My new Vantage S Roadster

[mikey k]

520 miles on the clock!
3rd tank of fuel
But my first decent drive round N Wales in some great weather
I absolutely love this car
Sounds great (even without the sport button in) corners on rails and turns in exactly where I point it.
Its all diry now


Astons & Horshoes 074 by mikey k V8VR, on Flickr


Astons & Horshoes 069 by mikey k V8VR, on Flickr

[mikey k]

I've always done it on ALL my cars and never damaged a projector, wiring loom or head light unit.
How much time do you spend with the lights on main beam
I did find they made a difference last night as others have pointed out the AM light "throw" is not great anyway.

[mikey k]

Right - off for a blast over the Cat & Fiddle whilst its not raining.

[mikey k]

I ENJOYED that
Stopped off in Monks Heath Prestige Motors to look at their collection of cars for sale but nothing really struck me. Gallardo seats are waaaaaay too high for me and theres absolutely no storage
(599, 599GTB, 430, Gallardo spider, new Morgan, 997 turbo S convertible, 458 :drool: )
Had a nice chat to the owner though - he knows his ferraris & porkers!
Managed a nice blast over the Cat & Fiddle (even with the averaging cameras )
Down to Leek and back over to Macclesfield.
The S is ALOT quicker than my old sports pack car, overtakes are much quicker. ASM2 must have something to do with this as it only has 10 BHP more at the engine.
I find myself driving every where with the "giggle" button in, it makes the throttle so much nicer and of course does something to the noise
Only side effect is it encourages you to leave it in a low gear to listen to the gurgling and popping on the over run.
It is not too happy pulling away with the "giggle" button in though - I don't like clutch smells
"Hill assist" also needs to have the "giggle" button off to work with out slipping the clutch.
Managed to set off the traction control on one bend and then got it airborne shortly after

That's another layer of dirty added, a few more and I'll wash it

[mikey k]

Hi Graham did think about it but got distracted by a couple of hours with the "giggle" button in
Weathers looking good so time for another coat of dirty me thinks

Edited by mikey k on Sunday 6th November 10:50

[mikey k]

Bit of a not so good update after 1200 miles & just over 3 months

Came back from meeting Molly & Rob at the EVO shoot a week ago last Thursday.
Vowed to clean it ASAP as it had salt all over it.
Tried to start it on Monday to pressure wash it and it didn't even drop the windows. Battery voltage was 8.3V
Charged it over night with two trickle charges, still didn't want to start
I jump started it, put some load on it and left it running for 40 minutes whilst I cleaned it.
Backed it in to the garage and switched it off. The damn thing then refused to start again. 9.2V on the battery
So I left it open/alarm off with two trickle chargers on until this afternoon.
Checked the voltage 13.2V GAME ON!
Opened the door to get in and the usual pump noise slowed in speed as I got in (What is that pump?) not a good sign.
ECU in ignition - absolutely nothing! Checked voltage 7.8V
So it flattened an apparently fully charged battery in 20 seconds

I will be calling Wilmslow tomorrow for them to recover it

The most annoying thing?
It was EXACTLY the same fault that prompted me to get rid of my last one.
I'm beginning to think there is something about the way I use Astons that kills them
And I suspect I know what it is but will leave judgement until Wilmslow have looked at it.

[mikey k]

bogie said:

do you keep it on a battery conditioner ? ...maybe worth getting one plumbed in ...mines permantly in the boot compartment so I just plug it in whenever its in the garage longer than 24 hours

Always on the AM trickle charger, never spends more than 2-3 days off it.
It's been on two since Tuesday

[mikey k]

Mr Noble said:

How do you mean on two? Doesn't sound like a good plan to me to have two chargers on the same battery

I do have two trickle chargers and have used them both this last week to get it charged back up.
AM/Ctek one plugged in to the boot and another I have on the terminals in the engine bay.
Not sure why or how that would be a problem?
They charged it to normal voltage this week.
But something drains it flat again in seconds when you go to start it.

On a 3 month old car I'm not messing around trying to find the problem.
The dealers can recover it and sort it out

[mikey k]

Thanks Molly

Mr Noble - On is the AM branded Ctek unit and the other a similar size one I had from my last car. As our learned Jock says they are both "intelligent" so ought to go in to pulse mode when they have recharged it.

Jockman - you may be right on the earth, I have a couple of other suspects No one is going near my car to wash it other than me

Just checked back up to 12V so I'll try and start it in a bit before I call them out to recover it!

[mikey k]

You may be right especially by the time it gets to the dealers.
They want me to call AM assist rather than deal with it.

[mikey k]

In fairness they aren't a recovery service but you would have thought they would have made the effort to assist!

[mikey k]

Ey up Pie! How's the V8 Cobra kit coming along?

V12VR

Going to call AM assist tomorrow as I'm at home all day.

[mikey k]

Pie n Chips said:

mikey k said:

Ey up Pie! How's the V8 Cobra kit coming along?

Slowly mate, haven't touched it in over 3 months, due to my back. TBH I think it will be going to pastures new soon, Fil's got his eye on an MGB roadster

Sorry to hear the back is still playing up!
At least if you go for the MGB you will have a V8 to put in it

[mikey k]

Finally got round to calling AM Assist (the AA ) he was with me in 20 minutes.
Explained the history showing him the battery going flat as you open the door.
He was a little surprised
Plugged his booster in & moved the seat to discover a "goosed" battery.
Wifey says "what does that mean"
He locked it up to see what the "sleeping" mode battery drain was, apparently normal at 0.8 Amps so no obvious signs of an earth leak.
Hooked it up to his van and jumped it, starting first time.
Agreed to drive it to Wilmslow with him behind.
It did keep doing xmas tree light demonstrations with the dash on the way over
Dealer only just managed to get the roof down and CF seat forward to check the battery.
"Never ever seen one go that dead before sir!"
Replacement going in as we speak and a drain test to be done in the next few days.
The AA guy, the dealer and I all suspect the dead battery is a symptom rather than the cause. Lets see what the drain test finds.

Cheered myself up by going next door and clambering over Maserati's, 430 Scuderia's and 458's

[mikey k]

V8 Animal said:

If you like these mate consider joining http://www.supercardriver.com/

Cheers
Paul

Now that looks like a great idea!

[mikey k]

Dealers have fitted a new battery (old one had 2 dead cells)
They tell me there are no other issues
I'm yet to be convinced a battery that has been fine for 3 months from new will suddenly lose 2 cells.
I still suspect there is a underlying cause
ie something that continually drains the battery enough that 2 trickle chargers cannot compete

[mikey k]

Jockman said:

mikey k said:

...ie something that continually drains the battery enough that 2 trickle chargers cannot compete

+1 Mr K.

However, your only option now is to suck it and see.

You know where I am if you feel the need to sniff a V12 engine....I do of course mean that with the utmost sincerity and integrity

Why thank you
The resident photographer actually agreed to one of these this evening

http://pistonheads.com/sales/3021872.htm

They had better come up with a V12VR

Edited by mikey k on Saturday 18th February 10:14

[mikey k]

Picked it back up today.
15mA average on the drain test (which is bleow the 20mA threshold set by the factory)
2 dead cells of the 6 on the battery, hence it only held 8 volts
Nice to be back in it and working properly.
I love that sound!
Dealer managed to create another rattle rather than cure the two I pointed out

[mikey k]

Jockman said:

Would that be the same dealer you didn't buy the car from ??

Quelle Surprise

Yep they've had a supervisor shuffle in the service depot

[mikey k]

The weather was too good this afternoon not to!
Went or a blast across Cheshire roof down
Started first time - no issues - all is good
(other than the unfixed rattles)