Author Archives: bwnunnally

About bwnunnally

Bruce Nunnally is an independent Blogger who writes Cadillac Conversations on all things Cadillac. Connect with Bruce on Google+

Today’s word is Acarpous

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Thanks to  Wordsmith.org for Today’s word, acarpous.

Sentence:  I hope that the new Government intervention in the Auto Industry is not acarpous.

MEANING:

adjective: Not producing fruit; sterile.

ETYMOLOGY:

From Greek akarpos, from a- (not) + karpos (fruit). Ultimately from the Indo-European root kerp- (to gather or harvest) which is also the source of harvest, excerpt, carpet, and scarce.

I hope for the sake of everyone involved in the Industry, and for those of us who enjoy fun, exciting automobiles, that the agressive role that the Government has opted to take in re-shaping the American Automotive Industry doesn’t destroy the very thing they are supposed to be trying to save.

Bankruptcy seems all but inevitable for GM at this point.   Hopefully if they go into Chapter 11 they will in fact re-organize and come out profitable.  It seems all too likely that they will disappear.

Gettting ready to Test: Racelogic Performancebox

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Tonight I ordered a Performancebox from Racelogic USA.  This is a GPS Performance meter and data logger.  It should let me do very exact calculations to help with my upcoming suspension testing, and be useful along with my AP-22 for acceleration testing.

PerformanceBox

PerformanceBox

The PerformanceBox is suited to:

  • Straight-line performance: 0-60, 0-100, 60-130, 60-0, 0-100-0, ¼-mile etc.
  • Horsepower calculation: calculate both wheel and flywheel HP.
  • Lap Timing: using GPS, there is no need for an external lap timing beacon. Accurate to 1/10th of a second.
  • Speed and Compass display: use it as a super-accurate speedometer, updating 10 times per second, to calibrate or verify your vehicle’s speedometer.

No matter how you use the PerformanceBox, it logs your speed, position, G-forces, and distance to its memory card ten times every second for detailed analysis in the included software.

View your performance and lap data on the PerformanceBox’s built-in display, and log all your data to the SD memory card. Saved data files can easily be stored and compared, to see the difference between cars, drivers, parts, or setups.

Datasheet

CTS upgrade to CTS-V suspension

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Okay, after some initial confusion, a set of 2005 Cadillac CTS-V front and rear sway bars and bushings should soon be on the way to await installation on my 2005 CTS.

Cadillac CTS-V Front and Rear Swaybars

Cadillac CTS-V Front and Rear Swaybars

To review, my CTS has the 3.6L engine, but the base FE1 suspension.  The CTS comes with 3 suspension variants, FE1, FE2 Lux, or FE3 Sport.  The CTS-V comes with the FE4 V-series suspension.  The difference between the various suspensions are variations and combinations of springs, shocks, and sway bars.  The sway bars perhaps have the greatest influence on handling.  So for my first step I am going to swap to the CTS-V sway bars and then test.

So, I need to be working now on developing a good way to test the base FE1 suspension.  I am thinking a video test to show how the car looks from outside while cornering, to show lean angle, and a G-meter test to show absolute G’s attainable with each setup.  Stay tuned, or reply with advice!