Newbie with some questions V8V vs. V8Vs
Discussion
Greetings to all fortunate V8 Vantage owners and enthusiasts from a 'newbie' aspiring to join the ranks soon!
Seems a bit weird being a Newbie again as I've been active on the different forums for quite a few years now. Still active concerning my Mk2 RS2000 and a recently completed Stag, but no longer active at the upper end of the bhp scale since selling my pristine F348GTS about a year ago after 11 years ownership.
Having looked at potential successors, the choice seems to be narrowing down to a Vantage V8 and I hope someone might excuse any blunders I make in asking possibly "dumb" questions!
Specifically at the moment I have two pre-owned's in my sights, both MY2016 ex-demonstrators, one a Vantage and one a Vantage S; both Sportshift II. I've test driven the Vantage S but not the non-S. Despite trawling the Interweb, I've not really got the answers I need to pin the choice down. The Vantage ticks all of the options boxes that I want, but the 'S' beckons too. The Vantage salesman says the difference to the 'S' is negligible, the 'S' salesman obviously highlights the differences, notably louder exhaust note, quicker shifts, tighter handling, more torque etc.
To be honest, my Track Day years are behind me so I'm not looking for ultimates in terms of shifts and handling, but a raspy exhaust note is obligatory - the more the merrier!
Maybe someone who knows the differences intimately can help out?
Thanks in advance
Cheers
Drew
Seems a bit weird being a Newbie again as I've been active on the different forums for quite a few years now. Still active concerning my Mk2 RS2000 and a recently completed Stag, but no longer active at the upper end of the bhp scale since selling my pristine F348GTS about a year ago after 11 years ownership.
Having looked at potential successors, the choice seems to be narrowing down to a Vantage V8 and I hope someone might excuse any blunders I make in asking possibly "dumb" questions!
Specifically at the moment I have two pre-owned's in my sights, both MY2016 ex-demonstrators, one a Vantage and one a Vantage S; both Sportshift II. I've test driven the Vantage S but not the non-S. Despite trawling the Interweb, I've not really got the answers I need to pin the choice down. The Vantage ticks all of the options boxes that I want, but the 'S' beckons too. The Vantage salesman says the difference to the 'S' is negligible, the 'S' salesman obviously highlights the differences, notably louder exhaust note, quicker shifts, tighter handling, more torque etc.
To be honest, my Track Day years are behind me so I'm not looking for ultimates in terms of shifts and handling, but a raspy exhaust note is obligatory - the more the merrier!
Maybe someone who knows the differences intimately can help out?
Thanks in advance
Cheers
Drew
Fast reply!
I pressed the button on the guide purchase yesterday after reading about it here. regarding the exhaust, the non 'S' dealer did actually say that, if I were desperate, he can fit the 'S' system at a price. Is it simply that straightforward? I see that the easy way to more exhaust crackle is fuse 15?
Drew
I pressed the button on the guide purchase yesterday after reading about it here. regarding the exhaust, the non 'S' dealer did actually say that, if I were desperate, he can fit the 'S' system at a price. Is it simply that straightforward? I see that the easy way to more exhaust crackle is fuse 15?
Drew
Good point about the carbon bits. The irony is that the 'S' is a bit cheaper than the non-S. It's 6 months older but that's not a problem. Both are Ultramarine and the 'S' has a black interior which makes the whole thing just a bit too 'Darth Vader' for my liking. The non-S has a light grey leather interior and SWMBO likes that!
Drew
Drew
I guess whether colour combinations look old or ugly is probably a matter for the individual beholder. The price of the 'official' AM sports exhaust sounds - relatively seen - almost reasonable.
Apart from the exhaust, 10bhp and wavy lined stitching on the 'S' seats, are there any 'S' differences which I'd notice on a Friday afternoon on the M25 at Heathrow?
Cheers
Drew
Apart from the exhaust, 10bhp and wavy lined stitching on the 'S' seats, are there any 'S' differences which I'd notice on a Friday afternoon on the M25 at Heathrow?
Cheers
Drew
Thanks for all the replies so far. I managed to find these pages from Aston Martin by going via Google - couldn't find them by navigating Aston Martin website direct.
