New Vantage owner, saying hello! (Also QS exhausts info)

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Firstly,

A big hello to the Aston Martin forum members I've been a longtime lurker on the PH forums and have always learnt a huge amount, most recently helping me with my first purchase of a V8 Vantage (details below, pics to follow!) The information and expertise on here have been absolutely invaluable in aiding my purchase - I almost bought a 911 997 Gen 2 pdk instead, but definitely feel as though I've made the right decision, even though I still haven't collected the car!

Car spec -

2006 55 plate V8 Vantage 4.3 Manual
41,000 miles
Mercury Silver
Heated seats
Sat nav
Heated front screen
HID headlights
Premium audio
Cruise control

I will be collecting the car in a couple of weeks, after a few bits and pieces are taken care of (service MOT etc). I am also making some cosmetic changes to the car, such as alcantara steering wheel, centre console armrest, gear knob and gaiter, private plate....

I've already had the fuse 22 removed and now I have to make a decision on exhausts. The SuperSport PLUS is an instant no, far too loud to live with as a daily drive. It then comes down to the SuperSport or Sport exhaust. This is purely a fun/noise mod for me - manifolds, Cats, twin plate clutch & lighter flywheel etc may come in the future, although possibly with a return to the OEM back box. I am fairly keen on the Bamford Rose exhaust switch mod too, though.

So my questions, if anyone can help, are as follows -

1. Does anyone have the QS Sport exhaust on their car, with no other mods (Cats etc)? Did it make any difference to the sound compared to the OEm exhaust?
2. Will BR fit the exhaust switch onto any car (even one they haven't done other work on), and how much does it cost roughly?

3. Most importantly, having spent hours trawling YouTube for videos, is there anyone in the West London/ home counties area with a QS SuperSport exhaust fitted to their otherwise standard 4.3 car that I could pay a little visit to, to actually hear the sound for real!!??

This last one would make a huge difference to me, I could then make a decision regarding the SuperSport exhaust that will hopefully not annoy my neighbours/ annoy me after a few hours with it. (The YouTube videos vary from sounding great, to far too loud!)

Many thanks for any help, looking forward to finally getting the car and enjoying it! And to learning more through this forum.

Cheers,

burnout3

Edited by burnout3 on Wednesday 4th March 12:15

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Thanks! I was quite impressed with myself there too, when I saw 110months! Photos might be slightly quicker...100months?

ps - have already bought the Aston Martin guide too, awesome purchase.

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Thanks for all the nice welcome messages!

downr - good point about Nicholas Mee, I'll give them a ring to see if they have any in with Sport/ SuperSports exhausts on, cheers! But also, if anyone else has one and is willing to let me have a listen, I'm more than happy to travel for the experience

mikey k - much as I would love the BR manifolds and sports cats, it looks like 6k all in to me, so a considerably more expensive option. Not sure I can stretch to that at this stage....

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Thanks again for all the opinions and info! I'll definitely get the switch fitted in the future, to help keep the neighbours happy.

Got an extension (and other major expenses) to plan first, so think the BR upgrade will get done in about a year, but for starters I'm going with the QS Sports exhaust (got a great deal, hopefully). The other internal changes are coming together too, so hopefully it'll be ready in about 2 weeks, fingers crossed! Then I'll be sure post the pics

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Well, exactly a month later, all of the initial work is done and I collected the vantage today!

There'll be a few pics, as promised, along with some info on the mods done so far, plus future ones....

Here's the first exterior pic.

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More exterior shots

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The exterior work has included -

Full bonnet respray
Repaint wiper arms
Private plate
All stone chips removed
Stone guards fitted
New RHS headlight washer

I want to make it clear that I have no connection with any of the companies/individuals listed, but I do feel praise is due when you receive excellent service. I hope this ok?

Re-trimming - Alcantara steering wheel, gear knob and gaiter and centre armrest was all done by Joe at Trimdeluxe in Littlehampton. Another excellent guy to deal with, really good value and excellent work. (Internal pics to follow)

Bluetooth Parrot and Ipod intergration, along with hard-wiring a new Tomtom Go 5000 - I can't recommend highly enough Connor (and Simon) at John Kleis audio in Reading. The quality of their work and flexibility has been top-notch. I considered their Aston Martin Satnav upgrade (they can swap out the Volvo one for a new Garmin unit) but in the end I just went with the Parrot, Ipod bits and stand alone Tomtom.

Edited by burnout3 on Wednesday 4th March 12:17

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Internal bits -

Brand new bespoke seats
New sill plates
New door pulls
New door cards



The only bits that I felt dated the car were the steering wheel, gear knob, gaiter and the centre armrest, hence why they were retrimmed in alcantara

Edited by burnout3 on Wednesday 4th March 12:17

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I'll be doing the internal LED lights mod tomorrow, as per this thread -

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

All bits bought on Ebay for a small outlay

I've already done the superb key mod as per this thread -

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=3&a...

