Hi all.

I was reading this:
http://cadillacforums.com/cadillac-tech.html#full

And was wondering - doesn't this contradict what it says in the owners manual about not running in [2] over 55mph? Am I reading that wrong? Manual 2nd gear means shifting the selector from D to 2 right?

Also - how do you know how may rpms you are doing on the dash readout? Is there a separate meter you have to get?

Thanks guys.

:)

oh - i've got a 95 deville concours..

I was under the impression that a Deville Concours had a Tach in the Dash, Analog if I am not mistaken. On the other Devilles with the Digital Dash, mine is a 98 but I am pretty sure the earlier ones had it as well, you just cycle the info switch until it comes to the engine rpm. It gives a digital readout which is pretty accurate, down to 25 rpm, it is the same info that the scantools pull. As far as running in 2nd, it does not seem to harm the engine or drivetrain, you would only be doing it for about 30 seconds anyway, it is only to blow carbon out and to help seat the rings. Since you have read the thread, you know what its all about.

1995 you gotta do the re-program "trick" and make the computer think its an Eldorado or Seville to get the dash tach.

For the Northstar that is true, you want to do that to clean the carbon out. The owners manual says not to drive in 2 over 55mph is for the general public that know nothing about cars that may try to drive cross country in 2nd gear :)

The owners manual says not to drive in 2 over 55mph is for the general public that know nothing about cars that may try to drive cross country in 2nd gear :)

That's exactly the impression I came away with when reading that technical archive. I got the sense the author was referring to holding it at the defined tach for a few seconds to take care of that piston slap noise you get from the carbon build-up.

For what it's worth, I periodically do the same thing in my Corvette.

:)

I think the manual is trying to tell you to not drive 100 miles in 2nd gear! A short burst now and then won't overheat or damage the transmission, and that's what Cadillac doesn't want you to do!

Ah. i see. gm trying to keep us out of trouble. haha.
thanks guys. will try wot the under 90 mph way tomorrow. :)

hey Night Wolf, what's the computer reprogram trick? it would be cool to have a tach. any ill effects on a 95 concours if it thinks it's another model?

this guy probably wants to know to:
http://www.cadillacforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7484&highlight=tachometer+digital+dash

thanks.

ah gosh... its not my generation, so I don't remember.. I'll do a search and try to find it...

you don't really tell the car it is a different model, but the tach was only on the Seville/Eldorado, so you go in and change the DIC to think its a Seville or Eldo... and the only thing there means you can see the engine RPM... it may free up some other things too...oil pressure and volts, though you may have that already, I don't know.

Here ya go:

http://www.cadillacforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=42347

Night wolf, that is one sharp looking car you have there, are those rims stock or aftermarket, I am looking into buying some when the nicer weather gets here, but most companies, are only showing the wagon wheel style, my 98 would not look very good with those.

The Coupe?

neither :)

They aren't stock and they are not aftermarket.

They are wheels from a 1998-mid '01 Seville SLS, brushed aluninum style.

All FWD Cadillac wheels from 1985+ are interchangeable.

Thanks for the info, now on to the wrecking yard to scrounge...LOL

don't bother with junkyards.... check out Cardio-Doc's wheels on ebay....

http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQfgtpZ1QQfrppZ25QQsassZcardioQ2ddoc

LEAVE YOUR TRANS IN DRIVE & DO YOUR WOTS. THAT'S WHAT AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSIONS ARE MADE FOR. KNOWING AUTOMATICALLY WHEN TO SHIFT. WITH NORMAL DRIVING OR WOTS. MANUALLY SHIFTING WHEN DOING WOTS MIGHT OVER REV THE TRANS & ONLY HURT IT. LEAVE IT IN DRIVE & HIT THE GAS. DOES THE SAME THING WITH LESS WEAR & TEAR ON THE TRANS.:thepan:

um.. hit the gas.. hard? can't afford to get another point on my license. heh.. :ill: so that would mean letting off the gas when i got up to about 70. tops.. would that be enough exercise for the engine?

actually, i've had transmission problems in the past and had been babying the car around trying to keep it from starting to slip and slam and surge into gear all the time. that was before this possibility of doing wots came up.

i used to shift from park to drive or back and there would be this huge car shaking slam. so.. which would be better for the transmission? to hit the gas and run it up through the normal shifts - is that what you mean? run it up fast - wide open throttle? or shift into 2 and run it wide open throttle..?

Hello...

WOT can be performed without excessive speed.
During light traffic on the Interstate:
-shift into 2 at 55 MPH and WOT to 6000+ RPM
-let off gas and coast back to 55
-repeat as many an 10 times
(or untill smoke from exhaust clears).

This method provides maximum benefit.
It has served me well.

FWIW

LEAVE YOUR TRANS IN DRIVE & DO YOUR WOTS. THAT'S WHAT AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSIONS ARE MADE FOR. KNOWING AUTOMATICALLY WHEN TO SHIFT. WITH NORMAL DRIVING OR WOTS. MANUALLY SHIFTING WHEN DOING WOTS MIGHT OVER REV THE TRANS & ONLY HURT IT. LEAVE IT IN DRIVE & HIT THE GAS. DOES THE SAME THING WITH LESS WEAR & TEAR ON THE TRANS.:thepan:

Over rev the trans?

