General STS thread

[kevm14]

C/D got 154 out of their 05 V8 RWD, with 3.42 gears. But it shifts into 5th at 151 and the RPMs fall to only 5,100. The HP peak is at 6,400, so it may be that the 3.23 cars actually do better because 4th would run a little higher (techically about 160). But, the 3.23 cars are all AWD. And that adds some drag. So...the same maybe?

[kevm14]

Reviving the grill discussion...

http://www.cadillacforums.com/forums/ca ... 6-sts.html

I guess there is an 06 or 07 "Platinum" grill.

Stock

DSCN0188c.JPG

Platinum

DSCN0211 (4).jpg

[kevm14]

Platinum grill isn't cheap but then it isn't any more expensive than most of the options. Also apparently the 08-11 grill is NOT a bolt-in for the 05-07. Requires a different bumper fascia.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/BRAND-NEW-Cadil ... pA&vxp=mtr

Apparently this Platinum grill is very similar to the Chinese SLS though. That's something.

The STS-V grill also doesn't fit without the STS-V bumper fascia. The E&G grill does fit but I don't like the way it integrates the wreath and crest.

[bill25]

That platinum grill would look better on the white than painting the original grill black I think.

[kevm14]

The second one is actually silver...and I can't tell what the top one is either. lol

My car just for direct comparison:

WP_20170603_15_43_42_Pro (2).jpg

WP_20170603_15_44_31_Pro (2).jpg

[kevm14]

This is a funny story.

http://www.cadillacforums.com/forums/ca ... n-car.html

[kevm14]

Some updates. They just keep coming.

The volts started tapering off again, but not as low as before. Like 13.3 or 13.4 down from 14.3 or 14.4. Maybe it finished charging the battery. I should consult the FSM and see if it explains this.

Brakes are definitely better but also the pedal is still not where I want it. That said, the pedal gives me more confidence than before, which was kind of the whole point.

I think the caliper rattle/clank is back. When I was bleeding I noticed the caliper pins were rocking in the bracket (as I was torquing on the bleeder). I guess my lube theory wasn't right. I could try adding lube again - it really would have been a great time to do that when I had the wheels off....argh. The only way to fix this is to get new pins and caliper brackets that are all the right dimensions for each other. I will probably add lube before I just spring for those parts.

And for an oil consumption update, recall that I went only 861 miles and added 3/4 qt after my switch to GC 0W-30. Well I have now gone another 1,081 miles and the oil appears to be at the top of the dipstick still. According to the oil life monitor, I am on my way to a ~10,000 mile oil change interval. Well, actually less because that would be if I let it get down to 0%, which I would not do.

[kevm14]

Down to 13.0 and steady. It was already down to 13.5V not that far into my commute. Again that goes with the theory that the battery is basically charged, I guess. A side effect is this will make the incandescent DRLs last longer (and any other incandescent bulbs really).

[kevm14]

Yeah, and Adam likes right angle needle nose. None of that would have worked for how far down this hose was. If there was a dedicated tool maybe that would have been good.

Oh yeah there is all kinds of stuff. Like this.

https://www.amazon.com/OTC-4525-Cable-T ... B000F5JM0O

I can't say for certain if this would have solved the problem but there are other tools, as well.

I ended up ordering this:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MZ ... UTF8&psc=1

Pretty good price for a set like this.

The car may actually have a petcock for draining so I'll have to look more closely on the SRX - maybe I didn't need to remove the lower hose. I looked on the STS though and I didn't see one...

[kevm14]

DIC accuracy update: averaging 0.64 mpg optimistic, across 9 fuel-ups. The standard deviation is 0.24 mpg so it is pretty consistent, though that has as much to do with consistency of the pump shutting off and me doing top off clicks as it has to do with the computer itself.

I think this is probably more accurate than many systems, but it's actually much worse than my CTS-V.

I should also point out that 0.64 mpg optimistic equates to 3.9% optimistic. But I am not sure if it is a constant or linear across the mpg range.

I just noticed...the first fuel up seems to suggest a data outlier. If we throw that fuel-up away, here's the new stats:
0.71 mpg optimistic across 8 fuel-ups
Std dev drops to 0.09 mpg which is incredibly consistent
4.4% optimistic