I just got a very nice older CS9 with Delrin grips already installed. It's black with the safety on one side. I would have preferred a stainless one, but beggars can't be choosers. Are there any major advantages to the newer ones? I actually like the safety on only the left side since I'm a righty. The black finish is cool, and I like the contrast between that and the stainless barrel. Plastic sights don't really bother me. Glocks come with them. And I can always change them. Anyone know if the newer ones are really any better? I'm not having buyers remorse. Just curious.

I believe you already touched on all of the differences but someone more knowledgeable than me will likely be along. I've got an early CS45 that is as you describe.

I didn't know the early CS series came with delrin grips ..thought they all had the rubber ones ..

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JR

They did. The previous owner had them made for the gun, and they were on the gun when i bought it. Rubber Hogue grips were also in the box.

I am more of a shooter than a collector, so all CS9s are much the same great little pistol to me. Enjoy.

have a cs45 tda stainless -alloy frame safety-decoker both sides. mfg 08. just got it no range time yet

I've been looking for one for a while now, MUST be s/s, otherwise
anything else to look for...

I looked for 3 years before I found one. Then I found a new stainless steel one. I've owned it for about 8 months and still haven't shot it. I really thought I'd find one that was "carried a lot but shot very little". As of right now I don't know that I'll ever shoot it. What a dilemma.

I've been looking for longer than that....missed a few..."by that much"

KBM6893
I have a CS40 just like yours, all black. I envy you with those Delrin grips. Mine has the Hogue rubber unit that I despise. Got so mad at them that I sanded them down on the backstrap, that curve just doesn't sit right in my hand. Going to get a set of grips from a 4566 or 457 to replace those rubber units. Actually the CS 40 is going 10mm anyway.
Enjoy your unit! You know you'll still need a CS40 and the CS45, ha, ha!
T&B

As I recall, the most noticeable revisions to the later production CS guns were an ambi manual safety and the steel Novak-style low mount sights.

I think the later CS45 slides were like the revised slides on the newer 4566TSW's & 4513TSW's, in that they allowed an ambi safety lever without the right side of the slide having to have a machined slot (for the lever to be removed from the slide, when the lever was in the decock/on-safe position). Probably a subtle change some folks who own different production vintages of 3rd gen .45's may not have noticed.

When I had my early production stainless CS45 slide modified to accept the spring-loaded/decock-only option, the PC smith had to laboriously hand-file a recessed, angled slot into the right side of my slide for the new assembly's ambi lever removal. I got a call from them to apologize for a slip of the file which had rolled over one of the edges. Oops. No biggie, for me. I told the smith it didn't bother me because it was going to be hard-used off-duty weapon which would see a lot of range training. It just catches the light differently than the other edge of the cut.

The recoil guide rod is of the 1-piece style body in which the plunger & spring fit into the head and are held by friction of the shaped spring, instead of having the head staked onto the body. I've seen both plastic & stainless rod plungers (I have both types I've used in my own CS9 & CS45).

The carbon steel/black finish CS guns were the first ones released, with the stainless slide (light finished anodized aluminum frames) models following suit. The carbon steel/black finish guns also had blued side plates, as I recall. I installed a stainless manual safety and side plate for a friend for his early production CS9 many years ago (and fit a new sear release lever for the gun, to work with the different manual safety body).

Congrats.

Order the CS9 (dark red painted) recoil springs to have on hand, as they seem to be an infrequently back-ordered item. I had to wait something like 3-5 months before my last order of spares arrived. (The magazine springs are the same as are used in the 3913/908/4040 mags.)

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Ret LE Firearms inst & armorer

I've owned both an older blued and newer stainless ambi-safety CS9, and honestly noticed no difference in performance between the two. I like the single-sided safety for CC, but prefer the metal rear sight on the newer CS9. Both were accurate, reliable, and had nice triggers. The blued ones were only made for a few years, but seem to sell for less than the stainless due to the cheaper Value Line bluing.