Aston Martin advice from Bamford Rose independent specialist
Discussion
JohnG1 said:
Hi Rex,
You are an American with a V12 Vantage? What power output do you get on the standard car over there? I remember in the past a lot of European cars had lower output to conform witn US emission regulations.
Hi John, You are an American with a V12 Vantage? What power output do you get on the standard car over there? I remember in the past a lot of European cars had lower output to conform witn US emission regulations.
Yes, I'm over here in the U.S. The power output is the same 510 bhp that is quoted for the European-spec cars. I don't think satisfying U.S. emission regs affected this.
Dave
BamfordMike said:
Hi Racer_X
Similar to V8 where I offer replacement manifolds, catalysts and silencer for ~40 BHP power increase, the same will be offered for V12. The 550BHP on V12 comes when combining this exhaust system with cylinder head / port re-profiling. Development work to finalise the exhaust system will commence once we have the V8 system fully in production with Quicksilver.
All the best.
Mike
Hi Mike, Similar to V8 where I offer replacement manifolds, catalysts and silencer for ~40 BHP power increase, the same will be offered for V12. The 550BHP on V12 comes when combining this exhaust system with cylinder head / port re-profiling. Development work to finalise the exhaust system will commence once we have the V8 system fully in production with Quicksilver.
All the best.
Mike
Thanks for the reply. The cylinder head/port re-profiling is required to get to 550 bhp? If the exhaust system you described adds about 40 bhp by itself, then that alone would get me to 550 bhp (i.e., 510 + 40 = 550), right?
Also, is there any benefit to modifying on the intake side of the engine?
Thanks,
Dave
Rex Racer said:
Hi Mike,
Thanks for the reply. The cylinder head/port re-profiling is required to get to 550 bhp? If the exhaust system you described adds about 40 bhp by itself, then that alone would get me to 550 bhp (i.e., 510 + 40 = 550), right?
Also, is there any benefit to modifying on the intake side of the engine?
Thanks,
Dave
You are right, yes. Thanks for the reply. The cylinder head/port re-profiling is required to get to 550 bhp? If the exhaust system you described adds about 40 bhp by itself, then that alone would get me to 550 bhp (i.e., 510 + 40 = 550), right?
Also, is there any benefit to modifying on the intake side of the engine?
Thanks,
Dave
Engines already at 510 BHP would need just exhaust system to reach 550 BHP, whereas engines at 450 or 470 BHP would need the head profiling / blue-printing and inlet changes.
Engines / models which have the valve air-box system have little more to gain by adjusting air intake system, whereas models prior to this mod can improve performance by updating, yes.
I was having a chat with another former V8 Vantage owner. He had a failed catalytic converter.
It got me thinking about what happened with my old V8. Sorry if this is a bit of an epic saga but I want to get all the details down so anyone reading this can see what happened and compare to their experience.
September 2007 I purchased a second hand V8 Vantage from an Aston Martin main dealer – a 2006 year car with I think 2500 miles. The car had been supplied and had a full Aston Martin service history by that one dealer. One previous owner – the father of the dealer sales manager. Under my ownership the car was used as a weekend car, always garaged, never tracked, always kept under warranty and always serviced by the same dealer that supplied the car. That car was cherished.
After a period of ownership I pulled away from a roundabout and the engine cut out. I was travelling at 4 or 5 mph and I just thought that I had stalled it. I filed it away in my memory but thought nothing of it.
Sometime later I was driving along a B road and while driving along and making reasonable progress the engine cut out. To be clear – I was driving along at say 60mph when the engine stopped dead. Nothing signalled that this was going to happen – everything was fine and suddenly the engine stopped. The road was clear, dry and there was no other traffic. I remained calm, attempted to brake, put the clutch down and hit the engine start button. The engine restarted and I continued on my journey home.
At this point I contacted the dealer and asked for the car to be examined. Nothing was found.
At a later date while driving the engine cut out again and at this point I was somewhat angry. I contacted Aston Martin in Gaydon and the dealer and requested that this be investigated. The engine cut out is potentially lethal and I was not willing to drive the car until this was resolved. Just to be clear – the word lethal is emotive. But if you try and steer or brake in a V8 Vantage with the engine switched off you will find that you need to be build like a power lifter to turn the steering wheel or to press the brakes. If the engine cut out just before a corner you could end up dead as you may not be able to restart the engine in time to make it round the corner.
