NorthGeorgiaWX

The car we bought for my wife isn't quite as nice as the one i drive. And it's not that it's not nice, it's just that it's one year older and has 53,000 miles on it, so the exterior could use a little bit of a facelift. I would like for hers to look as good as the other car, so I decided it was time for a few changes. I ordered some new wheels for the car, and they are exactly the same wheels as I have on my V, Renick Performance RP556 in gloss black. These are the max wheel and tire sizes that can be stuffed in the wheel well of these cars. On mine I put 265/30-19 Michelin PS4S tires on the front, but on the new fronts I'm going with 275's. I plan on putting the new front wheels with the 275 tires on my car, and my front wheels with the 265 tires on the front of her car. There could be a touch of rubbing on really tight turns on mine after the swap, but I can live with that. The nose of her car is a little sand blasted from it's time down in Florida, the front is a little pitted and the hood paint doesn't quite match, so we need to get all of that fixed. Several items will be replaced or fixed. I've ordered these new upper and lower grills in gloss black to replace the ones that are currently on the car. Changing to black wheels only leaves the grills and a little strip on the back bumper in chrome, so those needed to be replaced at the same time as the wheels. Since the front bumper cover has to come off to replace the grills, while the cover is off, I'm going to have the cover and hood repainted. It should be easy and cheaper since the cover and hood will be off the car, no taping of the car is required. EDIT 01/09/21): We've now decided to wrap the car instead of having it painted. It will be cheaper to do that than paint the hood and the bumper. At some point I'll replace the pitted windshield and have a protective film applied to it and possibly replace the carbon fiber splitter in the front. After everything is done we'll get a ceramic treatment on the whole car. While the car is at the dealer/body shop having the grills and paint done, I'm going to have them update the Cue system to add Android Auto. This car came with Apple Carplay but not Android Auto, but a it is only a software update to add. My 2017 came with both. As far as I know, the only other changes to this car will be a new Trifecta corn tune on the car and Swift lowering springs which are sitting in the garage. The engine has all the go fast parts that are needed, so no changes to the hardware are necessary. With the right tune using E70, this car will make the power you see in the graphs below. The car that made those numbers has EXACTLY the same engine components as the wife's car. Corrected or uncorrected, it will be making a boatload of horsepower, and should easily push the car to a high 9 second 1/4 mile at full weight. At 700 rwhp, it means the motor is making almost 800 hp at the crank. The dip in the power starting around 3k rpm is intentional for the dyno runs as they pullout timing to keep the engine from knocking. For whatever reason, the engine wants to knock only on the dyno at that rpm, and has something to do with the load in high gear, it's not there on the street or track. Corrected Uncorrected

The other day I had received my new Renick catless downpipes, so I took the car down to Chequered Flag Automotive to let Chris and Shawn get those installed. While it was there, they spent lots of time tracking down a noise in the left front of the car that appeared after the first autocross. After checking and tightening everything on that side of the car, they disconnected the newly installed sway bar and methodically played with end links etc, The weird part is that the sound appears to be gone now but they never really found anything. Each pipe has a resonator in place of the cat (4th image), and there is a H pipe (crossover pipe) that connect the two together. There are all kinds of extra bungs on the pipes in case you need to connect more sensors (wide band O2, etc). I pick up the car in the morning, and when I get back home I have a new tune to install to better take advantage of the lower restriction in the exhaust. It should bump me up another 25 or or so (up to 525 rwhp?) and allow the turbo's to spool a little quicker. EDIT: New tune installed. The car seems to rev a little quicker and the throttle response seems to be a little sharper. And it sounds a WHOLE lot better. 🙂 Not sure what else I really want to do to this engine right now. I may go ahead and do the Renick cold air intake worth another 20 hp to bump it up to a total of about 540 rwhp? That should be plenty. The car is still under warranty so I don't want to do anywhere close to what's been done to the other car. I will get a Boostane tune which would bump things up again due to the higher octane (102 versus 93), to ~560-570 hp. At that point I'd be good for now. If I need more power in a straight line I'll hop in the other car. 😉 Saw a dyno of another ATS-V with the IDENTICAL setup as our red V and it was making 693 rwhp and 704 ft lbs of torque on E70. Not bad for a 3.6 liter V6. 🙂

