Reflections on my Bamford Road V8VS upgrade - a year later
Discussion
Hi team
I'm now a year down the track from my full-house BR conversion in January 2020. A friend of mine suggested other PHers might enjoy the video from my time at Bamford Rose, and to learn of my lessons learned and experience gained through such an epic upgrade process. Apologies for the title mistake - can't edit titles once posted, I've found.
To recap, I live in Auckland, New Zealand, had owned a previous 2016 V8VS manual from new, sold it, tried to buy it back, wanted the last of the manual, naturally-aspirated thoroughly sorted V8VS. We found the perfect car at AM Nottingham pre-Christmas 2019 (a late 2017 build, with only 2,500 miles on it - super tight, seemingly never been at speed in her short life to date).
Alternatives were an AMR V8VS manual in full war paint with super low mileage but high priced, plus a couple of 2016 models with low mileage, but wrong colour. I wanted stealth, no badges other than the wings front and rear, and my preference was magnetic silver.
Buying right was the key, as BR upgrade, plus shipping, plus NZ importation costs (registration, Goods & Services tax @15%) would all add up. Also key was a superb UK agent to scrutinise the car (and I mean scrutinise !), finalize the deal, settle funds, and ship around the country (Nottingham to BR, BR to container terminal, prep for export, documentation). My agent used to own a Mercedes franchise in the UK, wouldn't ship the car on low-loader, instead he travelled on my behalf to the car on several occasions and drove it personally to its next location. Then reported back. Oh, and pulled his fees out of AM Nottingham's original vendor's asking price ... His advice? "Buy in cash between Christmas and New Year - short month, needs numbers ...")
After my previous experience working with Mike at BR to install a lightweight flywheel and twin plate clutch into my first V8VS, and then trouble shoot a never-before seen problem with AM recasting the torque tube (in a run-out model? really?) to remove the space required for after-market clutch conversions - bless ! The tube required extensive (and nail-biting) machining of the alloy torque tube to allow the BR clutch mechanism to fit.
Mike's response in our overnight calls was epic - worked the problem, advised the solution, and watched everything from afar. The Aston team at Aston Martin Auckland did the conversion, and worked it all through - no fuss, no drama, done right.
As a result, I learned to trust completely Mike's approach to life, his superb customer service, and his sense of humor, which sits very well with mine.
OK, I thought, we need to revisit the V8VS manual solution, so why not really push the boat out ... That meant I wanted my donor vehicle to be effectively new, to ensure other wear states didn't blunt the upgrade. That would necessarily drive my total investment up, and unless well managed, would mean over-capitalised .... but then, I do that each and every time ....
The BR specification was fulsome:
lightweight flywheel
twinplate clutch
machining torque tube
quick shift modification
exhaust manifolds
stainless steel exhaust system with high flow sports cats, and additional silencer behind each cat
ECU remap to release an additional 50 bhp
N400 air induction system modification
switchable exhaust using OEM backbox
Bilstein switchable suspension, with glass button
BR sports geometry and ride height adjustment
full set Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tyres
I proposed to Mike I'd settle 50% deposit in advance and would settle the balance when I flew up to the UK for a few days to drive her, and sort any issues, prior to shipping. Mike's invoice was very reasonable indeed, and I was able to claim the VAT content of the work back, at export - as I said, a great agent !
My visit to BR was great fun, and my introduction to my new V8Vs was somewhat unique - see video below. Adrian then took me around the Bamford loop, which neatly ran in the engine and suspension and gave the new owner a deep appreciation of the paucity of his own skills !
The car arrived in Auckland in May 2020, slap bang in the middle of New Zealand's complete lockdown. The import agent didn't want to store in a customs warehouse, and his own premises were full, so he arranged through NZ Customs that the car was stored for the duration in my own garage ! UK plates, no NZ registration or fees paid, all a bit of trust all the way round. A truly Kiwi solution.
So, I looked at her every day, and wanted to go to the dance .... I'll admit to one day giving in to temptation, and deciding a quick blat out my drive, up the road, around the the round-about, back down to the bottom round-about, then back under cover ... where's the harm? Just as I got to my gate, blipping away, the only police car I saw for three months drove past and gave me the evil eye - sometimes the universe just talks to you, so my life of crime ceased as quickly as it started, and I crawled back to the coffee pot.