Unfortunately, it doesn't give any clues as to whether there are country-specific differences, but the pages do show the closing of the gap between S and non-S. Steering the same, drive ratios the same, wheels the same etc.
http://www.astonmartin.com/en-us/cars/the-vantage-...
http://www.astonmartin.com/en-us/cars/the-vantage-...
It mentions that he 'S' has a sports exhaust with different valve mapping. Sounds a bit like techno-babble for "the exhaust flaps open earlier, Brian!"
Interesting also the pages on original accessories like the sports exhaust:
http://www.astonmartin.com/en/accessories/v8-vanta...
If you refresh the page in your browser, the price in £ incl. VAT appears for a second before getting hidden again!
It looks like I don't have to be too afraid of buying a lame duck with the non-S in the 2016 version!
Any views on Ultramarine? I imagine it looks very subtly sparkling in sunlight but there ain't much of that around at the moment here!
Cheers
Drew
Unfortunately, it doesn't give any clues as to whether there are country-specific differences, but the pages do show the closing of the gap between S and non-S. Steering the same, drive ratios the same, wheels the same etc.
http://www.astonmartin.com/en-us/cars/the-vantage-...
http://www.astonmartin.com/en-us/cars/the-vantage-...
It mentions that he 'S' has a sports exhaust with different valve mapping. Sounds a bit like techno-babble for "the exhaust flaps open earlier, Brian!"
Interesting also the pages on original accessories like the sports exhaust:
http://www.astonmartin.com/en/accessories/v8-vanta...
If you refresh the page in your browser, the price in £ incl. VAT appears for a second before getting hidden again!
It looks like I don't have to be too afraid of buying a lame duck with the non-S in the 2016 version!
Any views on Ultramarine? I imagine it looks very subtly sparkling in sunlight but there ain't much of that around at the moment here!
Cheers
Drew
gibbon said:
The big difference for the 's' were larger, better brakes, wider wheels, a quicker steering rack, different airbox and exhaust back box, carbon trim and 's' stitching, different damping and spring rates.
All but the airbox and stitching can be spec'd onto a non 's', so the rest is down to the specific car. This is true of the 2012 model year onwards, which before the infotainment and dash changes of this year, were the last model changes.
Interesting. The Aston Martin sites above (click on TECHNICAL) show that steering, brakes and wheels are identical between S and non-S. It doesn't quote the build year of the Vanatges described, but the interior picks show the MY2016 centre console touch switches. It actually does look like the 2016 models all got the 'S' steering, brakes and tyres.All but the airbox and stitching can be spec'd onto a non 's', so the rest is down to the specific car. This is true of the 2012 model year onwards, which before the infotainment and dash changes of this year, were the last model changes.
hashluck said:
Ultramarine Black goes from looking very black on a cloudy day to very blue under showroom lighting.
In some lights the blue looks almost like a flat paint (and by that I mean it looks good, different). When the sun shines it really comes alive and sparkles
It is overall more (dark) blue than black. I love it!
Sounds great and exactly what I had hoped for! Thanks!In some lights the blue looks almost like a flat paint (and by that I mean it looks good, different). When the sun shines it really comes alive and sparkles
It is overall more (dark) blue than black. I love it!
Thanks again for all of the replies and the enthusiasm which exudes from them!
Aston Martins aren't exactly flooding the German market and the dealers themselves are few and far apart. I must admit to having boxes to tick which aren't the traditional "supercar" ones which might be expected. The biggest drawback is that I'm not in to 'metal' coloured cars (i.e. anything from silver to dark grey). As must be clear, this radically reduces the number of Aston Martin candidates! If I then add my trademark colour (blue) to the equation (Yes, my F348 was blue and it took ages to find it!) then we get a feeling for the number of choices.
The two cars which are in the gunsights are in Hamburg and Stuttgart. That's the equivalent of Plymouth and Edinburgh. Dealers close at midday on Saturday for the weekend and I'm unfortunately tied to a desk Mo-Fr for a few more months. (The Vantage is a sort of early retirement prezzie to myself!)
If I add to that that the CFO doen't want to sit in a car with Rallye Stripes, then that escludes a few N430 Sports Pack Astons which would otherwise be on the cards.
The pre-owned prices in Germany are all over the place; dealers have 0km cars on their forecourts for a year, some are trying to get rid of them and reducing the price every two weeks, some are still advertising at list. Some movement has just started as the dealers receive their MY 2017 demonstrators, and Aston Martin themselves seem to have just released a batch of demonstrators to the dealers. Interestingly, they sometimes come on a UK plate with previous owner Gaydon UK although German spec. The spread of prices reflects this rarity and geography and can't really be related to hidden bad news. At the moment, there are dealers who want to move their forecourt and others without a free cash flow problem who are willing to sit it out.
I am inherently a manual driver and they're very rare here. However, after the drive in the S Sportshift I'm really taken by it. Like I said, my days of thrashing it out on the Österreichring or A1 Ring are behind me. To be frank, if I were looking for those sort of wheels I'd probably have been moving in the direction of an R8 or 911. (OK, I've got the soap ready and will wash my mouth out as soon as I've finished typing).
Aston Martin is unashamedly for me style, elegance, kudos and a bit of British understatement without side intakes and rear wings.
I feel from the replies that I won't be disappointed with a non 'S', but I'm keeping all searches open!
Cheers
Drew
Aston Martins aren't exactly flooding the German market and the dealers themselves are few and far apart. I must admit to having boxes to tick which aren't the traditional "supercar" ones which might be expected. The biggest drawback is that I'm not in to 'metal' coloured cars (i.e. anything from silver to dark grey). As must be clear, this radically reduces the number of Aston Martin candidates! If I then add my trademark colour (blue) to the equation (Yes, my F348 was blue and it took ages to find it!) then we get a feeling for the number of choices.
The two cars which are in the gunsights are in Hamburg and Stuttgart. That's the equivalent of Plymouth and Edinburgh. Dealers close at midday on Saturday for the weekend and I'm unfortunately tied to a desk Mo-Fr for a few more months. (The Vantage is a sort of early retirement prezzie to myself!)
If I add to that that the CFO doen't want to sit in a car with Rallye Stripes, then that escludes a few N430 Sports Pack Astons which would otherwise be on the cards.
The pre-owned prices in Germany are all over the place; dealers have 0km cars on their forecourts for a year, some are trying to get rid of them and reducing the price every two weeks, some are still advertising at list. Some movement has just started as the dealers receive their MY 2017 demonstrators, and Aston Martin themselves seem to have just released a batch of demonstrators to the dealers. Interestingly, they sometimes come on a UK plate with previous owner Gaydon UK although German spec. The spread of prices reflects this rarity and geography and can't really be related to hidden bad news. At the moment, there are dealers who want to move their forecourt and others without a free cash flow problem who are willing to sit it out.
I am inherently a manual driver and they're very rare here. However, after the drive in the S Sportshift I'm really taken by it. Like I said, my days of thrashing it out on the Österreichring or A1 Ring are behind me. To be frank, if I were looking for those sort of wheels I'd probably have been moving in the direction of an R8 or 911. (OK, I've got the soap ready and will wash my mouth out as soon as I've finished typing).
Aston Martin is unashamedly for me style, elegance, kudos and a bit of British understatement without side intakes and rear wings.
I feel from the replies that I won't be disappointed with a non 'S', but I'm keeping all searches open!
Cheers
Drew
Rather rude of me not to have posted after having received such good advice. That Aston Martin book is definitely the dog's dangly bits, albeit a bit unusual to navigate. After weighing up all the pros and cons and, quite frankly, having been seduced by the light leather interior, I pulled the trigger on the Ultramarine non-S. It's about 8 months old so seems to have all of the updates with the exception of the MY17 ones which I don't particularly like anyway.
Haven't picked it up yet as weather and work have been rather inclement of late - probably pick it up in January. Managed to nudge the price down ever so slightly and got the first annual service thrown in. It's an ex works vehicle so I hope Clarkson's bum hasn't been on the seats.
I'm amazed that the series equipment is so opulent - adding all those "extras" to an Audi TT (just a paper exercise!) to get near the Vantage spec got the two prices alarmingly near to one another! Must work over Christmas in the garage to get the Escort RS off the ramp so the Vantage can fit in and am daily scanning number plates available from the licensing centre to find something suitable. The county letters are obligatory here, but for the number itself I've reserved DB5 and N430 at the moment!
Cheers
Drew
Haven't picked it up yet as weather and work have been rather inclement of late - probably pick it up in January. Managed to nudge the price down ever so slightly and got the first annual service thrown in. It's an ex works vehicle so I hope Clarkson's bum hasn't been on the seats.
I'm amazed that the series equipment is so opulent - adding all those "extras" to an Audi TT (just a paper exercise!) to get near the Vantage spec got the two prices alarmingly near to one another! Must work over Christmas in the garage to get the Escort RS off the ramp so the Vantage can fit in and am daily scanning number plates available from the licensing centre to find something suitable. The county letters are obligatory here, but for the number itself I've reserved DB5 and N430 at the moment!
Cheers
Drew
Thanks. I actually am the author of "How to post a picture" on another forum! I missed that button as it disappears when you've posted. It seems that you only get one shot on this forum and you can't edit to attach pictures once the deed is done?
edit: forget that remark! I just put on my specs and can see the edit button!
I'll go for 800 x 800 max size as that's what vBulletin seems to like. Is there no "instructions" thread on this forum?
Cheers
Drew![](http://thumbsnap.com/sc/66I0rtfv.jpg[/img]</a> <a href="http://thumbsnap.com/ePwNbz2W" Target="_blank" rel="nofollow">[img]http://thumbsnap.com/sc/ePwNbz2W.jpg)
edit: forget that remark! I just put on my specs and can see the edit button!
I'll go for 800 x 800 max size as that's what vBulletin seems to like. Is there no "instructions" thread on this forum?
Cheers
Drew
Edited by dasadrew on Saturday 10th December 19:53
Well, I wonder how many have been thinking "another dreamer, this dasadrew. I bet he never really bought the car" ! I actually did finally pick up the car in February, drove it home, and then we got one of the worst and longest winters imaginable. Only the occasional glimpse of dry roads and sunshine and usually on a working day. Finally got the beast out of the garage, took some photos, and went to see if I could lose my license!
I'm stunned by the torque and have already been thankful on two occasions on dry roads for the ESP. How sad, I know. The bhp isn't really in another league to my old 348 GTS but the difference is far more than I expected. The nearest Autobahn is only a 25 minute drive away and the nice Bavarian government has been so kind as to have that stretch without any speed limit.
Complaints? Yep. The interior is so quiet and sound-deadened that I have to drive with open windows to listen to the sound! Still, SWMBO will like that particular creature comfort.
Temperatures are up over 30°C at the moment and yesterday, after blowing some cobwebs out of the car, I parked it in the garage having not been very kind to the car and having let it cool off a bit on the final run. In the silence of the garage I could then hear how fluid (water) was somehow dripping onto the fiery hot exhaust and making a steady "tsish" sound. Anyone any ideas? I'm hoping in the direction that maybe some water was pressed out of the windscreen jets and was dripping down through some pathway. Definitely no smell of fuel or oil.
Cheers
Drew
I'm stunned by the torque and have already been thankful on two occasions on dry roads for the ESP. How sad, I know. The bhp isn't really in another league to my old 348 GTS but the difference is far more than I expected. The nearest Autobahn is only a 25 minute drive away and the nice Bavarian government has been so kind as to have that stretch without any speed limit.
Complaints? Yep. The interior is so quiet and sound-deadened that I have to drive with open windows to listen to the sound! Still, SWMBO will like that particular creature comfort.
Temperatures are up over 30°C at the moment and yesterday, after blowing some cobwebs out of the car, I parked it in the garage having not been very kind to the car and having let it cool off a bit on the final run. In the silence of the garage I could then hear how fluid (water) was somehow dripping onto the fiery hot exhaust and making a steady "tsish" sound. Anyone any ideas? I'm hoping in the direction that maybe some water was pressed out of the windscreen jets and was dripping down through some pathway. Definitely no smell of fuel or oil.
Cheers
Drew
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