Kermit’s Evolution pt3
Discussion
Kermit is now over 4 years old and I have cherished every day of ownership, albeit last year due to lockdown was somewhat more limited in use, I have however now clocked up almost 9000 miles.
Some of the longer term members here will recall my spec thread, where I debated long and hard over the colour and detailed specification of many items, engaging Q on various custom ideas, some of which made it through to the final spec, and some of which didn’t - <Kermit Original Spec thread>
After a long wait, Kermit finally arrived - I had been lucky enough to get my hands on a set of V12 Zagato wheels during the spec deliberations, so these were put on shortly after delivery to the dealership and before delivery to me. I also opted to fit the AM supplied QS secondary cat bypass pipes before delivery, but more on that in a minute - <Kermit Green V12 Vantage S Dogleg Manual>.
Then around 10 months later, the AMR range of accessories were announced and I rather quickly decided to put the AMR Aerokit onto him, and have never regretted it for one minute. It transformed his looks overnight and Killer Kermit (pt2) was born - <Kermit Evolves into Killer Kermit>
Although I have had the QS steel bypass pipes fitted from day1, which have made Kermit sound extra meaty, and certainly represent amazing bang for the buck, I have always had a hankering for the full AMR Performance Pack to take Kermit to the OEM Evolution maxium output, but have always put it off, feeling I couldn’t the cost really. However a couple of weeks ago I decided that life is too short, and you are dead a very long time, so why not!
So today I am pleased to say Kermit, has commenced his 3rd stage metamorphosis.
AM Leeds are fitting the AMR Performance Pack 2, together with the valved airboxes which were missing from my spec, to take him to the full GT12 595bhp output. The valved airboxes were actually spec deleted from MY17 and only added back in with the "Sport Pack Plus" option, which I did not want when I was specing him up due to limited choice of colours and trim available as part of that option.
Performance Pack 2 includes Titanium secondary bypass pipes in addition to the full Titanium exhaust, so the QS steel bypass pipes previously fitted will now be fitted to our AMR Rapide soon afterwards as a bonus upgrade!
There will be little to see in the way of pics, other that the new Carbon Fibre rear diffuser blade as most of the change is either audible, weight savings or increased / improved power and torque delivery.
I will post more when collect him hopefully tomorrow, possibly Weds.
Some of the longer term members here will recall my spec thread, where I debated long and hard over the colour and detailed specification of many items, engaging Q on various custom ideas, some of which made it through to the final spec, and some of which didn’t - <Kermit Original Spec thread>
After a long wait, Kermit finally arrived - I had been lucky enough to get my hands on a set of V12 Zagato wheels during the spec deliberations, so these were put on shortly after delivery to the dealership and before delivery to me. I also opted to fit the AM supplied QS secondary cat bypass pipes before delivery, but more on that in a minute - <Kermit Green V12 Vantage S Dogleg Manual>.
Then around 10 months later, the AMR range of accessories were announced and I rather quickly decided to put the AMR Aerokit onto him, and have never regretted it for one minute. It transformed his looks overnight and Killer Kermit (pt2) was born - <Kermit Evolves into Killer Kermit>
Although I have had the QS steel bypass pipes fitted from day1, which have made Kermit sound extra meaty, and certainly represent amazing bang for the buck, I have always had a hankering for the full AMR Performance Pack to take Kermit to the OEM Evolution maxium output, but have always put it off, feeling I couldn’t the cost really. However a couple of weeks ago I decided that life is too short, and you are dead a very long time, so why not!
So today I am pleased to say Kermit, has commenced his 3rd stage metamorphosis.
AM Leeds are fitting the AMR Performance Pack 2, together with the valved airboxes which were missing from my spec, to take him to the full GT12 595bhp output. The valved airboxes were actually spec deleted from MY17 and only added back in with the "Sport Pack Plus" option, which I did not want when I was specing him up due to limited choice of colours and trim available as part of that option.
Performance Pack 2 includes Titanium secondary bypass pipes in addition to the full Titanium exhaust, so the QS steel bypass pipes previously fitted will now be fitted to our AMR Rapide soon afterwards as a bonus upgrade!
There will be little to see in the way of pics, other that the new Carbon Fibre rear diffuser blade as most of the change is either audible, weight savings or increased / improved power and torque delivery.
I will post more when collect him hopefully tomorrow, possibly Weds.
So, I'm back home having taken him for a decent spin. 
OK, so to recap on the changes before I write up the differences I have observed so far...
AMR Performance Pack 2
Noise
Without doubt the biggest change is the noise! Wow, it is BRUTAL now, that's the only word for it. A couple of years ago I test drove AM Leeds V12VS SSIII demo with the Performance Pack fitted. At the time Kermit had the QS bypass pipes on and Fuse 15 removed and I think I said then I felt the QS pipes gave about 85% of the noise increase. Well Im not sure if that was just because of the newness of the demo car (most likely theory I think), but Kermit now has almost 9000 miles and the difference is night and day. Fuse 15 is still removed on the Titanium exhaust too and I think it is at least 30% louder and my mrs said 50% louder just now on the run out. There is also a fair bit more pops and crackles on the overrun. A big difference anyway, whatever figure one tries to put to it, it is VERY noticeable. So much so, I think I'm going to buy a cccharger!
Performance
I think if definitely feels more free revving, and most noticeably in the mid range. It was the rapid way the engine revs up that struck me far more than any definitive amount of increased power or torque really.
Handling
This one surprised me as I wasn't, now it could be the improved power delivery that I am mistaking for deftness, but the car feels noticeably lighter in the way it handles and seems to get the power down. I would say this is more noticeable than the power, but it is entirely possible the power is influencing my thinking here and making me feel like it was weight savings. Either way, the car really felt a lot more nimble round twisty corners and roundabouts.
Looks
Well very little to see. Under the bonnet is in all honesty a small setback. Gone are the Aston Martin embossed white inlet manifolds, and now replaced with the black nameless inlet manifolds. They are thinner looking too, not that that's either good or bad really. However the new rear Carbon Fibre diffuser blade is lovely. It is mostly the same size, but now has 2 down vanes on each of the underside wingblades. It's a true thing of beauty and goes wonderfully to finish off the looks with the already extensive amount of Carbon Fibre in the Aerokit.
VFM
So, last but not least, the big question. Am I happy and is it worth it?
Well the first part is simple - YES, I am very happy. It really has made at least as much difference as I had hoped for, probably more.
The second part, was it worth it... Well to me yes. I managed to get a very good deal on everything, but I wont pretend it was cheap. It is however 100% OEM and takes Kermit to the final Evolution full spec, the best the OEM factory ever did on the n/a V12. I am not one for third part tuning mods or garages, so each to their own for anyone who wants to take that path, that's great and good luck to you, but although I considered options, I decided it was a not the path for me.
So, yes I am happy, but there is no doubting that the secondary QS steel cat bypass pipes offer a good chunk of the noise (I'm not going to now say 65% of the noise step up that the full powerkit offers), for a fraction of the price, so they are where the smart money is for sure. That said I'm going to put my steel bypass pipes onto the AMR Rapide next week anyway, so doubling up pleasure...
Will try to get a decent video up, but having done one earlier I think even my IPhone 12Pro mic, as good as it is, just isn't up to the job of recording just how brutal the sound now is!
Hope to see some of you at a meeting or show soon. The next one I have in my diary to attend is The Yorkshire Motorsport Festival. I will be there on Sunday 27th June if anyone will be there, do pop over and say "Hi".
Anyway that's it for now, other than to say a big thank you for AM Leeds in putting a package together that was acceptable to me, and to their rather excellent Tech, Danny, who fitted it all for me. As always Danny goes the extra mile and sorted a few little niggles gratis whilst working on the car.
OK, so to recap on the changes before I write up the differences I have observed so far...
AMR Performance Pack 2
- Power up from 563bhp / 620NM to 595-600bhp / 625-630 NM (Note I post ranges here because it really isn't clear based on the various items done today (AMR Performance Pack 2 + Valved Airboxes + secondary cat bypass, just how much all of these together will actually give. On paper they add up to the figures at the top of the ranges I have quoted, but in reality the GT12 has all this kit and quotes the bottom end of the ranges, so it seems unlikely this would be exceeded. Anyway it is largely irrelevant, albeit interesting (well to me anyway).
- Weight reduced by a total of 16-20kg. Full length Titanium Exhaust accounts for most of it, but also the Titanium bypass pipes, the magnesium inlet manifolds and the new CF blade also save some weight too.
- New Carbon Fibre Rear Blade
- New (black coloured) Magnesium Inlet Manifolds
- New GT12 Engine remap
- New Valved Airbox pair, each now with a vacuum operated valve to let more air in at certain rpm
Noise
Without doubt the biggest change is the noise! Wow, it is BRUTAL now, that's the only word for it. A couple of years ago I test drove AM Leeds V12VS SSIII demo with the Performance Pack fitted. At the time Kermit had the QS bypass pipes on and Fuse 15 removed and I think I said then I felt the QS pipes gave about 85% of the noise increase. Well Im not sure if that was just because of the newness of the demo car (most likely theory I think), but Kermit now has almost 9000 miles and the difference is night and day. Fuse 15 is still removed on the Titanium exhaust too and I think it is at least 30% louder and my mrs said 50% louder just now on the run out. There is also a fair bit more pops and crackles on the overrun. A big difference anyway, whatever figure one tries to put to it, it is VERY noticeable. So much so, I think I'm going to buy a cccharger!
Performance
I think if definitely feels more free revving, and most noticeably in the mid range. It was the rapid way the engine revs up that struck me far more than any definitive amount of increased power or torque really.
Handling
This one surprised me as I wasn't, now it could be the improved power delivery that I am mistaking for deftness, but the car feels noticeably lighter in the way it handles and seems to get the power down. I would say this is more noticeable than the power, but it is entirely possible the power is influencing my thinking here and making me feel like it was weight savings. Either way, the car really felt a lot more nimble round twisty corners and roundabouts.
Looks
Well very little to see. Under the bonnet is in all honesty a small setback. Gone are the Aston Martin embossed white inlet manifolds, and now replaced with the black nameless inlet manifolds. They are thinner looking too, not that that's either good or bad really. However the new rear Carbon Fibre diffuser blade is lovely. It is mostly the same size, but now has 2 down vanes on each of the underside wingblades. It's a true thing of beauty and goes wonderfully to finish off the looks with the already extensive amount of Carbon Fibre in the Aerokit.
VFM
So, last but not least, the big question. Am I happy and is it worth it?
Well the first part is simple - YES, I am very happy. It really has made at least as much difference as I had hoped for, probably more.
The second part, was it worth it... Well to me yes. I managed to get a very good deal on everything, but I wont pretend it was cheap. It is however 100% OEM and takes Kermit to the final Evolution full spec, the best the OEM factory ever did on the n/a V12. I am not one for third part tuning mods or garages, so each to their own for anyone who wants to take that path, that's great and good luck to you, but although I considered options, I decided it was a not the path for me.
So, yes I am happy, but there is no doubting that the secondary QS steel cat bypass pipes offer a good chunk of the noise (I'm not going to now say 65% of the noise step up that the full powerkit offers), for a fraction of the price, so they are where the smart money is for sure. That said I'm going to put my steel bypass pipes onto the AMR Rapide next week anyway, so doubling up pleasure...
Will try to get a decent video up, but having done one earlier I think even my IPhone 12Pro mic, as good as it is, just isn't up to the job of recording just how brutal the sound now is!
Hope to see some of you at a meeting or show soon. The next one I have in my diary to attend is The Yorkshire Motorsport Festival. I will be there on Sunday 27th June if anyone will be there, do pop over and say "Hi".
Anyway that's it for now, other than to say a big thank you for AM Leeds in putting a package together that was acceptable to me, and to their rather excellent Tech, Danny, who fitted it all for me. As always Danny goes the extra mile and sorted a few little niggles gratis whilst working on the car.
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Great write-up. Thanks!
I think it was good to experience the car fully before and after. You must have some of the best knowledge, outside the factory, I’m this respect.
Always thought that was the ultimate option for any V12VS. Effectively, you’re 90% GT12 (OK... CF body, track changes, etc. apart).
Enjoy!
I think it was good to experience the car fully before and after. You must have some of the best knowledge, outside the factory, I’m this respect.
Always thought that was the ultimate option for any V12VS. Effectively, you’re 90% GT12 (OK... CF body, track changes, etc. apart).
Enjoy!
Great summary Adam..!
It certainly sounds like you're pleased with the end result which is all that matters really. Would love to see/hear a video when you do get the chance, I bet it sounds fantastic.
The problem you now have though, is what next ? You have the ultimate spec V12VS and also a Rapide AMR.........your options are running out
It certainly sounds like you're pleased with the end result which is all that matters really. Would love to see/hear a video when you do get the chance, I bet it sounds fantastic.
The problem you now have though, is what next ? You have the ultimate spec V12VS and also a Rapide AMR.........your options are running out
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