sportcarm3
07-16-2006, 05:01 PM
Yesterday I attended the Cadillac V-Series Challenge in Irvine CA, at El Toro Military Base. The event was a blast the cars were suprising and the pro instruction was great. The day started off with everyone getting refreshments and checking out the cars inside a closed building. We watched a promotion video for the V-series to get everyone pumped on the cars. Then one of the pro drivers went to the front to give a little bit of advice on what to do when in the car to drive comfortably and efficient. After about 15 mins of his talk we took the bus over to the course area. They took a picture of each group with all the cars then we were off to our sections.
They had 3 sections, Skills, Auto Cross, and Road Course. My schedule was Autocross, Skills, then Road Course. After about 5 mins of them explaining a little bit about the course they gave us free reign on the CTS-V and the STS-V. The CTS-V is the N/A 6speed with 50/50 weight distribution, where the STS-V is the sport auto with a bit more weight. They didnt allow us to take off any of the aids so both cars had traction control and all the stability controls on. I first got to drive the STS-V which is the automatic only car. I did 4 laps, a 28sec, 25sec, 25sec, then a 33sec. The STS-V kept shutting itself down because of all the stability and traction controls, anytime the wheels tried to break loose it would shut down for a short second which was really annoying, especially since its automatic and the power is either on or off. My friend and I let everyone go first so after I got those 4 laps they said they were going to do a competition, but I asked if we could drive the manual before we started the competition. They let me do 2 laps in the manual, I did a 25sec first lap and a 24.3 second lap. In the competition each person got one lap in the STS-V auto, and for each cone you hit a second is to be added. The first guy got a 23.9 but hit a cone so his time ended up as a 24.9. A few other people went and were slower then the 24.9. My friend mark hopped into the car and got a 23.8 without hitting any cones. I was the last person to go and I clocked a 23.5 but they said my tire had slightly brushed a cone coming out of the last slalom, so they added a second. The cones were drilled into the ground so if your tire even brushes the cone they will add a second, it wasnt like normal autocross. Then the pro driver went just for fun and clocked a 22.8, but hit two cones, one after the finish line. The autocross was alot of fun.
Then it was onto the skills course where we all got to drive the XLR-V which is also only availible in the sport auto. basically all this course was was an acceleration, braking and slalom course. You start out by smashing on the gas until you get to the tall cones where you slam on the brakes until the car comes to a complete stop. Then you turn around a small bend and do a quick slalom and you are done. The skills course was fun, but I didnt really like the XLR-V that much.
Finally we got to get on to the road course. They started out with the pro drivers giving a little talk about how everything will work. Basically there were 6 cars, the lead car was a pro driver. My pro driver was Nico. Basically all 6 cars go around the 3 mile course in a line following the pro driver who sets the pace. If the car behind the pro driver is driving fast, then the pro driver will drive fast. After each lap the car that was behind the pro driver pulls to the side on the straight lets the 4 cars behind pass and the next in line gets to follow the pro. Two people to each car, first session one person rides and one person drives, then the second session they switch. I ended up riding for the first session. It was fun and interesting, but the guy I was riding with stayed in 3rd gear the whole time. We switched drivers, I was able to drive now. On the first lap I was 4 cars back. The cars in front of me were driving kind of slow, so I was being a little aggressive behind one of the guys and he started to get squirly so he put his hand out the window for me to stay back a little bit.
Finally I was able to get my lap behind Nico, I was able to get withing a car of him in the first tight chicane but someone knocked a cone into the middle of the course, I dodged that cone and was about 4 cars behind Nico at this time, we blasted through the first chicane at the top of second shifting into 3rd then back down to second for the hard left turn. I followed his line exactly which he didnt really expect so I was able to get pretty much on top of his rear bumper, I let off the gas to avoid hitting him and the rear end came out pretty wide for a second then I got it back and was right behind him about 2-3 cars. This is when he realized he could have a little fun and started to drive hard. Usually the pro drivers are supposed to go at the speed of the whole pack, but Nico didnt care. I was the 2nd to last guy in line to drive behind him and he wanted to have fun. So we went blasting through the first high speed chicane then slowed into 2nd around the long sweeping right hairpin, he was still about 2-3 cars in front of me. On the exit of the hairpin the rear end came out just an inch when I shifted into third and he was able to get another 2 cars or so on me. Then we got into a sharp left hand turn and I used a little bit of late trail braking and got within 1-2 cars of him again, we were pretty much driving these cars to the limit around the course. We went through an easy right then another hairpin left and started the high speed chicanes. I was about 2-3 cars behind him in the high speed chicanes when we looked in the mirror and couldnt see anyone from our group because they were so far back. Right as I was about to enter the 2nd to last turn the lcd screen started flashing and I realized the car started to overheat from the 100 degree weather and hard driving. I pulled off the course to the side and put my blinkers on and Nico yelled over the radio "what are you doing, what are you doing", the tone of his voice sounded like "ahh man that was fun" type of thing. We told him over the radio that the car started overheating and he said "so, keep going". With the A/C now off the car cooled down a little bit. 3 cars passed by when I was pulled over but the 4th didnt, they fell back quite a bit. I was about 20 cars back from the pack, and since the car was cool again I drove it like crazy and caught back up to the pack in about 4 or 5 turns. We pitted, exited the car and then made our way to the tent where the awards would be given.