Finally, lockdown ended, and the car was good to go. I paid on-road costs for plates and registration review to ensure fully compliant with NZ vehicle requirements, plus 15% GST on my invoice cost from AM Nottingham, my BR conversion costs (less VAT), my shipping costs, agent's fees plus insurance.
Here's a little gem, Bamford Rose's workmanship was pristine in every respect, and paid off handsomely at the border. The border technical compliance review normally takes a full day. A previous importation of an earlier manual E92 M3 when I returned to NZ from Singapore took us 4 days, and they basically deconstructed the interior, and signed individual body panels before putting it all back together - ugh. To avoid that fate, I paid a little extra for a full-house top-end technical review. Amazingly, it was complete inside 3 hours. We saw the technical notes on the review - "immaculate presentation, as new condition".
So, arrived in Auckland at 4,000 kms on the clock, and has now just passed 16,000 kms.
One small glitch - on my first V8VS, conversion of the Ami III sat nav from UK to NZ simply required a new SD card. Not this time - this time we found the infotainment system had been completely re-engineered (in a run-out model - really?) and now plug-and-play modules as in the new release models. Bad news was the infotainment system was either UK or Rest of World - you guessed it. After a while, I settled down and took the hit.
I've now completed two long road trips in the car. It seems as though its taken this long to fully run in, and by the way, to get the driver's seat just so. Still having glitches in the CarPlay application with GPS losing lock, but that's getting sorted - after tracker was removed, new software uploads, etc etc.
The BR conversion continues to impress each and every day. Just epic. Not a single issue post-upgrade - not one. The engine responsiveness is awesome and getting better and better - full of personality, pugnacious, and the responsiveness to throttle is amazing. Be ready to catch the next gear, as the rush to redline is now phenomenal, and a stuttering dance at the top slows the game ...
The suspension is fully resolved, and so smooth, with body control perfect, in all drive states.
My biggest impression is now how relaxing the car is - odd thing to say, but it all just works perfectly. Utterly unique in these parts, and so understated (at least, on quiet exhaust). Lots of people approach to comment on the car, and she's now so relaxing to drive. Whether I'm driving into the city, or on a long road trip, just very relaxing - upwards of 480 bhp under my foot, but that torque curve is seamless. Initially, I thought the BR geometry setup made it all a little twitchy, but that shifted quickly to a really deep appreciation of how responsive the chassis was in this new state - planted, quick to change direction, thoroughly sorted, and complements the hydraulic steering perfectly. Please understand, I use the car as intended. But so relaxing. Love it.
So, would I do it again? In a heart-beat. Great project, in all respects, and so enjoyable working with Mike, Adrian and the team to generate such a bespoke car. If I didn't have complete confidence, the project could have ended in disaster being 12,000 miles away from support, but instead, I have found a beautiful, seamless, bespoke, and utterly entrancing drive, delivered by people who care, with definitive world-class expertise and knowledge, who thoroughly enjoyed supporting a loon from NZ indulging himself.
Wouldn't change it, for quids.
Click on picture below to activate video
I'm now a year down the track from my full-house BR conversion in January 2020. A friend of mine suggested other PHers might enjoy the video from my time at Bamford Rose, and to learn of my lessons learned and experience gained through such an epic upgrade process. Apologies for the title mistake - can't edit titles once posted, I've found.
To recap, I live in Auckland, New Zealand, had owned a previous 2016 V8VS manual from new, sold it, tried to buy it back, wanted the last of the manual, naturally-aspirated thoroughly sorted V8VS. We found the perfect car at AM Nottingham pre-Christmas 2019 (a late 2017 build, with only 2,500 miles on it - super tight, seemingly never been at speed in her short life to date).
Alternatives were an AMR V8VS manual in full war paint with super low mileage but high priced, plus a couple of 2016 models with low mileage, but wrong colour. I wanted stealth, no badges other than the wings front and rear, and my preference was magnetic silver.
Buying right was the key, as BR upgrade, plus shipping, plus NZ importation costs (registration, Goods & Services tax @15%) would all add up. Also key was a superb UK agent to scrutinise the car (and I mean scrutinise !), finalize the deal, settle funds, and ship around the country (Nottingham to BR, BR to container terminal, prep for export, documentation). My agent used to own a Mercedes franchise in the UK, wouldn't ship the car on low-loader, instead he travelled on my behalf to the car on several occasions and drove it personally to its next location. Then reported back. Oh, and pulled his fees out of AM Nottingham's original vendor's asking price ... His advice? "Buy in cash between Christmas and New Year - short month, needs numbers ...")
