2008 Cadillac CTS: Life is Good at 134 mph

Dragonflight - I imagine it was ready to upshift :)

Scott - I didn't realize the car redlined at 7000rpms....that's pretty high for a 3.6 liter 6-cyl.

Joe

Doing 130+ mph is piece of cake for today's sport sedans.

I once "experienced" 138 mph with my IS350, also closed course, professional driver, please don't try this at home, blah, blah, blah... and like Scott have said, still had more in it.

Yikes, the spacing on the dials looks sort of small. Maybe its misleading due to the camera positioning? I didn't notice it when I sat in the car in person.

Must have been a fast shutter speed on the camera. Can't even see any blur in the fuel gauge... :)

Yeah, 204 miles on half a tank at 134 doesn't seem very realistic. Next time try to reset the trip fuel meter, or stay at 134 long enough to get me an accurate reading.

Range of 204 miles with under half a tank to go is impressive. Let's see, 17 gallon tank, we'll say 8 gallons left... carry the one... This thing gets 25.5 mpg at 134 mph! Sweet!

(I know. It's a joke.)

If it was still stable and planted at 155 mph or so I'd be impressed, otherwise "shrug". Good tracking and aerodynamics get monumentally more difficult as speeds climb to that range.

I demand more posts like this!

Many modern 4 cylinder cars can hit 134...including my old Mazda 6i 2.3. I got it up to 135 once, closed course, blah blah blah. Difference is it had nothing left in it. But it pulls surprisingly hard from 80 to 100...100-135 is a LONG process, though. Judging by the rpms, I'd say the Caddy is maxed out. Time to shift? ;)

yeah that thing can't be in top gear at that speed with a 6 speed auto.. my guess is that it's in 5th gear

If you take the gear ratios (4.02/2.36/1.53/1.15/.85/.67), axle ratio (3.42), and tire circumference (85"), you can estimate what speed the car should be traveling in a given gear at a given rpm (~6800 in this case). The closest is 4th gear (I calculate about 139 mph in 4th @6800, which is pretty close). 5th gear at that rpm would give you upper 180's, and 3rd about 104.

Given that max power comes at 6400 rpm, I'd say the Caddy is just about tapped out. A shift to 5th would actually generate less force at the wheels at this speed, even if the full 273 ft-lb were available. If you think it has a few more rpms to go, then maybe it has an ultimate top speed of about 140, which is the minimum I'd expect from a ~300 hp car.

Those are some attractive GM gauges.

+1 on that, cx7.

"Those are some attractive GM gauges."

Are we being sarcastic here? I hope so. I think they're awful, but then again I hate the "tunnel" gauges more then anything. Put the traditional 3-series 'bland' gauge in this car and I'm sold.

Bimmer,

Join us in the 21st century. Aside the Escalade I dont think there is one Cadillac that isnt stable at 140+ mph. The old FWD STS could hit 148mph without scaring the driver.

"Put the traditional 3-series 'bland' gauge in this car and I'm sold."

The last thing GM needs to do is copy BMWs dull gauges

meant to say "aside from"......

Bimmer:

If the CTS-V is stable at 190 I'm pretty sure the base car can handle 150mph easily. Shockingly BMW isnt the only one who can design a car that can cruise at 150 without lifting off the ground.

Going have to agree with dougtheeng, I am not a big fan of the tunnel gauges either, I think those look cheap.

BMW has great gauge ergonomic design but they need to join the 21st century and implement the electro luminescent gauges.

BMW's gauges are corny. I happen to like the tunnel gauges on my car.

"Bimmer,

Join us in the 21st century. Aside the Escalade I dont think there is one Cadillac that isnt stable at 140+ mph. The old FWD STS could hit 148mph without scaring the driver."

You're responding to statements I never said nor implied.

"If the CTS-V is stable at 190 I'm pretty sure the base car can handle 150mph easily. Shockingly BMW isnt the only one who can design a car that can cruise at 150 without lifting off the ground."

And you have experience driving cars at these speeds, 1487? You're making some pretty broad assumptions, are they based on any experience other than what you read in magazines?

Driving a car at 150 mph+ is a hair-raising experience in practically any car. I know it because I've done it on public roads (legally) and on tracks. Cars begin to feel vastly different at those speeds even if they are well-designed.

