V8 Vantage - New To Me - First Impressions (Pics Inside)
Discussion
Hello everyone,
Long time lurker, occasional poster here
After 15 years of want, I have finally taken the plunge on an early V8 vantage - manged to find one that was close(ish), the exact colour scheme I wanted (black, red calipers, black interior), premium audio, been well looked after with tons of reciepts. Has done 70k, had a recent clutch (oem sadly). Private sale but of course I have money aside should the worst happen
Only had the car for a few days, but my first impressions would be as follows:
Good Points
The looks - to die for. Just looks amazing from basically every angle. People look everywhere I go. Was not expecting that much attention and very different reactions from the M cars I am used to!
The sound - also to die for. Took fuse 22 out and well, I don't need to say any more, best sounding car I have ever owned, by miles
Bad Points
The clutch - honestly, terrible. I hope I will get used to it and it will become less of an issue. My 2002 fiesta run-around is vastly more enjoyable (and easier) to change gear in
The gear change - as above, very notchy, which is not fun. Combined with the clutch, feels like it ruins the driving experience a bit, it's that bad. Once I almost shoved it into 1st from max revs in 2nd because 2nd into 3rd is so hard to find... gearbox oil was done about 2 years ago so don't think it's that, would be interested in other peoples experiences!
Indifferent Points
Premium Audio - it's loud and has power, but the bass is a bit warbaly / over-saturating (not an audiofile so not sure if they are the right words), still tweaking the settings. Need to try the £100 ebay part to connect to the phone rather than have to play cd's
Handling - not bad, not great. Coming from an M2 it feels like a heavier, slower car. More composed at high speed, more comfortable on long journeys, but less nimble / agile - I expected more of a GT and less of a backroad weapon (after reading many posts here), but the extent to which this is true still surprised me a little
Ride - I think the car is likley on it's original shocks. The ride is not "bad" per se, it's reasonably firm, but it does feel a little crashy
Knowing where the bonnet is - yeah... hopefully I will get used to this one, all part of owning a new car
Questions
Would be great to hear from any fellow owners and thoughts on the above items - I would especially be keen to hear thoughts / views on the gearchange / clutch - I know twin plate clutch and ligher flywheel is possible (but expensive), would love to know how much of a difference this would make to the clutch and notchy gearchange!
Any other questions (or comments), fire away!
Cheers
Long time lurker, occasional poster here
After 15 years of want, I have finally taken the plunge on an early V8 vantage - manged to find one that was close(ish), the exact colour scheme I wanted (black, red calipers, black interior), premium audio, been well looked after with tons of reciepts. Has done 70k, had a recent clutch (oem sadly). Private sale but of course I have money aside should the worst happen
Only had the car for a few days, but my first impressions would be as follows:
Good Points
The looks - to die for. Just looks amazing from basically every angle. People look everywhere I go. Was not expecting that much attention and very different reactions from the M cars I am used to!
The sound - also to die for. Took fuse 22 out and well, I don't need to say any more, best sounding car I have ever owned, by miles
Bad Points
The clutch - honestly, terrible. I hope I will get used to it and it will become less of an issue. My 2002 fiesta run-around is vastly more enjoyable (and easier) to change gear in
The gear change - as above, very notchy, which is not fun. Combined with the clutch, feels like it ruins the driving experience a bit, it's that bad. Once I almost shoved it into 1st from max revs in 2nd because 2nd into 3rd is so hard to find... gearbox oil was done about 2 years ago so don't think it's that, would be interested in other peoples experiences!
Indifferent Points
Premium Audio - it's loud and has power, but the bass is a bit warbaly / over-saturating (not an audiofile so not sure if they are the right words), still tweaking the settings. Need to try the £100 ebay part to connect to the phone rather than have to play cd's
Handling - not bad, not great. Coming from an M2 it feels like a heavier, slower car. More composed at high speed, more comfortable on long journeys, but less nimble / agile - I expected more of a GT and less of a backroad weapon (after reading many posts here), but the extent to which this is true still surprised me a little
Ride - I think the car is likley on it's original shocks. The ride is not "bad" per se, it's reasonably firm, but it does feel a little crashy
Knowing where the bonnet is - yeah... hopefully I will get used to this one, all part of owning a new car
Questions
Would be great to hear from any fellow owners and thoughts on the above items - I would especially be keen to hear thoughts / views on the gearchange / clutch - I know twin plate clutch and ligher flywheel is possible (but expensive), would love to know how much of a difference this would make to the clutch and notchy gearchange!
Any other questions (or comments), fire away!
Cheers
Edited by SE24 on Wednesday 7th April 22:49
Wishing you many safe adventures in your new chariot.
