2003 Cadillac Deville

[fjasper]

My folks have one of these:



They love it, partly because they're getting up in years, have some artificial joints, and appreciate the quiet and comfort. They put a lot of highway miles on it, so I was thinking of fashioning an undertray and maybe a partial/adjustable grill block. It gets upper 20s as it is, and my folks' driving style is pretty efficient.

My dad had neck surgery, so now he can't crawl around under vehicles any more. It also means he can't turn his head to check for traffic, so mirror delete is out.

Soooo, short story long, anyone have a BTDT? Any quirks? Low-hanging fruit? Is the Northstar particularly sensitive to cooling issues or anything like that?

The primary concerns will be keeping it reasonably stock-looking, and not doing anything that will require ongoing attention.

[War_Wagon]

"Is the Northstar particularly sensitive to cooling issues or anything like that?"

This.^

Northstar head gaskets are pretty much bio-degradable. And it is something ridiculous like a 22 hour job to replace them. They will go at some point in that car, so for what it's worth I wouldn't mess with anything in the cooling system/engine temperature, just in case whatever you did aggravates the Northstar gods, and makes that point happen sooner than it has to.

[NHRABill]

Hey Fjasper the curb weight of the DeVille is what is killing it. its probably 4,000lbs at least all that leather and steel and not much you can do without ruining the car. My wife has the SRX AWD 4.6 N* v8 and given the right circumstances can net mid to upper 20's on highway easily. problem is around town it sucks cause the weight is over 4500lbs.

I love love love the Caddy its a monster cruiser with the 5spd overdrive trans. Not sure what your parents has but if it is the same as my wifes 2004 keep it over 45mph but under 65 and you will net great mpg fro a vehicle its size and weight. As far as head gaskets goes 140,000 miles on my wifes car and no issues yet bought car second hand 2nd one she has had 1st was the v6 2wd but the v8 AWD is so much more fun and if you are practical driver can net same mileage.

Suggestion Pay attention to tires and turn the mileage gauge on inside the car so they can see how they are doing as they drive and what they average its a built in scan gauge Cadillac has had them a long time my 91' coupe deville had one way back when.

[fjasper]

Originally Posted by NHRABill

Hey Fjasper the curb weight of the DeVille is what is killing it. its probably 4,000lbs at least all that leather and steel and not much you can do without ruining the car. My wife has the SRX AWD 4.6 N* v8 and given the right circumstances can net mid to upper 20's on highway easily. problem is around town it sucks cause the weight is over 4500lbs.

I love love love the Caddy its a monster cruiser with the 5spd overdrive trans. Not sure what your parents has but if it is the same as my wifes 2004 keep it over 45mph but under 65 and you will net great mpg fro a vehicle its size and weight. As far as head gaskets goes 140,000 miles on my wifes car and no issues yet bought car second hand 2nd one she has had 1st was the v6 2wd but the v8 AWD is so much more fun and if you are practical driver can net same mileage.

Suggestion Pay attention to tires and turn the mileage gauge on inside the car so they can see how they are doing as they drive and what they average its a built in scan gauge Cadillac has had them a long time my 91' coupe deville had one way back when.

They usually use a smaller car to go to the post office, etc., so this sees mostly highway miles. My mom drives faster than my dad, but they discovered the mileage display, and they're having fun trying to keep the mileage up, so they've both slowed down a little from the old days. They brag about the mileage they get, so they must be channelling their inner hypermiler.

I see the claimed Cd is 0.35, and it doesn't have a smooth lower engine cover or an airdam, so it looks like there's room for some easy improvement. I'll throw in some coroplast and aluminum flashing when I go up to their place this weekend, and see what I can whip up. We're putting new front rotors on it, so it'll be up in the air anyway.