Thoughts on my new motor - NLC

[Dr H]

Collected the Aston Vantage today. Drove it from Macclesfield to Buxton over the 'Cat and Fiddle' and then down the A515 to Ashbourne and then back home. So about 55 miles. Initial thoughts:

Ride quality is brilliant. Looking through the paperwork I've found out it actually has the 'sport pack' fitted which was an AM aftermarket upgrade. I knew it has the lightweight forged N400 wheels on but didn't realise it also had uprated Bilstein shocks and springs. OK on really bad surfaces it's a little bit harsh but otherwise it's great. Apparently the new(ish) Pilot Sport 4S tyres it has on also help a lot.

Steering is pretty direct. It's no Lotus but it goes where you point it and doesn't feel as heavy as it actually is - 1600kg!! Bit heavy at parking speeds but fine once you are rolling along.

Very quiet inside the cabin and comfortable too. I have the earlier seats as it's a 2006 MY car. The later ones were supposed to be an improvement but I like mine. I think they are slimmer which for someone skinny like me actually means they grip you better. Good driving position and very good visibility all round I reckon.

How you get it to do 0-60 in 4.9 secs I have no idea. It feels dead slow when you are starting off and the long accelerator and heavy flywheel mean it seems to take an age to wind up. It's actually very docile and easy to drive slowly. To get it to feel fast you need to get it over 3.5-4k revs and it then comes alive and starts feeling fast(ish).

Gearbox is pretty nice. A tiny bit notchy but overall it's good. Feels like it will get a bit smoother with technique as you get used to it. Clutch is heavy and hill starts are difficult - the smell of burning clutch was testament to this! The fact mine is biting quite high didn't help. I know it will wear eventually, just a matter of time.

Reverse gear is a nightmare! Far too high, why they set it up like this I have no idea! Apparently the technique it so not use the accelerator at all and let the idle control deal with the small amount of throttle needed.

I think the interior might have been worked on by someone from Lotus . A few creaks (moving leather) and a few rattles. On the way back the TPMS box fell out from behind the glove box and is now hanging down in the passenger footwell.

Oh and it is very thirsty. Speed limits were all 50mph on the way back, lots of cameras (some average speed), lots of other traffic, artics and the like. So it was really an economy run and it did an average of 23mpg

Overall it's a great GT car that looks and sounds awesome and feels pretty well screwed together. A lighter flywheel and a smidge more power would make it feel a lot quicker........
 

[John FISH Curtis]

Pics please!!!!

[jonnyfox]

Yes let's see....

[Dr H]

Not had chance to take proper pics. Here's 2 in the dark.....

It looks   but also sounds awesome!

[jonnyfox]

It does indeed and I can believe it 🤣

[The Cakes]

Very nice and very clean!

[richbk]

Love it Leigh, very nice, everything i would want in  a vantage.

hope my initial post didnt start this whole process !!

and heres me still pondering.......

 

enjoy

richbk

[Dr H]

22 hours ago, The Cakes said:

Very nice and very clean!

It had just had a good clean. rinsed, wheel cleaner, shampoo, iron x type fall out remover, rinse again, clay mitt with weaker shampoo solution as lube, rinse, dry. Then engine cleaned with Autoglym machine & engine cleaner and dressed with Aerospace 303.

Did the same (except for engine clean) to the OH's S3. Took about 5 hours in total for the 2......

Already started with the small mods. LED map and footwell bulbs as the original were like candles,need to find out what bulds are needed for the door/puddle lamp and the boot as they are crap too. Also changed the aerial to a short antenna - looks miles better than the massive thing that was fitted as standard.

 

 

 

 

[Dr H]

7 hours ago, richbk said:

Love it Leigh, very nice, everything i would want in  a vantage.

hope my initial post didnt start this whole process !!

and heres me still pondering.......

 

enjoy

richbk

Your post was in Nov, I'd been thinking about one since August so not your fault, well not all your fault anyway

[winthattt]

They are the most fantastic looking cars, I keep being tempted but have resisted so far.  

[kieranexige]

[John FISH Curtis]

Now that's nice!!!

 

Will it get used more than the 340r, Elise?

 

[Dr H]

I bloody hope so! Mine you they were used so little it wouldn't be hard

[i wanna ferrari]

Very nice - I had one of these for 5 years and loved it.  The reason that it feels slow is because its so refined.  I put a Larini sports exhaust on mine along with high flow cats.  Not only did it make it sound amazing, it does wake the car up and make it feel an awful lot faster.

I assume that you have already removed fuse 22?

[Dr H]

You're probably right, the speedo seems to be reading higher than expected when you look at it compared to what the car 'feels' like it's doing. Drove it today over some pretty shit road surfaces and the leather squeaks inside like a bastard! Will have to try and sort it out!

I've made a remote control for fuse 22 using a remote switchable 12v relay. Followed some instructions on the web. Dead easy and works well.

Planning on a AMR twin plate clutch and lightened flywheel soon, Current clutch is pretty worn. That allied to the equal length stainless exhaust manifolds I've bought and the sports CATs I'm going to get should pep it up quite a bit

Have polished it a bit since buying it too.....