Cadillac XTS Virtual Dyno -ing was this afternoon’s XTS fun.

I have been experimenting with the Virtual Dyno software from Brad Barnhill.  Since I had the Cadillac XTS out for a weekend test drive, courtesy of Crest Cadillac of Plano, I did some instrumented tests on it.

First, the XTS was hot after our morning out, and it is hot here in Texas.  The 3.6L V6 was running intake temps up in the 150Fs.   On my supercharged Cadillac STS-V I would call that an intercooler cooling challenge, but on the normally aspirated 3.6L it is a normal sort of temperature.

The XTS is advertised at 304 hp at the crank, so we were hoping to see around 240 whp, or hp at the wheels.  Automatics are often characterized as having 20% drive train losses.

The Cadillac XTS pulled through the heat and put down 233 whp in the max run.  That either means the XTS has drivetrain losses of 23%, or it was hot today.  We know I live at 600 feet above sea level and its hot here, so it is close enough to the expected 240 whp to say that the XTS is putting the rated power down.

 Cadillac XTS Virtual Dyno

Since the XTS is new, Brad doesn’t have a file for it yet.  I created an XML file for Virtual Dyno to use with the XTS:

<?xml version=”1.0″ standalone=”yes”?>
<CarDataset xmlns=”http://tempuri.org/CarDataset.xsd”>
<CarParameters>
<CarMake>Cadillac</CarMake>
<CarModel>XTS</CarModel>
<CarSubModel>FWD</CarSubModel>
<StartYear>2013</StartYear>
<EndYear>2013</EndYear>
<Weight>3995</Weight>
<TransTypeManual>false</TransTypeManual>
<TransGear1>4.48</TransGear1>
<TransGear2>2.87</TransGear2>
<TransGear3>1.84</TransGear3>
<TransGear4>1.41</TransGear4>
<TransGear5>1.00</TransGear5>
<TransGear6>0.74</TransGear6>
<FinalGearRatio>2.77</FinalGearRatio>
<DragCoefficient>0.33</DragCoefficient>
<FrontalArea>24.94</FrontalArea>
<TireDiameter>27.68</TireDiameter>
</CarParameters>
</CarDataset>

The details probably don’t matter to most readers but are included for info in case someone else is repeating this test another day.

Cadillac XTS Virtual Dyno Summary

The 3.6L DOHC, VVT V6 in the Cadillac XTS is performing as expecting, and putting down the rated power.   It revs right up to 6,800+ rpm before shifting at wide open throttle, and is not pulling any punches with the transmission in sport mode.

The Cadillac XTS at Cars and Coffee Dallas fit right in this morning.  I have a Cadillac XTS out on a weekend test drive (Pickup) courtesy Crest Cadillac.  I headed over before 7 AM and was thrilled to see that the Cadillac guys had space and waved the Cadillac XTS right in.

Cars and Coffee is a fun, casual event. In Dallas it is hosted by Classic BMW. The event consists of people bringing out their fun or hobby cars (or daily driver if your daily driver is also a fun car), parking them in a parking lot, and walking around and chatting.

There is coffee and light breakfast available, with proceeds to charity.

It is fun to see Cadillacs of all years parked together.  It is really easy to see the family resemblance across the line and across the legacy of Cadillac production.

The great thing is the access — the cars aren’t roped off or behind glass, and usually the owner is nearby to tell you more about the car if you like.

I talked myself hoarse telling people about the new Cadillac XTS at Cars and Coffee.  It is fun to hear how other Cadillac owners are enjoying their Cadillacs, and to hear what people think about the new Cadillac XTS.

Lots of people stopped by to look at the XTS and take pictures or talk about it.  It was quite popular.

I wish I had gotten pictures of people with the XTS but I would stop taking photos and go chat instead.

Here’s a small gallery of other Cadillac photos from the event; enjoy!

Click on any of the thumbnails to zoom in to that image, then hit back on your browser to return here.

Thanks to Crest Cadillac for providing the Cadillac XTS for the weekend test drive!

Cadillac XTS weekend test drive is my kind of topic.  Crest Cadillac of Plano, Texas was kind enough to provide a new Cadillac XTS for a weekend test drive.  The Cadillac XTS is the newest Cadillac, just reaching showrooms in June.

Crest Cadillac is a sponsor here on CaddyInfo and has been terrific about letting me get the new Cadillacs out on the road and review them.  They were kind enough to call when the XTS first arrived for a photo shoot, and agreed that once they had inventory to let one off the lot we could do a test drive.

Here is a shot of my daily driver STS-V after arriving; still having a blast with the V …

 

Cadillac XTS Weekend Test Drive – First Impressions

The new XTS looks right at home in my driveway.  The first batch of XTS’s out of the factory appear to be heavily weighted to black.  This is a good color for the XTS.

There is no gas cap on the Cadillac XTS.  Under the gas fill door one finds just a mechanism ready to receive the pump nozzle.  It recognizes automatically when there is no nozzle inserted and closes.  This works very well, and clearly is the way that all the cars should go in the future.

The Cadillac XTS features the new Cadillac User Experience, with touch sensitive center console and programmable dash display.

 

I’ll apologize to Cadillac and you the Reader in advance for the dash photos — I will have to study how to get good ones with no glare and flash washout.

My first impressions are this will let you setup the Cadillac XTS so that it is perfect for the information you want to see.  I was able to rapidly add tachometer output to the heads-up display, and re-configure the dash display to include speed limit (!) and heading information.  The dash already had a very nice small navigation inset incorporated, although a full size nav display can be seen on the center console as normal.

A interesting feature of the XTS is a weather forecast display. It is a selection off the main center console menu, and shows current weather and the near-term forecast.  This is handy to know, and would help with planning your trip.

Summary

Smooth pickup of the Cadillac XTS, and I am looking forward to getting to know this thoroughly modern Cadillac.  Please post any questions you have in the comments!