The first award was "body shop manager" aka "cone killer", which was the person who hit the most cones. The second award was the smoothest driver, according the their instructor. Then the third was the fastest autocross time, which was clocked on the shorter course. Overall the day was great, I loved being able to mash on the cars it was alot of fun. The pro instruction was great, the one thing I took away from the pro instruction the most was just to relax when driving. They kept telling us, "race car drivers are very lazy inside the car, we dont do much".
The Cars:
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y24/sportcars14a/V-seriesLineup-1.jpg
Cadillac XLR-V $100,000 MSRP: To me this car was small inside, the proportions felt similar to an s2000. The handling was decent and the power was amazing. The supercharged car felt like it pulled all the way to redline. The brakes were also top notch. There was just something about the car I didnt like. The roof line on the top of the windsheild is too low and seemed to get in alot of peoples way. Overall I dont believe the car is worth $100k, but it was a blast to drive. It was my least favorite of the 3.
Cadillac STS-V $77,000 MSRP: This is the most powerful in the V-Series lineup. The speed was suprising, I didnt expect the car to be as fast as it was. I spent all of my time in this car on the autocross and I was very annoyed to say the least. The automatic transmission plus traction and stability controls made the car no fun. If you try to drive the car to hard it will shut down on you and you lose all your power for a short second. This car to me would make a great daily driver, you could definitely feel its weight around the course though.
Cadillac CTS-V $55,000 MSRP: My favorite car of the V-Series lineup, and the only one availible with a 6speed gearbox. I spent my time with this car on the road course and also on the autocross. The car felt beautiful, and since I was able to control the powerband I had no unwanted computer aids kicking in while trying to drive the car hard. The only thing that happened a few times was the traction control came on but it didnt just "shut down" so to say, like the automatic sts-v did. The powerband was steady and the car had loads of torque to pull out of corners. The thing that suprised me the most was how stable the car was through the high speed turns. I felt like I knew everything the car would do while I was driving it, everything is predictable and nothing is scary about that car whatsoever. This is the only car out of the line up I would buy. Great Car! I loved it!
The party gifts:
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y24/sportcars14a/CadillacGear1.jpg
Piloti Racing Shoes, they sponsored the event.
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y24/sportcars14a/CadillacGear2.jpg
Badge
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y24/sportcars14a/CadillacGear6.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y24/sportcars14a/CadillacGear3.jpg
Fancy Bag (best gift ever!)
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y24/sportcars14a/CadillacGear4.jpg
A few brochures.
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y24/sportcars14a/CadillacGear7.jpg
A plaque with my name and group picture with the cars.
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y24/sportcars14a/CadillacGear5xboxforum.jpg
They had 3 sections, Skills, Auto Cross, and Road Course. My schedule was Autocross, Skills, then Road Course. After about 5 mins of them explaining a little bit about the course they gave us free reign on the CTS-V and the STS-V. The CTS-V is the N/A 6speed with 50/50 weight distribution, where the STS-V is the sport auto with a bit more weight. They didnt allow us to take off any of the aids so both cars had traction control and all the stability controls on. I first got to drive the STS-V which is the automatic only car. I did 4 laps, a 28sec, 25sec, 25sec, then a 33sec. The STS-V kept shutting itself down because of all the stability and traction controls, anytime the wheels tried to break loose it would shut down for a short second which was really annoying, especially since its automatic and the power is either on or off. My friend and I let everyone go first so after I got those 4 laps they said they were going to do a competition, but I asked if we could drive the manual before we started the competition. They let me do 2 laps in the manual, I did a 25sec first lap and a 24.3 second lap. In the competition each person got one lap in the STS-V auto, and for each cone you hit a second is to be added. The first guy got a 23.9 but hit a cone so his time ended up as a 24.9. A few other people went and were slower then the 24.9. My friend mark hopped into the car and got a 23.8 without hitting any cones. I was the last person to go and I clocked a 23.5 but they said my tire had slightly brushed a cone coming out of the last slalom, so they added a second. The cones were drilled into the ground so if your tire even brushes the cone they will add a second, it wasnt like normal autocross. Then the pro driver went just for fun and clocked a 22.8, but hit two cones, one after the finish line. The autocross was alot of fun.
Then it was onto the skills course where we all got to drive the XLR-V which is also only availible in the sport auto. basically all this course was was an acceleration, braking and slalom course. You start out by smashing on the gas until you get to the tall cones where you slam on the brakes until the car comes to a complete stop. Then you turn around a small bend and do a quick slalom and you are done. The skills course was fun, but I didnt really like the XLR-V that much.