I had some good reflections the other day, so I had to snap some pictures. The ceramic treatment makes the car shine all the time. https://photos.app.goo.gl/Aab3AvWBF6vzcAqJ6 https://photos.app.goo.gl/drkgtepwvN1LwmnF6 Can't squeeze anymore wheel and tire back there. 🙂 Here's an After/Before. Yes, I did it backwards. 🙂

Honestly, the paint was perfect when I took it to the place to have it done. The car only had about 12,000 miles on it (only 16,700 right now) so he had to do very little correction. I use GTechniq Quick Detailer and the citrus wash. So far I like there products and the car looks awesome. I had two people come up to me at the BMW autocross and ask me if I just washed it before I got there. 🙂 I said, no, it just stays that way. 🙂 It also stays in a garage.

And go figure. This morning I got the GoPro, pressed the power button and it turned on. 😡 I have no idea.

After watching the videos, the power sounds different after 4-5 runs. Either air in the intercooler, which is common and easy to fix, or there is a leak in the intercooler piping. The hoses are clamped on and can come loose, so another thing to consider.

Well... I don't think that turned out too bad for the first time out in three years. I haven't seen the final results yet, but the car felt really good and I wasn't as rusty as I thought I was going to be. 🙂 It was a great day for an autocross with partly cloudy skies and warm temperatures, but as the day went on the clouds filled in and the winds picked up, and we had a few sprinkles for the last heat but nothing to really slow anyone down. There were only 51 entries so everyone got 8 runs (I got 9 because of a rerun due to a timing error). The course was about 0.70 miles long and took about one minute to drive. I really liked the course except for the slaloms as those were brutally tight. 15 paces is not enough between cones, you need 20-25 to maintain some sibilance of speed. There was also a Chicago Box that was equally as brutal and almost required a full stop to navigate. All of that was in stark contrast to the rest of the course which was relatively open and flowed nicely. Those really tight features are not something you see on a well designed autocross course. Today I tried some different traction control settings, tried shifting manually and also letting the trans do it's thing on it's own, so basically a big day of experimenting. I didn't mess with tire pressures much and probably should have, but I was more focused on shaking off the rust and just trying to get a feel for the car. 🙂 I noticed on the way back home, I was down on boost and I suspect I have air in the intercooler which will need to be bled. I'm not sure when it started happening but it is a noticeable loss in power when the boost drops from 18-19 psi to 12-14 psi and you loose 100 whp. I'm not sure how many runs I made with low boost, so I don't know if or how much that may have slowed me down, but I suspect a decent amount. I was in the first run group which was the best driving weather, so that was good. So here are some of the runs, I missed starting the PDR on runs 2-3-4 so missed those completely. My GoPro died before I could get a video. It locked up so I pulled the battery to kill it. After that, the red charging light comes on but the camera doesn't, so I was very disappointed that I couldn't get any videos from that camera. The in-car camera is only 720p while the GoPro is 1080p. I'll get it figured out before the next event or get a new camera. Run 1 Run 1 Rerun Run 2 or 3... take your pick Run 6 Run 7 Run 8 Results are posted. I'll take it. I think had I not lost boost midway through I could have dropped another second or so. Next time I'll work on tire pressures and make sure I have the car in something other than Sport 1 mode.

These are the new wheel/tire weights. While the entire combination of wheel/tire increased, the increases were relatively minor. The front wheels, despite being larger, were lighter than the original OEM wheels. The new rear wheels are much wider and larger diameter, but only 0.4 lbs heavier than OEM. The greatest part of the weight increase came from the tires, but I'll take that for what I've gotten in return.

