I think I am finally ready to give up my quest of owning a current-gen Cadillac CTS-V. Was at the local GM dealer at the end of January, and they were unwilling to take my 23.5k km (14.5k mi) year-and-a-half-old 2011 E90 DCT M3 as a trade. Instead, they were only willing to wholesale it to the local BMW dealer. Offered trade-in value? A mere $50k CDN, for a car that had an MSRP of $81k CDN, and that the very same BMW dealer was selling a Silver COP 2011 E90 DCT M3 with similar mileage for $65k CDN.
I mean, sure, my car is Melbourne Red, that might hurt the value somewhat, but I just can't afford the hit that comes from the dealer just flipping my car at wholesale price. I guess I'm too used to trading BMWs for BMWs, where the dealer has always taken my old cars in for a few k off market price
So, instead of throwing my own cash at the trade to make it work, I'm just gonna throw it at my car and start modding it; create my own CTS-V, so to speak. Put a few grands into it every year, eventually culminating with an ESS VT2-585 kit after the warranty expires.
Let's start with the front seats. Cadillac has a pair of OEM Recaros, so I'd like to put in a pair into my car. However, I can't decide between the reclining Sportster CSes and the fixed-back Pole Positions.
The car is a daily driver, and I don't do track anymore; rather I do weekend 1000km / 600mi driving trips. So the choice should have been clear: the reclining Sportster CS.
However, here is my driving position:
This is how I was taught to sit by the club's HPDE instructors about 10 years ago, and now it is my comfortable seating position, with the seat back set tilted to maximum-forward. I am also the only driver for this car, so the seat will never be adjusted.
That's why I am starting to lean towards the fixed-back Pole Position. They look to be $500-a-pop cheaper, might be a wee-bit lighter, I'm already sitting completely upright and am comfortable with that, and I don't need any adjustments.
Still, is there anything I'm missing here? Is there any issues with using fixed-back seats with stock seatbelts? What about driver-side airbags vs. these seats?
The extra $1k in my pocket might mean I can do the coilovers or exhaust a year early, but might not be worth it if safety is at all a concern....