I was asked lots of questions about when the problem occurred and the common factors I saw were:
1. I had always just filled up the tank with premium petrol ( I never put 95 RON into the tank, only ever the expensive stuff)
2. The car was always fully warmed up.
There were no other common factors (no-one else ever drove that car, the weather varied between warm and cold, problem happened in different places, different engine speeds, different petrol stations).
I ended up one Saturday morning driving the car to the dealer to warm it up and use up fuel. I then picked up an Aston Martin engineer. He plugged a laptop into the steering column with a long cable. I drove down the road to a petrol station, filled up and drove about. We then found an instance where the engine would not respond to the throttle. So, coming off a mini-roundabout at about 25mph I depressed the throttle and nothing happened. Even with pedal to the metal the engine would not engage. After about 4 seconds the engine was back to normal.
The engineer took the data logged back to Gaydon and the dealer asked me to return the car for remedial work.
Under warranty Aston Martin replaced one of the exhaust catalysts – which has failed. They also replaced the fuel tank.
Now I am not an engineer but I requested an explanation of what happened. Broadly speaking – this is what I was told. The petrol tank has to be able to vent – if the car is left in the sun on a hot day as the petrol heats up it will expand – that’s simple physics. But the venting is not allowed to be to the atmosphere. So there is some kind of closed loop system, so vented gases are re-cycled into the inlet manifold. Usually that does not cause a problem but under certain circumstances – full fuel tank, hot engine and acceleration the engine receives too much fuel. The computer systems therefore shut down the engine to prevent damage.
Through pistonheads I realised a few other folks had this problem. A bit of lateral thinking got me to the point that I suspect that the unburnt fuel must pass right through the engine and finally hit the catalyst. Once the fuel arrives at the catalyst it must break it.
So – has anyone else had a failed catalyst or a fuel tank replaced?
Mike – as an engine guy – can you comment on this?
It got me thinking about what happened with my old V8. Sorry if this is a bit of an epic saga but I want to get all the details down so anyone reading this can see what happened and compare to their experience.
September 2007 I purchased a second hand V8 Vantage from an Aston Martin main dealer – a 2006 year car with I think 2500 miles. The car had been supplied and had a full Aston Martin service history by that one dealer. One previous owner – the father of the dealer sales manager. Under my ownership the car was used as a weekend car, always garaged, never tracked, always kept under warranty and always serviced by the same dealer that supplied the car. That car was cherished.
After a period of ownership I pulled away from a roundabout and the engine cut out. I was travelling at 4 or 5 mph and I just thought that I had stalled it. I filed it away in my memory but thought nothing of it.
Sometime later I was driving along a B road and while driving along and making reasonable progress the engine cut out. To be clear – I was driving along at say 60mph when the engine stopped dead. Nothing signalled that this was going to happen – everything was fine and suddenly the engine stopped. The road was clear, dry and there was no other traffic. I remained calm, attempted to brake, put the clutch down and hit the engine start button. The engine restarted and I continued on my journey home.
At this point I contacted the dealer and asked for the car to be examined. Nothing was found.
At a later date while driving the engine cut out again and at this point I was somewhat angry. I contacted Aston Martin in Gaydon and the dealer and requested that this be investigated. The engine cut out is potentially lethal and I was not willing to drive the car until this was resolved. Just to be clear – the word lethal is emotive. But if you try and steer or brake in a V8 Vantage with the engine switched off you will find that you need to be build like a power lifter to turn the steering wheel or to press the brakes. If the engine cut out just before a corner you could end up dead as you may not be able to restart the engine in time to make it round the corner.
I was asked lots of questions about when the problem occurred and the common factors I saw were:
1. I had always just filled up the tank with premium petrol ( I never put 95 RON into the tank, only ever the expensive stuff)
2. The car was always fully warmed up.
There were no other common factors (no-one else ever drove that car, the weather varied between warm and cold, problem happened in different places, different engine speeds, different petrol stations).
I ended up one Saturday morning driving the car to the dealer to warm it up and use up fuel. I then picked up an Aston Martin engineer. He plugged a laptop into the steering column with a long cable. I drove down the road to a petrol station, filled up and drove about. We then found an instance where the engine would not respond to the throttle. So, coming off a mini-roundabout at about 25mph I depressed the throttle and nothing happened. Even with pedal to the metal the engine would not engage. After about 4 seconds the engine was back to normal.
The engineer took the data logged back to Gaydon and the dealer asked me to return the car for remedial work.
Under warranty Aston Martin replaced one of the exhaust catalysts – which has failed. They also replaced the fuel tank.
