Observations from deconstructiong my DB9
Discussion
So I started with swapping out my plugs and coils to get rid of a miss. While the car is down I've decided to take care of some other things. It's really an experience to see how and why things are put together on these vehicles. Some now make sense and others confound me.
While I love the look of the intake manifolds on the V12's I hate that they make something as simple as changing plugs an event. Yes you'll probably only change them twice during your ownership under normal conditions but should you need to do it more often, what a bugger!
Why can't they change the manifolds to come down the middle like the V8's? Hood clearance? Is Aston the only one that does this?
I used to wonder why the plate at the front of the hood with the plaque was so large. After taking it off I understand how it is there to trap the air to travel through the various radiators in front. I think I counted 4 different ones.
The air intakes are also located at the outside edge of the grill but their path is an S curve to the filters. There is a fake vent on my 2009 almost directly in front of the airbox that would give a straight shot. Guessing the airfilter slows the air enough that you get the same flow no matter what the intake velocity prior to it is?
Overall they really do pack a lot into a little space. There's some really nice engineering hidden away that most will never see. If you aren't a do-it-yourselfer be sure to sneak into the garage when they are servicing your P&J to take a look around.
So what started as plugs and coils has added in door struts, air filters, bumper repair, running light addition, grill surround replacement, and some blasphemous painting and polishing.
Taking pics as I go along.
While I love the look of the intake manifolds on the V12's I hate that they make something as simple as changing plugs an event. Yes you'll probably only change them twice during your ownership under normal conditions but should you need to do it more often, what a bugger!
Why can't they change the manifolds to come down the middle like the V8's? Hood clearance? Is Aston the only one that does this?
I used to wonder why the plate at the front of the hood with the plaque was so large. After taking it off I understand how it is there to trap the air to travel through the various radiators in front. I think I counted 4 different ones.
The air intakes are also located at the outside edge of the grill but their path is an S curve to the filters. There is a fake vent on my 2009 almost directly in front of the airbox that would give a straight shot. Guessing the airfilter slows the air enough that you get the same flow no matter what the intake velocity prior to it is?
Overall they really do pack a lot into a little space. There's some really nice engineering hidden away that most will never see. If you aren't a do-it-yourselfer be sure to sneak into the garage when they are servicing your P&J to take a look around.
So what started as plugs and coils has added in door struts, air filters, bumper repair, running light addition, grill surround replacement, and some blasphemous painting and polishing.
Taking pics as I go along.
old phart said:
So I started with swapping out my plugs and coils to get rid of a miss. While the car is down I've decided to take care of some other things. It's really an experience to see how and why things are put together on these vehicles. Some now make sense and others confound me.
While I love the look of the intake manifolds on the V12's I hate that they make something as simple as changing plugs an event. Yes you'll probably only change them twice during your ownership under normal conditions but should you need to do it more often, what a bugger!
Why can't they change the manifolds to come down the middle like the V8's? Hood clearance? Is Aston the only one that does this?
I used to wonder why the plate at the front of the hood with the plaque was so large. After taking it off I understand how it is there to trap the air to travel through the various radiators in front. I think I counted 4 different ones.
The air intakes are also located at the outside edge of the grill but their path is an S curve to the filters. There is a fake vent on my 2009 almost directly in front of the airbox that would give a straight shot. Guessing the airfilter slows the air enough that you get the same flow no matter what the intake velocity prior to it is?
Overall they really do pack a lot into a little space. There's some really nice engineering hidden away that most will never see. If you aren't a do-it-yourselfer be sure to sneak into the garage when they are servicing your P&J to take a look around.
So what started as plugs and coils has added in door struts, air filters, bumper repair, running light addition, grill surround replacement, and some blasphemous painting and polishing.
Taking pics as I go along.
Please keep the updates and photos coming and to address some of your observations.......While I love the look of the intake manifolds on the V12's I hate that they make something as simple as changing plugs an event. Yes you'll probably only change them twice during your ownership under normal conditions but should you need to do it more often, what a bugger!
Why can't they change the manifolds to come down the middle like the V8's? Hood clearance? Is Aston the only one that does this?
I used to wonder why the plate at the front of the hood with the plaque was so large. After taking it off I understand how it is there to trap the air to travel through the various radiators in front. I think I counted 4 different ones.
The air intakes are also located at the outside edge of the grill but their path is an S curve to the filters. There is a fake vent on my 2009 almost directly in front of the airbox that would give a straight shot. Guessing the airfilter slows the air enough that you get the same flow no matter what the intake velocity prior to it is?
Overall they really do pack a lot into a little space. There's some really nice engineering hidden away that most will never see. If you aren't a do-it-yourselfer be sure to sneak into the garage when they are servicing your P&J to take a look around.
So what started as plugs and coils has added in door struts, air filters, bumper repair, running light addition, grill surround replacement, and some blasphemous painting and polishing.
Taking pics as I go along.
Spark plugs are deliberately long-life items on these cars because it would have been considered few owners would be replacing them themselves, and very few original purchasers of the cars would suffer the replacement bills because they would have been sold on by that mileage.
Manifolds down the V of the engine would have too small a volume in the chamber if it cleared the bonnet, ideally, the inlet manifold acts as a non restrictive reservoir of air that will feed all cylinders equally, hence the triangular shape of them.
The cover over the radiators is to guide the air to the radiators without too much bleeding around the sides of them because the engine is mounted as far back as practical for better weight distribution and handling.
The airbox intake would be too low down causing water ingress and a very high risk of engine damage through a hydraulic lock, hence the tortuous route for the air.
Hope that helps,
8Tech.
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