4.3 Vantage suspension upgrade question
Discussion
I'm looking for some help on a suspension upgrade for my '07 Vantage. I'm looking for better ride quality, especially at lower speeds.
I've done some research and from what I gather, the Vantage went to Bilstein's in '08. This move was designed to improve ride quality. There was also a separate factory sport pack available with what I understand were a different set of Bilstein's that were more performance oriented.
Has anyone out there upgraded their 4.3 Vantage with factory non-sport pack Bilstein's? Did you change out any other parts? Did the ride improve substantially??
I love my car...6,900 miles, jet black with red interior, 6 speed manual...the only thing missing is a great ride quality.
HELP!!
I've done some research and from what I gather, the Vantage went to Bilstein's in '08. This move was designed to improve ride quality. There was also a separate factory sport pack available with what I understand were a different set of Bilstein's that were more performance oriented.
Has anyone out there upgraded their 4.3 Vantage with factory non-sport pack Bilstein's? Did you change out any other parts? Did the ride improve substantially??
I love my car...6,900 miles, jet black with red interior, 6 speed manual...the only thing missing is a great ride quality.
HELP!!
Totally agree about the ride quality, mine is really getting to me now. Cant understand why there is not more criticism of it on here.
I have a 911 and Cayenne both of which are a pleasure to ride in in comparison. Tried a V8VS recently and it was sooo much better. Mine will be going to Bamford Rose in the very near future for electric adjustable shocks to be fitted. Combine that with the S steering rack and double plate clutch that are needed and the car may drive a well as it looks!
DW
I have a 911 and Cayenne both of which are a pleasure to ride in in comparison. Tried a V8VS recently and it was sooo much better. Mine will be going to Bamford Rose in the very near future for electric adjustable shocks to be fitted. Combine that with the S steering rack and double plate clutch that are needed and the car may drive a well as it looks!
DW
The spring rates got stiffer when they went from the original struts to the Bilstein units, and the Sport Pack springs are stiffer than those. But the valving in the struts was improved, so you didn't necessarily end up with a harsher ride despite the stiffer springs.
I've been working with a company to make an aftermarket option with a focus on comfort, along with ride height and rebound/compression adjustments. I've been testing them on my red car and love them, though we do have some things to work out before the final version is ready.
Here's a couple pics from Saturday.
I'll be raising the front 1/16" and continuing to play with the compression/rebound settings. I've had them at the halfway point between full-soft and full-stiff (*chuckle*) and thought it was a great compromise between comfort and road feel. Then softened them up to 10-clicks from full-soft (20-clicks from full-stiff), and they were super comfortable. Far more so than the standard 4.3L struts and H&R springs that are on my grey Vantage.
I don't recommend H&R springs for most people, but they're great for the few that they suit. I know Stuart over at VelocityAP made his springs with comfort and practicality in mind, but I haven't driven on them before. Less drop and a better ride than H&R (both good things).
As others have said, tires make a difference as well. I have 245 front/285 rear Pilot Super Sports on the red car, and 265 front/305 rear Pilot Sport 4S tires on my grey one. If you can get them in a size that suits you, the MPS4S is a better tire than the MPSS - I've been extremely impressed with them so far.
I've been working with a company to make an aftermarket option with a focus on comfort, along with ride height and rebound/compression adjustments. I've been testing them on my red car and love them, though we do have some things to work out before the final version is ready.
Here's a couple pics from Saturday.
I'll be raising the front 1/16" and continuing to play with the compression/rebound settings. I've had them at the halfway point between full-soft and full-stiff (*chuckle*) and thought it was a great compromise between comfort and road feel. Then softened them up to 10-clicks from full-soft (20-clicks from full-stiff), and they were super comfortable. Far more so than the standard 4.3L struts and H&R springs that are on my grey Vantage.
I don't recommend H&R springs for most people, but they're great for the few that they suit. I know Stuart over at VelocityAP made his springs with comfort and practicality in mind, but I haven't driven on them before. Less drop and a better ride than H&R (both good things).
As others have said, tires make a difference as well. I have 245 front/285 rear Pilot Super Sports on the red car, and 265 front/305 rear Pilot Sport 4S tires on my grey one. If you can get them in a size that suits you, the MPS4S is a better tire than the MPSS - I've been extremely impressed with them so far.
Edited by telum01 on Tuesday 26th September 02:01
Just get some VelociyAP Springs from James @ DAE
http://davidapplebyengineering.com/suspension.html
Transforms the cars ride and look
I did have H&R but were too low and harsh, where as the Velocity solution is perfect.
Also if you are on the normal Bridgestone tyres....... Fooking change them as they are crap
go for Michelin or Pirrelli
picture of the stance
http://davidapplebyengineering.com/suspension.html
Transforms the cars ride and look
I did have H&R but were too low and harsh, where as the Velocity solution is perfect.
Also if you are on the normal Bridgestone tyres....... Fooking change them as they are crap
go for Michelin or Pirrellipicture of the stance
Sounds like Bamford Rose has a working solution. I'll be in contact with them. Thank you everyone and please post your progress here on the forum. Very interested in your suspension upgrade outcome.
BTW - I changed the tires to Michelin Super Sport and it improved ride quality a little, but the damper issue remains.
BTW - I changed the tires to Michelin Super Sport and it improved ride quality a little, but the damper issue remains.
Pit-Bear said:
Resurrecting a forum question as I too am interested to know the options for damper changes on a 4.3 V8V, but on a budget (ruling out simply throwing it and my wallet at Bamford Rose). Did anyone have an epiphany which might benefit new converts to the wiles of the V8V?