Now I am not an engineer but I requested an explanation of what happened. Broadly speaking – this is what I was told. The petrol tank has to be able to vent – if the car is left in the sun on a hot day as the petrol heats up it will expand – that’s simple physics. But the venting is not allowed to be to the atmosphere. So there is some kind of closed loop system, so vented gases are re-cycled into the inlet manifold. Usually that does not cause a problem but under certain circumstances – full fuel tank, hot engine and acceleration the engine receives too much fuel. The computer systems therefore shut down the engine to prevent damage.
Through pistonheads I realised a few other folks had this problem. A bit of lateral thinking got me to the point that I suspect that the unburnt fuel must pass right through the engine and finally hit the catalyst. Once the fuel arrives at the catalyst it must break it.
So – has anyone else had a failed catalyst or a fuel tank replaced?
Mike – as an engine guy – can you comment on this?
Mike, in followup of your excellent email, I did a run over 3K RPM in 3rd gear and you can see that I go rich on throttle-off and calc load is quite low (15-20%). I have adjusted the MAF voltages to simulate NA operation so I think there must be some other parameter that isn't allowing me to enter DFS? Do you remember the entry criterion?
Hi,
I have recentley bought my V8 Vantage, after owning it for less than a week the clutch went! 1st sign was not being able to get into 5th or 6th gear!
it has since had a new clutch etc... but now if i give the car the slightest bit of punishment the clutch goes all spongey an blocks me out of 5th & 6th.
If i let it all cool down its back to normal, good gear selection????
I am mythed, I have a premium AM warranty and it says the clutch is covered in the paperwork.
Any idea??
Many thanks.
I have recentley bought my V8 Vantage, after owning it for less than a week the clutch went! 1st sign was not being able to get into 5th or 6th gear!
it has since had a new clutch etc... but now if i give the car the slightest bit of punishment the clutch goes all spongey an blocks me out of 5th & 6th.
If i let it all cool down its back to normal, good gear selection????
I am mythed, I have a premium AM warranty and it says the clutch is covered in the paperwork.
Any idea??
Many thanks.
JohnG1 said:
I was having a chat with another former V8 Vantage owner. He had a failed catalytic converter.
It got me thinking about what happened with my old V8. Sorry if this is a bit of an epic saga but I want to get all the details down so anyone reading this can see what happened and compare to their experience.
September 2007 I purchased a second hand V8 Vantage from an Aston Martin main dealer – a 2006 year car with I think 2500 miles. The car had been supplied and had a full Aston Martin service history by that one dealer. One previous owner – the father of the dealer sales manager. Under my ownership the car was used as a weekend car, always garaged, never tracked, always kept under warranty and always serviced by the same dealer that supplied the car. That car was cherished.
After a period of ownership I pulled away from a roundabout and the engine cut out. I was travelling at 4 or 5 mph and I just thought that I had stalled it. I filed it away in my memory but thought nothing of it.
Sometime later I was driving along a B road and while driving along and making reasonable progress the engine cut out. To be clear – I was driving along at say 60mph when the engine stopped dead. Nothing signalled that this was going to happen – everything was fine and suddenly the engine stopped. The road was clear, dry and there was no other traffic. I remained calm, attempted to brake, put the clutch down and hit the engine start button. The engine restarted and I continued on my journey home.
At this point I contacted the dealer and asked for the car to be examined. Nothing was found.
At a later date while driving the engine cut out again and at this point I was somewhat angry. I contacted Aston Martin in Gaydon and the dealer and requested that this be investigated. The engine cut out is potentially lethal and I was not willing to drive the car until this was resolved. Just to be clear – the word lethal is emotive. But if you try and steer or brake in a V8 Vantage with the engine switched off you will find that you need to be build like a power lifter to turn the steering wheel or to press the brakes. If the engine cut out just before a corner you could end up dead as you may not be able to restart the engine in time to make it round the corner.
I was asked lots of questions about when the problem occurred and the common factors I saw were:
1. I had always just filled up the tank with premium petrol ( I never put 95 RON into the tank, only ever the expensive stuff)
2. The car was always fully warmed up.
There were no other common factors (no-one else ever drove that car, the weather varied between warm and cold, problem happened in different places, different engine speeds, different petrol stations).
I ended up one Saturday morning driving the car to the dealer to warm it up and use up fuel. I then picked up an Aston Martin engineer. He plugged a laptop into the steering column with a long cable. I drove down the road to a petrol station, filled up and drove about. We then found an instance where the engine would not respond to the throttle. So, coming off a mini-roundabout at about 25mph I depressed the throttle and nothing happened. Even with pedal to the metal the engine would not engage. After about 4 seconds the engine was back to normal.
The engineer took the data logged back to Gaydon and the dealer asked me to return the car for remedial work.
Under warranty Aston Martin replaced one of the exhaust catalysts – which has failed. They also replaced the fuel tank.
Now I am not an engineer but I requested an explanation of what happened. Broadly speaking – this is what I was told. The petrol tank has to be able to vent – if the car is left in the sun on a hot day as the petrol heats up it will expand – that’s simple physics. But the venting is not allowed to be to the atmosphere. So there is some kind of closed loop system, so vented gases are re-cycled into the inlet manifold. Usually that does not cause a problem but under certain circumstances – full fuel tank, hot engine and acceleration the engine receives too much fuel. The computer systems therefore shut down the engine to prevent damage.
Through pistonheads I realised a few other folks had this problem. A bit of lateral thinking got me to the point that I suspect that the unburnt fuel must pass right through the engine and finally hit the catalyst. Once the fuel arrives at the catalyst it must break it.
So – has anyone else had a failed catalyst or a fuel tank replaced?
Mike – as an engine guy – can you comment on this?
A very interesting question, not least because I am aware that some early model year cars appear plagued by unexplained catalyst failure.It got me thinking about what happened with my old V8. Sorry if this is a bit of an epic saga but I want to get all the details down so anyone reading this can see what happened and compare to their experience.
September 2007 I purchased a second hand V8 Vantage from an Aston Martin main dealer – a 2006 year car with I think 2500 miles. The car had been supplied and had a full Aston Martin service history by that one dealer. One previous owner – the father of the dealer sales manager. Under my ownership the car was used as a weekend car, always garaged, never tracked, always kept under warranty and always serviced by the same dealer that supplied the car. That car was cherished.
After a period of ownership I pulled away from a roundabout and the engine cut out. I was travelling at 4 or 5 mph and I just thought that I had stalled it. I filed it away in my memory but thought nothing of it.
Sometime later I was driving along a B road and while driving along and making reasonable progress the engine cut out. To be clear – I was driving along at say 60mph when the engine stopped dead. Nothing signalled that this was going to happen – everything was fine and suddenly the engine stopped. The road was clear, dry and there was no other traffic. I remained calm, attempted to brake, put the clutch down and hit the engine start button. The engine restarted and I continued on my journey home.
At this point I contacted the dealer and asked for the car to be examined. Nothing was found.
At a later date while driving the engine cut out again and at this point I was somewhat angry. I contacted Aston Martin in Gaydon and the dealer and requested that this be investigated. The engine cut out is potentially lethal and I was not willing to drive the car until this was resolved. Just to be clear – the word lethal is emotive. But if you try and steer or brake in a V8 Vantage with the engine switched off you will find that you need to be build like a power lifter to turn the steering wheel or to press the brakes. If the engine cut out just before a corner you could end up dead as you may not be able to restart the engine in time to make it round the corner.
I was asked lots of questions about when the problem occurred and the common factors I saw were:
1. I had always just filled up the tank with premium petrol ( I never put 95 RON into the tank, only ever the expensive stuff)
2. The car was always fully warmed up.
There were no other common factors (no-one else ever drove that car, the weather varied between warm and cold, problem happened in different places, different engine speeds, different petrol stations).
I ended up one Saturday morning driving the car to the dealer to warm it up and use up fuel. I then picked up an Aston Martin engineer. He plugged a laptop into the steering column with a long cable. I drove down the road to a petrol station, filled up and drove about. We then found an instance where the engine would not respond to the throttle. So, coming off a mini-roundabout at about 25mph I depressed the throttle and nothing happened. Even with pedal to the metal the engine would not engage. After about 4 seconds the engine was back to normal.
The engineer took the data logged back to Gaydon and the dealer asked me to return the car for remedial work.
Under warranty Aston Martin replaced one of the exhaust catalysts – which has failed. They also replaced the fuel tank.
Now I am not an engineer but I requested an explanation of what happened. Broadly speaking – this is what I was told. The petrol tank has to be able to vent – if the car is left in the sun on a hot day as the petrol heats up it will expand – that’s simple physics. But the venting is not allowed to be to the atmosphere. So there is some kind of closed loop system, so vented gases are re-cycled into the inlet manifold. Usually that does not cause a problem but under certain circumstances – full fuel tank, hot engine and acceleration the engine receives too much fuel. The computer systems therefore shut down the engine to prevent damage.
Through pistonheads I realised a few other folks had this problem. A bit of lateral thinking got me to the point that I suspect that the unburnt fuel must pass right through the engine and finally hit the catalyst. Once the fuel arrives at the catalyst it must break it.
