CT4-V It's not easy being green.

[DonD]

Try being purple!
View attachment 33569

Good looking and fine high performance car!

 

[CT4-Venom]

After a couple months of automotive ADHD trying to decide my next car picked up this enthusiast spec'd CT4 a few weeks ago. At the time of purchase in a nationwide search I only found two Blackwings in "Typhoon Metallic" with the other one being out of state and a black interior this lightly optioned gem (seats & exterior color) 300 miles away was a no brainer.
View attachment 33546
View attachment 33554
View attachment 33547
Test drove manual variants of the usual suspects including a C7 Grand Sport, FL5 CTR, G87 M2, MK5 Supra, and two CT4 Blackwings. If you asked me beforehand which one is my least likely choice it was definitely the Cadillac. Had to test drive another to be certain I wasn't losing my mind.
View attachment 33548
The good? Chassis, steering, brake, shifter, and clutch feel are all excellent. None of the usual numbness or artificial feel from DBW and EPS so many modern cars suffer from. Thick leather steering wheel. Simple screen. Climate control buttons. Motor and trans are proven bulletproof units. Analog oil dipstick. No annoying digital oil level check process. Looking at you BMW.
View attachment 33549
The bad? Tall gears. With a 3.73 final ratio expected more usability in higher gears. 3.90 would be nice. Backseat is acceptable for pets, children, or Lieutenant Dan but not all three simultaneously. 6500 RPM redline in a high performance TT V6 is on the low side. Rear windows lack auto up feature. You know what other car lacks this feature? A Dodge Neon.
View attachment 33550
There's some neat features for those choosing a manual transmission. Where the paddle shifters would be on autos you'll find coordinates for GM's proving grounds and technical center. Manuals have titanium connecting rods whereas autos have steel. No lift shift is a thing (DBW cheat code) as is line lock and launch control. Party on.
View attachment 33551
View attachment 33552
What's next? Spring Mountain on March 4th and 5th. Try out Big Bend Open Road Race in late April. Lowering springs and OEM aero bits are on the menu. Have a set of wheels waiting to go on. Need to get tires for them. Hopefully keeping this Caddy that zigs a while. Will update the thread as ownership progresses. Thanks for reading.

View attachment 33553

When are the purple wheels going on so you can have the ‘hulk’?

 

[nix6speed]

Try being purple!
View attachment 33569

How do you know someone's a Corvette owner? Don't worry, they'll tell you!

When are the purple wheels going on so you can have the ‘hulk’?

Maybe the CCWs are purple, you'll have to wait and see!

 

[Tuna]

How do you know someone's a Corvette owner? Don't worry, they'll tell you!

Maybe the CCWs are purple, you'll have to wait and see!

I also happen to own a 2011 V Wagon.

 

[RobC7]

Did someone say CCWs? Looking forward to seeing pictures.

 

[Per4mer08]

Love the color (but I’m biased). I almost went with the bronze wheels and tan interior but instead went with all black.

I’d also like to see an aftermarket 19” wheel on a Typhoon.

 

[TruckeeTaurus]

After a couple months of automotive ADHD trying to decide my next car picked up this enthusiast spec'd CT4 a few weeks ago. At the time of purchase in a nationwide search I only found two Blackwings in "Typhoon Metallic" with the other one being out of state and a black interior this lightly optioned gem (seats & exterior color) 300 miles away was a no brainer.
View attachment 33546
View attachment 33554
View attachment 33547
Test drove manual variants of the usual suspects including a C7 Grand Sport, FL5 CTR, G87 M2, MK5 Supra, and two CT4 Blackwings. If you asked me beforehand which one is my least likely choice it was definitely the Cadillac. Had to test drive another to be certain I wasn't losing my mind.
View attachment 33548
The good? Chassis, steering, brake, shifter, and clutch feel are all excellent. None of the usual numbness or artificial feel from DBW and EPS so many modern cars suffer from. Thick leather steering wheel. Simple screen. Climate control buttons. Motor and trans are proven bulletproof units. Analog oil dipstick. No annoying digital oil level check process. Looking at you BMW.
View attachment 33549
The bad? Tall gears. With a 3.73 final ratio expected more usability in higher gears. 3.90 would be nice. Backseat is acceptable for pets, children, or Lieutenant Dan but not all three simultaneously. 6500 RPM redline in a high performance TT V6 is on the low side. Rear windows lack auto up feature. You know what other car lacks this feature? A Dodge Neon.
View attachment 33550
There's some neat features for those choosing a manual transmission. Where the paddle shifters would be on autos you'll find coordinates for GM's proving grounds and technical center. Manuals have titanium connecting rods whereas autos have steel. No lift shift is a thing (DBW cheat code) as is line lock and launch control. Party on.
View attachment 33551
View attachment 33552
What's next? Spring Mountain on March 4th and 5th. Try out Big Bend Open Road Race in late April. Lowering springs and OEM aero bits are on the menu. Have a set of wheels waiting to go on. Need to get tires for them. Hopefully keeping this Caddy that zigs a while. Will update the thread as ownership progresses. Thanks for reading.

View attachment 33553

Congrats man. Looks just like my CT5 Blackwing. Hope you got the bronze wheels. I had to order mine aftermarket because the original ordered got the standard chrome ones.

