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New to me ‘23 4BW

sroth004

Member
Joined
Feb 4, 2024
Messages
9
Location
Central PA
V-Series Cadillac(s)?
2023 CT4-V Blackwing
Hello all,

Have been building various configs online and shopping for over a year and finally made the somewhat impulsive purchase of a pre-owned ‘23 4BW, Radiant Red, 6 speed this past weekend. Just under 23k miles, CarGax showing one owner with decent maintenance frequency, though the two best 0-60 times of 4.2 and 4.0 seconds I found in the Data Recorder certainly gives me pause on number of redlines and other smack downs the car may have received…it looks great inside and out so hopefully it was just the dealership team having fun over the past couple of days.

Regardless, the car runs great, awesome fun so far, the reviews I’ve read over the past couple of years don’t do justice to the driving experience. Cardinal, as named by my wife, joins the current flock of others including a variety of 3, 5 and X series BMWs, M-B SLs, old Volvo V70s, a 2011 Accord 6-6 purchased from American Honda with 300 miles on BaT a couple of years ago and an 80k mile ‘94 Explorer to remind me about the old in old-school. The 4BW easily takes over as the best driving, a position previously held by a 40k mile ‘01 M5 sold during the height of Covid just before prices on those exploded. The 4BW will be a “near daily”, the position held by an ‘01 Maxima 20th Anniversary Edition 5 speed with some suspension tweaks owned since new until it “died by chassis rust” a couple of years ago.

I’ve been reading the owner’s manual over the last 24 hours and will keep doing so in parallel with some extended mountain road driving here in Central PA until the feel of the car is as telepathic as the Maxima was (though it had half the power) and the electronics become second nature. Looking forward to the drives and participating here on the forum.

Steve
 
Hello and welcome! Radiant red is a beautiful color.
 
Welcome Steve and congrats! Its clear to me you will love and treasure the car.

I've owned mine a few months now and as I'm retired don't drive as much as I used to. Its clearly the nicest car I've ever owned in nearly every respect. However I'm partial to small nimble fast cars and for me its a bit porky - though handles it very well. Sometimes it feels (relatively) slow to me - but its really not (I'm just used to the modded punch of my GTI and the Audi S4 I sold a few years back). I do love driving it more and more every time I'm in it and I know it will continue to grow on me.

Keep us updated on your impressions. You will find this to be a great forum with lots of interesting members who have great insight on the cars.
 
Welcome! Great color choice!
I can definitely vouch you owned the best daily/beater :beer . Both of my brothers owned 3.5 6 speed Maximas since new and racked up over 150k on each before rust started to take them away. Enjoyable cars for the money spent back in the day.

Welcome Steve and congrats! Its clear to me you will love and treasure the car.

I've owned mine a few months now and as I'm retired don't drive as much as I used to. Its clearly the nicest car I've ever owned in nearly every respect. However I'm partial to small nimble fast cars and for me its a bit porky - though handles it very well. Sometimes it feels (relatively) slow to me - but its really not (I'm just used to the modded punch of my GTI and the Audi S4 I sold a few years back). I do love driving it more and more every time I'm in it and I know it will continue to grow on me.

Keep us updated on your impressions. You will find this to be a great forum with lots of interesting members who have great insight on the cars.

The more I read your experiences with the BW4 I can't help to think how far cars have come in the last 20 years from a NVH and linear power delivery standpoint. I'd expect a lot of us to feel this way especially if you have owned modified cars in the past.
 
The more I read your experiences with the BW4 I can't help to think how far cars have come in the last 20 years from a NVH and linear power delivery standpoint. I'd expect a lot of us to feel this way especially if you have owned modified cars in the past.
BW4 is so damn good...I have to admit...and I'm enjoying the hell out of it. That being said there is still an aspect that our ZHP and GTI are more "fun"...I expect that will change once I bond more with the BW, But there is also the aspect of both the GTI and ZHP being lighter, more nimble and more raw that I will always like. No doubt the BW is a better car in pretty much every measurable way. Brakes immediately come to mind....though ZHP stock brakes were fantastic in the day and still good now. BW right out of the box is an amazing performance car in every way. Seats are real good too...
 
Welcome to the Caddy fam! Glad to see another member from PA. I own mine two months now and love every aspect of it!
 
Thank you all for the warm welcomes and shared insights.