Finally we got to get on to the road course. They started out with the pro drivers giving a little talk about how everything will work. Basically there were 6 cars, the lead car was a pro driver. My pro driver was Nico. Basically all 6 cars go around the 3 mile course in a line following the pro driver who sets the pace. If the car behind the pro driver is driving fast, then the pro driver will drive fast. After each lap the car that was behind the pro driver pulls to the side on the straight lets the 4 cars behind pass and the next in line gets to follow the pro. Two people to each car, first session one person rides and one person drives, then the second session they switch. I ended up riding for the first session. It was fun and interesting, but the guy I was riding with stayed in 3rd gear the whole time. We switched drivers, I was able to drive now. On the first lap I was 4 cars back. The cars in front of me were driving kind of slow, so I was being a little aggressive behind one of the guys and he started to get squirly so he put his hand out the window for me to stay back a little bit.
Finally I was able to get my lap behind Nico, I was able to get withing a car of him in the first tight chicane but someone knocked a cone into the middle of the course, I dodged that cone and was about 4 cars behind Nico at this time, we blasted through the first chicane at the top of second shifting into 3rd then back down to second for the hard left turn. I followed his line exactly which he didnt really expect so I was able to get pretty much on top of his rear bumper, I let off the gas to avoid hitting him and the rear end came out pretty wide for a second then I got it back and was right behind him about 2-3 cars. This is when he realized he could have a little fun and started to drive hard. Usually the pro drivers are supposed to go at the speed of the whole pack, but Nico didnt care. I was the 2nd to last guy in line to drive behind him and he wanted to have fun. So we went blasting through the first high speed chicane then slowed into 2nd around the long sweeping right hairpin, he was still about 2-3 cars in front of me. On the exit of the hairpin the rear end came out just an inch when I shifted into third and he was able to get another 2 cars or so on me. Then we got into a sharp left hand turn and I used a little bit of late trail braking and got within 1-2 cars of him again, we were pretty much driving these cars to the limit around the course. We went through an easy right then another hairpin left and started the high speed chicanes. I was about 2-3 cars behind him in the high speed chicanes when we looked in the mirror and couldnt see anyone from our group because they were so far back. Right as I was about to enter the 2nd to last turn the lcd screen started flashing and I realized the car started to overheat from the 100 degree weather and hard driving. I pulled off the course to the side and put my blinkers on and Nico yelled over the radio "what are you doing, what are you doing", the tone of his voice sounded like "ahh man that was fun" type of thing. We told him over the radio that the car started overheating and he said "so, keep going". With the A/C now off the car cooled down a little bit. 3 cars passed by when I was pulled over but the 4th didnt, they fell back quite a bit. I was about 20 cars back from the pack, and since the car was cool again I drove it like crazy and caught back up to the pack in about 4 or 5 turns. We pitted, exited the car and then made our way to the tent where the awards would be given.
The first award was "body shop manager" aka "cone killer", which was the person who hit the most cones. The second award was the smoothest driver, according the their instructor. Then the third was the fastest autocross time, which was clocked on the shorter course. Overall the day was great, I loved being able to mash on the cars it was alot of fun. The pro instruction was great, the one thing I took away from the pro instruction the most was just to relax when driving. They kept telling us, "race car drivers are very lazy inside the car, we dont do much".
The Cars:
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y24/sportcars14a/V-seriesLineup-1.jpg
Cadillac XLR-V $100,000 MSRP: To me this car was small inside, the proportions felt similar to an s2000. The handling was decent and the power was amazing. The supercharged car felt like it pulled all the way to redline. The brakes were also top notch. There was just something about the car I didnt like. The roof line on the top of the windsheild is too low and seemed to get in alot of peoples way. Overall I dont believe the car is worth $100k, but it was a blast to drive. It was my least favorite of the 3.
Cadillac STS-V $77,000 MSRP: This is the most powerful in the V-Series lineup. The speed was suprising, I didnt expect the car to be as fast as it was. I spent all of my time in this car on the autocross and I was very annoyed to say the least. The automatic transmission plus traction and stability controls made the car no fun. If you try to drive the car to hard it will shut down on you and you lose all your power for a short second. This car to me would make a great daily driver, you could definitely feel its weight around the course though.
Cadillac CTS-V $55,000 MSRP: My favorite car of the V-Series lineup, and the only one availible with a 6speed gearbox. I spent my time with this car on the road course and also on the autocross. The car felt beautiful, and since I was able to control the powerband I had no unwanted computer aids kicking in while trying to drive the car hard. The only thing that happened a few times was the traction control came on but it didnt just "shut down" so to say, like the automatic sts-v did. The powerband was steady and the car had loads of torque to pull out of corners. The thing that suprised me the most was how stable the car was through the high speed turns. I felt like I knew everything the car would do while I was driving it, everything is predictable and nothing is scary about that car whatsoever. This is the only car out of the line up I would buy. Great Car! I loved it!
The party gifts:
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y24/sportcars14a/CadillacGear1.jpg
Piloti Racing Shoes, they sponsored the event.
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y24/sportcars14a/CadillacGear2.jpg
Badge
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y24/sportcars14a/CadillacGear6.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y24/sportcars14a/CadillacGear3.jpg
Fancy Bag (best gift ever!)
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y24/sportcars14a/CadillacGear4.jpg
A few brochures.
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y24/sportcars14a/CadillacGear7.jpg
A plaque with my name and group picture with the cars.
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y24/sportcars14a/CadillacGear5xboxforum.jpg