You are fortunate to have an experienced independent repair facility like Bamford Rose. I’m sure they could assist you with your shift and ride issues.
I have the supposed Premium Stereo as well and it is light years behind my other vehicles that have truly spectacular stereo systems. I wish the radio was not so integrated into the waterfall as it would be difficult (I think) to replace it.
You are fortunate to have an experienced independent repair facility like Bamford Rose. I’m sure they could assist you with your shift and ride issues.
I have the supposed Premium Stereo as well and it is light years behind my other vehicles that have truly spectacular stereo systems. I wish the radio was not so integrated into the waterfall as it would be difficult (I think) to replace it.
Car looks stunning in the pictures - nice find.
Some observations.
Gearchange. I own a 2015 SportShift II Vantage but I have driven several manuals. I understand your point about the gate but what I was told (and it worked on the cars I drove) was that the gearshift is heavily biased to the 3-4 plane, so going from 2 to 3 you push the stick out of second then let the spring bias move the lever over, then you push forward into 3rd; don’t try to move the lever across the gate yourself. Same for 5 to 4. Going from the 3-4 plane you just push across the gate to the stop, being careful not to push past 1-2 into the reverse dogleg. The shift action is not the feather-light action of some modern vehicles: the gearbox (strictly transaxle) is in the back but, despite the distance, the change is positive and heavily “mechanical”, which many people like. It reminds me of big car gearboxes of the past, and it’s a bit of a brute as the same ‘box could handle the V12.
Audio. Many people have commented that the Premium system is one of the best they have encountered in a car. I have it in mine and I think it is perfectly fine, but there are many settings in a couple of menus to tweak. I used the basic settings I found in a thread on PH but I found that when the auto volume kicked in the sub was too “boomy” (I found the same on a DynAudio in a V70) so I just backed the sub off a bit. I guess a lot also depends on if you play Maria Callas or Megadeath.
Crashy ride. Is it on Bridgestones? I’ve recently changed from old Brickstones to Conti ContactSport 6’s and it’s transformed the ride, smoothing out the small, sharp inputs like manhole covers and potholes so the car “thuds” over them now, rather than crashing and banging. I can genuinely say that one change made me want to drive it even more, and I live surrounded by really poorly-surfaced lanes and B-roads. It even fixed some of the few rattles mine had.
I do believe the earlier dampers were not the best either. The consensus for the smaller, non-S wheel and tyre size appears to be to move to Michelin PS4S’s
Clutch. Yes, it has one.
Some observations.
Gearchange. I own a 2015 SportShift II Vantage but I have driven several manuals. I understand your point about the gate but what I was told (and it worked on the cars I drove) was that the gearshift is heavily biased to the 3-4 plane, so going from 2 to 3 you push the stick out of second then let the spring bias move the lever over, then you push forward into 3rd; don’t try to move the lever across the gate yourself. Same for 5 to 4. Going from the 3-4 plane you just push across the gate to the stop, being careful not to push past 1-2 into the reverse dogleg. The shift action is not the feather-light action of some modern vehicles: the gearbox (strictly transaxle) is in the back but, despite the distance, the change is positive and heavily “mechanical”, which many people like. It reminds me of big car gearboxes of the past, and it’s a bit of a brute as the same ‘box could handle the V12.
Audio. Many people have commented that the Premium system is one of the best they have encountered in a car. I have it in mine and I think it is perfectly fine, but there are many settings in a couple of menus to tweak. I used the basic settings I found in a thread on PH but I found that when the auto volume kicked in the sub was too “boomy” (I found the same on a DynAudio in a V70) so I just backed the sub off a bit. I guess a lot also depends on if you play Maria Callas or Megadeath.
Crashy ride. Is it on Bridgestones? I’ve recently changed from old Brickstones to Conti ContactSport 6’s and it’s transformed the ride, smoothing out the small, sharp inputs like manhole covers and potholes so the car “thuds” over them now, rather than crashing and banging. I can genuinely say that one change made me want to drive it even more, and I live surrounded by really poorly-surfaced lanes and B-roads. It even fixed some of the few rattles mine had.
I do believe the earlier dampers were not the best either. The consensus for the smaller, non-S wheel and tyre size appears to be to move to Michelin PS4S’sClutch. Yes, it has one.
Edited by LTP on Tuesday 6th April 20:49
Regarding the clutch, do you have an issue with the actual clutch or gearchange?
If the clutch is pretty new, it should be quite light but easy to modulate. I wouldn’t get too hung up on the twin plate clutch (I have one) as it can bring it’s own issues (e.g. gear chatter, which became worse on my car).