The wheels arrived this week... finally. I ordered the wheels on July 1 so it was a long wait but worth it. I took the car down to Gran Turismo East for the installation of all the new pieces (except for the already done engine tune). Renick RP 556 Wheels Gloss Black Front: 19x9.5” with 265/30-ZR19 Michelin Pilot Sport 4S Rear: 19x11” with 305/30-ZR19 Michelin Pilot Sport 4S Renick front and rear adjustable sway bars Eibach Pro springs Track alignment Trifecta Tune Some people like to take their car to the drag strip while others like the twisty turns or maybe even both. I'm a twisty kind of guy. I've autocrossed since 1973 so I've driven a lot of cars and know what feels good and what doesn't, and I know what modifications need to be done to most any car to get the most out of it. Fortunately this car started off with all the right pieces, it just needed a little tweaking. Right now this car feels incredible. The steering is quick and responsive with plenty of feedback. The grip is incredible for a street tire. I'm used to autocrossing on bias ply race slicks that are squishy and flexible and these new tires are nothing like that at all. The tires are more quiet, have a better ride, and have a lot more grip than the OEM Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires that came on the car. I know part of that increase in grip is increased wheel width along with a corresponding increase in tire size, but what I feel is even more. The zero body roll and instant steering response is confidence inspiring. I couldn't be more pleased with how this car handles. In case you didn't know, the car has the magnetic ride shocks, so you're not going to get better than that. The car has three modes, Tour, Sport, and Track, and as you go up in modes the shocks get firmer and more controlled. These shocks sample the road surface 1000 times a second and can react to every imperfection, so I have no need to ever mess with the shocks. I got her (yes, this is Grace so be nice) cleaned up and took some pictures.

Ordered July 1, arrived October 13. Whatever, they finally got here. All 19" with the fronts being 9.5" wide and the rear 11" wide. I weighed the wheels and this is what I found. The fronts, despite being a 1/2" wider and an inch in diameter greater, weight less than the OEM wheels by 0.7 lbs. The rear wheel, while 1.5" wider and 1 in diameter great, only weigh 0.4 lbs heavier than the OEM rear. It's the new tires that are heavier. So Thursday morning we'll be at Gran Turismo East when the doors open at 8 AM and they will install the Eibach springs, the Renick sway bars, mount some new Michelin PS4S tires on these wheels and give it the track alignment. Ready. I may go ahead and do the catless downpipes and that may be it for now.

A slight change of plans. The wheels I had ordered were destroyed (long story), so I am getting these wheels instead... same size and offset.

Just got the car back yesterday after taking it for a ceramic paint treatment. Since the car only has 13,000 miles on it and appears to be garage kept for its entire life and was in near perfect condition, I wanted to protect the surface and make it easier to clean. So after doing a little research, I took the car to a place that's about 1 minute away from the Road Atlanta entrance called ZeroDefects. Chris had the car for three days and went over every exterior square inch. I went with the top of the line ceramic treatment from Gtechniq called Crystal Serum Ultra. There are other ceramic treatments that you can apply yourself, but this particular treatment has to be applied by an accredited dealer. But because of the steps taken to prepare the surface and the addition of this coating, there is a nine year guarantee for the treatment. The entire exterior of the car was treated and that includes all the paint, glass, trim, wheels, and calipers. The surface feels silky smooth and dirt just blows off. When it comes time to wash, generally a rinse with a hose takes what little dust may be on it. And the best part is that brake dust pretty much rinses off, so scrubbing necessary. Once I get me new wheels (they are being made as I type) I will have those treated before the tires are mounted. So here are the pictures so far. The pictures don't do it great justice but you get the idea. The reflections are deep, and in the sun it looks like you can put your hands down in the paint. 🙂 It's very awesome.

Let the fun begin. 🙂 It is really hard for me to leave well enough alone, I've always wanted to tweak my cars and make them "mine", so obviously this one will be no different. 🙂 I have already installed the tune from Trifecta and I love it. Not only do I gain ~120 hp at the wheels, but the transmission is also recalibrated and that is awesome. So 18 lbs of boost gets me 500 rwhp. Would love to see what 20 or 22 gets me. 🙂 Today I ordered some Eibach springs for the car. These are actually discontinued but this company "supposedly" has some... we'll see. The springs are slightly stiffer and will lower the car about 1" all the way around. (EDIT: As of 7/20/20 I have my springs). I also have received a set a new sway bars from Renick Performance as well. I also ordered some new wheels from Renick Performance today as well but I probably won't see those for 3-4 weeks. They look like this but mine will be gloss black. I'm going from a 18x9" to 19x9.5" (+24mm offset) with a 265/30-ZR19 in the front and 18x9.5" to 19x11" (+43mm offset) with a 305/30-ZR19 in the rear. The tires will be Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S's. The wheel wells will be full. 🙂 I will have Gran Turismo East (Chamblee) supply the tires (two for the rear and two for the front) and I will have them install the springs/wheels/tires and do the alignment all at the same time. (EDIT: 07/30/20 - This has been done) Next week I'm taking the car to ZeroDefects for a full on Crystal Serum Ultra ceramic treatment. I can't wait to get the paint protected and as glossy as it can get. They do the complete exterior including wheels, brake calipers, trim, and glass. After the treatment, you can pretty much just take a hose and wash the dirt off. Can't wait! (After the treatment)

I plan on giving that a try. 🙂

I would love to take the car to a drag strip/autocross for some runs to see how it is currently running before I make any changes to it, but the changes may come first. 🙂 I don't think I've ever owned a car that I haven't made changes to... The changes I am going to be making to this one will consist of power upgrades, suspension/wheels/tires, and a few cosmetic items... just because. This section is about power... makes me what to make Tim Allen sounds. From the factory, the car will run 0-60 mph in 3.7 seconds, runs a 1/4 mile at ~12.5 seconds at 115-117 mph, and has a 189 mph top speed. When I'm done with my tinkering it should be 3.1-3.3 seconds 0-60, 11.2-11.5/125 mph 1/4 mile. It should see close to 150 mph in the half mile and I hope to find out at the "Heaven's Landing 1/2 Mile Shootout" in Clayton GA when they have it again. There is certainly nothing wrong with the engine, it runs strong and pulls hard, so physically it will remain untouched. Breaking open an engine is not something I like to get into if I can avoid it. But every car needs more power, and this one is no exception, so there will be two changes made to bump things up. Trifecta Computer Tune Borla CAT Back Exhaust The Trifecta reprogramming of the engine computer yields tremendous gains in power and is the single most beneficial power modification you can do to these cars. Besides the power increase, there are additional features that enhance the transmission performance and the different driving modes that are available in the car. This is a dyno graph of the stock versus reprogrammed car. The last power enhancing modification will be the exhaust. Keep in mind this is still a 6 cylinder motor, so not the same sound as a V8. But it could could sound a little better with a little less restriction while making a little more power. I think I'm going to go with the Borla CAT back system that uses 2.75" pipes and 4" tips. That's it though. Basically the motor is never opened or really touched at all. 🙂

I'm a handling guy, always have been. I love the curvy roads and will go out of my way to take those every chance I get. I started autocrossing cars back in 1973 and have continued off and on for all these years, and the love of driving has only increased as I've gotten older. And it's not just turns, I also want a car that can stop much faster than it can accelerate. This one does it all. In the stock form, this car will pull a steady 1.03 g's on a skidpad, and many people have never even been in a car pulling 1 g much less anything more. But... if it can pull that much stock, it can pull more modified. 🙂 Therefore, since I cannot leave well enough alone, I must do something about this. 😜 So, I'm keeping it relatively simple. I'm not trying to go crazy with anything I'm doing, since the car already does everything so well, it's all about enhancing. So two suspension changes and new wheels and tires, that's it. Since the car already has shocks better than anything I could buy elsewhere, those are left untouched. That leaves the springs and sway bars. I've looked at multiple spring sources and have narrowed it down to three companies, Renick Performance, Eibach, and Weaponsxmotorsports. I was speaking with a fellow ATS-V owner today (thanks Michael!) and his car uses Eibach springs and exactly the same wheel/tire sizes (his are Forgeline F14's) that I will be using. Take a look at how the spring/wheel/tire combo looks. I'd say perfect, but that's just me. 🙂 Here's how the stock wheel and tire sizes match up to the new ones that I will be running. I don't have the weight of the new wheels but I believe the front is around 21 lbs. Once I decide on the springs I'm going with I'll be good to go. I'm also checking on sway bar sizes. The factory list different bars so it's difficult to judge what I need to get. It appears the front bar is a hollow 29 mm OD and 4.6 mm wall thickness. The rear is 25.4 mm with a 3.81 mm wall, and both are made from SAE 1020 equivalent material and the bars are heat treated and shot peened. It is hard to get this kind of information about the aftermarket bars, but unless I do, I'm not spending the money to get any. The tires will be Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires and these are warm weather only tires. Tires make a tremendous difference in handling and the performance varies widely between the various brands. The Michelin's are considered to the among the best if not the best high performance street tire. As soon as I can get a little more information, I'll update this. The springs are out of stock no matter who you go with... they must all be made in China. 😉

