Category Archives: Cadillac Models

Cadillac CTS-V.R: Racing and winning in the Pirelli World Challenge

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Lead Photo CTS-Vs 02The Cadillac CTS-V series of vehicles are General Motors’ prestige performance cars that are challenging the best cars the world has to offer. Cadillac has thrown down the gauntlet in the marketplace and they’ve taken the offensive to the racetrack as well. Team Cadillac successfully competes in the Pirelli World Challenge with the CTS-V.R, a special racing version of the CTS-V Coupe. In 2014, Team Cadillac will be defending their manufacturer’s championships and the driver’s championships they won in 2012 and 2013.

Pirelli World Challenge Series

The Pirelli World Challenge (PWC) is a production-based road racing series that provides manufacturers a competitive arena in which to prove their products. PWC races are sprint races of 50 minutes duration. There are no scheduled pit stops, no driver changes and not a lot of racing strategy—if a driver is not starting at the front of the class, he or she has 50 minutes of flat-out driving to get there.

Cadillac CTS-V.R

The Cadillac CTS-V.R is a specially modified version of the CTS-V Coupe. Anything that does not contribute to the CTS-V.R accelerating faster, stopping quicker or handling better has been tossed out. It weighs in about 1,000 pounds lighter that the street-legal Coupe and is powered by a 6.2-liter V8 engine that is restricted by PWC rules to 505 horsepower. Brembo brakes provide enough stopping power to make your eyes bug out and Pirelli racing tires give it plenty of cornering grip.

CTS-V 02Team Cadillac Drivers

The CTS-V.R is undoubtedly a superb race car, but a team doesn’t win consecutive championships in the very competitive PWC without exceptional drivers, and Team Cadillac has two of the best—Johnny O’Connell and Andy Pilgrim. Both are experienced and talented, and both have won multiple drivers championships in the PWC for Cadillac in addition to being successful at Le Mans and Sebring. The competitive fire still burns intensely and once the green flag drops, no quarter is asked or given.

Here’s a video of Team Cadillac in action.

http://youtu.be/Tl6Uwl8xD-k

New Players for 2014

Team Cadillac’s quest for a manufacturer’s GT Class championship three-peat this year was thrown a potential stumbling block by a change in the PWC rules allowing FIA-homologated GT3 cars to compete in GT. The CTS-V.R will now have to go head-to-head against some of the best cars in the world—the Audi R8, McLaren 12C, Nissan GTR, Lamborghini Gallardo, Porsche GT3 R, Acura TLX-GT and the Ferrari 458 GT3 Italia.

After four races at three different venues this year, it looks like business as usual—Team Cadillac finds itself in first place in the manufacturer’s points, while Johnny and Andy are second and third in the driver’s standings.

The next race for Team Cadillac will be the V-Series Challenge at Belle Isle, in Detroit Mich. on the weekend of May 30-June 1. NBC Sports Network will broadcast the race on Sunday, June 15 at 2:30 p.m.

Tune in and root for Team Cadillac to extend their lead, and for Johnny and Andy to move up in the driver’s standings.

 

 

Installing Sapele Wood inserts for the 2013 Cadillac ATS

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After clearing back-order, the Sapele Wood inserts arrived for my Wife’s ATS.  She had an immediate negative reaction to the aluminum inserts the ATS arrived with, so I am glad Cadillac offers this type of customization.  I captured some pics while installing Sapele wood inserts for the Cadillac ATS.  Click on any of the pics to zoom in.

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I started with the right rear door.  The shots above shows the brushed aluminum insert the ATS Premium arrived with.

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The inserts arrived nicely packaged in bubble wrap, and in a partitioned carton.  Each insert has the fingers and retainers molded in to they are ready to slide / snap into the Cadillac once the previous items are removed.

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This shot shows ‘behind the scenes, the inner panel ready for the insert.

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Here is the new Sapele wood insert in place.  Sapele comes from tropical Africa, and is in the same family as Mahogany.

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The instructions with the tool show what I assume is a trim tool, with a warning NOT to use a pry tool.  I used a kitchen spatula to get under the trim pieces, then a hard plastic ice scraper to lightly pry the pieces out.  Each piece is tightly retained and takes quite a bit of pressure to get out; I broke part of my hard plastic tool along the way.

On most of the pieces, there are also shaped fingers that one has to take care not to pull straight out.  So in other words, each piece wants to be pulled outward slightly, then slid to the side.

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Once I had practiced on the rear doors I felt better about working on the more-visible front doors.  These took a bit more pressure to snap into place, so I was glad to have the confidence from the rear doors for how they would go.

The wood trim piece in front of the passenger airbag is a really good place to exercise additional care, and it seems very fragile, but was one of the easier pieces to swap.

This small triangular piece I thought — “well, if I never get that out maybe she won’t notice”, but once I got my spatula under an edge and then the plastic tool it came right out, and with only one retainer was simple to install.

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Overall this was not a tricky task, although it does take quite a bit of care.  Slow and easy does it, but also a surprising amount of pressure is needed to ‘pop’ the retainers out, while being careful NOT to pop them complete out so that one can slide the fingers lose before they detach.

My Wife was right, the Sapele inserts look better than the Aluminum for this ATS.

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Update: my Wife sent me this approval picture from her iPhone 5 — so successful install.

Red 2013 Cadillac ATS Premium for the Wife

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My Wife and I ran out to Tyler, Texas to look at a 2013 Cadillac ATS Premium 2L Turbo / Red / Sunroof for sale there.  I did a quick walk-around with pics of the ATS and the RPO (Regular Production Order) codes below.

My Wife either wanted a new Prius, or was willing to consider a used Cadillac ATS, since they were in a similar price range.  If an ATS, she wanted Premium, Red, Sunroof.  This example had just over 5K miles as offered.  It originally retailed for $53K in 2013, and includes all target options and the Driver Assist package.

2013 RPO codes are all shown here.  The main ones of interest in this case are:

  • Y43, Premium Package,
  • Y66, Driver Assist
  • FE3, Sport Suspension (Magnetic suspension)
  • QFN – Tires, P225/40R18 front 88W and P255/35R18 rear 90W, blackwall
  • R1Z – Wheels, 18″ x 8″ (45.7 cm x 20.3 cm) front, 18″ x 9″ (45.7 cm x 22.9 cm) rear, polished aluminum

Here is info from the brochure in driver awareness and driver assist:

The all-new ATS connects you to some of the most advanced safety innovations available on a compact luxury sport sedan. Using strategically placed cameras, short-, mid- and long-range radar technology, and numerous other sensors, the ATS is ever-vigilant. The available Driver Awareness Package includes the Safety Alert Seat that pulses, giving you instant, tactile feedback to alert you of select dangers on the road; Forward Collision Alert; Lane Departure Warning; and RainSense windshield wipers. Going a step further, the available Driver Assist Package adds Front and Rear Automatic Braking, which works in concert with other advanced safety systems to apply the brakes and help avoid certain low-speed collisions; Side Blind Zone Alert; Rear Cross-Traffic Alert; a full-color Head-Up Display that projects customizable key driving, entertainment and safety features at eye level; and Adaptive Cruise Control that maintains your selected speed and a preset distance between you and the vehicle in front. This new high-tech approach to safety is yet another example of Cadillac leading you confidently down the road ahead.

 

After a quick test drive, we worked out the pricing, connected the bluetooth to her iphone for music, set the home destination, and we were off.

More info as we go, but we are now a 2 Cadillac family.