Shopping for V8 Vantage - help appreciated with choice.

[Bomber Denton]

Evening all, currently looking for a V8 Vantage, ideal car would be a Vantage S manual but there are thin on the ground and the ones available are not within my budget of where I want to be about £40k.
So.... I really want to manual as I am a 'spirited' driver so I am leaning towards a good spec manual 4.7 non 'S', which leads me to ask is the Sportshift 2 a decent driving box? If so then there plenty of V8S Sportshift available.
Is the 'S' a decent upgrade over a standard V8? Worth suffering the lack of manual??

Any help appreciated including what I should avoid or look for.

Many thanks.

Corin

[LTP]

Bomber Denton said:

Evening all, currently looking for a V8 Vantage, ideal car would be a Vantage S manual but there are thin on the ground and the ones available are not within my budget of where I want to be about £40k.
So.... I really want to manual as I am a 'spirited' driver so I am leaning towards a good spec manual 4.7 non 'S', which leads me to ask is the Sportshift 2 a decent driving box? If so then there plenty of V8S Sportshift available.
Is the 'S' a decent upgrade over a standard V8? Worth suffering the lack of manual??

Any help appreciated including what I should avoid or look for.

Many thanks.

Corin

This subject has been pretty well covered over the years, and others may even have chipped in before I finish typing this. Picking up a couple of points

is the Sportshift 2 a decent driving box?
In my opinion, yes. It is superior to the SSI 'box. (Clarkson voice) Some say it's way inferior to more modern, true twin clutch (DSG/PDK) gearboxes. Its weakness is the well documented clutch, but you have to learn how to drive it. It's a Marmite transmission. It is not an auto. Some people hate them.

Is the 'S' a decent upgrade over a standard V8? Worth suffering the lack of manual??
I doubt you'd notice the slight, additional, "peakier" torque or the +10 bhp. I drove both in my search and it wasn't a factor

The S does have firmer suspension to the non-S (and the non-S is not squidgy). The crap roads in the UK are why I chose a non-S as I'm more of a GT driver than a track-day hero. Drive both. As an aside and in hindsight, now I know just how much the ride improves by ditching the OEM Bridgestone tyres, I might have considered an S.

The S has a lighter (relatively considering the weight of a Vantage) rear silencer box that is slightly more "rorty" Not a real factor for me.

I do like the trim in the S. But it's not a deal-breaker for me.

The differences between an S and non-S are not worth factoring in to the choice between the manual and the SSII. Decide which transmission you want, then decide on the other, smaller differences between S and non-S.

I drove about 6 different cars (4.3; 4.7; manual; SSI; SSII, 'S'; non-'S') before I'd decided on my ideal spec, then I started looking at cars on the "Timeless" website. You need to drive some and make your own mind up

Edited to add
Things changed for the non-S at the 12.25MY - before that, the non-S had the SSI trans; smaller brakes; a slower rack and, depending on year, different dampers. My comments above all apply the post 12.5MY cars, as that's what I was shopping for - because I wanted the major non-S upgrade that put a lot of 'S' bits on.

So the year is important too.

Edited by LTP on Thursday 13th March 19:32

[Bomber Denton]

LTP, many thanks, these are the valuable comparisons I need. What year did the changes such as rack etc take place?

[LTP]

Bomber Denton said:

LTP, many thanks, these are the valuable comparisons I need. What year did the changes such as rack etc take place?

Part way through 2012, hence 12.25MY. You can tell the later cars by the bigger front callipers (6-pot vs 4-pot, I think), the sightly wider tyres (I forgot to mention that - sorry) and the SSII has 7 gears over the 6 in the SSI

[Bomber Denton]

Forgive my naivety but is that also where the lower vent on the front bumper changed from the round angles to triangular?

[LTP]

Bomber Denton said:

Forgive my naivety but is that also where the lower vent on the front bumper changed from the round angles to triangular?

I have no idea

[johns355]

Owned a manual 4.3 roadster for 5 years, then got a coupe 4.7 ‘s’ nearly 2 years ago, both I had the clutch changed to twin plate with the latter done at Bamford rose accompanied with the remap which transforms the driving experience imo. So try both gearboxes, especially if the ss2 has the BR upgrade, tbh I prefer it over the manual! John

[tom-4hcey]

I was always one for a manual but I’ve had a 2007 4.3 manual that I absolutely loved and owned for about 3 years. I now have a 2013 4.7 Vantage S Sport shift 2 that I love even more. As soon as you are used to the sport shift box it’s great. Even the 4.3 manual took a bit of getting used to compared to the 997 carrera s manual I had previously.

When purchasing my Vantage S I looked at a few low mileage examples but all of them needed slight cosmetics and the subframes looked a bit tired although only surface corrosion. I ended up going for the highest mileage that I had viewed and lowest price out of all of them, it has the lightweight seats and full am service history which appealed to me. I was aware it needed cosmetic work, subframe and brakes etc doing to bring it back to its former glory, after a few years it’s finally complete but can’t fault it to be fair.