Although I took it a bit further, by wrapping the key too -





The key wrap was courtesy of this Ebay listing -

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/190644878903?_trksid=p20...

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I bulk bought the transponder tags to get the little Aston logos to go on the key fob, so I have a few spare. PM me if you're interested...

Other bits and bobs-

Picked up a Quicksilver Sport exhaust from a great guy on here. It sounds absolutely superb, exactly what I was after!


Already been in touch with Tony Hall, so I'll be getting some custom sill plaques and stereo/satnav knobs at some point.

Got another top tip via PM for manifolds etc, so here's the list of planned mods -

1. Manifolds and 200-cell cats (probably with a return to the OEM back box, then with a 3-way switch fitted)
2. Twin-plate clutch - again, top marks to my Indy, the clutch was replaced as a matter of course, so it'll be a long while (even with London driving) before I need to replace it, but I will go for the upgrade one day.
3. Gloss black vinyl wrap for the roof
4. Red calipers


Other possible mods -

1. N400 side sills
2. Rear diffuser
3. Alloy swap - I'm keeping an eye out for the 10-spoke DT alloys. As soon as a pair come up at a reasonable price, I'll get them swapped over.
4. Who knows, but the list keeps growing!

Edited by burnout3 on Wednesday 4th March 12:18

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Just wanted to offer a huge thanks to all the contributors on here (and various PMs), a mine of information! Got my insurance through Locktons thanks to another thread on here, total bargain!

And all of the info/ mods/ expertise has been gleaned through so many excellent threads, from Grant's book through Karl-Franz alcantara inspiring threads to Tony Hall's THUGs! They've all helped me to make my car my own.

I'll keep this thread updated as I do more mods to the car in future.

Burnout3

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Ken Figenus said:

Great project mate. Good too hear good about suppliers too - we are all quick and right to to criticise - so nice one. On sills and other bolt ons I think the car looks svelte, integrated and understated and beautifully smooth as-is. Its why we buy them - stunning looks! Bolt on lumps often detract on road only cars IMHO.

Thanks Ken - yeah, had some great work & service. Still not sure about bolt-ons, as you said. Different alloys and red calipers are definitely going to happen (when I can locate some at reasonable prices), as will the roof wrap, as they're all easy to return to standard.

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GlynV8 said:

Great looking car.
The seats look very nice.
Good that it is now on the road - enjoy

Thanks Glyn, very happy with it! The sound is precisely what I was going for, cheers


Tony - just deciding on the wording for my sill plaque, then I'll be ordering!

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BravoV8V said:

If so, good luck with your search. It took me well over a year before I managed to get a full set together. (The last one came from Germany!) They all then went back to the manufacturer, Rimstock, to get refurbed to OEM standard.

Agghhhh, over a year! Those are the ones, look stunning!! You must be a lot more patient than me.... I have considered buying them one a at time to build a full set, but was worried I'd end up buying a full set half way through the process and would need to sell the others again (I just missed out on a full set with tyres, for an excellent price). I probably won't do anything until the New Year now anyway, so I'll see what's out there. Thanks for the info though.

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Sorry for the poor quality picture, but I finally got round to having my wheels re-coloured and fitted to the car. Unbelievable happy with the change to the car, it's exactly what I wanted (I was originally looking for different wheels, but I fell in love with these Vantage S ones).



I'll be getting it detailed, the gloss black roof (to match the alloys), some red calipers and hopefully a silver mesh kit. Then I might finally be finished with the cosmetic mods. Maybe.

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Picked my car again today after the latest sets of mods. The work was done by an excellent mechanic, whom I believe is a fellow PHer. Thanks Gerry!

Brake calipers had a full refurb, followed by powder-coating red, with black lettering. The handbrake calipers were adjusted too, to get rid of a low-speed squeal.




All of the mesh kits (bonnet, sides, lower front and 3 rear meshes) were removed and repainted bright silver. They look absolutely stunning and really stand out in the flesh.



After all of that, the car was dropped off with a detailer for the week to have an enhancement detail (as recommended by our resident expert, cheers!) with interior detail, wheel protection, and a gloss black vinyl roof wrap. Once it's all done next weekend, that should finally be the end of the cosmetic mods (final photos to follow). Then it'll be time to enjoy it as the Summer approaches

Performance mods may follow in the future....

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It's finally finished! Just picked it from the detailer, who did a fantastic job. Again, absolutely no affiliation to this business, just want to give praise where it's due. Nick at Detail My Car in Newbury did an enhancement detail with CQuartz coating, interior detail, wheel protection, and the gloss black vinyl wrap on the roof panel. Nick really was superb, sorting out a couple of issues with the wheels and working around my schedule to get it all done.






Obviously cosmetic mods are a personal choice, but I'm extremely pleased with the way it's all come together, from the wheels to the calipers to the mesh kits to the roof etc, plus all the interior mods. Time to enjoy it now, but a big thanks to all those that have worked on it