Meet Garfield, my Holden CV8 Monaro Tune

Ok, so I'm not much of a tuner at all. But I am a red blooded Aussie who loves cars. The moment I saw the Holden CV8 Monaro in the used car dealership, I felt compelled to lay the 41000 credits for the Australian icon.

Holden and Ford have had a long battle for the attention of such red blooded Australians. If you are at a gathering, standing around a BBQ with your mates, cooking up some snags and steak with your mates, holding onto a beer, and you aren't a Holden or Ford man(or woman), or pledge an allegance or even a preference to either, you can be expected to be shunned from the conversation and relegated to playing with the kids.

So with the Australian culture lesson, I have tuned this pussy cat to produce 743BHP @ 6300rpm with a whopping 99kgfm of torque at 4900rpm. After a heavy diet, dropped its weight to 1349kgs and power to weight comes to 1.79kgs per BHP which isn't too shabby at all.

This 5.7 litre beast is just that, a beast... An angry lion! Take it out onto the track after making these alterations and the most impressive thing you will get out of it is perfect donuts in 4th gear. Taming this angry Lion needs a lot more refinement and below you will find my prefered set up. I am more than happy for people to get back to me and let me know where areas could be improved, but it is leaps and bounds ahead of standard.

Based on: Holden Monaro CV8 '04
Obtained: Used dealer

Drivetrain: FR
Horsepower: 743BHP (@ 6300rpm)
Torque: 99kgfm/4900rpm
Weight: 1349kgs

PARTS
GT Auto
Overhaul Engine
Restore Body Rigidity
Type A Wing

Tuning Shop
Chassis Weight Reduction Stage 3
Rigidity Improvement
Window Weight Reduction
Engine Tuning Stage 3
Sports ECU
Sports Intake Manifold
Racing Air Filter
Titanium Racing Exhaust
Sports Exhaust Manifold
Catalytic Converter: Sports
Turbo Kits - SUPERCHARGER
Fully Customisable Transmission
Twin Plate Clutch
Flywheel: Semi Racing
Fully Customisable LSD
Carbon Propeller Shaft
Fully Customisable Suspension Kit
Brake Balance Controller
Racing: Soft Tyres

SETUP

Body/Chassis
Aerodynamics (rear wing)
Downforce: 20

Transmission
Max Speed: 410 KPH

Drivetrain
Initial Torque: xx/05
Acceleration Sensitivity: xx/60
Beake Sensitivity: xx/05

Suspension
Ride Height: -20/-15
Spring Rate: 14.0/10.5
Extension:-- 10/8
Compression: 6/5
Anti-Roll:-- 4/3
Camber:----- 2.5/1.5
Toe:-------- +0.10/-0.16

Brakes
Brake Balance Controller
Brake Balance: 3/4

Intended Driving Options - Dry race track
Transmission: Manual (MT)
ABS - 1
All other aids OFF

Tuner Comments: tune edited 26.1.11
Wow, what a machine... Just remember there is 743BHP to two rear wheels. Be careful when you need to heavily brake into corners, line up the nose and throttle control out. This angry lion will be tame as Garfield if you follow this set up and control that right foot. But the more you push and poke at it, the less predictable it is, and the more likely it is that your pet lion will leave a scar. A big one if you hit a wall at a hundred clicks! As Garfield can be quite tempremental, I feel it is fitting I only name this goliath of a pussy cat, Garfield.

I'm flattered. You borrowed our setup sheet layout.

Spose I should of asked? haha Its so clear and concise. Good template.

PS_Playtriot

Spose I should of asked? haha Its so clear and concise. Good template.

Click to expand...

No need.

Also, what you had said pre-edit has been noted. I've already got a GTO hiding somewhere in my garage with plans to eventually tune it and the Monaro isn't terrifyingly different so the tweaks needed would be rather small.

Nothing against those that have a pre-disposition to Ford or Holden but I think as Aussies we're sophisticated and educated enough these days to have an opinion outside of the either of those two boxes.