Gearchange. Mine (56 plate 4.3) is pretty hard work when cold, especially when going into 2nd, but when warm it’s ok. Don’t forget the gearbox is at the back so there’s nothing other than friction to warm up the box. When it’s cold try changing from 1st to 3rd initially, and try and keep the revs up when changing gear. When I got mine I was shortshifting a lot and I realised the car didn’t like it.
Handling - is would say it’s a well balanced GT car but if your car is on the original dampers that might not help. I’m running the original dampers and Bridgestone tyres, so low speed compliance isn’t the best.
Car looks great so don’t give up on it! I went from a 18 month old M235i to 13 yr old Vantage and the dealer warned me the Aston was “agricultural” to drive!
If the clutch is pretty new, it should be quite light but easy to modulate. I wouldn’t get too hung up on the twin plate clutch (I have one) as it can bring it’s own issues (e.g. gear chatter, which became worse on my car).
Gearchange. Mine (56 plate 4.3) is pretty hard work when cold, especially when going into 2nd, but when warm it’s ok. Don’t forget the gearbox is at the back so there’s nothing other than friction to warm up the box. When it’s cold try changing from 1st to 3rd initially, and try and keep the revs up when changing gear. When I got mine I was shortshifting a lot and I realised the car didn’t like it.
Handling - is would say it’s a well balanced GT car but if your car is on the original dampers that might not help. I’m running the original dampers and Bridgestone tyres, so low speed compliance isn’t the best.
Car looks great so don’t give up on it! I went from a 18 month old M235i to 13 yr old Vantage and the dealer warned me the Aston was “agricultural” to drive!
Edited by S1-NOS on Tuesday 6th April 21:14
Lovely looking car. Trying to compare a modern M2 to a 13 year old anything is going to be fairly night and day.
The Vantage is most definitely an analogue car and for many (dare I say most of us owners) is what we love. I've driven a varying amount of M cars and found them all to be way to hard in the ride department. The Vantage is still a tough ride but to me has more compliance.
Gear change is a known Vantage issue but once warmed up it should be fairly slick with a little notchiness.... Its no Honda Type R box even when warm but it is a nice box to use once warm. Mine struggles with first when cold. You may find if you go to an indie garage they will have played around with various gearbox oils but on the whole they've never got rid of the cold issue.
Twin plate clutch is a must if yours is about to give up or if you feel its close to its end of life. But if its new then just live with it for now.
The twin plate is usually spec'd with lightened flywheel and makes life much easier in traffic and livens up the drive. It's a very worthwhile upgrade.
Enjoy your car, owning an Aston is about buying into the brand, the image, the looks, feel etc. Nothing comes close to me in the 'affordable' performance car market.
The Vantage is most definitely an analogue car and for many (dare I say most of us owners) is what we love. I've driven a varying amount of M cars and found them all to be way to hard in the ride department. The Vantage is still a tough ride but to me has more compliance.
Gear change is a known Vantage issue but once warmed up it should be fairly slick with a little notchiness.... Its no Honda Type R box even when warm but it is a nice box to use once warm. Mine struggles with first when cold. You may find if you go to an indie garage they will have played around with various gearbox oils but on the whole they've never got rid of the cold issue.
Twin plate clutch is a must if yours is about to give up or if you feel its close to its end of life. But if its new then just live with it for now.
The twin plate is usually spec'd with lightened flywheel and makes life much easier in traffic and livens up the drive. It's a very worthwhile upgrade.
Enjoy your car, owning an Aston is about buying into the brand, the image, the looks, feel etc. Nothing comes close to me in the 'affordable' performance car market.
Congratulations Mike on finding such a shiny Vantage. Beautiful.
Ride - You are right, if your car still has the original dampers, they will not be helping obtain the handling that you want.
Replacement with a set of the later Bilsteins would probably be a sensible start.
Clutch / Gearchange - my own Vantage is fine in this respect, so yours should be able to be sorted.
70,000 miles will obviously have seen thousands of gearchanges, so perhaps some components have worn, making gear selection rather imprecise.
There is someone in Warwickshire, one of a few independents, who could improve all the aspects you are concerned about.
Enjoy your new car.
I've had my 4.3 for 8 years and upgraded most things that can be upgraded.
The biggest improvement by far was changing to a twin plate clutch and lighter flywheel.
The engine revs more freely, the clutch is lighter (maybe trickier to find bite point at first) and the gear change is smoother.
The biggest improvement by far was changing to a twin plate clutch and lighter flywheel.
The engine revs more freely, the clutch is lighter (maybe trickier to find bite point at first) and the gear change is smoother.
Thanks for all the comments so far and the warm welcome!
The car certainly scrubbed up well I must say, that was after just a wash, dry and quick spray / microfibre with some instant shine type detailer
I was hoping to spend more time in the car over the coming days, however I had my first issue today...
Went to my local wheel alignment centre - he starts at the rear and the bolt on the rear trailing arm bush is quite tight. The guy basically hangs off his wrench (with quite a long socket on I must add) and the nut shears straight off with the end of the bolt still inside it...
Guy says the bolt is seized (you don't say) and there's nothing else he can do
Managed to nurse the car to specialist in Basingstoke, who is going to take a look and let me know what sort of damage we are looking at (he said likely a new rear arm as the bush will be destroyed getting the bolt out and bushes are not sold seperatley)
Will let everyone know how I get on!
The car certainly scrubbed up well I must say, that was after just a wash, dry and quick spray / microfibre with some instant shine type detailer
I was hoping to spend more time in the car over the coming days, however I had my first issue today...
Went to my local wheel alignment centre - he starts at the rear and the bolt on the rear trailing arm bush is quite tight. The guy basically hangs off his wrench (with quite a long socket on I must add) and the nut shears straight off with the end of the bolt still inside it...
Guy says the bolt is seized (you don't say) and there's nothing else he can do
Managed to nurse the car to specialist in Basingstoke, who is going to take a look and let me know what sort of damage we are looking at (he said likely a new rear arm as the bush will be destroyed getting the bolt out and bushes are not sold seperatley)
Will let everyone know how I get on!
Edited by SE24 on Wednesday 7th April 22:50
Also, I booked the car in for a service with AHM and asked them if I could supply my own rear pads which need doing. They said no because then they can't garuantee the warranty. I said fair enough, could you let me know how much for the oem pads (pagid 4-2-2 as I understand) if you supply them
They quoted me £445 for rear pads only, which I thought was very steep. I ordered the exact same pads from eurocarparts last night for £156 delivered. I know that garages need to make their money somewhere, but I felt that was un-acceptable levels of pants at the ankles (practically triple the price) so I won't be using them even though I have read good things about them on this forum
They quoted me £445 for rear pads only, which I thought was very steep. I ordered the exact same pads from eurocarparts last night for £156 delivered. I know that garages need to make their money somewhere, but I felt that was un-acceptable levels of pants at the ankles (practically triple the price) so I won't be using them even though I have read good things about them on this forum
Ryan_T said:
Interesting read. I’d appreciate more thoughts on the M2 vs. the Vantage if you have them. Appreciate they’re different cars, the Vantage presumably being more GT - But does that mean less exciting, and special?
Less special? No, not to me anyway. I would say the vantage is more special, feels more of an event, and the reactions from others are night and day. That's not why I bought the car (I'm not a limelight type) but it does add to the experienceLess exciting? Tough one. In some ways yes (from a back road destroyer perspective) but you can gain excitment from many different elements of a car
Overall I would say the M2 feels faster (forced induction will be part of that "feeling") and more nimble. It turns in quicker, it stops faster. It's more chuckable, it has less inertia. The vantage feels heavier when turning, and much heavier when braking (it is due fluid and rear pads, to be fair to the old girl) but more planted at high speed, especially in the corners. Very much more of a GT, surprisingly so in fact, even though I knew to expect that
Edited by SE24 on Wednesday 7th April 22:49
S1-NOS said:
Regarding the clutch, do you have an issue with the actual clutch or gearchange?
I would say both, but the clutch is only really an issue at low speeds (which I can live with). The gearchange is probably the opposite (hard to get into gear quickly when pressing on) which is a bigger rub, at least to me. For sure I need to spend more time in the car, get a bit more used to it and go from thereSE24 said:
Also, I booked the car in for a service with AHM and asked them if I could supply my own rear pads which need doing. They said no because then they can't garuantee the warranty. I said fair enough, could you let me know how much for the oem pads (pagid 4-2-2 as I understand) if you supply them
They quoted me £445 for rear pads only, which I thought was very steep. I ordered the exact same pads from eurocarparts last night for £156 delivered. I know that garages need to make their money somewhere, but I felt that was un-acceptable levels of pants at the ankles (practically triple the price) so I won't be using them even though I have read good things about them on this forum
Who did you talk to at AHM? I deal with Adrian (the owner) and have been told I can supply the parts myself if I want. For instance, I am looking at new suspension in the coming months and although he recommends the Bilstein upgrade, I've mentioned the new Nitron versions now being offered by others. Adrian is happy for me to supply the ones I go for and he will fit.They quoted me £445 for rear pads only, which I thought was very steep. I ordered the exact same pads from eurocarparts last night for £156 delivered. I know that garages need to make their money somewhere, but I felt that was un-acceptable levels of pants at the ankles (practically triple the price) so I won't be using them even though I have read good things about them on this forum
Happy to meet up and see if I can help as you appear to be local to me. Send me a private message if you wish.
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