Before anything, I want to start off by saying this conversion isn’t cheap in any sense, it basically involves swapping everything you can think of for the most part, I don’t recommend doing this unless you have a lot of spare cash laying around, or have a Salvage VSport hit in the front that has to be rebuilt to justify the majority of the expense.
With that said, the Cadillac dealerships I went to here in Phoenix said it wasn’t possible and that it wouldn’t fit to begin with, one of them didn’t want to help with a part list and the other dealership wasn’t aware of the differences of generation 2 and generation 3 CTS’s being different body styles and platforms as they based it off of my 2014 CTS VSport year and a 2014 CTS V at first, one dealer gave me a $13,000 quote for just a partial front end list in V3 parts without the expensive hood before they gave up on adding the rest of the parts to the list, but I knew it was possible because Michael Skarakis had just finished doing his conversion, I don’t think I would’ve went forward with it if he wouldn’t have been open and willing to share information when I reached out to him with what to expect and how costly it’ll be, he also helped me out with a few questions, I ended up getting the whole car done and painted for less than Cadillac’s partial list front end parts quote.
Something that was a nuisance to me at first and definitely turns you away from the idea of a V conversion is the fact that there is no actual write up to this day of part numbers to see where to even start from, which is why I’m making one for the community, you could mistakenly just add up a few parts like the Front Bumper Cover for around $2,000 and think you're finished with the front, not the case, it's at least an extra 3x for the front, I had to look up and make a list of nearly every single part to order and figure out what DOESN'T have to be replaced when I did my conversion, so for anyone else they’d have absolutely no idea what to expect or where to begin, in terms of parts, and costs, and the major work you’re getting into, and to top all of that off, everything is still crazy expensive as 99% of everything is basically special order OEM CTS V3 parts as there is zero aftermarket parts for the CTS V3 apart from the V style EOS Carbon Fiber Front Splitter & Rear Spoiler, which are not body parts.
I will be listing the V part numbers necessary for purchase (in my case), along with parts I have ordered and were not necessary (in my case, per my build), along with V parts that have different V assigned part numbers, yet are completely identical in real life.
DISCLAIMER: This write up is in no way 100% complete, let’s call it 98% complete, the information here will be based off of the conversion done to my Gen 3 2014 CTS VSport in terms of what was needed and not needed which may differ on later year CTS’s, I try to include some of those examples below, in my case my front end V bumper cover came from a body shop that had a take off laying around already pre-assembled with the vents, grilles, emblem, sensors, side marker lights, fog lights, absorber, spacer, and so forth, the same with my OEM CF V3 hood, so I did not have to order those pieces individually, though I will try to include what I can for that bit based off of the GM Parts Catalog.
If more people do this conversion in the future, I will update this guide to include extra parts as needed if missing, also I am not responsible for incorrect part numbers, please double check every part number yourself or have a dealer verify for you, but everything should be correct to my knowledge.
IMPORTANT: When I was initially researching the V Rear End conversion as I was only going to do that at first I compiled posts into text files from the old forums and off of the Facebook groups from people who have done the V rear conversion, and when the time came for me to do it, I compared the part numbers and noticed a few part numbers people have used were wrong, such as the crash bar and absorber, please do not use those part numbers if you want to do this right, while it may fit, it won’t be done right, proper V part numbers are vital to doing this conversion correctly to keep everything functional.
What I mean by that, if the “non V” regular CTS crash bar or the older generation 2 CTS crash bar is used
(such as I found to be the case on the other forum/facebook group postings of V rear conversions) your tow hook hole/cap on the bumper cover will not correctly align for the actual placement on the crash bar where you hook, as the V rear bumper covers have the tow hook placement at least 1” lowered to align with the V crash bar, using the wrong crash bars (and the wrong absorbers) may result in future problems if you ever need to be towed, or excess damage in the case of an accident. This example also applies for the front end of the car, the same kind of differences exist.
