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Initial musings from a new owner of 2025 CT4-V Blackwing

oldskoolboarder

Active Member
Joined
Oct 10, 2024
Messages
30
Location
Bay Area, CA
On Monday, I started looking with earnest for a BW. Yesterday, I flew down to SoCal to pick up my 2025 CT4V (MT BW, Argent, sunroof, satin wheels) and drove it back to NorCal to cap off a long day. I thought I'd share some of my experience, musing and possible questions.

1) I picked this up from Tustin Cadillac dealer and they were very easy to deal with. Chris Severson and Joe Barati were my leads and I'd highly recommend working with them. On Tuesday, Joe called my bluff on a price and I wired money by Wednesday noon. I flew down Friday morning to SNA (Orange County) and Chris picked me up from the airport. That is service. He seemed as excited as I was to pick it up. As my BW sat in the transition area, every salesperson just stopped and started at it. Guess these are the shiz right now.

2) I'm glad I asked for the delivery check list here the other day. As I inspected, I turned it on and steered end to end to inspect the inside of the rims for road rash. Sure enough, there were rough spots on the front driver side. Every employee said they've never had anyone bring this up, nor has anyone looked for it. They had to rack it and found it that it was some residue that had somehow accumulated. Oddly enough, the master tech ended up being the one cleaning it up. BUT, I'm glad I got input from another forum member, cuz that was key.

3) I LOVE that slight rev flex when you start the car. My friend says his M3 does that same obnoxious thing, but I said to me it's music.

4) In my life my MT cars were my 61 Cal VW (slammed to the ground), 1990 Eagle Talon TSi AWD (I LOVED that car), 2009 Miata sport and 1968 Plymouth Barracuda with a 5 sp Tremec and pistol grip. I know you always have to get used to a car's shifter and clutch. This clutch so smooth, I didn't even notice the 1st to 2nd notch that people have mentioned.

5) I've never had a 6 spd so my muscle memory isn't built to go from 5th to 6th yet. On multiple occasions, I shifted from 5th to 4th. I have to keep thinking of pushing right and down to keep it moving towards 6th.

6) I've been playing w/ the clutch one pedal trick to move from first in traffic an also reverse. My concern is if this is bad for the clutch?

7) How do you use your GM rewards points to buy something? I can't seem to see any point redemption method?

8) With this darkish color, I'm now considering PPF and ceramic. Never did it before, still trying to thing if it's worth it for me. I'm not one to wash my car at home anymore, esp with the water concerns in the Bay Area. I've typically done the Griot's waterless sprays with good success.

9) When using the Cadillac app, none of the Vehicle Settings appear to work. It keeps saying 'Unable to Load...' I've tried doing this IN the car with no change/luck. Only Media works. I also can't get 'Shop' to work. Suggestions?

10) I tried setting up my online account with the XM Radio ID. Says it's not recognized yet. Anyone have a sense how long the sale needs to be in place to be confirmed? UPDATE: Sorted w/ XM chat the other day. All good.

11) I definitely envy the high performance wheel. That V placement is kinda cool.

12) I'm happy with the seats. Has enough adjustment for me. I'm also finding that the door sills are higher than I'm used to. I typically dropped the seat as low as possible (back from my cruising days in the VW) and my left arm has to reach a little higher than I'm used to.

13) I'm still getting used to the clutch engagement in 1st. My Miata was almost to the floor and my Barracuda had so much play. Haven't quite felt the sweet spot yet.

14) Over the course of my 419 mile drive home, I averaged 24.4 MPG. Not too shabby. Granted, I was < 80 MPH and babied it all the way back.

15) Wireless charging of my iPhone 13 Pro w/ a case is not consistent. Not sure if anyone else found this, maybe the case is a bit thick but works fine w/ my other Magsafe batteries

16) If I run a USB cable out of the arm rest storage, there doesn't seem to be any cutouts to run the cable through. Every other car w/ the charging part in the storage box has an outlet for a cord. Am I missing something?

17) I'm an analog guy, in all forms. In fact, I listen to vinyl w/ my vacuum tube monoblocks while sipping whiskey and building LEGO. That's my non-screen time. Even for this gadget-obsessed engineer, there's so much dang stuff to learn on this car. Guess I have to turn up the speakers so I can hear it from the garage.

18) How does this car not come w/ a document holder for the manuals? I know it's old school but I like having the manuals in the glovebox in a case.
 
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Congrats, and pics pleeze!
 
7. You can use your points on parts or accessories at Cadillac.com. You need to set up your account, and then verify your points are there. It may take a few days to show up. My dealer set me up with the android app before I left the dealership. If you have your points in your account, you can go the Shop link and then apply your points there:
Screenshot 2024-10-19 230320.jpg

Screenshot 2024-10-19 230348.jpg


Check the promotions. They run special discounts all the time. They'll email you about once a month with the specials they have. This is part of this months' notice:
Screenshot 2024-10-19 231356.jpg

Screenshot 2024-10-19 231527.jpg
 
Congrats !!

Don't get too excited about the points. I only earned enough for one oil change.........

I can't believe anyone would consider thousands of $$$ for magic saran wrap that's supposedly keeps away paint gremlins. Invest it and get a whole new paint job when it gets that bad.
 
Congrats !!

Don't get too excited about the points. I only earned enough for one oil change.........

I can't believe anyone would consider thousands of $$$ for magic saran wrap that's supposedly keeps away paint gremlins. Invest it and get a whole new paint job when it gets that bad.
If you are referring to PPF, then maybe your are just really lucky dependent on where you drive or maybe you have a garage queen. Every vehicle I have owned PPF has been a must otherwise the front end gets decimated by rock chips and it looks horrible. The cost of PPF is $1,600 for the full front clip. An entire paint job is a hell of a lot more, not even close.
 