Most people that aren't car people have no clue about this car. When you first tell people you own a Cadillac most minds conjure up grandpa's finned Cadillac with a 20 foot hood, but this ain't grandpa's Cadillac anymore. In today's world, Cadillac's are known for innovative performance on par with the best the rest of the world can offer, and this car is no exception. With the introduction of the V Series models, Cadillac stepped up to the world of serious high performance cars. The initial design criteria for the 2012 ATS debut was based on the BMW E46 3 Series. But Cadillac needed to bump up the performance even more, and that's how the V Series got started. The V Series is Cadillac's version of Chevrolet Corvettes. This car is a 2017 coupe with 11, 700 miles and these were the production numbers. As you can see, there aren't a lot of these around, especially the coupes. The total numbers for 2016 through 2019 look like this: This car was ordered with the following options: ENGINE: 3.6L V6 TWIN TURBO SIDI, DOHC, VVT (464 hp [343.3 kW] @ 5850 rpm, 445 lb-ft of torque [603.3 N-m] @ 3500 rpm) (STD) : LF4 TRANSMISSION: 8-SPEED AUTOMATIC : M5U AXLE RATIO: 2.85 RATIO (Included and only available when (M5U) 8-speed automatic transmission is ordered.) : HRD PREFERRED EQUIPMENT GROUP: includes standard equipment : 1SV WHEEL TYPE: 18" X 9" (45.7 CM X 22.9 CM) FRONT, 18" X 9.5" REAR (45.7 CM X 24.1 CM), ALUMINUM (After Midnight Black Included with (A7A) Carbon Black Package. Not available separately when (A7A) Carbon Black Package is ordered.) : RIL PAINT: PHANTOM GRAY METALLIC (Available at extra charge.) : G7Q SEAT TYPE: RECARO PERFORMANCE includes driver power-adjustable seat back bolster and front passenger power-adjustable seat back bolster (Requires interior color (HG1) Light Platinum with Jet Black seatbacks, (HG2) Jet Black with Saffron inserts or (HG3) Jet Black. Included when (A7A) Carbon Black Package is ordered and requires interior color (HOK) Jet Black or (HOL) Light Platinum with Jet Black accents.) : W2E SEAT TRIM: JET BLACK, LEATHER SEATS W/SUEDED MICROFIBER INSERTS (With low gloss Carbon Fiber interior trim. Included and only available when (A7A) Carbon Black Package is ordered.) : HOK RADIO: CADILLAC CUE INFORMATION AND MEDIA CONTROL SYSTEM WITH EMBEDDED NAVIGATION AM/FM stereo with embedded navigation, 8" diagonal color information display, three USB ports, auxiliary input jack, Natural Voice Recognition, Phone Integration for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto capability for compatible phone, Collection and Teen Driver (Included and only available when (Y26) Cadillac CUE and Navigation is ordered.) : IO6 ADDITIONAL EQUIPMENT: CARBON BLACK PACKAGE includes (W2E) Recaro performance seats, (CFZ) Carbon Fiber Package, (5CS) sueded microfiber shifter, (53S) sueded microfiber steering wheel, (TSA) Black chrome grille and (RIL) 18" x 9" front, 18" x 9.5" rear, After Midnight dark finish alloy wheels (Requires (Y91) Luxury Package, interior color (HOK) Jet Black or (HOL) Light Platinum with Jet Black accents, exterior color (G1W) Crystal White Tricoat, (G7C) Velocity Red, (G7Q) Phantom Gray Metallic or (GBA) Black Raven. Not available with (SJ9) Black chrome V-Series grille, LPO or any other wheels.) : A7A LUXURY PACKAGE includes (Y26) Cadillac CUE and Navigation, (A45) Memory Package, (VV4) OnStar with 4G LTE, (JF5) sport alloy pedals, (UG1) Universal Home Remote and (T4F) high intensity headlamps (Not available with (Y4Q) Track Performance Package.) : Y91 CARBON FIBER PACKAGE (Included with (A7A) Carbon Black Package and (Y4Q) Track Performance Package. Not available with (C43) Base Splitter (No Charge) or (R6G) No Splitter.) : CFZ SAFETY AND SECURITY PACKAGE includes contents of (Y61) Advanced Security Package and (Y65) Driver Awareness Package (Includes (UV6) Head-Up Display. Requires (Y91) Luxury Package. Not available with (Y4Q) Track Performance Package.) : PCW ADVANCED SECURITY PACKAGE includes (UTR) shielded theft-deterrent alarm system with dedicated power source, (UTU) inclination sensor, (N08) locking fuel door, (ULS) locking steering column and (PB4) locking wheel lugs (Included and only available when (PCW) Safety and Security Package is ordered. Requires (Y65) Driver Awareness Package and (Y91) Luxury Package.) : Y61 DRIVER AWARENESS PACKAGE includes Lane Change Alert, (UE4) Following Distance Indicator, (UEU) Forward Collision Alert, (UHX) Lane Keep Assist with Lane Departure Warning, (UFG) Rear Cross-Traffic Alert, (UKC) Side Blind Zone Alert, (TQ5) IntelliBeam headlamps and (CE1) Rainsense intermittent wipers (Included and only available when (PCW) Safety and Security Package is ordered. Requires (UV6) Head-Up Display, (Y61) Advanced Security Package and (Y91) Luxury Package.) : Y65 CADILLAC CUE AND NAVIGATION includes (IO6) Cadillac CUE with Embedded Navigation, (UQS) Bose premium surround sound 10-speaker system (12-speaker system on V-Coupe) and (KI6) 110V power receptacle (Included with (Y91) Luxury Package.) : Y26 MEMORY PACKAGE recalls 2 driver and exit position "presets" for power driver seat, and outside mirrors (Included and only available when (Y91) Luxury Package is ordered.) : A45 CALIPERS, RED BREMBO (Not available with (J6J) Dark Gold Brembo calipers.) : J6F LOCKING FUEL DOOR (Included and only available when (PCW) Safety and Security Package is ordered.) : N08 WHEEL LUGS, LOCKING (Included and only available when (PCW) Safety and Security Package is ordered.) : PB4 SUNROOF, POWER, SLIDING (Requires (Y91) Luxury Package. Not available with (Y4Q) Track Performance Package.) : CF5 HEADLAMPS, INTELLIBEAM (Included and only available when (PCW) Safety and Security Package is ordered.) : TQ5 HEADLAMPS, HIGH INTENSITY DISCHARGE (Included and only available when (Y91) Luxury Package is ordered.) : T4F WIPERS, FRONT INTERMITTENT, RAINSENSE (Included and only available when (PCW) Safety and Security Package is ordered.) : CE1 AUDIO SYSTEM FEATURE, BOSE PREMIUM SURROUND SOUND SPEAKERS (Included and only available when (Y26) Cadillac CUE and Navigation is ordered.) : UQS PERFORMANCE DATA AND VIDEO RECORDER (Requires (Y26) Cadillac CUE and Navigation. Included with (Y4Q) Track Performance Package.) : UQT STEERING WHEEL, SUEDED MICROFIBER (Included with (A7A) Carbon Black Package. Not available separately when (A7A) Carbon Black Package is ordered. Includes (5CS) sueded microfiber shifter.) : 53S STEERING WHEEL MOUNTED PADDLE SHIFT CONTROLS (Included and only available when (M5U) 8-speed automatic transmission is ordered.) : KB7 SHIFTER, SUEDED MICROFIBER (Included and only available when (53S) sueded microfiber steering wheel is ordered.) : 5CS SENSOR, VEHICLE INCLINATION (Included and only available when (PCW) Safety and Security Package is ordered.) : UTU HEAD-UP DISPLAY (Included with (PCW) Safety and Security Package.) : UV6 PEDALS, SPORT ALLOY (Included and only available when (Y91) Luxury Package is ordered.) : JF5 REMOTE START (Included and only available when (M5U) 8-speed automatic transmission is ordered.) : BTV UNIVERSAL HOME REMOTE includes garage door opener, 3-channel programmable (Included and only available when (Y91) Luxury Package is ordered.) : UG1 SHIELDED THEFT-DETERRENT ALARM SYSTEM, WITH DEDICATED POWER SOURCE (Included and only available when (PCW) Safety and Security Package is ordered.) : UTR LOCKING STEERING COLUMN (Included and only available when (PCW) Safety and Security Package is ordered.) : ULS RECEPTACLE, POWER, 110V (Included and only available when (Y26) Cadillac CUE and Navigation is ordered.) : KI6 FOLLOWING DISTANCE INDICATOR (Included and only available when (PCW) Safety and Security Package is ordered.) : UE4 FORWARD COLLISION ALERT (Included and only available when (PCW) Safety and Security Package is ordered.) : UEU LANE KEEP ASSIST WITH LANE DEPARTURE WARNING (Included and only available when (PCW) Safety and Security Package is ordered.) : UHX SIDE BLIND ZONE ALERT (Included and only available when (PCW) Safety and Security Package is ordered.) : UKC REAR CROSS-TRAFFIC ALERT (Included and only available when (PCW) Safety and Security Package is ordered.) : UFG Car people know that you can go online to build and price new cars from just about any manufacturer, and luckily Cadillac has a site for the legacy cars (older cars) where you can go build and price the older cars just like you could do when they were new. So I took all the options on the car and plugged it in and came up with this. And no, thankfully the original owner took the depreciation hit because this is not close to what I paid (the car was listed at $44K with 11, 700 miles). Goes to show you why you don't want to buy a new car. 😉 In the next post I'll talk about my planned modifications. 🙂 Of course, what red blooded car guy wouldn't make changes??? 🙂 And I think the changes are going to be awesome. Oh... she has a name now. Meet "Grace"