Credits to Michael Skarakis for figuring out the measurement differences on both the front end, rear end, and core support.
NOTE: There have been a few false claims in the past both on the old forums and Facebook VSport groups and probably other regular CTS groups that you can swap over a V Front Bumper Cover, or V Hood, or V fenders individually and that nothing else is required, all of this is false, unless you really don’t care about functionality, fitment, huge gaps, or no gaps.
Here is a picture to show why swapping on a V bumper cover alone won't work with the regular CTS Hood:
The V Bumper Cover comes down more and the nose is shaped, contoured differently and sharper, more of a sudden letter V shape in the center (though very hard to see it in pictures even in the illustration below, this is something you notice a lot in person), instead of the more regular CTS linear horizontal shape, it’s shaped to compliment the V hood, the V hood is also wider on both sides, and comes down more in length towards the bumper cover, if you can somehow make a simple hood swap fit, it’ll sit crooked at an angle, you won’t have the gaps you’re supposed to have on either side between the regular fenders & the hood due to wider hood length on both sides, and the hood comes down more in length as it’s made for the V bumper cover. Here is a comparison showing some of these differences:
The hood latch is also shorter, so you need the core support for a CTS V which is 1” taller, or a modification done to the current core support to move up the latch 1” higher so that the hood will latch, without doing so, you'll find that the V hood will not latch. I absolutely recommend getting the proper V core support.
The V fenders are flared out for wider front wheels (which you’ll need), and are also wider apart from the hood on top on both sides where the gaps in between the hood and fenders on both sides have to be, there will be huge gaps on both sides of the hood if just the V fenders are swapped over to a regular CTS with nothing else. Here is an example:
Everything has to be swapped with V parts to make it functional and or look right.
If you can want to keep costs low, I highly recommend reaching out to the communities such as the CTS V & CTS V Classified Facebook groups to see if anyone has parts that are new/like new, check out Ebay and compare prices and shipping costs, Ebay is usually much higher from what I’ve seen but I managed to find a few things such as 2 Emblems, lots of cheap brand new GM screws, Left & Right V Rocker Panels (s1autoparts is a great seller), Fender Vent & V Plate, etc for cheaper than GM sells, it won’t always happen, but there’s a chance you may find something cheap, or check out Car-Part.com
I will not be including the extra count of screws, clips, or retainers necessary, those are easily searchable on the GM Parts Catalog if needed and I do not have a count for how many are needed for every body part, the majority of the screws can be re-used off of your current car if intact, most body shops should have no issues sourcing screws. A lot of bolts, u-nuts, retainers, screws, will be carried over, the same ones are used on the CTS V.
V Parts needed for the Front End:
The original harness must be used and I carried over the original parking sensors, the DRLs (fog lights) are the same ones used in every CTS and can be carried over as the V uses the same ones, the Center Support and Center Brace are also the same ones used in the V, they do not have to be changed. Tie bar is also carried over, although on the V it has an extra bracket that goes on top of the Tie Bar that the Latch gets installed to for an additional 1" of height and in order to be able reach and close the V hood's latch, 2015+ VSports and V's use the same Tie Bar, the 2014 VSport part number is different however identical, this has been confirmed by Jay Wheeler who is currently doing the V conversion on his 2014 and ordered the V tie bar and it's identical. Credits to Jay for figuring out this tie bar bracket issue
VSport headlamps can also be used, although the V headlamps are different, darker and sportier, so I will include the V headlamp part numbers.
This is what the differences look like between the regular CTS and CTS V Headlamps:
NOTE: The Washer Reservoir behind the passenger side fender is a different part number and different looking on the V, however I used the same one that came on my VSport and it ended up fitting. If you end up having fitment issues and need to actually order the reservoir, the part number is: 23310397
V Headlamp Assembly Left: 84319721
V Headlamp Assembly Right: 84319720
Front Impact Bar: 23279544
Front Spacer: 84019330
Front Impact Absorber: 84019331
May or may not need Baffles, someone please confirm if they fit! They didn’t end up fitting on my car, I definitely recommended them if they do fit for improved airflow.
