CTS-V

[Indy]

Eat brains much?

[Nashco]

In my hunt for the perfectly optioned CTS-V (no sunroof, black exterior, tan interior on a car that's been well maintained) I stumbled on another car I have been eyeing. So, my hunt for the V is off for a while...I'll probably still keep my eyes open for deals, but not hunting quite as hard. I'm picking up a Sky Redline in California next week, it's got the exact set of options I would get if I was buying new!

Bryce

[Unsafe At Any Speed]

Alright, couple of quick mods went in a couple weeks ago. First was the fire extinguisher and bracket:



Also 'installed' a CG Lock on the driver's side (the passenger side has a different buckle mechanism and needs to be modded but I have one for that side as well). I think it should really help keep me in my seat on the track. Also, has the added benefit of improving posture on the street. Anyway, here's a quick pic:


Once the Titanium shims came in, I went ahead and tackled the brakes. First of all, why the hell does a 2004 still use ANY standard size fittings? But anyway, a few wrench purchases later...
Here's the stock lines on the car:



Side by side comparison:


The stockers were getting pretty rusted out:


And the new lines on:




After that I went ahead and changed out the pads for the Hawks. For anyone who hasn't seen, these are about the easiest calipers to change pads on. All you have to do is punch out two pins that hold a retainer thing on. Then the pads can slide right out from here:

No need to remove the calipers or anything.

So anyway, I go to bleed the brakes and keep getting air. Also, there was no fluid from coming from the driver's front at all. I ended up troubleshooting a bit and found out that the problem was the fitting wasn't letting any fluid through at all. Being I work everyday this week and I'm supposed to track the car on Sunday, I went ahead and just took it to the brake shop. They drilled out the fitting for me and flushed the brakes. A bunch of Motul went to waste in this whole deal. While the lines overall look to be good quality, that fitting issue kinda pisses me off.

So yeah, my rotors are about done for and I'm sure will probably need replacing after this weekend. I really want to pick up the new two-piece slotted UUC front rotors with matching one-piece slotted UUC rears once they're available. They're expensive, but should be worth it I think.

[Unsafe At Any Speed]

Oh yeah, this is always something that's fun to find. Nothing like a bolt that's just about to fall out completely:

[CincinnatiFiero]

Toyota 4Runners use the same pad/caliper setup (style, not the caliper itself obviously). Turn your camera on macro, god I sound like emc. Lines look good, amazing how much shorter they are.

[Aaron]

I'm not a fan of the fire extinguisher myself, kinda takes away from the Cadillac-ness of the car. But I really like your other upgrades, must be nice to have such a high performance car that still drives like a Caddy. That's one thing no Fiero will ever do.

[CincinnatiFiero]

I would assume that was a had to, not a want to mod.

[Unsafe At Any Speed]

The extinguisher wasn't so much a have to as a piece of mind mod. The extinguisher itself comes out fairly easily though. The bracket is barely noticeable without it, but is fairly easily removable as well.

Aaron, NASA could always use more course workers if you're interested. They will either pay you or give you free track time. Your choice. It's actually a pretty good time and the best seats for watching the races.

[Unsafe At Any Speed]

Oh yeah, speaking of the Cadillac-ness of the car. I went ahead and picked up a big box of dynamat extreme to combat some road noise and rear diff whine. I know, I know. Extra weight right? Well, I weighed the whole box at about 26 lbs. I figure since I've recently lost about 35 lbs (down to around 160), that it all balances out.

[Unsafe At Any Speed]

I've read in the past about people picking up two or three mpg by switching to Amsoil fluids. I never really thought much of these claims, but I think they might actually have some merit. Before the fluid change and after the headers and tune I would get around maybe 25 mpg. The last couple of times I've done highway driving (down to High Plains Raceway being the last), I've been getting over 27 mpg. This is not intentionally driving fuel efficiently either. If I tried I think I could possibly get near 30 mpg.

Anyway, I see these non-hybrid economy cars on TV where the main 'selling point' is 33 mpg highway. Seriously, if I can get 27 in my 400 hp 3800 lb+ luxury car, they should try to do a little better than that.

[The Dark Side of Will]

Economy cars aren't what they used to be. A duke/5 speed Fiero will hit high 30's; '90's Civics can do the same. Modern Civics, for some reason, can not.

[CincinnatiFiero]

Its all weight man. My 95 Civic weighed just under 2,300lbs with me in, and no back seat, no spare. A late 80s hatch weighs 1,900lbs in street trim. A current civic weights more like 3k lbs. The same people who demand hypermpg also demand hypersafety, which is cool but they miss when you add 25%-50% more weight... you'll see a fuel economy decrease. The cars need bigger engines, bigger tires etc. If OBD2 and modern technology was applied to a 1,900LB 1.5L 4cyl the mpg would be off the charts. Even the prius is a bit of a cow for how big it is.

But then you get these nice big lumpy V8 cars which can have a nice huge overdrive on 5 and 6 and cruise on the highway barely working and do 70mph no problem. Even my 120HP (the "fast vtec one") had to work on the highway.

[AkursedX]

Its all weight man. My 95 Civic weighed just under 2,300lbs with me in, and no back seat, no spare. A late 80s hatch weighs 1,900lbs in street trim. A current civic weights more like 3k lbs. The same people who demand hypermpg also demand hypersafety, which is cool but they miss when you add 25%-50% more weight... you'll see a fuel economy decrease. The cars need bigger engines, bigger tires etc. If OBD2 and modern technology was applied to a 1,900LB 1.5L 4cyl the mpg would be off the charts. Even the prius is a bit of a cow for how big it is.

Exactly. Even a chevy aveo is 2600lbs nowadays.

1990 civic sedan- 2262lbs
2009 civic sedan- 2650lbs

The lightest 2009 sedan I could find is a toyota yaris 5sp weighing in at 2262lbs. The smart four-two's are 1808lbs (And they get shit fuel economy too, but that's due to horrendous aerodynamics).

[CincinnatiFiero]

I saw DUI plates on a Smart yesterday, something was extra funny about that.

40mpg is unimpressive out of a like what 900cc car.

[The Dark Side of Will]

Smarts have 1.3 litre engines... which really is just not enough for that car in American driving. You floor it to get anywhere, so you spend all your time in power enrichment. That car DESPERATELY needs a diesel.

OTOH, Gixxer-Smarts are pretty sweet...

The fuel economy thing is a problem of both weight and engines, BUT, what brought about the lighter, more economical cars in the first place? High CAFE standards... which haven't gone up in over 20 years.

[Aaron]

Ecotec + 1980s Civic hatch = win.

Low weight, high technology engine, in low weight low technology car. It'd be the perfect DD, and quick too. If not quick enough, add a turbo. 2-4mpg loss, with 200hp gain.

[Fastback86]

Win

http://www.topgear.com/us/features/more ... er-indeed/

[Aaron]

Reading Top Gear is like waxing the Wilson. It's just not the same.

[Aaron]

I take half of that comment back. Reading Top Gear is actually still mildly entertaining. Just not so much as watching Top Gear.

Pretty interesting read, makes me really want to do it. Unfortunately I have far better things to do than spend $7000 for 84mpg. I'd rather spend $40,000 for 12.

[The Dark Side of Will]

I've been musing about building a TDI Fiero. The new twin cam TDI engines are sexy.