After my previous experience working with Mike at BR to install a lightweight flywheel and twin plate clutch into my first V8VS, and then trouble shoot a never-before seen problem with AM recasting the torque tube (in a run-out model? really?) to remove the space required for after-market clutch conversions - bless ! The tube required extensive (and nail-biting) machining of the alloy torque tube to allow the BR clutch mechanism to fit.
Mike's response in our overnight calls was epic - worked the problem, advised the solution, and watched everything from afar. The Aston team at Aston Martin Auckland did the conversion, and worked it all through - no fuss, no drama, done right.
As a result, I learned to trust completely Mike's approach to life, his superb customer service, and his sense of humor, which sits very well with mine.
OK, I thought, we need to revisit the V8VS manual solution, so why not really push the boat out ... That meant I wanted my donor vehicle to be effectively new, to ensure other wear states didn't blunt the upgrade. That would necessarily drive my total investment up, and unless well managed, would mean over-capitalised .... but then, I do that each and every time ....
The BR specification was fulsome:
lightweight flywheel
twinplate clutch
machining torque tube
quick shift modification
exhaust manifolds
stainless steel exhaust system with high flow sports cats, and additional silencer behind each cat
ECU remap to release an additional 50 bhp
N400 air induction system modification
switchable exhaust using OEM backbox
Bilstein switchable suspension, with glass button
BR sports geometry and ride height adjustment
full set Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tyres
I proposed to Mike I'd settle 50% deposit in advance and would settle the balance when I flew up to the UK for a few days to drive her, and sort any issues, prior to shipping. Mike's invoice was very reasonable indeed, and I was able to claim the VAT content of the work back, at export - as I said, a great agent !
My visit to BR was great fun, and my introduction to my new V8Vs was somewhat unique - see video below. Adrian then took me around the Bamford loop, which neatly ran in the engine and suspension and gave the new owner a deep appreciation of the paucity of his own skills !
The car arrived in Auckland in May 2020, slap bang in the middle of New Zealand's complete lockdown. The import agent didn't want to store in a customs warehouse, and his own premises were full, so he arranged through NZ Customs that the car was stored for the duration in my own garage ! UK plates, no NZ registration or fees paid, all a bit of trust all the way round. A truly Kiwi solution.
So, I looked at her every day, and wanted to go to the dance .... I'll admit to one day giving in to temptation, and deciding a quick blat out my drive, up the road, around the the round-about, back down to the bottom round-about, then back under cover ... where's the harm? Just as I got to my gate, blipping away, the only police car I saw for three months drove past and gave me the evil eye - sometimes the universe just talks to you, so my life of crime ceased as quickly as it started, and I crawled back to the coffee pot.
Finally, lockdown ended, and the car was good to go. I paid on-road costs for plates and registration review to ensure fully compliant with NZ vehicle requirements, plus 15% GST on my invoice cost from AM Nottingham, my BR conversion costs (less VAT), my shipping costs, agent's fees plus insurance.
Here's a little gem, Bamford Rose's workmanship was pristine in every respect, and paid off handsomely at the border. The border technical compliance review normally takes a full day. A previous importation of an earlier manual E92 M3 when I returned to NZ from Singapore took us 4 days, and they basically deconstructed the interior, and signed individual body panels before putting it all back together - ugh. To avoid that fate, I paid a little extra for a full-house top-end technical review. Amazingly, it was complete inside 3 hours. We saw the technical notes on the review - "immaculate presentation, as new condition".
So, arrived in Auckland at 4,000 kms on the clock, and has now just passed 16,000 kms.
One small glitch - on my first V8VS, conversion of the Ami III sat nav from UK to NZ simply required a new SD card. Not this time - this time we found the infotainment system had been completely re-engineered (in a run-out model - really?) and now plug-and-play modules as in the new release models. Bad news was the infotainment system was either UK or Rest of World - you guessed it. After a while, I settled down and took the hit.
I've now completed two long road trips in the car. It seems as though its taken this long to fully run in, and by the way, to get the driver's seat just so. Still having glitches in the CarPlay application with GPS losing lock, but that's getting sorted - after tracker was removed, new software uploads, etc etc.
The BR conversion continues to impress each and every day. Just epic. Not a single issue post-upgrade - not one. The engine responsiveness is awesome and getting better and better - full of personality, pugnacious, and the responsiveness to throttle is amazing. Be ready to catch the next gear, as the rush to redline is now phenomenal, and a stuttering dance at the top slows the game ...