So – has anyone else had a failed catalyst or a fuel tank replaced?
Mike – as an engine guy – can you comment on this?
I am conducting some independent testing on this matter and will report my findings in due course.
In the meantime, I would be very interested to hear what other members have been told / what their story was regarding route to repair (covered or not by warranty) when encountering this problem.
rmrmd1956 said:
Mike, in followup of your excellent email, I did a run over 3K RPM in 3rd gear and you can see that I go rich on throttle-off and calc load is quite low (15-20%). I have adjusted the MAF voltages to simulate NA operation so I think there must be some other parameter that isn't allowing me to enter DFS? Do you remember the entry criterion?
Indeed, the load looks about right, I will PM my memory in due course....burntout said:
Hi,
I have recentley bought my V8 Vantage, after owning it for less than a week the clutch went! 1st sign was not being able to get into 5th or 6th gear!
it has since had a new clutch etc... but now if i give the car the slightest bit of punishment the clutch goes all spongey an blocks me out of 5th & 6th.
If i let it all cool down its back to normal, good gear selection????
I am mythed, I have a premium AM warranty and it says the clutch is covered in the paperwork.
Any idea??
Many thanks.
That's very upsetting to have the failure you mention so soon into ownership.I have recentley bought my V8 Vantage, after owning it for less than a week the clutch went! 1st sign was not being able to get into 5th or 6th gear!
it has since had a new clutch etc... but now if i give the car the slightest bit of punishment the clutch goes all spongey an blocks me out of 5th & 6th.
If i let it all cool down its back to normal, good gear selection????
I am mythed, I have a premium AM warranty and it says the clutch is covered in the paperwork.
Any idea??
Many thanks.
From the description you give I would not have jumped to route cause being clutch in the first place, but I guess it must have been seeing as whoever changed it, changed it. Did you see the failed components, did the dealership / garage give you a run-down of problem and remedial works conducted??
Good news is that problem, whatever it is should be covered on warranty, no? Only bad news I guess is that you are separated from the car whilst it has TLC. If new clutch has been fitted problem can not be located within that part (plates / springs). Gearbox and clutch actuation (slave cylinder, fluid) are the only other components that could be the cause.
Where exactly are you with this problem - has the car gone back for re-investigation?
BamfordMike said:
That's very upsetting to have the failure you mention so soon into ownership.
From the description you give I would not have jumped to route cause being clutch in the first place, but I guess it must have been seeing as whoever changed it, changed it. Did you see the failed components, did the dealership / garage give you a run-down of problem and remedial works conducted??
Good news is that problem, whatever it is should be covered on warranty, no? Only bad news I guess is that you are separated from the car whilst it has TLC. If new clutch has been fitted problem can not be located within that part (plates / springs). Gearbox and clutch actuation (slave cylinder, fluid) are the only other components that could be the cause.
Where exactly are you with this problem - has the car gone back for re-investigation?
Hi Mike,From the description you give I would not have jumped to route cause being clutch in the first place, but I guess it must have been seeing as whoever changed it, changed it. Did you see the failed components, did the dealership / garage give you a run-down of problem and remedial works conducted??
Good news is that problem, whatever it is should be covered on warranty, no? Only bad news I guess is that you are separated from the car whilst it has TLC. If new clutch has been fitted problem can not be located within that part (plates / springs). Gearbox and clutch actuation (slave cylinder, fluid) are the only other components that could be the cause.
Where exactly are you with this problem - has the car gone back for re-investigation?
Thank you very much for that....
The garage that changed the clutch was the garage I bought it from, they did not want to let the car go to an AM garage as the cost was too high.
They also changed the discs and pads and no grease was applied when they did this, resulting in embarrasing squeeky breaks!! I guess that they did the same with the clutch, minimal parts outlay and wrong diagnostics. Typical of them not wanting to lose a bit of profit, even when found out that they wripped me off.
I would love to name and shame but would prob get a ticking off!!
After they let a phil mitchell lookalike bodge my car back together it did pass the 140 point check which meant the 2 year premium warranty could be put on the car...Pheeew peace of mind...
As i type this the car is in the loving hands of the guys at Lancaster Reading, Just hope they sort it out for me, I cant bare all the drama, just want to drive the thing.
I will let you know what they come up with!! The slave cylinder fluid would make sense given the behaviour of the gears...
Thanks once again
Hey Mike-
Two questions for you:
1) Is the OEM crank pulley from Aston a major source of the sluggish throttle response? I am wondering if a lightweight crank pulley may help?