P-B
I've recently gone through the same upgrade - my original Dynamics dampers were shot and I needed to replace them.P-B
If your springs are in decent condition, then you might want to consider the Nitron R1-AM Roadsport dampers from David Appleby Engineering. They are deisgned to re-use your existing springs, topmounts and dust covers, thus keeping the cost reasonable (in AM terms, anyway).
https://www.davidapplebyengineering.com/shop/produ...
That was exactly my plan until DAE found that one of my front springs was cracked, so I ended up with Nitron springs too.
The cost is still fairly eye-watering when compared with equivalent aftermarket suspension for any mainstream marque, but its an awful lot less than the Bamford Rose adjustable solution and anecdotally, I'd suggest its probably 90% as good as the BR kit.
I've been extremely happy with the improvement - I wrote this a couple of days after getting the car back:
Nigel_O said:
When I collected the car yesterday, all I did was 150 motorway miles to get home. It was grey and drizzly, as well as hitting rush hour around Birmingham as it got dark. Not the best conditions to be exploring the capabilities of new suspension.
Today was warm-ish and dry and I needed to travel to Uttoxeter to collect some bike bits. This involves one of my favourite twisty roads - the B5013 from Rugeley, across Blithfield reservoir, then on from Abbots Bromley to Uttoxeter. The first section to the reservoir is narrow, very bumpy and off-camber in places. Previously, I had to drive this at under 5/10, as the damping was quickly overwhelmed and the spring rate just couldn't cope with the repeated bumps. If I tried to make better progress, I could feel the rear wheels chattering across the tarmac toward the verge, as the damping couldn't keep up. The second section from Abbots Bromley to Uttoxeter is more open, very flowing, well-surfaced, but its a bit undulating. I used to be able to drive it at up to 7/10, but there were a few tricky corners, with crests just before or after that demanded respect.
Don't get me wrong - 5/10 in a Vantage is still making pretty good progress compared with other traffic, but I never felt like the car could go any faster without needing a couple of brave pills.
Today was a revelation - I was clearing bumpy bends at 5/10 as though they were smooth. It was definitely still bumpy, but the wheels were simply sticking to the surface. When I got to the more open section, the speed increased a bit (OK, a lot...) but it just felt planted and in control.
I guess its not surprising really - upgrading to brand new Nitrons from 16 year old Dynamics with a broken spring was always going to yield good results and I knew it was going to feel a lot better, but I wasn't ready for the scale of the improvement.
So - no great surprise, but it's a big thumbs up for Nitron suspension. I guess Billies might have been even better, but I suspect there's a law of diminishing returns at play, so I wasn't willing to throw £7+k at the suspension when I got away with 'only' £4k-ish
Today was warm-ish and dry and I needed to travel to Uttoxeter to collect some bike bits. This involves one of my favourite twisty roads - the B5013 from Rugeley, across Blithfield reservoir, then on from Abbots Bromley to Uttoxeter. The first section to the reservoir is narrow, very bumpy and off-camber in places. Previously, I had to drive this at under 5/10, as the damping was quickly overwhelmed and the spring rate just couldn't cope with the repeated bumps. If I tried to make better progress, I could feel the rear wheels chattering across the tarmac toward the verge, as the damping couldn't keep up. The second section from Abbots Bromley to Uttoxeter is more open, very flowing, well-surfaced, but its a bit undulating. I used to be able to drive it at up to 7/10, but there were a few tricky corners, with crests just before or after that demanded respect.
Don't get me wrong - 5/10 in a Vantage is still making pretty good progress compared with other traffic, but I never felt like the car could go any faster without needing a couple of brave pills.
Today was a revelation - I was clearing bumpy bends at 5/10 as though they were smooth. It was definitely still bumpy, but the wheels were simply sticking to the surface. When I got to the more open section, the speed increased a bit (OK, a lot...) but it just felt planted and in control.
I guess its not surprising really - upgrading to brand new Nitrons from 16 year old Dynamics with a broken spring was always going to yield good results and I knew it was going to feel a lot better, but I wasn't ready for the scale of the improvement.
So - no great surprise, but it's a big thumbs up for Nitron suspension. I guess Billies might have been even better, but I suspect there's a law of diminishing returns at play, so I wasn't willing to throw £7+k at the suspension when I got away with 'only' £4k-ish
Pit-Bear said:
Resurrecting a forum question as I too am interested to know the options for damper changes on a 4.3 V8V, but on a budget (ruling out simply throwing it and my wallet at Bamford Rose). Did anyone have an epiphany which might benefit new converts to the wiles of the V8V?
P-B
I went for the BC Racing coilovers. Fairly popular upgrade and easy DIY. P-B
Pit-Bear said:
Resurrecting a forum question as I too am interested to know the options for damper changes on a 4.3 V8V, but on a budget (ruling out simply throwing it and my wallet at Bamford Rose). Did anyone have an epiphany which might benefit new converts to the wiles of the V8V?
P-B
Given your location, you might want to give Vantage Engineering a try. Speak to Terry the owner and ask about his shock upgrade. Had mine done by them a little over 12 months ago, come with a 5 year warranty and so far a vast improvement over the stock 4.3 shocks. Also, very competitively priced.P-B
When I had mine done it was a toss up between these and the Nitron offered by DAE.
https://www.vantage-engineering.co.uk/product/adju...
Sorry to hijack this thread, but are any of these options suitable for a V12V?
It looks like both VE and DAE only identify these as replacements for the V8V and DB9, but I can’t given the different designs and weight distribution of those cars I would have thought that there is a compromise.
It looks like both VE and DAE only identify these as replacements for the V8V and DB9, but I can’t given the different designs and weight distribution of those cars I would have thought that there is a compromise.
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