Air Baffle Left (Airflow Duct Behind Small Grille next to DRL for cooler): 23331277
Air Baffle Right (Airflow Duct Behind Small Grille next to DRL for cooler): 23331278
Front Bumper Cover: 84187213 (comes with tow cap, in the case it doesn’t, Tow Hook Cover: 23459411)
Small Grille Left next to DRL: 23331275 (make sure this remains unpainted if painting your car, comes in gloss black)
Small Grille Right next to DRL: 23331276 (make sure this remains unpainted if painting your car, comes in gloss black)
Front Splitter Options for V Bumper Cover: Bigger Carbon Fiber Splitter: 22986791 OR cheaper and smaller Gloss Black: 22986791 which I would recommended if you plan to lower your car, EOS also makes a Carbon Fiber Splitter that looks similar to the V Bigger Carbon Fiber style for a fraction of the cost which I have on my car, no complaints.
Hood Latch: 22985608
Tie Bar Mount Bracket: 22982991 (bracket for taller 1" height difference for to accommodate the V hood, V latch is installed to this, credits to Jay to figuring it out)
Carbon Fiber Hood: 84068536
Multiple Hood Vent Options, Carbon Fiber Vent: 23120088 OR much cheaper Painted Plastic Vent: 23369234, Weapon X Motorsports also makes their own version of a Carbon Fiber Vent for half of the cost of an OEM Carbon Fiber Vent.
[OPTIONAL] Vent Cover / Deflector Underneath Hood Vent with V Logo: 84052648
[OPTIONAL] Two Types of Vent Clip Options (not sure on count): Clips for Carbon Fiber Vent: 23209466 OR Clips for Regular Plastic Vent: 15893516
Insulator (Hood Insulator): 23465273
Sight Shield (Engine Bay Front Cover): 84027334
(Sight Shield also comes with Front Weather Strip Rubber that goes around Engine Bay Cover retainers)
Lower Air Deflector: 84119802 (Cover underneath front end of car, engine, radiator, wider than regular CTS cover for wider V front bumper cover)
Here is a picture of it:
Upper Bumper Cover Grille: 23185922
Upper Bumper Grille Baffle (Frame): 84019333
Upper Bumper Grille Surround (Chrome Trim): 23185907
Bottom Bumper Cover Grille: 23185913
V Parts needed for the Left & Right side of the car:
Fender Left: 84034559 (did not come with vent and V plate)
Fender Right: 84034560 (did not come with vent and V plate)
(Not sure which is Left or Right side for the Fender Vents & V Chrome Plate, will update in the future, someone please confirm these part numbers & sides)
NOTE: The vents are indeed all separate from the V Chrome Plate, 4 total individual parts.
Fender Black Vent 1: 84053710
Fender Black Vent 2: 84053711
Fender V Emblem Plate 1: 23356911
Fender V Emblem Plate 2: 23356912
The V Front Fender Liners are absolutely required, you could get away with only half bolting the smaller regular CTS fender liners and shredding them like me and a local member that also did the full V conversion did, however once it rains, what will happen is your TCM and Main Harness Connector inside the passenger side fender liner will get soaked in water resulting in a CEL, service traction control, service stability control, and every transmission code will pop up, car will shift weird, worst case scenario car may go full limp mode, stall randomly while you’re going 75 mph on the freeway, or you’ll end up needing a new TCM. V Front Fender Liners are very important!
Credits to Nic Owen for figuring out what was causing this issue.
V Front Fender Liner Left: 84011039 V Front Fender Liner Right: 84011038
Not having the V Fender Liners also means you aren't able to close up the underneath of the car on either side even with the wider V Deflector installed as seen in the pictures below as the V Fender Liners are supposed to close up the sides of underneath the car and bolt on to the wider V Deflector. (Deflector = wider center cover underneath engine/radiator for the wider V bumper cover)
Here are pictures on both sides on a lift showing what I mean by that:
There are additional air deflectors you can get for both sides of the fender liners/edge of the V front bumper cover, can’t confirm part number as I don’t have them and GM Parts Catalog diagram is useless in terms of images of said item, I think I may have found them, but if they’re really $95-145~ per piece of plastic as I’m seeing, you might as well get the Carbon Fiber Deflectors made by Weapon X Motorsports for the CTS V3, $261 (at the time of writing this)
Rocker Molding Left: 23441973 (not to be confused with side skirt extensions)
Rocker Molding Right: 23441974 (not to be confused with side skirt extensions)
V Parts needed for the Rear End:
The original reverse light and 4 sensors can be carried over, you will just need to buy the reverse light bracket listed below to install the reverse light to the diffuser.
Rear Bumper Cover: 23288822 (comes with tow cap, in the case it doesn’t, Rear Tow Hook Cover: 23450908, also the same cap on 17-19 regular CTS’s)
NOTE : For 2017+ CTS’s, the rear bumper cover’s tow hook placement has been moved 1" inch lower such as on the CTS V therefore not requiring a rear bumper cover to be purchased if your original is intact as it can be modified to fit V parts such as the diffuser per community posts.
As for the 14-16 year CTS’s again, the V crash bar & absorber purchase is absolutely required.
Rear Bumper Impact Absorber (for 2014-16's, not necessary for 17+): 23185927 (very big difference in shape and size from the regular absorber that was on my 2014 VSport)
Rear Impact Bar (for 2014-16's, not necessary for 17+): 23349757
Two options for the Diffuser: Carbon Fiber: 23334888 OR much cheaper ABS Plastic painted in Gloss Black: 23185930
(On my car, I ordered the ABS one and had it wrapped in vinyl that replicates carbon fiber with the closest color and pattern available to match my EOS Trunk Spoiler)
Reverse Light Assembly Bracket: 23185931
Rear Diffuser Reflector Left: 84095137
Rear Diffuser Reflector Right: 84095138
As for the Rear Wheelhouse Liners, you can absolutely get away with the regular CTS ones, they’re nearly identical, I don’t think anyone has actually bought the V rear ones that has done the V Rear Conversion, I also checked the part numbers and both regular CTS’s and CTS V’s use the same part numbers now, maybe the regular CTS had a different liner part number in the past, though at this time they both use the same part number.
BUT I also found ones specifically for the CTS V? Someone please confirm these part numbers.
NOTE: These are not specifically labeled CTS or CTS V, fits both.
Rear Wheelhouse Liner Left: 23276689 Rear Wheelhouse Liner Right: 23276688
NOTE: CTS V ONLY Wheelhouse Liners.
CTS V ONLY Rear Wheelhouse Liner Left: 23408657 CTS V ONLY Rear Wheelhouse Liner Right: 23408658
After your rear V conversion gets finished by either yourself or the body shop you’ve taken it to, you would have to bring the car to a muffler shop for this part, I don’t believe a body shop will do this kind of work, the piping height on the VSports are much higher than the V’s as they're made to hide behind the regular CTS bumper with the chrome outlets for the VSports, they have to be brought down more and re-angled properly to come out right for the V diffuser, after you finish the V rear conversion, you will not see your pipes (if muffler deleted) due to this. Here is a picture, the piping is still there however not visible as it’s above the diffuser
These are the exhaust tips I and (Danial Stalcup) used that I would get to finish the V look, the seller on Ebay is hybers1964, pictures in the listing is my car during the conversion process. Thanks to Danial for originally finding these tips. (These were originally listed under Infinity and Corvette tips)
https://www.ebay.com/itm/3-5-quad-stagg ... 4643735667
As for the the rear trunk spoiler you have multiple options to pick from, if you don't have one you have the option of not getting one as not every CTS V came with one, or the V Carbon Fiber Spoiler which is: 23249415
EOS also sells V Style Carbon Fiber spoiler on Ebay for much cheaper, though it will need a little modification to be leak proof which I have done on mine, others have reported leaking in the trunk when it rains if not modified to be leak proof. You can see how the EOS spoiler looks like in my earlier pictures.
