Harry Metcalfe is thrilled by a (VH) V12 Vantage
Discussion
Was just about to post this. Harry is one of the best. Love his videos. And, of course, a VH platform Vantage video is just perfect. Please somebody lend him a V12VS which has the later Bilstein suspension and / or one of the modified V12s with equal length manifolds, sports cats and upgraded suspension to see what he thinks of the improvements.
morcheenie said:
Who makes the upgraded suspension?
Bilstein if you want the adaptive kit as per OEM on later V12V S modelshttps://bamfordrose.com/road-car-upgrades/v12-upgr...
delta0 said:
The V12 was both perfect and flawed in this car. Some of the things he picks up on with the handling and weight/weight distribution aren t an issue on the V8. It s still an icon of a car even today and prices are extremely good for what you get.
Yes, the cars are an absolute bargain for what you get, when compared to the usual suspects (like cars that begin with the letter P).Having owned cars with both engines, my experience was that the better weight balance of the V8 really only benefitted driving on track (and even then the inadequate brake cooling of the V8s cancelled out that 'advantage'). As a road car, I didn't like the V8 due to the bizarre tendency to 'feel out of sync' at the front and rear ends over bumps and cambers, resulting in a sort of unsettled, 'corkscrewing' feel. I've seen this complaint written elsewhere so I don't think it was solely my car. No doubt this could be addressed with careful suspension mods, but my attitude towards tuning cars has become increasingly negative over the decades, as I think it is very difficult to do correctly.
I am baffled by Harry's complaint about the sport button making things too sensitive. I always thought that was one of the strengths of both the V8 and V12 cars: the throttle pedal had a long travel no matter what mode you were in, making precise metering out of acceleration a pleasure compared to the typical sport program found on other cars (BMW for example).
Also, being embarrassed by the screen and leaving it off has not been an issue for some time. The aftermarket offers several good Apple Car Play and Android Auto kits, which have been reviewed in several threads on this forum - the only thing missing, if that sort of thing bothers one - is an actual touch screen.
Great video from Harry as always and although I’m slightly biased I would tend to agree with most of what he said. Personally I don’t often use the “Sport” button for every day driving as I find the throttle response a bit too sharp, especially when moving away from a standstill. I know the gear lever is a bit marmite and I have thought about swapping mine for a standard V8 version, but it is a unique quirk of the car so I’ve left it alone. It does get very hot in the summer and very cold in the winter though! The gear levers are quite hard to find now and usually sell for strong money through AM parts retailers and the usual auction websites. I’m a bit surprised he didn’t mention the CarPlay etc options that are available nowadays. Some of them are relatively expensive of course but it does make the screen more useful, although it will always be constrained by its size and resolution. The more of these type of reviews I read/watch the more I think there really is no point changing my car to anything from the 2C or latest range. The cost to change is large, and for every day road use in the U.K. a six speed V12V is more than you would ever need. I think it’s fair to say the design still looks pretty good and imho it seems a little classier than the brash aggressive lines on some of the later cars. Of course that’s all personal opinion and others may see things differently. BRM.
So good to see an older car appear on his channel. I wonder how much this video was as a result of Harry and Jeremy talking about older cars a month back. Either way, his thoughts on cars is always worth watching.
The soundtrack from that V12 is glorious and I love the large chunky aluminium gear stick.
The soundtrack from that V12 is glorious and I love the large chunky aluminium gear stick.
morcheenie said:
Who makes the upgraded suspension?
Phil Bird on here has the Nitron s on his V12V and was the development car for the product. Seems to rate them highly. As mentioned, BR do the Bilstein B16 kit. For the later V12VS, are the factory adaptive dampers also height adjustable? There is a mention that the B16 s are used on the later factory cars, and if that s correct they must be height adjustable too. quench said:
Having owned cars with both engines, my experience was that the better weight balance of the V8 really only benefitted driving on track (and even then the inadequate brake cooling of the V8s cancelled out that 'advantage'). As a road car, I didn't like the V8 due to the bizarre tendency to 'feel out of sync' at the front and rear ends over bumps and cambers, resulting in a sort of unsettled, 'corkscrewing' feel. I've seen this complaint written elsewhere so I don't think it was solely my car.
I definitely had this corkscrew feeling on the rear of my V8 but after a wheel alignment it's 100% fixed. 
Some of the bolts still had paint on them from where they'd been set at the factory so I think there are just a lot of cars out there that haven't been touched in 10-15 years!I've heard a V12 with fruity exhausts and I would LOVE one!
This video had me thinking impure thoughts about a V12 again but I don't think I can sell the extra £5k per cylinder to the Committee for Fiscal Responsibility.kevin_cambs_uk said:
Dont get me wrong, I like the chap
But negatives?
I can t see any, I don t own one but I think for that money there really is nothing negative about it.
It is the complete package
Kev
He always gives positives and negatives at the end of the vids. Every car has a negative in some way.But negatives?
I can t see any, I don t own one but I think for that money there really is nothing negative about it.
It is the complete package
Kev
It’s a great looking car but according to owners they can be expensive to care for and the lower spec engines aren’t all that powerful.
To me it is a car to own for the looks and image but there are probably cars that are better to drive.
delta0 said:
Some of the things he picks up on with the handling and weight/weight distribution aren t an issue on the V8.
Yes I was surprised of this comment as weight distribution comes out at 51/49, not bad considering the V12 up front but when you look at the engine, you ll notice 8 of the 12 cylinders are behind the front axle.My car is quite different being a later model V12 Vantage S Roadster and the handling and balance are pretty good, on the road at least as I have driven my car on track and it s definitely not a track car but on a good stretch of road, it feels perfectly balanced (like most Aston s actually) and not nose heavy as opposed to a W12 Conti GT for instance where the engine is not set as far back as on the Astons.
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