[Laup99]

What a lovely position to be in and you will have fun having a look around.

I was in the same position and exactly the same budget as you.

I wanted a 4.3/4.7 manual. I ended up with a 2012 4.7 Sportshift.

Best advise I can give..... is go and give them a try and that will help you decide. I was lucky enough to try 3 different cars on the same day and I gave the Sportshift a token 'Ill just try' ended up buying. Best way to compare.

My thoughts for me is that the manual is not that great (compared to my MX5 its night and day) in terms of action/feel. I was aslo coming from an Afla 4C that had an amazing paddle gearbox but that left me cold (was like changing gear with an xbox controller) The Sportshift is great in that you still have to work at it, lift of when changing gear etc but with out the heavy clutch/action. Best of both worlds...Easy gear changes (can change with a little finger if needed) but still feel part of the process.....My fav bit. Coming down through the gearbox when coming into corners......Best thing ever.

Just my opinion and again as I say only you can decide....try them both.

[alscar]

Already some very good advice particularly from LTP.
Fwiw I bought a "special SP10 " edition in 2013 which was in effect a very well optioned 4.7S manual with comfort suspension.
I had previously driven a non S version also manual.
When I made the error of driving a V12S at Millbrook I then swopped to one but with SS3 automated manual.
This suited the car and tbh in traffic and commuting was a nicer place to be gearbox wise than my old V8.
The autobox buttons in this I never pressed though.
However I then bought and still have a GT8 manual which has a similar box to my old V8.
In short you need to drive both versions to see what suits you and what you prefer.
I won't make any comments about Lightweight v Sports seats as that too is a very personal choice and in any event on the V8 they were much more limited when specced.
Best of luck in your search or perhaps best of fun.

[Bob T]

When I was looking I went to a main dealer and drove a manual and Sportshift back to back.
To me, neither gearbox was perfect. So it came down to finding a car in the colour and price band I was happy with. Ended up with a 2016 S sportshift in volcano red
About 3 months ago I drove a manual while out helping a friend in his search for a V8. Before I even got out the car park I was happy mine is a sportshift and I made the right choice!

[nickv12]

Any V8 Vantages after the "2012.25" update is largely the same at its core, with all the notable mechanical upgrades (steering column rigidity, etc.) featuring on non-S and S models. Options and special editions doesn't change the underlying brilliance of these robust cars.

You won't notice the extra 10bhp of the S model. Simply remove the secondary cats and you have that power (probably). But it'll sound infinitely better and remain MOT legal in the UK.

The main options to consider (beyond the obvious coupe/roadster and special edition paint/interior differences) are:

• Comfort or Sports suspension (Comfort is sporty on the road and Sports makes it terrible on our dreadfully surfaced country lanes)
• Sports (adjustable with side airbags) or Lightweight (carbon) sports seat — strangely, the latter are more comfortable but rare and airbags may be something you find important?
• Built-in Apple CarPlay on 2017 and 2018 models (but can be retro-fitted — check out Aston Installations)
• Manual or SportShift II — enough written elsewhere about these, and it's personal (my choice is SS by a country mile due to ergonomics and involvement when pressing on)
• Standard or Sports exhaust — strangely, when secondary de-cat'd, I found the standard exhaust more satisfying with an America V8 rumble
• HiFi in 160W, 700W and 1,000W B&O flavours — without a doubt, if you have the chance to buy one with the (originally a £5k option) B&O, I think it trumps most other options which can be retro-changed more easily

Regardless which you go for, if the tyres are 7 or more years old already, replace them immediately regardless of wear with the best you can get. Pirelli aren't as bad as they are reported, but most people seem to experience when they are rock-hard due to age.

Oh - finally, ensure you drive it weekly. Or daily. Don't let it sit for 6 months of a year in a garage. It'll be a grumpy car and you'll have wasted a massive privilege

[V8V Pete]

As the owner of a manual Vantage S I think this thread needs a little more balance.

In standard form both gearboxes are compromised by the poor factory single plate clutch and heavy flywheel (if you like a free-revving NA engine). The V12V/S had a decent clutch and flywheel from the factory and are much better for it. In fact, some people think it's a different gearbox in V12V compared to V8V but it's not, it's just the effect of the clutch/flywheel.

That's why I had my clutch/flywheel upgraded long before the clutch was done and it transforms the interaction with the drivetrain.

So perhaps keep in mind that quite a lot of V8Vs out there will have an upgraded clutch/flywheel and, if you like driving a manual car hard, then that would definitely be worth having high on your list of preferences.

Also, not all V8S have Sports Suspension (it will be specified on the original build sheet). Mine has Sports Suspension and it is firm but, with some decent UUHP tyres (Michelin, Conti, others), the ride is fine for me and better when pushing on. However, this is definitely a personal thing so try both if you can.