Aston Martin advice from Bamford Rose independent specialist
Discussion
yeti said:
What are you up to Taylor? 
Say hello to my car for me
Oh and Mike, should I can guinea pig for the oil sensor when my new build goes ahead?
Rob was mostly trying to sneak upgrades into Purdy without Molly knowing, but then it became clear Molly enjoys the upgrades just as much as Rob...!Say hello to my car for me
Oh and Mike, should I can guinea pig for the oil sensor when my new build goes ahead?
No need for breather circuit mods or oil level sensing... Its a BR built motor..!
BamfordMike said:
Rob was mostly trying to sneak upgrades into Purdy without Molly knowing, but then it became clear Molly enjoys the upgrades just as much as Rob...!
Being at BR again this w/end reminded me of a visit last April. Remember guys? A visit to Gaydon, then on to BR, then, for the Friday Five, the long trip to North Wales guided by MIkey K (quite a long route as I recall ). MollyGTi said:
Good spot - other than Shmee the defector!
I remember that one good fun!
MollyGTi said:
Being at BR again this w/end reminded me of a visit last April. Remember guys? A visit to Gaydon, then on to BR, then, for the Friday Five, the long trip to North Wales guided by MIkey K (quite a long route as I recall ).
Don't mention the Gaydon Loop, I mentioned it once and I think I got away with it ). 
Apart from announcing that Bamford Rose is proud engine supplier of choice and the powerhouse behind team GT4 / VLN Mathol Racing, winners of the Aston Martin Racing Global Challenge 2012 title, and the pleasure we have reporting and discussing the many upgrade projects Bamford Rose has completed for happy owners which transform and enhance the ownership experience.... Jessica, Lance, Armstrong, Diablo Blanco to name but a few.... What I report here for project 'Purdy' rates as one of the most pleasing for Bamford Rose to deliver and report.
These are great times for us to be around the brand, in this special 100 years anniversary Bamford Rose will deliver 5.0L V8 Vantage 'S' @ 550BHP, AKA project 'Johnny 550' and 6.5L V12 @ 650BHP DB9 AKA project 'Yeti'. When these and other Bamford Rose upgraded cars join Lance at Spa during one of the factory organised track days later this year, we will showcase how Aston's can dynamically compete with the best other brands have to offer, meaning whilst sporting the best 'face' in the world, Bamford Rose will prove Aston's can have the 'legs' to match too, but only with the special touch that only Bamford Rose can apply.
Today however it is Purdy's time to take centre stage......!
I said this report was pleasing to make because the upgrade and improvement we report here resolves numerous critical comments from many journalists around the globe concerning / commenting on the not so good / far from best in class driveability and driving experience returned from the Automated Shift Manual (ASM) gearbox system found in Vantage 'S' and in ASM1 guise in previous 4.3 and 4.7L Sportshift models.
In summary journalist, potential owners 'put off' by the driver interaction with the gearbox and many current owners living with the system state the same common critical appraisal concerning the factory's gearbox solution. Brought to ultimate conclusion these comments conclude there is a disparity between the statement the factory makes about how cars in this day-and-age should not have shift sticks fitted, yet the ASM hardware / technology used to deliver the strategy of deleting the clutch pedal and manual control of gears and control of gears with paddles is lacking finesse in execution.
The ASM / Sportshift system is 1)a gearbox that could have manual control fitted but has 2)a hydraulic solenoid pack bolted to the side of it that via paddles and 3)a Magneti Marelli control brain selects gears using our infamous friends the 4)heavy OEM flyheel and weak singleplate clutch.
The poor driveability and disappointing driver interaction with the gearbox system is a result of this mix of ingredients and comments from journalists and drivers alike can be summarised as;
Slow to execute in D mode, gear change both up and down the box and during these shifts the 'nodding dog' situation of the drivers head nodding forward at start of shift and snapping backwards when torque is reapplied to road wheels.
Not the best or most intuitive response in D mode concerning throttle pedal application and the gear selected and the time taken to achieve these requests.
In paddle mode, although delivering fairly quick shifts, shift quality / experience is detracted from by a 'thud' in the driveline. This is important because although we all want rapid sports car like shifts, we must not lose the quality feel a luxury car should have. Also, the 'S' often feels it is crashing through the box in paddle mode and many owners have worriedly commented and questioned me about this asking if there is any longer term mechanical damage looming, those of us who drive with mechanical sympathy in mind correctly question this state of gear change.
So.... in true Bamford Rose fashion... let's upgrade and correct this....
Purdy is the Bamford Rose development car for this task, and the result.....
Any journalist or the most critical of driver / potential owner can now put Purdy or any car upgraded with Bamford Rose ASM upgrade pack featured here thorough its paces and their end conclusions will be agreement that correction of all areas of critique previously mentioned have been addressed, and if going through a check list of how a ASM gearbox should perform, Purdy / this upgrade pack returns textbook control, driveability and puts a MASSIVE smile on the drivers face......!!!!!
To sum this mod up simply, I would say the Bamford Rose ASM upgrade pack delivers in 'D' mode via different applications of the throttle pedal, intuitive gear selection / performance and behaviour that the driver would previously have had to use the paddles to achieve. And now when in full Sport paddle mode, gear selection is nothing short of lightening fast, as good as gearboxes with DSG hardware. Yet the revelation here is that whilst gear selection is superfast, the 'thud' the previous hardware delivered when going through the gears has now gone completely due to the upgraded powerful Bamford Rose twinplate clutch.
So here is Purdy with proud and lucky owners RobGT and MollyGTi...
Purdy has already had Botox, add some previous Bamford Rose magic with the new....
Here is the exhaust manifold and catalyst upgrade with the new booty - a lightweight flywheel and twinplate organic Bamford Rose upgraded clutch.
A reminder of the power Purdy now delights her owners with;
The upgraded Bamford Rose lightweight flywheel has dramatically improved throttle responsiveness by reducing the time the engine takes to reach the redline, even though there is no power increase associated with this part, the reduced time the engine takes to rev to the redline significantly improves in-gear acceleration time, yet, low speed driveability remains as perfectly controllable as standard and so does return to idle control and speed of idle control which remains at 750rpm - as if it left the factory in this faultless way yet now is improved and upgraded.
So... now this is how a sports car should rev from idle to the Redline limit - simply electric... press the pedal and start the egg timer transforms into blink and you will miss it...!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWXrBD0kZ10
With the help of the supremely powerful Bamford Rose twinplate organic clutch, the improved engine response translates into super fast selection of the gears in paddle mode. Here is the car in action on full throttle:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iETpRo-vmvQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IyFMEk80GjU
The throtle was fully pressed at 4800 rpm, the rate of change of engine speed to redline is simply ballistic, not just is progression more rapid but this is an attack on all senses, noise is glorious as is the sensation of shoulders pinned to the back of the seats all the way to the redline, and then again, and again through the gears. The downshift through the gears are much faster yet smoother, there are no jolts as occurs with standard hardware.
100mph traction control events require Bamford Rose upgrades...!
(of course, we were on test track for this and even if we were on the road our update of the control brain has resulted in incorrect speedometer reading for those of blue collar persuasion).
D Mode operation is not simply improved, but is perfection. Silky smooth gear changes without the nodding dog head movement during shifts, and now with better control of the Magneti Marelli control brain, 'kick-down' or blips of throttle return lightening quick downshift control, 6-3 downshift @ 35 seconds / 7-4 shift @ 45 seconds. From start to 35 seconds we drive sedately proving that there are no compromises to comfort arising from this package, yet even in D mode when the pedal is prodded (post 35 secs into video) the shifts change into the sports car like feel that journalists wished for.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUaMYZhvMOM
The factory has clearly struggled with the precise driveability and gear control from birth of Sportshift system through to present day Vantage 'S'. So for Bamford Rose to pick up where the the factory left of when product was delivered into production was always going to be a difficult task for us. Yet we have more than succeeded in our solution and what makes this project more satisfying than handing back a car to happy owner (Rob and Amanda you will love Purdy even more for this work..!) for me, is that Bamford Rose can offer a route for new owners entering the brand whereas before the problem driveability meant selection of a different car for them.
These are great times for us to be around the brand, in this special 100 years anniversary Bamford Rose will deliver 5.0L V8 Vantage 'S' @ 550BHP, AKA project 'Johnny 550' and 6.5L V12 @ 650BHP DB9 AKA project 'Yeti'. When these and other Bamford Rose upgraded cars join Lance at Spa during one of the factory organised track days later this year, we will showcase how Aston's can dynamically compete with the best other brands have to offer, meaning whilst sporting the best 'face' in the world, Bamford Rose will prove Aston's can have the 'legs' to match too, but only with the special touch that only Bamford Rose can apply.
Today however it is Purdy's time to take centre stage......!
I said this report was pleasing to make because the upgrade and improvement we report here resolves numerous critical comments from many journalists around the globe concerning / commenting on the not so good / far from best in class driveability and driving experience returned from the Automated Shift Manual (ASM) gearbox system found in Vantage 'S' and in ASM1 guise in previous 4.3 and 4.7L Sportshift models.
In summary journalist, potential owners 'put off' by the driver interaction with the gearbox and many current owners living with the system state the same common critical appraisal concerning the factory's gearbox solution. Brought to ultimate conclusion these comments conclude there is a disparity between the statement the factory makes about how cars in this day-and-age should not have shift sticks fitted, yet the ASM hardware / technology used to deliver the strategy of deleting the clutch pedal and manual control of gears and control of gears with paddles is lacking finesse in execution.
The ASM / Sportshift system is 1)a gearbox that could have manual control fitted but has 2)a hydraulic solenoid pack bolted to the side of it that via paddles and 3)a Magneti Marelli control brain selects gears using our infamous friends the 4)heavy OEM flyheel and weak singleplate clutch.
