N400 Upgrade from AM for 4.3L V8V

[Graze01]

Has anyone done this to their 4.3LV8V

inlet manifold, valved airboxes, new fuse board, ECU re program update

https://www2.astonmartin.com/en/accessories/v8-van...

got an opportunity to get one which has been on the shelf for years for a good price from my dealer

I would be interested in your thoughts

Graze

[bogie]

I think the consensus at the time was the extra 20bhp barely noticeable on its own. For many it was cheaper just to change cats/exhaust for similar gain and 1/2 cost, then do manifolds for real 40bhp. Hence was not such a popular kit at £4k ish

However some owners had good results when changing exhaust as well e.g. >30bhp at the wheel power gain

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

I guess it depends on how much cheaper ...if they are knocking £500 off then perhaps not, if its under 1/2 price then perhaps

There are a lot of options out there now from multiple tuners that were not available 8 years ago....

[leerandle]

I looked into it, but found that you can get more for your money by going down the indie upgrade route, which I did.

Both Bamford Rose and David Appleby (Velocity AP) do a really good upgrades.

They can probably also tailor it to suit your budget.

Give them a call and see what they have to offer.

I've dealt with both Mike and James from both companies and they are good people to talk too.

[Herbs]

I've gone from a 4.3L to an actual N400 and it did drive a lot better than the standard one but as others as said, its not a kit I would retrofit due to the cost.

Using an indie will open up a much wider spectrum of upgrades and give you more bang for buck.

[Graze01]

Thanks lads, sadly I'm in Australia so your indie options don't apply here, about the best I could do would be to buy stuff from BR or Velocity in the US and try and manage it alone with no backup

I'll wait and see what they want for it

The AM website says £1900 so obviously they have gotten cheaper over time

Graeme

[Herbs]

hmmm , that's not a bad price especially consider lack of alternatives.

Assuming it doesn't come with the suspension upgrades the N400 had then you can expect it to feel less wheezy and a bit more urgency in the higher rev range but it won't be night and day so make sure you expectations are realistic

[JohnG1]

That kit gives 10bhp from improved airflow. The other 10bhp is from retarding spark with very high octane fuel. I think it's 100 RON you need.

I've never seen 100 RON in Sydney. Normally it's 97.

Talk to the engineer who designed the kit - Mike at Bamford Rose

[Graze01]

John

Interesting about retarding the spark and high octane. I always use 98 but like you haven't seen 100 in Brisbane

Graeme