Tyre wear plus clutch wear on Vantage

[Citrus7]

In negotiation re a V8 Vantage from AM dealer and noted the tyre tread depth for both front tyres as :-

Outer 4mm
Middle 6mm
Inner 3mm

1) Is this spread of wear normal across a tyre ?

2) Also the pre check on car has engineer listing the clutch pedal as high in his opinion. This is a 6 yr old manual with 13k miles. Can the clutch pedal be altered for height, or am I right in believing this could indicate a clutch that is somewhat worn ?

3) Also noted rear pads were showing as 50-60% worn, yet had been replaced only 2.5k miles ago...is this normal wear ?

4) Lastly there was a mention of a slight prv noise at startup. Sound a familiar problem ?

Thanks in advance , Dave

Edited by Citrus7 on Wednesday 21st November 09:17

[Neil1300R]

Citrus7 said:

In negotiation re a V8 Vantage from AM dealer and noted the tyre tread depth for both front tyres as :-

Outer 4mm
Middle 6mm
Inner 3mm

1) Is this spread of wear normal across a tyre ?

2) Also the pre check on car has engineer listing the clutch pedal as high in his opinion. This is a 6 yr old manual with 13k miles. Can the clutch pedal be altered for height, or am I right in believing this could indicate a clutch that is somewhat worn ?

3) Also noted rear pads were showing as 50-60% worn, yet had been replaced only 2.5k miles ago...is this normal wear ?
1) No not normal -would ask them to do a full Geo setup on the car - not just the front tracking.
2) Don't think the clutch cannot be altered for height.
3) Is it the rear pads or the handbrake pads - and which were replaced?

4) Lastly there was a mention of a slight prv noise at startup. Sound a familiar problem ?

Thanks in advance , Dave

Edited by Citrus7 on Wednesday 21st November 09:17

[davidexige]

Tyre wear like that is also a sign of the tyres being ran under inflated, I'd be asking for them to be replaced and also a full geo to be carried out as part of the deal.

[v8woollie]

Citrus7 said:

In negotiation re a V8 Vantage from AM dealer and noted the tyre tread depth for both front tyres as :-

Outer 4mm
Middle 6mm
Inner 3mm

1) Is this spread of wear normal across a tyre ?

2) Also the pre check on car has engineer listing the clutch pedal as high in his opinion. This is a 6 yr old manual with 13k miles. Can the clutch pedal be altered for height, or am I right in believing this could indicate a clutch that is somewhat worn ?

3) Also noted rear pads were showing as 50-60% worn, yet had been replaced only 2.5k miles ago...is this normal wear ?

4) Lastly there was a mention of a slight prv noise at startup. Sound a familiar problem ?

Thanks in advance , Dave

Edited by Citrus7 on Wednesday 21st November 09:17

Uneven tyre wear suggest inflation and geometry issues. Whilst they are legal and there would be no obligation to change them it is worth making the point and getting them changed and the geometry done. Make sure they get the geo done on a Hunter or such type machine and that the car is driven onto the ramps and not lifted.

50-60% brake wear after 2.5K miles suggests the car has been driven hard, or maybe even done some time on track. My pads were worn down to 30% left after 10K miles miles at which point I changed them before the wear sensors got exposed.

PRV and other noises happen at start-up and during warm-up. Most are fine and disappear when the engine is up to temp.

The clutch is worth getting checked as the life varies - some get 10K miles and some get 40K+ miles. Depends on how it has been used.

There are lots of V8Vs out there. If this is the one you really want then get everything sorted to your satisfaction or walk away and another will come up for sure.

[Citrus7]

Thanks guys

v8woollie said:

The clutch is worth getting checked as the life varies - some get 10K miles and some get 40K+ miles. Depends on how it has been used.

Is there a way to measure clutch wear on a manual car ? Assume only way is to drive and feel how far biting point is off top of clutch pedal travel ?

[bogie]

Citrus7 said:

Thanks guys

v8woollie said:

The clutch is worth getting checked as the life varies - some get 10K miles and some get 40K+ miles. Depends on how it has been used.

Is there a way to measure clutch wear on a manual car ? Assume only way is to drive and feel how far biting point is off top of clutch pedal travel ?

yeah, for sure if you take it apart

last dealer "free health check" on my Vantage reported "clutch worn - may need replacing soon" so there must be some way they can guesstimate

I cant imagine they are going to do it though so long as its got a few thousand miles in it ...thats like 6-12 months driving to many owners

[Citrus7]

Yeah problem is I'm looking to use car as daily hack, so will be putting 15k miles on a year.

Seems I may need to continue my search.

[bogie]

yeah if you are going to use it regular then you want a nearly new clutch so at least you get a couple of years without a £2.5K bill

I did 20K a year for first 2 years in mine then it had a break and is now more a weekend car...over 60k miles on original clutch so far......but you never can tell

[theno23]

If you do town driving then you probably want the Bamford Rose multiplate clutch anyway - it's much lighter, and lasts much much longer (allegedly).

I live in London and only got 20k miles out of my clutch - almost a clutch a year would be painful.

If you're mostly doing motorway miles then I think it will be fine.

- Steve

[DangerMonkey]

The combination of clutch and brake wear at such a low mileage would make me inclined to run for the hills*. There will be other cars out there. That's high wear for the pads so it must have had led a hard life so far surely. The clutch is hugely variable otherwise as others have mentioned.

If the rear pads have worn so quickly then it makes me wonder what's the story with the fronts? That's where the majority of braking effort goes in.



edited to say *unless the car is suitably discounted to take into account future clutch replacement.

Edited by DangerMonkey on Wednesday 21st November 14:57

[Citrus7]

Agreed a discount on everything be ok with car, before known condition of said items. Have decided to walk from this one and keep looking.

Thanks for advice as ever.