Credits to Nic Owen for showing me how the EOS Spoiler would be installed on the original brake light.
If for some reason you choose to go with OEM Emblems for the front and rear, the V Front Emblem for a regular non-premium VSport is: 23180160, HOWEVER, if you have Adaptive Cruise on a Premium VSport you would have to bring over that bigger emblem, the V emblem will not be compatible with ACC as CTS V’s did not come with Adaptive Cruise Control and the front smaller CTS V emblem is not compatible with it.
The Rear 2015+ Trunk Emblem is: 23236084 (only needed if you have a 2014 CTS, the Applique is also needed for a 2014 found below)
For 2014 CTS's only, Rear New 2015+ Cadillac Emblem & Applique Conversion: If you’re converting a 2014 VSport, you may want to also change the Applique Chrome Trim on the Trunk, the shape of the Applique is changed and is contoured to fit half of the new 2015+ Emblem on it, and half of the Emblem on the Trunk, where as on the old emblem the entire emblem is above the Applique on the trunk. You could just swap the Emblem and sort of make it work without changing the Applique by putting it up higher, and most non-car people may not notice the difference, but it will stick out for anyone familiar with how it’s supposed to be and it will complete the look and everything will sit flush as it was designed to be by replacing what’s required to change to the newer style rear Cadillac Emblem.
Part number for Applique WITHOUT Rear Vision Mirror Camera: 23197402
Here are the visual differences between the Appliques and how the Emblems are put on for 2014’s and differently for 2015+
Extra V Parts I ordered but did not end up needing, but you might (I also have these for sale if needed):
Hood Hinge Left: 23218172
Hood Hinge Right: 23218173
Bumper Guide Right Outer: 23379094 (I used the original VSport one)
Bumper Guide Left Outer: 23379095 (I used the original VSport one)
Retainer / Hinge Nut: 11546459 (This is used for many different parts from impact bars to hood, battery, mirrors, steering column, mount, center brace, support, and many other cars)
The following part numbers are NOT required to be purchased, this is in the case you need them for any reason such as being damaged, missing, and or don’t have any to transfer over:
ACC Bigger Front Emblem: 23444635 (for Premium VSports only equipped with Adaptive Cruise Control)
Front Bumper Cover Side Marker Light Left: 22874972
Front Bumper Cover Side Marker Light Right: 22874973
Rear Reverse Backup Lamp: 22858645 (Same part number used on the CTS & CTS V)
NOTE for 2017+ CTS's if needing another Applique: If you have a 2017? or newer CTS that COMES WITH the Inside Driver Rear Vision Camera LCD Mirror (NOT to be confused with the reverse backup camera), DO NOT use the Applique part number above in the write up, there is another Applique part number made for the extra rear view camera used by your mirror if for any reason you need one if missing or damaged, this is the correct Applique part number for you: 23323446
The end. I will be adding few more small things to this write up with time, as far as a write up, this *should* be all you need at this time.
This is how your your project should end up looking, before and after pictures of mine, but note for the after conversion pictures, I still have to get my car fully paint corrected after new paint job, so in these pictures the paint isn't shining and clear and bright as it's supposed to be:
AFTER Full V front, both sides, rear conversion:
I hope this write up helps out someone that is going to do the V conversion in the future, at least as a base to start from and possibly avoid a few potential mistakes. I encourage anyone else who has completed the V conversion to post on this thread for any other things they had to do such as on a Premium VSport, or any other parts they needed
