2009 Cadillac CTS-V LI Install (Head Mounting)

[Wannago]

Hi all,

New member here and first post. I have decided to pick up an LI which will be installed in my CTS-V sedan.

Firstly, props to Cliff for top-notch support - and I'm not even an "official" customer yet! He was very quick at answering all my (n00b) questions and concerns.

In that regard, he was very helpful in helping me determine where I will be mounting my front heads. Like many other owners, I did not want to cut, drill, or even so much as alter the appearance of my car, but I have since learned that there has to be a trade-off as the heads have to be properly mounted to achieve proper performance.



Originally, I wanted to mount the heads in the brake cooling intake ducts (the light blue location). They would fit perfectly here, be very unnoticeable, and easily attached with only double sided adhesive. However, much to my dismay, I eventually had to concede that mounting the heads here would not provide very reliable protection.

So, Cliff and I discussed various options. He pointed out that in front of my grills, ideally in the red locations, or alternatively in the green locations, would provide me much better results.

I made a couple quick mock ups, the same dimensions as the new slim heads, to give me an idea of what they would look like mounted in these locations. Understanding that if I wanted them to work properly, they had to be mounted properly, but I was just not happy with how the black heads looked in front of the chrome grill.

Finally, we agreed that mounting the heads in the yellow locations would provide good performance, and would not be so blatantly obvious as if they were mounted in front of the grill. I plan to use Cliff's aluminum bracket, inserted through the gap between the bottom of the headlight and the bumper, to hold the heads. They will obviously be visible, but as my car is black, they will blend in much more with the black bumper as a background than with the grill.

We're in a bit of a cold snap here in Calgary, but once the weather warms up, I'll be ordering my LI and will begin the install. I'll post-up some pictures of the install both in progress and once complete. Looking forward to having the LI up and running.

Cheers!

[aa2033]

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[Hunter]

welcome and yeah a little lower on the red would work fine.

[Wannago]

Thanks guys. I realize the reds, or a variation thereof, might be optimal, but I really don't like the way my car would look with the heads mounted in front of the grills.

Firstly, I will not be cutting anything. I will forgeo a jammer completely before cutting up my car.

Given the tapered angle of the grill, in order to make sure the heads were properly aligned (remember, I won't be recessing them into the grill), they would be quite an eysore and would be quite obtrusive.

I could possibly live with them in the green spots, as even once properly aligned, they would be pretty much flush with my bumper. However anything mounted in front of the upper grill would be hard for me to live with.

[aa2033]

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[Andrew21]

try the yellow but bubbles in. See what happens.

Its a really nice looking car. But what aa2033 suggested, performance is better than looks. You can have the best of both worlds if the car was right.

[Solidjake]

Quad = Red and Green
Dual = tough, either yellow or red

[Wannago]

Solidjake...it will be a dual head application. I may add rear heads later, but only two front heads will be installed.

Andrew21, thanks for the comment on the car. This is my first car of this nature, and I am loving every minute of it. Cliff is just damn lucky he lives in Florida, or I'd give him a good look at how nice the taillights on it are. :-)

If I may, help me understand the difference between bubble in / out a bit better. Here's my (layman's) interpretation:

The bubbles are obviously the diodes that emit the jamming signal. Elsewhere in the head is another series of "things" (sensors) that detect the incoming signal. Once an incoming signal is detected, the LI immediately activates the diode to start "spraying" its countermeasures out. I say "spraying", as I belive the diodes emit a pretty broad outgoing signal, as opposed to the very narrow incoming signal from the LEO's gun.

It sounds to me like my potential exposure, if I mount in the yellow locations, lies with difficulty in properly detecting the incoming signal, which, given my choice of mouting locations, could be aimed at the nice shiny chrome target which is my grill. Following this logic, would it not be better to mount the bubble to the outside, so that as much of the receiver sensors are as inboard as possible?

Again...I'm new to all this, so I'm asking a legitimate question, not trying to be facetious. You're right, if I had a car with a different type of grill, for example an Audi, that would allow a very small mod made to the grill in support of a nice clean install, I would consider that (best of both worlds, as you say). However with the grill that my V has, there is no way to mount the heads in that area that I would be able to live with.

aa2203, I hear what you're saying, but no, you won't be able to convince me to sacrifice either the looks of my car or the integrity of the body to ensure the most optimal coverage. I do get what you're saying and respect your opinion, but at the same time, I am not trying to argue, nor do I expect, that with the heads mounted in the yellow locations that I will be getting the very best protection capable of the LI. In the alternative however, I am compromising some "jammability" for appearance...which is important to ME. Its not that I'm not listening, its just that I have different priorities.

[srtga]

Wicked car! Go with the green.

[Laser-InterceptorUSA]

The bubbles are obviously the diodes that emit the jamming signal.

Actually, the bubbles are the two receiving Photo-Diodes. Mounted in the yellow, they should be oriented inwards towards the CM of the V. Mounted in the green, they should be oriented outwards towards the headlights.

Cliff