I'll try to be quiet while you sleep.... it's 3:28 am here in Atlanta, do you know where your cars are? 🙂 There are some light showers moving into the Lincoln area right now and they may linger through the early morning hours, bu most of the day should be dry. Recording #147.mp4 Here's the hour by hour Here are the expected temperature anomalies (GFS) through the end of next week. Sun-Tue will be warm, but great after that. Annnnd the forecast. I'll tell you what... after today, you won't need me to help you with the weather. 🙂 It will be great to have a dry and relatively cool Nationals. Hope everyone has a great day!

Good morning! I guess you heard the rain moving through during the overnight hours, it is now pushed southeast of Lincoln and today to should a relatively dry day to kick off the ProSolo! This is a combined radar/water vapor loop, and the numbers are dewpoints. Much drier air is moving into southeast Nebraska and today should feel great. About 15 seconds into the loop I switch from dewpoint to temperatures. Lincoln Friday AM.mp4 The NWS hour by hour forecast looks great for today, but tomorrow may be damp at times. As far as next week goes, no major rainfall in the forecast for now. You guys may luck out... So nothing today that should interfere with the competition. Go fast, have fun!

Good morning fellow Solo people! 🙂 Sounds like aliens to me. I know we have a lot of people onsite for tomorrow's ProSolo, so this section has to to with this afternoon and evening. There will be severe weather in the area, please make sure everything is secure, and the car is in a trailer if you have one. So please stay weather aware later this afternoon and evening. I will be around and making updates on the FB page if necessary. Soooo, for tomorrow and Saturday. Looking at the NWS hour by hour forecast, Friday may be dry for most if not all of the competition. Saturday isn't quite as good as much of the morning has damp conditions with light scattered showers around. At least we not seeing the deluge type rain that we saw last year. Looking ahead, Tuesday and Wednesday look good for now! There is a cold front coming through that will drop the temperatures back down on Wednesday, but when or if any rain accompanies the front is this to be seen. Temps may look like this. But I know temps aren't what's really important, it's the rain. The GFS ensembles show about 0.30" of rain during the frontal passage next week, while the Euro comes in a little less at around 0.10". So for now, let's split the difference. The exact timing of that front is of course unknown right now, but we can pretend it's overnight Wednesday into Thursday for now. Don't worry. It will change. So that's it for now, I hope everyone got there safe and I hope the severe weather stays away from Lincoln tonight. If not, I'll be keeping you updated! Have a great day!

Good morning! Well... the ProSolo is looking damp and cool, but things are looking for the first part of next week. Official NWS Forecast for Lincoln http://www.daculaweather.com/4_track_lincoln.php NWS Omaha Outlook Meteogramm showing the hour by hour forecast WPC Rainfall Forecast 24 hour period - 8 pm Thursday through 8 pm Friday 24 hour period - 8 pm Friday through 8 pm Saturday Drive safe!