 

[nix6speed]

Did someone say CCWs? Looking forward to seeing pictures.

Yes, they're 19s with machine faces, matching center caps, and polished lips. Still need to get tires for them and more importantly lowering springs for the car so they'll look proper. These should look perfect once it all comes together. Terrible pic from seller.

Congrats man. Looks just like my CT5 Blackwing. Hope you got the bronze wheels. I had to order mine aftermarket because the original ordered got the standard chrome ones.

Thanks, we're one of few with exquisite taste. I like bronze on green. Not a fan of the stock polished wheels either. Thanks for sharing the TPMS part numbers in your thread will buy those today.

Bumping this thread for my Spring Mountain trip. Requested earliest availability cancellation and went the first week in March. Brought my wife along this time. Highly recommend staying in one of their casitas. Everything went perfect as expected.

Participated in the C8Z program back in November 2024. CT4 is a completely different experience than the C8Z. C8s are very digital. They give you all the confidence to throw them into turns despite a general lack of feedback from braking and steering inputs.

CT4 steering and brake feel is significantly better with excellent chassis feedback yet they make you hustle. Still highly capable in corners despite the 3800 lb heft. They're at least 10 MPH slower in the straights and according to instructors several seconds slower per lap than CT5s with equal drivers. Put down solid lap times given the extremely windy conditions which had to be paused twice for rocks and cones on track. Was in the fastest group with the CT5 guys. Need to be less of a ham-fisted idiot but I doubt that will ever change! Had an absolute blast. Naturally, I chose the green one.

After Spring Mountain we went to Zion National Park, Grafton, Utah (historic ghost town), rented a side by side on BLM land in Hurricane, Utah, visited Bryce Canyon, then the final Sunday a longtime friend on another forum let me drive his Porsche Boxster Spyder and BMW M Clownshoe through the Red Rock scenic loop outside Vegas. Well traveled but never been to Utah before. One of the most scenic places we've been and the 80 MPH highways are great. Highly recommend. Thanks for reading.

 

[nix6speed]

This past Saturday went with a few car buddies to Lockhart for Barbs BBQ (Michelin nod) then to the local municipal airport for some pics. Hangar owners let us roam the tarmac was an awesome experience. Will share pics once my buddy edits them. Afterwards went through the Hill Country outside Austin then back to Houston. Key swapped with my Camaro buddy definitely miss having a V8 but like the Caddy better overall.

Brisket, pork ribs, lamb chops, and turkey. Sides are pork stew and green spaghetti (poblano sauce)

Found out BBORR is going to cost an absolute fortune to participate in and after watching some YouTube videos of the actual race doesn't look exciting. Passing on that. Instead bought lowering springs, lockout kit, and deciding on tires for the CCWs. Will install springs the Week of 4/20. Also, having my BIL 3D print some rear rock guards from an STL file provided on here.

Went with Swift Sport Springs sold by Tapout Tuning. These are supposedly street friendly and reviews say they're only slightly stiffer than stock. Target drop is advertised as 17 to 20 mm which equates to .66 to .78 inches. Perfect stance and Magride friendly.

Lockout kit is what I'm most excited about. This made the biggest seat of the pants difference on my 6th Gen. They are cradle bushings that fill the spaces in the subframe yet add no NVH. Revelry Racing is the small vendor. Owner got fed up with BMR not making any Cadillac suspension bits and started making them himself. We chatted on the phone today he's highly knowledgeable on late model Cadillac platforms. Should be shipping out next week. I'm a guinea pig for these. No exact item pictures but similar to this.

Then tires. Preference is to run 265/30/19 fronts and 285/30/19 rears as it's only a 10 mm increase front and rear to avoid overtiring the car. However, options in those sizes are limited. Michelin PS4S are available and cost a fortune. Continental DWS are a cheaper option but all seasons on CCWs seem silly. Life is hard. Next update will feature better pictures plus some before and afters in the correct order. Thanks for reading.

 

[dcc8203]

Looking forward to an update on your opinion of the lockout kit when you get it installed, specifically any negative NVH you pick up. I had a 2009 G8 GXP that I modded the suspension on, and loved the performance increase but hated the squeaking and creaking I got from it.

 

[nix6speed]

Looking forward to an update on your opinion of the lockout kit when you get it installed, specifically any negative NVH you pick up. I had a 2009 G8 GXP that I modded the suspension on, and loved the performance increase but hated the squeaking and creaking I got from it.

Will do. After talking to Rich for a bit he said the NVH increase is imperceptible. I believe this as my Camaro had the BMR BK063 kit and had no increase in NVH. He just added the product to his site last night from us chatting. Need more vendors like this offering parts the major vendors won't sell.

BLACKWING HALF-KIT, 2022+ Cadillac CT4V and CT5V — Revelry Racing

2022+ Cadillac CT4V and CT5V BLACKWING - SUBFRAME LOCKOUT HALF-KIT #RK011.5 ‍ ‍ See this link for V3 INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS They will be largely the same as Blackwing models REVELRY RACING’s RK011.5 subframe lockout half-kit for the mighty BLACKWING models is designed to reduce the vertical,

www.revelryracing.com