Mums car however, it's babied! Start up isn't always an angry as it was when new (10,000kms now) and it doesn't feel as strong or seem to go as hard. But, they are somewhat adaptive. If I take it for a spin and start giving it a hard time, things change, auto shifts different, exhaust sounds angry again.

As mentioned above, try disconnecting the battery, and also give it a bit of a hard time. Some people are afraid to let the car see revs, don't be, let it sing.

 

[monstar]

like the response, heat will kill it, so will 91, I'm in Brisbane too like the op and you do notice it, I like flex fuel but mines not set-up for it, have been looking into it

I'm in Brisbane at the moment as well, you guys should come for a spin and see what you're missing! Good servos at Bald Hills, Virginia, Caboolture, Bli Bli, Coolum, Noosa, Gunalda, Hervey Bay, Bundaberg, Rockhampton, Mackay, Townsville. West there is Miles, Dalby, Toowoomba, Booval, Forestdale, Springfield, Browns Plains, Forestdale, Springfield, Browns Plains. South there is Mackenzie, Crestmead, Logan, Beenleigh, Upper Coomera, Arundel, Miramac. Sadly United South Tweed closed last weekend so northern NSW is an alcohol free zone 'til Coffs.
Otherwise availability within touring range from Brisbane is good, here's a practical and safe total range you can achieve with planned fuel stops.
North Undiluted: Mission Beach 50% Diluted: Port Douglas
West Undiluted: Mitchell 50% Diluted: Charleville
South West Undiluted: Goondawindi / Glen Innes 50% Diluted: St George / Narrabri / Tamworth *being frugal can make it to United Maitland via Thunderbolts
South -> Pacific Undiluted: Ulladulla 50% Diluted: Eden
South -> Hume Undiluted: Jindabyne / Adaminaby 50% Diluted: Lakes Entrance / Wangaratta
Above assumes 400km/tank country spirited driving, topping up with petrol when tank is halfway will get you at least 200km further than the above range before zero benefits of flex fuel. Practically the alcohol-free regions to consider are Outback QLD NSW and VIC, FNQ and East Gippsland.

 

[Forg]

From F&TF 47:
monstar: I live my life one servo with E85 at a time