The poor driveability and disappointing driver interaction with the gearbox system is a result of this mix of ingredients and comments from journalists and drivers alike can be summarised as;
Slow to execute in D mode, gear change both up and down the box and during these shifts the 'nodding dog' situation of the drivers head nodding forward at start of shift and snapping backwards when torque is reapplied to road wheels.
Not the best or most intuitive response in D mode concerning throttle pedal application and the gear selected and the time taken to achieve these requests.
In paddle mode, although delivering fairly quick shifts, shift quality / experience is detracted from by a 'thud' in the driveline. This is important because although we all want rapid sports car like shifts, we must not lose the quality feel a luxury car should have. Also, the 'S' often feels it is crashing through the box in paddle mode and many owners have worriedly commented and questioned me about this asking if there is any longer term mechanical damage looming, those of us who drive with mechanical sympathy in mind correctly question this state of gear change.
So.... in true Bamford Rose fashion... let's upgrade and correct this....
Purdy is the Bamford Rose development car for this task, and the result.....
Any journalist or the most critical of driver / potential owner can now put Purdy or any car upgraded with Bamford Rose ASM upgrade pack featured here thorough its paces and their end conclusions will be agreement that correction of all areas of critique previously mentioned have been addressed, and if going through a check list of how a ASM gearbox should perform, Purdy / this upgrade pack returns textbook control, driveability and puts a MASSIVE smile on the drivers face......!!!!!
To sum this mod up simply, I would say the Bamford Rose ASM upgrade pack delivers in 'D' mode via different applications of the throttle pedal, intuitive gear selection / performance and behaviour that the driver would previously have had to use the paddles to achieve. And now when in full Sport paddle mode, gear selection is nothing short of lightening fast, as good as gearboxes with DSG hardware. Yet the revelation here is that whilst gear selection is superfast, the 'thud' the previous hardware delivered when going through the gears has now gone completely due to the upgraded powerful Bamford Rose twinplate clutch.
So here is Purdy with proud and lucky owners RobGT and MollyGTi...
Purdy has already had Botox, add some previous Bamford Rose magic with the new....
Here is the exhaust manifold and catalyst upgrade with the new booty - a lightweight flywheel and twinplate organic Bamford Rose upgraded clutch.
A reminder of the power Purdy now delights her owners with;
The upgraded Bamford Rose lightweight flywheel has dramatically improved throttle responsiveness by reducing the time the engine takes to reach the redline, even though there is no power increase associated with this part, the reduced time the engine takes to rev to the redline significantly improves in-gear acceleration time, yet, low speed driveability remains as perfectly controllable as standard and so does return to idle control and speed of idle control which remains at 750rpm - as if it left the factory in this faultless way yet now is improved and upgraded.
So... now this is how a sports car should rev from idle to the Redline limit - simply electric... press the pedal and start the egg timer transforms into blink and you will miss it...!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWXrBD0kZ10
With the help of the supremely powerful Bamford Rose twinplate organic clutch, the improved engine response translates into super fast selection of the gears in paddle mode. Here is the car in action on full throttle:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iETpRo-vmvQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IyFMEk80GjU
The throtle was fully pressed at 4800 rpm, the rate of change of engine speed to redline is simply ballistic, not just is progression more rapid but this is an attack on all senses, noise is glorious as is the sensation of shoulders pinned to the back of the seats all the way to the redline, and then again, and again through the gears. The downshift through the gears are much faster yet smoother, there are no jolts as occurs with standard hardware.
100mph traction control events require Bamford Rose upgrades...!
(of course, we were on test track for this and even if we were on the road our update of the control brain has resulted in incorrect speedometer reading for those of blue collar persuasion).
D Mode operation is not simply improved, but is perfection. Silky smooth gear changes without the nodding dog head movement during shifts, and now with better control of the Magneti Marelli control brain, 'kick-down' or blips of throttle return lightening quick downshift control, 6-3 downshift @ 35 seconds / 7-4 shift @ 45 seconds. From start to 35 seconds we drive sedately proving that there are no compromises to comfort arising from this package, yet even in D mode when the pedal is prodded (post 35 secs into video) the shifts change into the sports car like feel that journalists wished for.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUaMYZhvMOM
The factory has clearly struggled with the precise driveability and gear control from birth of Sportshift system through to present day Vantage 'S'. So for Bamford Rose to pick up where the the factory left of when product was delivered into production was always going to be a difficult task for us. Yet we have more than succeeded in our solution and what makes this project more satisfying than handing back a car to happy owner (Rob and Amanda you will love Purdy even more for this work..!) for me, is that Bamford Rose can offer a route for new owners entering the brand whereas before the problem driveability meant selection of a different car for them.
Looks like you and your team have done an amazing job. Mike, I have a 2009 4.7 and I am very interested in the ASM upgrade. Will it work without an upgrade to the lightened flywheel and twin plate clutch? As I am in the USA, will it possible to just change the shift computer or are their associated hardware changes required. The shift quality of the ASM is my one single dissatisfaction with the car, I would like to resolve if at all possible.
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