I've got no allegiance to either, having a stronger interests in other manufacturers but I don't remember the last time I was asked to play with the kids at a social engagement that involved car talk. A modern Australian man is just as likely to be drinking a local micro brewed pear cider this summer, shoving some lamb and fetta gourmet snags on the hotplate, discussing the virtues of say... Audi's or perhaps old Alfa's. He'd also be getting along fine with his mate who drinks Cartlon, eats T-Bone and lives and breathes for XP coupes.

Just saying, I think the stereotype is exactly that, a stereotype. A generalisation that is too often less than accurate.

My point? There's room for all of us around the barbie.👍
You empty?

haha come on, ofcourse it's a stereotype. I should have typed in the introduction, "those without a sense of humour, beware."But seriously, I think that support for Holden and Ford once was a culture in Australia, but as the country becomes more multicultural and educated in things more worldly, that is dieing off amongst other things. Not saying that is a bad thing, but I believe it was once the two makers only in the market, and that is where the culture grew from I guess. For me, my favourite car manufacturer is actually Mazda and love the look of Audi. But I still have the underlying preference for Holden if I had to pick either a Ford or Holden. And I am more than happy to share a Chivas Regal with you at the next GTP family BBQ.

Don't worry, I'm not taking it as anything more then a throw away line, but yeah it's an interesting shift in our culture.

PS_Playtriot

And I am more than happy to share a Chivas Regal with you at the next GTP family BBQ.

Click to expand...

Only if you try my Dimple 15YR

Cheers

got a VY SS???

No, but if you're offering, I am more than happy to take it off your hands!?

I have been looking for one ever since launch day! My mate has the car in real life and it is a race to see who can get it first. When I get my hands on it though I will be straight on to tuning it. I see LDP have a tune, but it isn't at max HP which I would prefer. The Monaro was a pig at max HP and took hours to perfect the handling as the amount of power ripping through those rear wheels was just too much for the light weight body. Fortunately I had the patience in the end to stick with it and now I have a super quick, super light Monaro that mixes it with the best. Really happy with how it handles around corners.

Have you tried the Monaro settings on the SS? It wont be a straight conversion, but with a bit of tinkering on the suspension settings and I would think it wouldn't be too far from it?

[url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/57450953@N03/5289121693/]
GT5 Garfield - Monaro CV8 by dalemissen, on Flickr[/URL]


GT5 Monaro CV8 by dalemissen, on Flickr


GT5 Monaro CV8 power slde by dalemissen, on Flickr


GT5 Monaro CV8 daylight by dalemissen, on Flickr


GT5 Monaro CV8 wide angle by dalemissen, on Flickr


GT5 Monaro CV8 fairy lights by dalemissen, on Flickr


GT5 Monaro CV8 profile by dalemissen, on Flickr

Ive done the Lion Den Tune on my VY SS,so ill give this ago on my Monaro,ill be keen to feel how it handles the power you've poured down is throat.

Tune done,nice work,it'll take some getting use to,but the car certainly turns it on.👍

Thanks rEN. It certainly has power. Too much lol. I have it with Paulie from LDP to see if he can work his magic to make it handle a little easier on street circuits with the tight corners and short straight. Otherwise it is a great track car.

yeah i got a phantom mica one, supercharged with all exhaust types if you want it? but i dont have online?

Thanks for the offer but I got one almost as soon as I typed that post. Will look at tuning it next year but LDP have a tune already probably a lot better than I could do. Paulie from there borrowed Garfield and applied some small tweak and now it handles like a dream. Was great before, but now a lot more controllable.

PS_Playtriot is there any chance that you could share your new improved tune of the monaro??

Would like to see that too. I've got this in my garage waiting to get some treatment

Sorry for the delay guys, didn't realize there was interest in it and missed the thread. Updated tune is in original post. Certainly turns a lot better now with just minor tweaks...