The suspension is fully resolved, and so smooth, with body control perfect, in all drive states.
My biggest impression is now how relaxing the car is - odd thing to say, but it all just works perfectly. Utterly unique in these parts, and so understated (at least, on quiet exhaust). Lots of people approach to comment on the car, and she's now so relaxing to drive. Whether I'm driving into the city, or on a long road trip, just very relaxing - upwards of 480 bhp under my foot, but that torque curve is seamless. Initially, I thought the BR geometry setup made it all a little twitchy, but that shifted quickly to a really deep appreciation of how responsive the chassis was in this new state - planted, quick to change direction, thoroughly sorted, and complements the hydraulic steering perfectly. Please understand, I use the car as intended. But so relaxing. Love it.
So, would I do it again? In a heart-beat. Great project, in all respects, and so enjoyable working with Mike, Adrian and the team to generate such a bespoke car. If I didn't have complete confidence, the project could have ended in disaster being 12,000 miles away from support, but instead, I have found a beautiful, seamless, bespoke, and utterly entrancing drive, delivered by people who care, with definitive world-class expertise and knowledge, who thoroughly enjoyed supporting a loon from NZ indulging himself.
Wouldn't change it, for quids.
Click on picture below to activate video
Edited by Seakingsam on Monday 1st March 22:44
Edited by Seakingsam on Monday 1st March 22:47
Edited by Seakingsam on Monday 1st March 23:19
Edited by Seakingsam on Wednesday 3rd March 23:43
Thanks for the write-up and the video, Seakingsam. Very informative, I think.
One minor pointer about the infotainment system to not confuse people: If your previous V8 Vantage S was a MY16, it would have had AMi II, not AMi III. As you are correctly stating they re-engineered the infotainment for MY17 (AMi III). Interesting to hear that a change of module was required - quite expensive, I imagine.
Keep enjoying your beautiful V8 Vantage S!
(and please never ever drive without insurance again)
One minor pointer about the infotainment system to not confuse people: If your previous V8 Vantage S was a MY16, it would have had AMi II, not AMi III. As you are correctly stating they re-engineered the infotainment for MY17 (AMi III). Interesting to hear that a change of module was required - quite expensive, I imagine.
Keep enjoying your beautiful V8 Vantage S!
(and please never ever drive without insurance again)
Hi Emilio, I definitely had Ami III in the first Vantage. The car was new in 2016 but might well have been MY17 in specification.
I purchased the first V8VS in Auckland from Aston Martin Auckland on 26 Nov 2016 and it definitely did have AMi III, not AMI II, as the specification was one of my requirements. In fact, the Vantage had just come out of build at factory only a week or so prior, and had yet to be delivered to the New Zealand dealership. I had identified my specification for the car to the general manager, and he said "where have I seen that exact same specification?" and rustled about on his desk, emerging with that day's factory email and invoice for supply of the new local V8VS manual demonstrator, which was precisely my specification, even down to the colour, wheels and red calipers. The vehicle was fitted with Ami III but without Apple CarPlay software, and was serviced on 31 March 2017 to carry out campaign SA-15-0267V2 being the install of Apple CarPlay software, which took all of 0.2 hour on my invoice ....
Here it is with my current car in the wilds of Rakaia Gorge in South Canterbury
I purchased the first V8VS in Auckland from Aston Martin Auckland on 26 Nov 2016 and it definitely did have AMi III, not AMI II, as the specification was one of my requirements. In fact, the Vantage had just come out of build at factory only a week or so prior, and had yet to be delivered to the New Zealand dealership. I had identified my specification for the car to the general manager, and he said "where have I seen that exact same specification?" and rustled about on his desk, emerging with that day's factory email and invoice for supply of the new local V8VS manual demonstrator, which was precisely my specification, even down to the colour, wheels and red calipers. The vehicle was fitted with Ami III but without Apple CarPlay software, and was serviced on 31 March 2017 to carry out campaign SA-15-0267V2 being the install of Apple CarPlay software, which took all of 0.2 hour on my invoice ....
Here it is with my current car in the wilds of Rakaia Gorge in South Canterbury
Fantastic write up! your car sounds like the perfect road car now, and truly a keeper now that its clear everything is going electric or ugly!
I have just had the BR twinplate clutch and flywheel done, and it is epic. Next year I will be doing the manifolds and ECU tune. Now reading your post, I cannot wait!
