Bamford Rose V12 Adaptive suspension upgrade

[V12VMan]

Anyone here had the Bamford Rose suspension upgrade https://bamfordrose.com/road-car-upgrades/v12-upgr... carried out on your V12 Vantage, if so was it worth doing?

I am finding that with the increasing state of UK roads the ride quality of my V12 Vantage can be a bit harsh!

[Simpo Two]

It says 'With the dampers in adaptive mode, the car will stiffen up the corners...' so I'm not sure how that will help with potholes etc.

Roads get worse and worse yet suspension gets harder and harder.

'I have no teeth left and my spine is dislocated'. 'Nah mate it's SPORTING!'

What we need is suspension downgrades. If anyone wants a Sports Pack let me know.

[Dewi 2]

I cannot help ref. adaptive suspension, but agree with your comment about the shocking condition of many UK road surfaces.
My own V8V does not have SportsPack, but even the standard suspension is more than hard enough over potholes.

It appears to me that the standard of maintenance varies with different County Council Highways Deoartments. Some clearly know what they are doing, and others demonstrate a very amateur approach. Always the first line in their bag of excuses is, we dont have the money.

On a recent visit to the Isle of Wight, I saw road surface perfection on every road we used. Not a place for high performance sports cars though.
One aspect which reveals care and attention to detail (money availability being irrelevant), is how well utility metal covers are aligned with road surfaces. Isle of Wight do this properly, in many other places there is no pride, they just don't bother to do it right and nobody says do it again.

Dorset is a county which seems to do a reasonable job.
After driving in to Sevenoaks today, I just hope my suspension joints survived the pounding.
In Worcestershire they are obsessed with coating fairly new excellent tarmac surfaces with granite chippings. As a result, their Council Tax payers would probably like to be given ear plugs.

Why do some Councils do a good job ?

In the 'old days' we simply changed the standard shock absorbers for adjustable versions. Adam describes rarely changing his damper setting, so the old way would still work, but instant computer control adjustment is what is wanted now.

Edited by Dewi 2 on Monday 25th April 14:05

[AdamV12V]

I would suggest you take the time to test drive a V12VS. The 3 stage active suspension in the S is a big step up, and is both softer and more comfortable yet capable of getting the power down better. Then there are the switchable modes via the suspension button should you feel the need to make it all firmer again. Personally I never both with anything other than the normal mode which is perfect 99% of the time.

A 3rd party mod like this would also devalue your car, whereas the S has it all built in as standard so no need to modify.

[Minglar]

I did approach BR regarding this not long after I bought my V12V in early 2014, but I decided to not go ahead in the end. Mike took a fair while to get back to me after my initial enquiry and the quote was £4,500 + VAT and a three day turn around. The main reason for my decision was what Adam said, ie I preferred to leave my car standard. Tbh I don’t recall anyone on here saying they had it fitted to their cars either. That doesn’t help you too much I’m afraid!

Best Regards

Minglar

[V12VMan]

Thanks for the replies, yes the state of UK roads are generally atrocious and it makes me wonder why given the amount of road fund tax we pay!

Onto the suspension question, hadn’t considered the issue that once it’s modified it may not be as desirable although as a keeper less an issue. I think I’ll save my money and drive in Dorset, Wales and maybe the IoW! Anywhere else I’ll wear a gum shield!

[Simpo Two]

V12VMan said:

I think I’ll save my money and drive in Dorset, Wales and maybe the IoW! Anywhere else I’ll wear a gum shield!

How about sitting on a nice 2' square of foam rubber?

On the plus side, at least if I drive over a coin I can tell if it was heads or tails.

[NickXX]

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

There’s a review here ^.

Expensive set up, but sounds very impressive for any scenario.

[Ex Boy Racer]

AdamV12V said:

I would suggest you take the time to test drive a V12VS. The 3 stage active suspension in the S is a big step up, and is both softer and more comfortable yet capable of getting the power down better. Then there are the switchable modes via the suspension button should you feel the need to make it all firmer again. Personally I never both with anything other than the normal mode which is perfect 99% of the time.

A 3rd party mod like this would also devalue your car, whereas the S has it all built in as standard so no need to modify.

Mine still very hard even on most comfortable setting. To be honest I struggle to feel any difference.
I even asked main dealer if they were actually working! (They said yes…). I wonder if they are

[drt30]

I'm not really sure if your proposed upgrades are comparable with my V8V, however I have an older version of the adaptable suspension fitted at BR around 10 years ago. I must admit I find it really fantastic; the soft setting is best for 75% of the time and the firmer setting is useful when driving the car 'properly'. I'm really glad I don't have to have the suspension so hard all of the time!

The car belonged to another forum member before me who gave it an excellent write up all those years ago...

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

Hope that is of help.
David

[Phil57DBS]

Consider driving with less pressure in the tyres, like 2.2bars at the 4 wheels when cold.
try the Michelins PS4/S that best absorb the irregularities of the road