6) I've been playing w/ the clutch one pedal trick to move from first in traffic an also reverse. My concern is if this is bad for the clutch?

8) With this darkish color, I'm now considering PPF and ceramic. Never did it before, still trying to thing if it's worth it for me. I'm not one to wash my car at home anymore, esp with the water concerns in the Bay Area. I've typically done the Griot's waterless sprays with good success.

9) When using the Cadillac app, none of the Vehicle Settings appear to work. It keeps saying 'Unable to Load...' I've tried doing this IN the car with no change/luck. Only Media works. I also can't get 'Shop' to work. Suggestions?

10) I tried setting up my online account with the XM Radio ID. Says it's not recognized yet. Anyone have a sense how long the sale needs to be in place to be confirmed?

15) Wireless charging of my iPhone 13 Pro w/ a case is not consistent. Not sure if anyone else found this, maybe the case is a bit thick but works fine w/ my other Magsafe batteries

Hey Oldskool, congrats on the new ride! Yes, we need pictures.

6 - I don't know what this one pedal trick is, but I presume that you are taking off at idle? No, that shouldn't hurt the clutch. I do that sometimes as well, these cars have so much torque...

8 - I am in the "save your money" on the ceramic stuff, it's just snake oil. PPF is a different story, I've had cars with it on, and sure it does protect, but I don't like the look and only had it because it was already on the car. If I lived in Colorado or NJ, perhaps I'd do it, but I think N.CA shouldn't be an issue.

9 - Some options don't work unless the parking brake is on.

10 - If the radio works, don't worry about it, you've got several free months to set up the account later.

15 - My wireless charging experience has been subpar. I just don't use it. That's with an Android phone with no case.
 
8 - I am in the "save your money" on the ceramic stuff, it's just snake oil. PPF is a different story, I've had cars with it on, and sure it does protect, but I don't like the look and only had it because it was already on the car. If I lived in Colorado or NJ, perhaps I'd do it, but I think N.CA shouldn't be an issue.

15 - My wireless charging experience has been subpar. I just don't use it. That's with an Android phone with no case.
Yah out here in Colorado, we also considering lifting our Blackwings to deal with shitty roads. Still waiting for Carli to release a kit :ROFLMAO: I have never PPF'd an entire car and usually just do the front end. I am considering filming my entire Black Diamond Tricoat. I love the color so much.

I like to store my phone on the wireless pad for driving, but really do not like to wirelessly charge my phone. I might look into seeing if there is a dedicated fuse for the pad and just take it out. My Galaxy 23 seems to charge fine, but the other family phones sort of go in and out of charging.
 
My PPF on my rear bumper saved me from needing to repaint it after some kid backed into me in a parking lot. Good luck matching paint on some of these colors.
 
4) In my life my MT cars were my 61 Cal VW (slammed to the ground), 1990 Eagle Talon TSi AWD (I LOVED that car), 2009 Miata sport and 1968 Plymouth Barracuda with a 5 sp Tremec and pistol grip. I know you always have to get used to a car's shifter and clutch. This clutch so smooth, I didn't even notice the 1st to 2nd notch that people have mentioned.

I also had a 1990 TSI AWD! Welcome, brother! I loved that damn car.

8) With this darkish color, I'm now considering PPF and ceramic. Never did it before, still trying to thing if it's worth it for me. I'm not one to wash my car at home anymore, esp with the water concerns in the Bay Area. I've typically done the Griot's waterless sprays with good success.

PPF all the way. Ceramic will make it easier to clean but it will NOT protect you like PPF will. I have the XPEL PPF with the ceramic impregnated into the film. It was about $7k for the entire car.

15) Wireless charging of my iPhone 13 Pro w/ a case is not consistent. Not sure if anyone else found this, maybe the case is a bit thick but works fine w/ my other Magsafe batteries

The wireless charging pad is TERRIBLE. 1/2" movement in any direction and the phone drops charging. It sucks. I haven't found a solution.
 
15.
There should be an on/off switch for the pad. I'm nervous to put anything there other than my phone. Even at that it becomes a better heat source than the sun if I leave it on too long. It's basically a flat spot to store things, but you can't store things there. I have yet to find a good spot to keep my phone in this car.
 
15.
There should be an on/off switch for the pad. I'm nervous to put anything there other than my phone. Even at that it becomes a better heat source than the sun if I leave it on too long. It's basically a flat spot to store things, but you can't store things there. I have yet to find a good spot to keep my phone in this car.
Is there possibly a fuse we can pull to disable it? It is the best spot for the phone, I just do not need it to be a charger. Must be some way to disable it. But I have long thought the same, just give us a small switch to use it as we wish.
 
Maybe I missed it, but that's a lot of reading with no pics!!! Haha glad you love the car, and that you got it so fast! Call to get signed up for the Spring Mountain school as soon as you can (most likely a wait list), I just did it last weekend and it's the most fun I've ever had in a car.
 
2009 Miata sport and

The wireless charging pad is TERRIBLE. 1/2" movement in any direction and the phone drops charging. It sucks. I haven't found a solution.
I had a 2006 NC Miata, great car.

The charger works well, it just doesn't hold the phone.
Any slight G-force and it slides right on out. Kind of a misstep for a performance sedan.
 
Is there possibly a fuse we can pull to disable it? It is the best spot for the phone, I just do not need it to be a charger. Must be some way to disable it. But I have long thought the same, just give us a small switch to use it as we wish.
My other complaint about that spot is that when my phone actually is there I can't accel too hard because the phone will actually slide out and usually winds up between the console and seat. Phone then lives there until I get home and ask a kid with kid hands to reach and fish it out.
 

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