I have just had the BR twinplate clutch and flywheel done, and it is epic. Next year I will be doing the manifolds and ECU tune. Now reading your post, I cannot wait!
Beautiful write-up Seakingsam and thank you for sharing.
If there was a video attached I do not see it, only a picture of your Vantage.
Going forward, whenever I think I’ve spent too much on my Vantage I’ll come back to your story and think. “Well at least I didn’t spend as much as that Kiwi Seakingsam!”
Wishing you only the best with your latest bespoke Aston.
If there was a video attached I do not see it, only a picture of your Vantage.
Going forward, whenever I think I’ve spent too much on my Vantage I’ll come back to your story and think. “Well at least I didn’t spend as much as that Kiwi Seakingsam!”
Wishing you only the best with your latest bespoke Aston.
NickXX said:
Excellent write up, thanks!
Did your previous car have the standard V8VS Bilsteins? If so, how did you find these compared to the switchable setup?
Good question, are the BR switchable Bilstein's worth the expense over the normal Bilstein shocks? I'm due to replace mine soon and have the Dynamix shocks on at present.Did your previous car have the standard V8VS Bilsteins? If so, how did you find these compared to the switchable setup?
Edited by BiggaJ on Tuesday 2nd March 16:30
Hi Moonpie
If you click on the photo it opens up as a video of my introduction to the Vantage at Bamford Rose. Turn the sound up!
I had bought the car and paid for it, as well as the BR upgrade, but hadn’t seen it or driven it. So flying in from NZ for the week was a bit of an experience!
If you click on the photo it opens up as a video of my introduction to the Vantage at Bamford Rose. Turn the sound up!
I had bought the car and paid for it, as well as the BR upgrade, but hadn’t seen it or driven it. So flying in from NZ for the week was a bit of an experience!
Hi Nick
My first Vantage had Comfort suspension on it, which was fine at low speeds and around town, but got out of shape at higher open road speeds, with (I think) poor rebound control. Certainly, when pushing on, body control was not optimised and the limitations were readily apparent.
I tried a couple of cars with sport suspension as standard, and that certainly wasn’t right, as low speed daily running was severely compromised. At higher speeds, particularly on NZ B roads, the settings remained harsh, with a sharp thump on larger bumps, which could throw body control.
Bilsteins are rebuildable, so my usual path would be to rebuild to my satisfaction, on a test rig ( which plots the shock resistance through compression and rebound) and go through multiple iterations to get it just so. That’s time consuming and ultimately still compromised somewhere on the curve.
The switchable suspension is damned near perfect as optimised across two regimes, and the ability to simply switch between the two is first rate. Most of my time in the car is necessarily at low speed in urban settings, and the Bilsteins work perfectly in that setting. Then, when pressing on, a mere switch away to a firmer ride. However, if the B road surface is very bumpy, keeping the Bilsteins on soft setting, also allows good progress to be made, with body control remaining very good indeed, which is extremely difficult to achieve. There’s clearly been a great deal of thought in the settings to get it to this state, and I, for one, am delighted.
I’m a born tinkerer, but I’m leaving the switchable Bilsteins well alone, as they are perfect.
Worth the money? Only you can decide, but for my part ( someone for whom all suspension is a compromise somewhere and needs to be sorted) this setup is as good as I’ve experienced in 30 years, and I’m not touching it.
My first Vantage had Comfort suspension on it, which was fine at low speeds and around town, but got out of shape at higher open road speeds, with (I think) poor rebound control. Certainly, when pushing on, body control was not optimised and the limitations were readily apparent.
I tried a couple of cars with sport suspension as standard, and that certainly wasn’t right, as low speed daily running was severely compromised. At higher speeds, particularly on NZ B roads, the settings remained harsh, with a sharp thump on larger bumps, which could throw body control.
Bilsteins are rebuildable, so my usual path would be to rebuild to my satisfaction, on a test rig ( which plots the shock resistance through compression and rebound) and go through multiple iterations to get it just so. That’s time consuming and ultimately still compromised somewhere on the curve.
The switchable suspension is damned near perfect as optimised across two regimes, and the ability to simply switch between the two is first rate. Most of my time in the car is necessarily at low speed in urban settings, and the Bilsteins work perfectly in that setting. Then, when pressing on, a mere switch away to a firmer ride. However, if the B road surface is very bumpy, keeping the Bilsteins on soft setting, also allows good progress to be made, with body control remaining very good indeed, which is extremely difficult to achieve. There’s clearly been a great deal of thought in the settings to get it to this state, and I, for one, am delighted.