Sorry, but for this particular thing you want to keep it in manual 2nd, if it was in drive and you run it to redline in 2nd then let off the gas, it would up shift into 4th. You don't want that, you want the engine to slow the car down.

BTW you may want to tap that caps lock key once.

um.. hit the gas.. hard? can't afford to get another point on my license. heh.. :ill: so that would mean letting off the gas when i got up to about 70. tops.. would that be enough exercise for the engine?

actually, i've had transmission problems in the past and had been babying the car around trying to keep it from starting to slip and slam and surge into gear all the time. that was before this possibility of doing wots came up.

i used to shift from park to drive or back and there would be this huge car shaking slam. so.. which would be better for the transmission? to hit the gas and run it up through the normal shifts - is that what you mean? run it up fast - wide open throttle? or shift into 2 and run it wide open throttle..?

If the engine or trans are moving and shaking when you put it into gear, that means your motor and/or transmission mounts need to be replaced, I would fix that as driving around with them bad is not a good idea.

Reread that technical archive post on the proper way to do this, it is clearly stated in there.

YOU GUYS CAN RACE AROUND TOWN ALL DAY LONG FLOORING IT IN 1ST, 2ND, DRIVE OR OD. IF I WANT TO BLOW OUT ANY CARBON I JUST KICK IT IN THE ASS ON THE FREEWAY THAT'S CALLED (PASSING GEAR) FOR ALL YOU YOUNGER GUYS. IT'S WHEN YOU'RE IN DRIVE OR OVER DRIVE & YOU FLOOR IT & FEEL THE TRANS JUMP DOWN A GEAR TO PICK UP SPEED. AKA PASSING GEAR. AS TO THE CAP. LOCK I USE IT FOR THE FOLKS WHO ARE UP IN AGE & CAN'T SEE VERY GOOD.I'LL BE SEEING YOU GUYS HANGING OUT AT THE TRANSMISSION SHOP.:banghead: :cookoo:

AS TO THE CAP. LOCK I USE IT FOR THE FOLKS WHO ARE UP IN AGE & CAN'T SEE VERY GOOD.

Old folks use glasses nowadays! So the constant caps lock isn't necessary! :thumbsup:

YOU GUYS CAN RACE AROUND TOWN ALL DAY LONG FLOORING IT IN 1ST, 2ND, DRIVE OR OD. IF I WANT TO BLOW OUT ANY CARBON I JUST KICK IT IN THE ASS ON THE FREEWAY THAT'S CALLED (PASSING GEAR) FOR ALL YOU YOUNGER GUYS. IT'S WHEN YOU'RE IN DRIVE OR OVER DRIVE & YOU FLOOR IT & FEEL THE TRANS JUMP DOWN A GEAR TO PICK UP SPEED. AKA PASSING GEAR. AS TO THE CAP. LOCK I USE IT FOR THE FOLKS WHO ARE UP IN AGE & CAN'T SEE VERY GOOD.I'LL BE SEEING YOU GUYS HANGING OUT AT THE TRANSMISSION SHOP.:banghead: :cookoo:

lol, Its nice how you make assumptions about "all" of us "racing around town" "all day long" flooring it in 1st 2nd drive or OD? there are 4 gears there, its a 4spd transmission... when else would I floor it..... reverse?

LOL at the younger guy remark.... this whole time I wondered what passing gear was :rolleyes:

Your caps lock excuse is lame. This place isn't loaded with 90 y/o who squint 6" from the computer screen to read. Caps lock is the internet equivelent of yelling. There is no need for it to be on.

Although I'll guess you'll be waiting for me at the transmission shop, so maybe I'll end up seeing ya around :cool2:

ok. i just want to make sure this is right.
at 55mph when i shift into 3 and then 2 the it feels like the car is being grabbed - and slows down.

so the lower gear makes the engine slow the car down there. right? does that shifting from d to 3, 2 and that slow down hurt the car at all?

Its fine. 55mph is on the low end up 2nd gear anyway.

Hello...

Someone previously posted to make sure the AC compressor is turned off...

FWIW

?

anytime you run the car WOT the AC compressor automatically turns off.

I really wouldn't worry about it, while redlining the AC compressor isn't all that good for it, the short bursts will not harm it.

Just so you all know not everyone in Milwaukee is the same. I was going around the free way last night in second gear WOT. You should try it backyard.

Just so you all know not everyone in Milwaukee is the same. I was going around the free way last night in second gear WOT. You should try it backyard.

?

ummm..... the idea isn't to keep the car in 2nd and redline for the whole freeway trip..... while the Northstar would *probably* be fine with that... it surely isn't very good for the car....

you simply want to bring it to redline then let off the gas and let the car engine brake back to about 55mph, then repeat....

maybe the average person shoudln't be trying this....

May I ask to clarify a little further...
So do I drop for OD straight down to 2nd or do I go to 3rd first and then down to second? Or can I just start in second and get on the LIE and then redline it a few times? Sorry just don't want to hurt my baby. ;)

S33k3r_13

You can start in 2nd or down shift, just use common sense and don't do it from 70.

so once it hits about 70 let off the gas and let it drift back? does it hurt anything if you keep it running in 2 at full throttle for a number of seconds? or is it the slowing back down to 55 that blows the carbon out?

thanks :)

No, it won't hurt anything. It will shift to 3rd regardless of what gear you have it in when it gets to redline. I am not positive but I believe it is the WOT trip up to 70 that cleans out the carbon. The trip back down creates a heavy overrun and causes some ring flutter. That is what keeps the rings free, helps seat them and prevents them from getting carboned up and imobilized causing high oil consumption.

I WOT'd today on the LIE and then drove about 30 miles took care of someone's wireless network for them and then cruised home and it might just be me but I swear the car ran a little smoother.


S33k3r_13

LIE!? I WOT'd there today as well! hahaha Long Island is a dangerous place to WOT with all these cops. Esp at the end of the month

ok. i tried it. i was a little freaked out about the grabbing/slowing down of the car when you shift - and i think you really need a good empty stretch of freeway to do this. people tend to go about 70 or more average around here. when you slow down to 55 they come up on you real fast.

so my car ran really smoothly this week. amazing! thanks guys! the car has been struggling all year with no power taking off from standing still and no power on hills and it's felt pretty week in general. but now it runs smooth and feels much stronger.

there was also a sound like a big 15 foot truck that the car was making - i could hear it when i passed a wall and it echoed back at me. until i figured out it was me, i'd think - where is the truck? i'm all alone on this street. so now that sound is gone! was that piston slap?

one bad thing might be, i've gotten in the habit of driving the car harder all around - like i'll step on it harder to take off from a light and get up to speed - and if i'm going uphill i'll give it more gas now that i have the power to do those things.

so, is this new habit a bad habit? am i going to wear out the transmission this way?

i guess that's a question i've had also - is there a correct way to drive an automatic transmission car? i've heard that you're supposed to learn where the shift points are and let off the gas there so it shifts without wearing as much. but then i've also heard you should just drive through the gears and you kind of want them to kick in to place. is one way worse for the car than the other?

many thanks for the advice on WOTs everyone. i'm going to start doing them every week. what a difference.

:golden:

if your car has a N*, then dont worry about driving it a little harder. Its good to accelerate in the car. Older people who dont use the engine properly tend to have alot mroe problems than people who run it the way it should be run. Its a high performance, low tension drivetrain in the vehicle, its built to last and be used. Think of the N* like a wife from the south, the more you beat it, the more it loves you.

How often should an owner conduct a WOT? Also, if an owner drives 100 miles a day at 80mph 80 of those miles, is it necessary to conduct WOTs?

Look at your RPM at 80. Your lopping along at less than 3K. Kick it in the ass once a week or every other week at least.

Whatta know.... people run the Northstar hard and it runs better :)

the Northstar like to be ran hard.... it NEEDS to be ran hard... don't baby it.

update..

ah.. so I started doing the WOTs and the last time i tried it, there started to be a kind of i've-been-smoking-a-pack-a-day for-20-years kind of coarseness coming from the engine? or trans?

I did the the WOTs by shifting to 2 at 55, running up to 70 and letting it drift to 55. I did that about 8 or 9 times and shifted back to D. Right after that, it seemed like the gas pedal was resistant - like i'd have to push it down harder to keep it down - like it was pushing back. that seemed to go away after a couple of days. Then the rough sound started.

The first time i did the WOTs it seemed to work like a charm. Everything seemed much smoother than before. But the second time these problems happened.

I still seem to have power. But it seems like the car won't shift up at the right time - like it will rev higher overall and then i'll have to kick it a little harder to get it to actually shift up. does this sound normal?

i've had trans issues before - like kicking at shift points or really violent slamming when shifting with the lever from P to R or D or back. That's not happening right now (knocking on wood). there has started to be more of a bump at shift points but i've been powering over them on the drive harder advice - which i like :) ... and which seems to deal with them well..

so...
what do you make of the coarse noise? transmission? anything to worry about?
is the shifting to 2 at 55mph and WOTing and all that made risky because of an iffy trans?

also..
i'm actually having a hard time finding a place to do these WOTs. the freeways are crowded in LA till late and i can't find a good place to do them before midnight without risking being rearended. can i get a similar result by flooring it going up a hill? or putting it in 2 and going hard up a hill?

i'm trying to keep from having to go out at about 2 in the morning. it's also the end of the month and i don't want to get a ticket from the chp..

i haven't done WOTs for a couple of weeks now and - i don't know if this is the result but - the truck noise i was getting started coming back. when i have to hit the gas hard at low speeds up a hill, i get a noise that sounds like an old delivery truck..

thanks guys.