2)What do you feel the approximate HP gain is for 200 Cell CATS? This would be in addition to QS SS exhaust and the AM power upgrade.
Thanks much!
Two questions for you:
1) Is the OEM crank pulley from Aston a major source of the sluggish throttle response? I am wondering if a lightweight crank pulley may help?
2)What do you feel the approximate HP gain is for 200 Cell CATS? This would be in addition to QS SS exhaust and the AM power upgrade.
Thanks much!
EBruce said:
Hey Mike-
Two questions for you:
1) Is the OEM crank pulley from Aston a major source of the sluggish throttle response? I am wondering if a lightweight crank pulley may help?
2)What do you feel the approximate HP gain is for 200 Cell CATS? This would be in addition to QS SS exhaust and the AM power upgrade.
Thanks much!
Hi EBruce.Two questions for you:
1) Is the OEM crank pulley from Aston a major source of the sluggish throttle response? I am wondering if a lightweight crank pulley may help?
2)What do you feel the approximate HP gain is for 200 Cell CATS? This would be in addition to QS SS exhaust and the AM power upgrade.
Thanks much!
We lighten slightly and dynamically balance Front pulley with crank, rods, pistons and flywheel assy during our engine build procedure. Just modifying the front pulley in isolation would return no noticeable difference in terms of how the engine revs-up, and would always need to be balanced with other rotating parts.
The performance gains you mention are additive. During my recent exhaust system development activity (Bamford Rose manifolds / cats), I have found the relationship between exhaust back pressure and performance to be approx. 5KPa system back pressure = 3.5BHP. The OEM cats are responsible for about 25KPa EBP. I would guess that any supplier of 200 cell density cats would return approx 10KPa depression. So, using this guide / rule of thumb the additive performance gain for 200 cell density cats would be in the region of 10.5BHP (this is similar to the question you asked on page 3 of this forum).
All the best.
Mike.
Vanquish gearbox problems...... Vanquished..!
We have conducted this procedure a number of times, always with great success and thought it was worth sharing.
Frustratingly, Vanquish is often plagued by intermittent loss of gears, gearbox warning light flashing during gear change, stuck in one gear, unable to select a gear or stuck in neutral.
In most cases these gear selection problems occur because of failure of the bent pieces of coat hanger braised onto 2 Potentiometers... Sorry, I mean precision Aston Martin Vanquish gear position sensors. The offending articles are pictured for reference.
A service bulletin from the factory corrects this wrong by updating technology to the same magnetic gear position sensor used on all current V8 ASM gearboxes. The result when this procedure is applied to Vanquish is lightning fast gear changes up and down the box, but equally as important, robust and durable gear selection - Never see the yellow gearbox warning light of doom again..!
Depending on VIN number the update kit costs approx £600. Depending on how well, or not, the Vanquish comes apart, the update takes around 15 hours workshop time to complete. A picture of a gearbox fitted with the new technology is attached for reference.
Cars which already have this update will include service bulletin SB0185 in the service book record - cars without that stamp I would strongly advise get it....
Mike
![](http://thumbsnap.com/sc/ErjMiR5I.jpg[/img]</a> <a href="http://thumbsnap.com/cBytV7FH" Target="_blank">[img]http://thumbsnap.com/sc/cBytV7FH.jpg[/img]</a> <a href="http://thumbsnap.com/cBytV7FH" Target="_blank">[img]http://thumbsnap.com/sc/cBytV7FH.jpg)
We have conducted this procedure a number of times, always with great success and thought it was worth sharing.
Frustratingly, Vanquish is often plagued by intermittent loss of gears, gearbox warning light flashing during gear change, stuck in one gear, unable to select a gear or stuck in neutral.
In most cases these gear selection problems occur because of failure of the bent pieces of coat hanger braised onto 2 Potentiometers... Sorry, I mean precision Aston Martin Vanquish gear position sensors. The offending articles are pictured for reference.
A service bulletin from the factory corrects this wrong by updating technology to the same magnetic gear position sensor used on all current V8 ASM gearboxes. The result when this procedure is applied to Vanquish is lightning fast gear changes up and down the box, but equally as important, robust and durable gear selection - Never see the yellow gearbox warning light of doom again..!
Depending on VIN number the update kit costs approx £600. Depending on how well, or not, the Vanquish comes apart, the update takes around 15 hours workshop time to complete. A picture of a gearbox fitted with the new technology is attached for reference.
Cars which already have this update will include service bulletin SB0185 in the service book record - cars without that stamp I would strongly advise get it....
Mike
BamfordMike said:
Hi EBruce.
We lighten slightly and dynamically balance Front pulley with crank, rods, pistons and flywheel assy during our engine build procedure. Just modifying the front pulley in isolation would return no noticeable difference in terms of how the engine revs-up, and would always need to be balanced with other rotating parts.
The performance gains you mention are additive. During my recent exhaust system development activity (Bamford Rose manifolds / cats), I have found the relationship between exhaust back pressure and performance to be approx. 5KPa system back pressure = 3.5BHP. The OEM cats are responsible for about 25KPa EBP. I would guess that any supplier of 200 cell density cats would return approx 10KPa depression. So, using this guide / rule of thumb the additive performance gain for 200 cell density cats would be in the region of 10.5BHP (this is similar to the question you asked on page 3 of this forum).
All the best.
Mike.
Thanks Mike! Yeah, I am still on the fence with the 200 cell cats for 2 reasons:We lighten slightly and dynamically balance Front pulley with crank, rods, pistons and flywheel assy during our engine build procedure. Just modifying the front pulley in isolation would return no noticeable difference in terms of how the engine revs-up, and would always need to be balanced with other rotating parts.
The performance gains you mention are additive. During my recent exhaust system development activity (Bamford Rose manifolds / cats), I have found the relationship between exhaust back pressure and performance to be approx. 5KPa system back pressure = 3.5BHP. The OEM cats are responsible for about 25KPa EBP. I would guess that any supplier of 200 cell density cats would return approx 10KPa depression. So, using this guide / rule of thumb the additive performance gain for 200 cell density cats would be in the region of 10.5BHP (this is similar to the question you asked on page 3 of this forum).
All the best.
Mike.
1) The AM service manager in town said that a Vantage they put 200cell CATs on actually lost low end torque....something this car needs to keep!
2) I am worried the CATs with the Quicksilver SuperSport may sound way too loud.
Thoughts?
EBruce said:
Thanks Mike! Yeah, I am still on the fence with the 200 cell cats for 2 reasons:
1) The AM service manager in town said that a Vantage they put 200cell CATs on actually lost low end torque....something this car needs to keep!
2) I am worried the CATs with the Quicksilver SuperSport may sound way too loud.
Thoughts?
Quite right, the car can not afford to loose any low speed torque. I am sure the example you state is a true account, but not knowing the origin of the cats nor seeing any pictures of entry cone and general design, it is difficult for me to make comment. 1) The AM service manager in town said that a Vantage they put 200cell CATs on actually lost low end torque....something this car needs to keep!
2) I am worried the CATs with the Quicksilver SuperSport may sound way too loud.
Thoughts?
All I can say is that my own 200 cell density cats do not loose low speed torque. Quite the reverse. When mated to my tuned equal length 4-1 primary pipes the torque rise between 3500 to 5500 rpm feels very strong.
Yes, 200 cell cats on a supersport system could sound too loud. In my shop at present is a car we converted to 4.7L from 4.3, the engine puts out 470BHP with 200 cell density cats. To start with the car had supersports plus but it was just far too loud, raw and unrefined. We changed the system to a supersports and the exhaust note, for sure is still loud but not unrefined. But, perhaps on 200 cell density cats the wise choice would be a normal sports system.
George H said:
Following on from the supercharged V8V thread, what sort of performance do you think could be extracted from a 4.3 V8V for the same price (£20k)? It's just out of curiosity though, not actually in the market for it (possibly in the future) 
Hi George.The supercharged thread was one of the best i have read on PH Aston area...
The delay replying to your question was because I am on the verge of the official launch of my exhaust system and wanted to answer your question in that wider reply which details the modular approach to performance modifications Bamford Rose offer - here goes....
Mike.
Hi everyone.
I have seen a few comments on this thread and the main forum from people who would like to see Bamford Rose performance modifications for V8, whether that be engine or exhaust system, fully detailed in terms of technical specification, price and availability.
Here goes, in what follows should provide that info..
Bamford Rose sports exhaust system:
The OEM exhaust manifold fitted to both 4.3 and 4.7L V8 Vantage is horrifically gas-flow restrictive, thus performance zapping, chiefly because the OEM manifold is made to a 'price'. That cheap price results in an easy to manufacture design which when manufactured in volume gives the bean counters that warm cozy value for money feeling. However, bean counters warm cozy feeling equals engineers shudder and in the search for 100BHP per litre, greater 'engineers' attention to detail is required.