I’m a born tinkerer, but I’m leaving the switchable Bilsteins well alone, as they are perfect.
Worth the money? Only you can decide, but for my part ( someone for whom all suspension is a compromise somewhere and needs to be sorted) this setup is as good as I’ve experienced in 30 years, and I’m not touching it.
Seakingsam said:
My first Vantage had Comfort suspension on it, which was fine at low speeds and around town, but got out of shape at higher open road speeds, with (I think) poor rebound control. Certainly, when pushing on, body control was not optimised and the limitations were readily apparent.
Pushing on!
Here in the UK, I can remember pushing on many years ago, although cars then did not have the performance of today.
Now we have to put up with congested roads, poorly maintained road sufaces and speed traps. Unfortunately there is little chance of 'discovering body control was not optimised'.
Five or so seconds of holding full throttle, is often all we get.
BR are based in a good location though, not excessively busy in that area, but New Zealand sounds much better.
Continue to enjoy your car.
Ken Figenus said:
Dewi - lets get you back over the border to flex those ponies a bit ehh; there is room for manouver!
Have almost forgotten what going out is. Anyway there is some hope now, thanks to our very clever scientists.
Our Welsh family links continue, on the wrong side of the Severn Bridge. The latest family member has been named Owen William (surname ending in S). The little lad is more Welsh than me.
Have fun on your trip.
Seakingsam said:
The switchable suspension is damned near perfect as optimised across two regimes, and the ability to simply switch between the two is first rate. Most of my time in the car is necessarily at low speed in urban settings, and the Bilsteins work perfectly in that setting. Then, when pressing on, a mere switch away to a firmer ride. However, if the B road surface is very bumpy, keeping the Bilsteins on soft setting, also allows good progress to be made, with body control remaining very good indeed, which is extremely difficult to achieve. There’s clearly been a great deal of thought in the settings to get it to this state, and I, for one, am delighted.
I’m a born tinkerer, but I’m leaving the switchable Bilsteins well alone, as they are perfect.
Worth the money? Only you can decide, but for my part ( someone for whom all suspension is a compromise somewhere and needs to be sorted) this setup is as good as I’ve experienced in 30 years, and I’m not touching it.
Excellent - thank you for this. I suspect that I would be happy with the normal Bilsteins 95% of the time, but the adjustables seem very well regarded and cover every situation. The things that bug me about the Dynamics suspension on the 4.3 is that it can be crashy at low speeds (oddly), and the pogoing at high speeds - if the normal V8VS Bilsteins can solve both of those issues, then I'll just go with them. I’m a born tinkerer, but I’m leaving the switchable Bilsteins well alone, as they are perfect.
Worth the money? Only you can decide, but for my part ( someone for whom all suspension is a compromise somewhere and needs to be sorted) this setup is as good as I’ve experienced in 30 years, and I’m not touching it.
NickXX said:
Excellent - thank you for this. I suspect that I would be happy with the normal Bilsteins 95% of the time, but the adjustables seem very well regarded and cover every situation. The things that bug me about the Dynamics suspension on the 4.3 is that it can be crashy at low speeds (oddly), and the pogoing at high speeds - if the normal V8VS Bilsteins can solve both of those issues, then I'll just go with them.
This would be my take on going with a Bilstein upgrade over the Dynamics. Hence, why I asked and wonder how I could warrant the extra expense of the adjustable BR versions.BiggaJ said:
This would be my take on going with a Bilstein upgrade over the Dynamics. Hence, why I asked and wonder how I could warrant the extra expense of the adjustable BR versions.
Anyone know what the difference in cost is? Upgrade to passive Bilsteins versus BR adjustable adaptive Bilstein setup.BiggaJ said:
This would be my take on going with a Bilstein upgrade over the Dynamics. Hence, why I asked and wonder how I could warrant the extra expense of the adjustable BR versions.
Having spoken to Mike at BR, it's mostly fussy passengers that benefit most from the adaptive setup. I guess it depends on how bad the roads are where you live, and/or how often you are driving with a passenger. I'm still undecided as it would be nice to have a very comfortable set up for long journeys, and I do the odd track day where the stiffer setting might be preferable. I have some time to decide yet as my Dynamics dampers have been replaced at some point in the car's life, so still have some mileage left in them.Gassing Station | Aston Martin | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff