Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing Tuning Guide — Best Setup for FH6

Class Range: S1 - S2 | Base HP: 668 | Drivetrain: RWD | Weight: 1,866 kg | Best Class: S1

The CT5-V Blackwing is Cadillac's middle finger to the entire German sports sedan establishment. 668 horsepower from a supercharged 6.2L LT4 V8 — the same engine that powers the C7 Corvette Z06 — stuffed into a four-door sedan that weighs 1,866 kg and comes standard with a six-speed manual transmission. Let me say that again: a manual. In a 668-hp supercharged supersedan. In 2026. Cadillac built this car for people who want to row their own gears while embarrassing M5s at track days, and FH6 captures every bit of that glorious absurdity. The supercharger whine is addictive, the exhaust note is pure American thunder, and the fact that you can fit four adults and their luggage while pulling 1.0G on a skidpad is genuinely remarkable.

Tuning the Blackwing is about managing the weight. At 1,866 kg it's the heaviest car in this guide that doesn't have electric motors helping it, and you feel every kilogram in the braking zones and quick transitions. The LT4's 890 Nm of torque can overwhelm the rear tires at any speed in any gear, and the suspension has to work double-time to keep the mass under control. The Blackwing's party trick is its magnetic ride control — in the real car it reads the road 1,000 times per second and adjusts damping instantly. FH6 can't replicate that, so you have to pick damping settings that work across all conditions.

The manual transmission deserves special mention. In a game full of dual-clutch and automatic cars, the Blackwing's stick shift forces you to be more involved. Every downshift is a deliberate action. Every corner exit requires coordination. It makes you a better driver because you can't just pull a paddle and let the computer figure it out. The LT4's massive torque means you can be lazy with gear selection — leave it in third through a sequence of corners and the supercharger will pull you through — but the car rewards precision with lap time.

Best Tuning Setups by Class

S1 is where the Blackwing is most balanced. At 668 hp the power is enormous but the chassis can manage it, and the 7.5 handling rating is respectable for a 1,866 kg sedan. In S2 at 820 hp the car becomes a handful — the weight penalty is more pronounced at higher speeds, and the handling only improves to 8.0. Stick to S1 for road racing, use S2 only for highway pulls and drag racing.

Tuning Parameters — The Detail Work

Tire Pressure

Front: 32.0 PSI, Rear: 31.0 PSI. The Blackwing's weight demands higher pressures to prevent tire rollover under cornering loads. The front tires work hardest — they're managing 1,866 kg of mass under braking while also steering. Run these pressures and check temps after the first three laps. If the fronts are cooking past 100C, you're overdriving the entry.

Gearing

Final drive: 3.45. The LT4's supercharger means torque is available everywhere — peak torque at 3,600 RPM and it barely drops off until the redline. The 3.45 final drive gives 315 km/h top speed in S1 with enough acceleration to gap most cars out of corners. Don't gear it too short — the supercharger makes the engine flexible enough that you can pull a taller gear through corners without losing time.

Alignment

Camber: -2.0 front, -1.5 rear. The Blackwing's front weight bias (about 54%) means the front tires need more camber to maintain contact patch during cornering. Rear camber at -1.5 provides stability without sacrificing straight-line traction. Toe: 0.0 front, 0.1 rear. Caster: 7.0.

Anti-Roll Bars

Front: 30.0, Rear: 28.0. The Blackwing's front weight bias demands a stiffer front bar to control body roll — there's a supercharged V8 sitting over the front axle that wants to lean in every corner. The rear bar at 28.0 keeps the inside rear tire loaded during cornering without making the car snap-oversteer. For tighter circuits, try 29/29 for more neutral behavior.

Springs

Front: 720 lb/in, Rear: 670 lb/in. These are proper sports sedan spring rates for a car that weighs nearly 1,900 kg. The front springs are stiffer because they're managing both the engine mass and braking loads. Ride height: drop 0.8 inch. The Blackwing sits at a purposeful height from the factory — don't slam it, the suspension needs travel to work.

Damping

Rebound: 8.5 front, 8.0 rear. Bump: 5.5 front, 5.0 rear. Since FH6 can't replicate the Blackwing's magnetic ride, these settings attempt to split the difference between track firmness and street compliance. The rebound control is especially important — at this weight, uncontrolled rebound makes the car float over undulations mid-corner. On smooth tracks, add 0.5 to rebound. On rough street circuits, drop bump by 1.0.

Aero

The Blackwing has functional aero from the factory — a front splitter, underbody panels, and a rear spoiler. For S1 track builds, add the Forza rear wing at 50% downforce. The Blackwing's body generates lift above 270 km/h, and the wing eliminates the high-speed floatiness. More downforce helps the heavy car feel lighter in fast corners by artificially adding weight to the tires.

Brakes

Balance: 56% front, Pressure: 115%. At 1,866 kg, the Blackwing needs serious braking force. The front bias at 56% reflects the weight transfer under braking — the nose dives hard and the front tires bear most of the stopping load. Pressure at 115% gives the stopping power needed for a car this heavy. The Blackwing comes with excellent Brembo brakes, but race pads are worthwhile for endurance racing.

Differential

Rear diff: Accel 70%, Decel 40%. The Blackwing puts 890 Nm through just the rear tires, and the diff needs to be aggressive to manage that torque. Accel lock at 70% ensures both rear tires get power on exit — the penalty for one-wheel peel in a car this powerful is either a spin or a massive loss of time. Decel at 40% provides stability under trail braking. The Blackwing's electronic LSD in the real car would vary these numbers dynamically, but 70/40 is a strong fixed baseline.

Best Race Types for the Blackwing

Road racing: B-tier. The weight holds it back on tight circuits, but the Blackwing is competitive on fast, flowing tracks where the LT4's power can stretch its legs. Street scene: A-tier. The magnetic ride (even FH6's approximation of it) handles rough roads better than most sports sedans. Drag: A-tier. Supercharged V8 with massive torque makes for strong straight-line performance despite RWD. Drift: C-tier. Too heavy to transition quickly between slides. Rally: D-tier. This is a track sedan, not a dirt car.

Tuning Share Codes

The Blackwing community is small but fiercely loyal — these are people who chose a Cadillac over a BMW and want to prove they were right. Most builds are S1 street/track hybrids. Share your codes below. I'm looking for setups that minimize the weight penalty in tight corners without sacrificing the car's high-speed stability.

Common Tuning Mistakes

Treating it like a Corvette. The LT4 engine may be shared with the C7 Z06, but the Blackwing weighs 400 kg more and has rear doors. Tuning the suspension like a Corvette (stiff springs, aggressive alignment) just makes the extra weight feel worse. Accept the mass and tune for compliance.

Too much rear bar. People try to make the Blackwing rotate like an M3 by stiffening the rear bar, but the heavier chassis responds differently. A too-stiff rear bar on a 1,866 kg car creates snap-oversteer that's impossible to catch. Keep the rear bar at 28 or below.

Revving the LT4 like an NA engine. The supercharger makes peak power at 6,400 RPM but torque plateaus from 3,600 to 5,800. There's no benefit to holding gears past 6,400 — the supercharger is out of breath. Shift at 6,500 and use the massive mid-range torque to pull the next gear.

Neglecting the manual shifting rhythm. The Blackwing rewards smooth, deliberate shifts. If you're used to paddle-shift cars, the manual will feel slow at first. Give it time. The involvement is the point — this car is about the experience, not just the lap time.

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