Step into the fray; tuned equal length primary pipes of 4-1 construction (from 4-2-1), a bespoke Bamford Rose designed sequential collector cone which enables uncompromised exhaust gas scavenging, 2mm gauge 316 grade stainless steel pipework, lazer cut flanges, 200 cell density sports catalysts, all joints and bends fully purge welded (a gas is used to protect the weld seam until it has cooled to the point that oxidation does not occur, thus prevents cracking, corrosion and deformation) and to round all that off - a choice of Quicksilver Sports silencer to make the whole package...sing....or bark... depends on the silencer chosen.
The result; a sports exhaust system that can be mated to any V8 Vantage derivative (4.3L, 4.3L N400 or 4.3L AM power upgrade kit, 4.7L, N420 and Vantage S) to give a sizeable torque increase (see graphs for each application in following posts) and an engine which pulls considerably stronger all the way to the redline.
The complete exhaust system has been arduously durability tested around the world famous Millbrook proving ground circuit under a thermal cycle which would accelerate the onset of any potential error state modes such as cracking. The durability concept has been further proven under road mileage accumulation tests for driveability where city driving, motorway cruising or spirited country lane driving have been tested to make certain no error state driveability modes are present.
Not just does the system enable flywheel performance, it reduces weight by 18kilos too.
The system is manufactured by Quicksilver and is exclusive to Bamford Rose.
At this stage the system will only be fitted by Bamford Rose, this is to ensure quality and correct installation of other components such as additional heat shielding.
The system is fitted drive-in / drive-out same day.
The system can be added to other aftermarket parts (such as, if car already has sports cats and silencer the manifold can be added without problem).
We are pleased to announce that we are taking bookings for fitting from August 29th
Fitted price excluding VAT = £6,000
To put that price into context, other aftermarket companies supply sports catalysts and silencer system for around £3200 PLUS fitting, representing value here for the complete system including fitting. IMHO..!
I will post pictures of the system and detail the performance increases for each derivative in the following posts.
Mike.
I have seen a few comments on this thread and the main forum from people who would like to see Bamford Rose performance modifications for V8, whether that be engine or exhaust system, fully detailed in terms of technical specification, price and availability.
Here goes, in what follows should provide that info..
Bamford Rose sports exhaust system:
The OEM exhaust manifold fitted to both 4.3 and 4.7L V8 Vantage is horrifically gas-flow restrictive, thus performance zapping, chiefly because the OEM manifold is made to a 'price'. That cheap price results in an easy to manufacture design which when manufactured in volume gives the bean counters that warm cozy value for money feeling. However, bean counters warm cozy feeling equals engineers shudder and in the search for 100BHP per litre, greater 'engineers' attention to detail is required.
Step into the fray; tuned equal length primary pipes of 4-1 construction (from 4-2-1), a bespoke Bamford Rose designed sequential collector cone which enables uncompromised exhaust gas scavenging, 2mm gauge 316 grade stainless steel pipework, lazer cut flanges, 200 cell density sports catalysts, all joints and bends fully purge welded (a gas is used to protect the weld seam until it has cooled to the point that oxidation does not occur, thus prevents cracking, corrosion and deformation) and to round all that off - a choice of Quicksilver Sports silencer to make the whole package...sing....or bark... depends on the silencer chosen.
The result; a sports exhaust system that can be mated to any V8 Vantage derivative (4.3L, 4.3L N400 or 4.3L AM power upgrade kit, 4.7L, N420 and Vantage S) to give a sizeable torque increase (see graphs for each application in following posts) and an engine which pulls considerably stronger all the way to the redline.
The complete exhaust system has been arduously durability tested around the world famous Millbrook proving ground circuit under a thermal cycle which would accelerate the onset of any potential error state modes such as cracking. The durability concept has been further proven under road mileage accumulation tests for driveability where city driving, motorway cruising or spirited country lane driving have been tested to make certain no error state driveability modes are present.
Not just does the system enable flywheel performance, it reduces weight by 18kilos too.
The system is manufactured by Quicksilver and is exclusive to Bamford Rose.
At this stage the system will only be fitted by Bamford Rose, this is to ensure quality and correct installation of other components such as additional heat shielding.
The system is fitted drive-in / drive-out same day.
The system can be added to other aftermarket parts (such as, if car already has sports cats and silencer the manifold can be added without problem).
We are pleased to announce that we are taking bookings for fitting from August 29th
Fitted price excluding VAT = £6,000
To put that price into context, other aftermarket companies supply sports catalysts and silencer system for around £3200 PLUS fitting, representing value here for the complete system including fitting. IMHO..!
I will post pictures of the system and detail the performance increases for each derivative in the following posts.
Mike.
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