Are we being sarcastic here? I hope so. I think they're awful, but then again I hate the "tunnel" gauges more then anything. Put the traditional 3-series 'bland' gauge in this car and I'm sold.

No, I like them, more than the other gauges GM plugs inside of their other cars. It looks better. The G8 Gauges are too bland, and the Aura's look downright cheap and have a background pattern like the ones in the 01-06 Santa Fe'

Bimmerjay - Agreeed. From personal experience, I have driven cars at 100mph that felt secure and planted. At 110 they started to feel hairy. And at 120 I was begging to slow down because it felt WAYYY too twitchy.

The changes at speed are not linear, they are exponential.

Joe

"If it was still stable and planted at 155 mph or so I'd be impressed, otherwise "shrug". Good tracking and aerodynamics get monumentally more difficult as speeds climb to that range."

Thats the comment I was responding to. I'm pretty sure it was posted by someone named Bimmerjay. Let me know if I'm wrong.

"Driving a car at 150 mph+ is a hair-raising experience in practically any car. I know it because I've done it on public roads (legally) and on tracks. Cars begin to feel vastly different at those speeds even if they are well-designed."

Let me revise my statement. The CTS is likely as rock solid as any comparably priced luxury car at 150mph. How is that? If I am a normal driver I'm sure going 150 would be scary. That doesn't mean the car I am driving is getting twitchy at that speed.

As I see it, 100 mph is plenty fast for a Cadillac. The cloth "cabriolet" roofs that most Caddy owners prefer probably start to flap at 105. And who knows what could happen to the faux "Coach Lights"?

For the record, our long-term CTS is electronically limited to 140 mph.

-Sadlier

"Let me revise my statement. The CTS is likely as rock solid as any comparably priced luxury car at 150mph."

Because the car is limited to 140 mph that statement is nothing more than a baseless assumption.

"The changes at speed are not linear, they are exponential. "

Indeed. I've topped out at about 170 mph in a Dinan E60 550i, which felt like the world was about to end even compared to 150 mph. One thing the Germans really get right is steering response at those speeds - it sloooooows down so you track like you're on rails.

I got my '97 Accord coupe 2.2L up to 130. Piece of cake.

My 318ti tops out at a bit under 135, although I did have to install a Conforti/Turner Motorsport in order to eliminate the moronic 116 mph speed limiter. Likewise, my wife's X3 will hit 130 without breaking a sweat. The Mazdaspeed is good for 155, but I don't think that I've seen much over 140.
I was late for work...;)

2002 2.4-liter 157 hp Toyota Camry at 135 mph... on a closed course.
These speeds are easy.

"Because the car is limited to 140 mph that statement is nothing more than a baseless assumption."

Likely due to tires. There are other Cadillac models, including CTS-V not limited by tire rating. Again, it would be pretty stupid to assume that a car designed to hit 190mph would be incapable of running comfortably at 140-150mph.

"2002 2.4-liter 157 hp Toyota Camry at 135 mph... on a closed course."

Many cars can hit 130mph if you have enough space. I doubt a camry feels stable or planted at 135mph. I would be afraid to get anywhere near those speeds in that car.

"One thing the Germans really get right is steering response at those speeds - it sloooooows down so you track like you're on rails.:"

This is likely why Cadillac spends time in Germany developing its cars. They want to ensure their vehicles are stable and steer safely at Autobahn speeds.

"Likely due to tires. There are other Cadillac models, including CTS-V not limited by tire rating. Again, it would be pretty stupid to assume that a car designed to hit 190mph would be incapable of running comfortably at 140-150mph."

The CTS-V has a completely different powertrain, wheel/tire setup, steering calibration, and different suspension tuning (if not outright different components). Plus, it has modified bodywork including front and rear spoilers and different intake plumbing. All of those things can have a huge impact on high-speed stability. So again I call shenanigans. I think it's pretty stupid to assume that with so many differences they would be measurable against each other without any experience or performance data.

And for the record, I'm sure a regular CTS can run at 150 mph without killing you, but the question of how stable it is cannot be answered by conjecture. And 140 mph is very different than 150 mph. You apparently haven't driven cars at these speeds - even among the Germans designed for autobahn travel, there are still notable differences in their high speed performance.