@Roadhawk: we have an ‘05 e46 ZHP 6sp convertible and will do a back to back drive when it comes out of storage in the Spring. Interesting that you compared the BW to a ZHP, similar thought I had driving the BW over the weekend with respect to clutch and brake feel.
 
Thank you all for the warm welcomes and shared insights.

@Roadhawk: we have an ‘05 e46 ZHP 6sp convertible and will do a back to back drive when it comes out of storage in the Spring. Interesting that you compared the BW to a ZHP, similar thought I had driving the BW over the weekend with respect to clutch and brake feel.
Awesome! Wanted the vert...but the wife said we already had one and that the hardtop was more practical....but no complaints...great car. I've driven the cars back to back a few times. The ZHP feels noticeably lighter and more nimble (at around town speeds) but the BW made it feel a little old and creaky - though we maintain it well and I like to say it drives like new.

BW is certainly (much) faster and yeah - the brakes are much better. Still the ZHP is a little more fun to drive....at least for me. A lot is just familiarity...and the relative lightness that I prefer....but its also just so fun to redline through the gears in near any and all situations (except in neighborhoods and such). In the BW I'd be going a bit too fast (for the road speed limits)...

Where in central PA are you? Even though I live in VA I used to work up near Gettysburg (for 20 years or so)....a nearly 150 mile round trip commute...don't miss that but some of the roads I took in the mountains every day were great fun. And back in the day we'd get to Clarion PA (up and west) several times a year as my Uncle had a cabin up there.
 
Agreed on all of your ZHP/BW comparisons, though I definitely need more backroads seat time in the BW. The BW is somewhere between the ZHP and the ‘01 M5 I had and sold a few years ago; forgetting the power difference, the BW seems livelier than the M5 though I treated the M5 like the collectible it was and has become even more so, i.e. i babied it, and never pushed it on backroads, only pushed on highways. FWIW, I am not a zero to anything guy, much more interested in handling and performance while already underway so I couldn’t and will probably never be able to do an outright 0 to # comparison, though I’m sure the BW is the fastest including the M5.

We are in Harrisburg so my typical backroads are generally north of HBG in somewhat of a semi-circle. We do get into MD and WV as well via the two lane roads toward and north of Gettysburg. Have also spent a lot of time in North Central and NW PA, though mostly on the motorcycle.
 
'01 M5 certainly a classic - with awesome performance - for the day - and even respectable now if just for the power. I'm sure it was (could have been) great fun - certainly even on the highway. Still - not as nimble and zippy as the ZHP. The 4 BW has some of the character of both IMO.

I'm with you WRT handling - am a big backroads/mountain roads driver. I've been known to take the GTI out to West VA mountain roads and run with the motorcycles. Few, if any, pass me....its usually the other way around (lol).

Growing up in the 1970s when most we're into the American muscle cars I always liked Alphas, Fiats or (various) British roadsters...which ultimately led me to a first gen supercharged Toyota MR2 - probably my most fun car to drive.

You'll be surprised just how good the 4 BW is in mountain twisties...even for its weight. I bought ours in Atlanta in early December and drove it up to DC....took a 3 hour detour through mountain roads of N Georgia and N Carolina and Tennessee (including a run on Tail of the Dragon) and really had a blast with it (some recorded on the PDR). It also was a great highway cruiser for the rest of the trip.

And speaking of - we;ll be road tripping the BW in early April....passing through Harrisburg heading up to Burlington VT through Sarasota Springs for Eclipse watching. I've also already picked out some nice Vermont mountain roads to traverse...slowly for the scenery (with the wife in the car) and a few I plan to take on my own (with less restrictions).
 
Greetings Roadhawk, if you and your wife are traveling up I-81 toward Vermont and have some time this road combo is among the best in the area. Not too far off 81 and easy to reconnect back to it on the Northern end of the route.

Gold Mine Road and PA-125: Gold Mine Rd & Rt 125 - Google My Maps
 
Greetings Roadhawk, if you and your wife are traveling up I-81 toward Vermont and have some time this road combo is among the best in the area. Not too far off 81 and easy to reconnect back to it on the Northern end of the route.

Gold Mine Road and PA-125: Gold Mine Rd & Rt 125 - Google My Maps
Thanks - I'll check it out...but probably save it for another time (with just me in the car looking for a drive). Besides the wife will want to get there as quickly as we can (without me pushing too hard). For her anything over an hour drive is taxing. My average commute was always over an hour...and as long as I'm enjoying the drive (and I enjoy to drive) I can go for hours without complaint.
 

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