CAGS is an acronym for Computer Aided Gear Selection and has been used on 1992 and newer on cars with the T-56, 6-speed transmission like Vipers, Corvettes, Camaros, Firebirds, the new GTO and CTS-V.  The purpose of CAGS is to improve gas mileage by skipping 2nd and 3rd gears under "normal" acceleration and making you shift from 1^st to 4^th gear which results in keeping the engine revolutions down, increasing gas mileage and avoiding the gas-guzzler tax.

The factory CAGS system blocks the shift gate to second gear when all four of the following conditions are true at the same time on a CTS-V:

                    1. You are in 1st gear (of course)

        2. You are at 21% throttle or less

        3. You are between 15 and 19 mph (24 to 31 km/h)

        4. And the engine coolant temperature is greater than 169 ºF (76 ºC)

When CAGS activates, it energizes a skip-shift solenoid inside the transmission and forces a 1^st to 4^th shift. What happens is you'll be moving happily along (normal acceleration from a stop light) and you will be locked out of 2^nd gear. You simply cannot shift into it - the transmission transparently shifts right from 1^st to 4^th gear. At this point several options are available to you:

            Shift into 4^th like the EPA wants you to do

Push it up in the gate and shift into 3^rd

Shift into 5^th

Shift into 6^th

Coast in neutral until the RPMs drop and CAGS is disengaged

Shift back into 1^st (or just leave it there to begin with) and open up the throttle a bit more, exceeding 21% throttle or 19 mph and then shift into 2^nd gear.

Our !CAGS Eliminator defeats the whole system described above by intercepting the supply of electrical power to the second gear, gate-blocking solenoid, giving you full control over your manual transmission to select any gear you wish, at any time.