Good morning! 🙂 Before we talk about Nebraska weather, just a little bit about Dorian. I know we have a lot of people from Florida that are going to be headed to Lincoln, and Dorian "may" have a significant impact on Florida. I know most Floridians have their go to people for tropical information as well as the obvious NHC, but I'm tracking Dorian as well with frequent updates throughout the day. So if you or someone you know has any interest near the east coast of Florida, you can follow my updates here. Newest updates are the last comments. There is still a chance for rain Friday although the best chance may be on Saturday. Notice the highlight in red. Let's hope the trend continues. That would also indicate warmer/hotter temperatures. Here's a look at the chances for rain/temps/everything/ on an hour by hour basis for Friday and Saturday, at least for now. Of course, it is subject to change if it wants to. 😉 Thursday through Saturday morning Saturday through Monday morning And of course... the official NWS forecast Luckily for Lincoln, the current bullseye for rainfall is over Kansas although this is what Lincoln may see through the 8am, Sunday. And again, that is if it doesn't decide to change. 😉 As you can also see... it's not very far away. This rainfall is mainly Friday and Saturday. We'll know more about the odds for precip tomorrow, although those meteograms along with the precip totals give you a general idea of the rainfall. The Omaha NWS apparently doesn't like putting those percentages out too far ahead of time. 🙂 Have a great day!

Good morning! A little rough weather moving through Lincoln this morning, so not a very good day to be outdoors. And that same scenario may hold true for Thursday as a cold front pushes through the state bringing showers and thunderstorms along with cooler temperatures. The radar this morning isn't looking too good right now. I don't like the hook in the storm to the north of Lincoln, and the storm to the south certainly has some hail in it. To the thinking for Thursday through Saturday is below. The exact timing and placement of the rain will not be known for several more days, but you're starting get the idea. Just how far south that front decides to stall will help to determine the rain placement and chances. http://www.daculaweather.com/4_track_lincoln.php

Good afternoon to everyone! Here's the first look at the forecast for the ProSolo, as we're now in the range of the actual National Weather Service forecast, and this is what it looks like. http://www.daculaweather.com/4_track_lincoln.php Lo and behold... below normal temps and a chance for rain. Who woulda thought? 😜 Here are the thoughts from the Omaha NWS office. Friday is looking a little wet and this is what the Weather Prediction Center 6 hour rainfall looks like for roughly 8 am through 2 pm. Saturday is not much better as a frontal boundary hangs out over the area. As well get a little closer in time, we'll have a little better idea of the details. That's about it for today, we still need a couple more days to see how things are going to play out for Friday and Saturday. Next week is still on track for cooler than normal with some showers around, but we'll wait on that. Hope everyone has a great Sunday!

Today in Weather History for August 21 August 21, 1883 A tornado hit Rochester, MN, killing 31 persons and wrecking 1351 dwellings. (David Ludlum) August 21, 1888 A tornado swarm occurred in Maryland and Delaware. Many waterspouts were seen over Chesapeake Bay. (Sandra and TI Richard Sanders - 1987) August 21, 1918 A tornado struck Tyler, MN, killing 36 persons and destroying most of the business section of the town resulting in a million dollars damage. (David Ludlum) August 21, 1983 The temperature at Fayetteville, NC, soared to 110 degrees to establish a state record. (The Weather Channel) August 21, 1987 Early morning thunderstorms produced severe weather in eastern Iowa and west central Illinois. Thunderstorms produced wind gusts to 82 mph at Moline IL, and tennis ball size hail at Independence IA. Rock Island IL was drenched with 3.70 inches of rain. Total damage for the seven county area of west central Illinois was estimated at twelve million dollars. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data) August 21, 1988 Thunderstorms spawned several tornadoes in Iowa, produced wind gusts to 63 mph in the Council Bluffs area, and drenched Sioux Center IA with up to 6.61 inches of rain. (Storm Data) (The National Weather Summary) August 21, 1989 Afternoon and evening thunderstorms produced severe weather from Kansas to Minnesota and North Dakota. Thunderstorms in Minnesota produced baseball size hail from Correll to north of Appleton. Thunderstorms in north central Kansas produced wind gusts higher than 100 mph at Wilson Dam. Thunderstorms around Lincoln NE produced baseball size hail and up to five inches of rain, and Boone NE was deluged with five inches of rain in an hour and a half. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data) Data courtesy of WeatherForYou View the full article