My Vantage Reborn
Discussion
Having only joined the Aston fraternity 3 months to the day, I have to say that I started to wonder if I made the right decision. After the initial rush of “I have an Aston”, living with ASM 1 especially in London was beginning to grate on me. Didn’t want to drive it around town: burning clutch smell, clutch overheat in traffice, hopping during stop/start traffic, etc…
But all that changed on Friday. Now there is no way that I will be getting rid of the V8VR now that the guys at Bamford Rose have given me a clutch that she deserves and should have left the factory with.
It has totally transformed the way she drives – this is not an over exaggeration at all. D mode is such a pleasure, to the point that I hardly went into manual mode over the last 24 hours. And when you shift with the paddles, wow!! It’s so smooooth now and lightning quick.
In D – kickdown was unreal, depending on how far you push down, from 6th to 3rd in a heartbeat, let me do what I wanted as quickly as I wanted. Phenomenal! And when I et off the pedal it I didn’t even feel it move effortlessly back into 6th through the gears.
In Manual – taking up until the first sign of a red 1, then 2, then 3 was so satisfying, without the revs having a chance to drop like they previously did. And likewise, dropping back to 1st. Effortless without tensing my body preparing for a forward/backward motion of past experiences with the old clutch.
No more horrible burn smells or jerky driving that got lots of attention in my first 3 months.
I was in two minds of posting this as Mike, Adrian and the team get so much praise, but it really is a huge transformation that has revived my faith in running an Aston as a DD in London, and I had to share this. In recent years, it takes a lot for me to get excited about anything, and this has me smiling again. Any Vantage owner who is reading this and has a standard ASM, please go and do this. It is the best money I have spent in a long time.
Exceptional engineering and service. I can’t thank the guys enough for the enjoyment i've had in these 24 hours and 400 miles.
But all that changed on Friday. Now there is no way that I will be getting rid of the V8VR now that the guys at Bamford Rose have given me a clutch that she deserves and should have left the factory with.
It has totally transformed the way she drives – this is not an over exaggeration at all. D mode is such a pleasure, to the point that I hardly went into manual mode over the last 24 hours. And when you shift with the paddles, wow!! It’s so smooooth now and lightning quick.
In D – kickdown was unreal, depending on how far you push down, from 6th to 3rd in a heartbeat, let me do what I wanted as quickly as I wanted. Phenomenal! And when I et off the pedal it I didn’t even feel it move effortlessly back into 6th through the gears.
In Manual – taking up until the first sign of a red 1, then 2, then 3 was so satisfying, without the revs having a chance to drop like they previously did. And likewise, dropping back to 1st. Effortless without tensing my body preparing for a forward/backward motion of past experiences with the old clutch.
No more horrible burn smells or jerky driving that got lots of attention in my first 3 months.
I was in two minds of posting this as Mike, Adrian and the team get so much praise, but it really is a huge transformation that has revived my faith in running an Aston as a DD in London, and I had to share this. In recent years, it takes a lot for me to get excited about anything, and this has me smiling again. Any Vantage owner who is reading this and has a standard ASM, please go and do this. It is the best money I have spent in a long time.
Exceptional engineering and service. I can’t thank the guys enough for the enjoyment i've had in these 24 hours and 400 miles.
I guess you now know why I go on about my V8S so much. Next thing to do which is a must is the switchable suspension. You then have the best of both Worlds, a GT and a tenacious road warrior. About Christmas time get BR to sort out your manifolds , you have a lot of untapped horsepower going to waist.
Molly/Rob - I can now see why the rave reviews. Indeed - the next stage is in the making - Mike asked me to live with the car for a little while and then come back to discuss what I felt was more important after being able to enjoy the new clutch, suspension, brakes or performance. Decisions, decisions, decisions...
Ads - lightened fly wheel and twin plate clutch. Like I said, best investment I have made - and totaly changed my view on Astons. There is more in the post below and the forum has some pics somehwere of the difference but I couldnt find it.
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=122...
Ads - lightened fly wheel and twin plate clutch. Like I said, best investment I have made - and totaly changed my view on Astons. There is more in the post below and the forum has some pics somehwere of the difference but I couldnt find it.
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=122...
Gassing Station | Aston Martin | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff