http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJp7tqRyJAI


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I'll remember to buy the manual.

 

I just test drove a new 09 Vantage sportshift and agree with this review. Shifts took a long time, and under heavy acceleration, were very rough. This including accelerating from stand still; just flooring the car resulted in a lengthly delay and very rocky launch. Very light pedal depression, say 10%, from standstill did not even cause the car to go forward, just rev the engine a little. Even moderate acceleration from standstill resulted in some instability and rocking feeling in the transmission as the "auto manual" did its work.

That said, I'm 6'6'' and am not sure I have room to work a clutch comfortably. Letting off the gas right before shifts with the sportshift did help smoothness by about 50%, but this partially defeats the purpose of sportshift in my mind and it was still quite rocky. I'm sure your passenger, especially if a woman who is not into cars, would be unhappy about the ride quality and probably think the car had something wrong with it.

I'm not sure where this leaves me. I still love the car, think its acceleration is still very responsive, exhaust noise is perfect, downshifts (and the rev matching blip) are instantaneous and wonderful, but the sport shift, even in full auto mode, is very delayed and violent under heavy acceleration. Not what I was expecting from a car costing this much $.

 

The manual is very good...the best I've ever had and comparable to the Porsche 6-speed with short shift kit.

AM should do themselves a favor and source a good dual clutch transmission to replace the sport shift which has never gotten any praise. They are definitely lagging behind the competition with the current unit.

 

agreed! i really love the feel of the Vantage's manual transmission, but i've heard nothing but bad things about the automatic. my fiancee wants an automatic (she's not comfortable driving stick), but i refuse to even test drive one. i guess the crappy auto is a good thing for me, it's keeping my better half out of the driver's seat

 

How long does the clutch in the manual normally last for with spirited road use only, and what is the repair cost? ($2500?)

I thought I saw the automatic manual was double that, closer to $5k to fix, also.

 

i've *heard* 25-50k miles, and it's considered the weak point in the car (aside from CELs from o2 sensors). i think you're right about cost. no idea on numbers for the auto, though.

 

I have a sportshift and generally I would agree that it can be somewhat sluggish. There is a learning curve as well. However, I did the RSC sportshift TCU remap and the shift are much, much faster. Huge improvement!! The car should come from the factory this way. Do a search for my review on this forum. Best bang for the buck so far on this car!

Adam

 

I think I saw this post of yours, but don't you have an older Vantage, like an 07? The one I drove was a new 09, with the larger engine and updated transmission/gearbox, so I was assuming that this was the latest TCU version.

I must say, however, that downshifts are perfect, with the lovely rev blip (I assume older Vantages with sportshift do this too?). Downshifts are instant and very smooth. Its just the launch and upshifts (at least in gears 1-4) that are rocky and bothersome to me. Certainly, letting off the gas right before shifting helped smooth things, not necessarily make it faster shifting, but the problem was still there and that kinda defeats the purpose of sportshift in my mind. I'm sure with practice I could get better at it, and supposedly Aston has software to learn how you drive and optimize shifting after collecting enough driver data, but I still think its a problem (but not a deal breaker, otherwise, as I said, the car is near perfect if you ignore the constant desire for more power always).

 

Yeah, my car is an '07 but it is my understanding that the TCU programming remains pretty much unchanged for later years. In fact, I was at the dealer 2 weeks ago and a customer was there talking to a service adviser about doing the Paramount TCU upgrade (very similar to the RSC) on his '09. If you are seriously considering the '09 with sportshift I would inquire with Stuart at RSC.

BTW, after the upgrade I can now stay full throttle and change gears. No more lifting the gas for smooth shifts. It has totally transformed the car! No more lag or lunging. Plus, I bet it is better on the clutch as well.

I am leaving town for 10 days tomorrow evening but I would be happy to show you my car if/when you return to Chicago. I think you will be quite impressed.

Adam

 

Adam, Did you have the dealer pull the ecu, or can you do it yourself? I don't even know where it is on the car.

I had to have sportshift. Coming from an M3 with SMG, the paddle shifting is too much fun...

 

Yeah, I really love the sportshift. It is a lot of fun and I certainly cannot manually shift as fast as the SS car, (and I used to do SCCA racing, autocross, etc. so I think I am better than the average Joe in that regard).

Sure, the dealer can easily pull the TCU. In fact, my dealer pulled one 2 weeks ago when I was there and sent it to Paramount for the upgrade.

I pulled my own TCU and sent it to RSC for the upgrade. If you are mechanically inclined it is pretty darn easy. The exhaust installation by comparison took much longer. My TCU was out of the car in 15 minutes and I went slow. I would be happy to help or answer any questions. It was very similar to pulling the CPU out of a computer. A few more wires but not really more complicated. Just do it with plenty of light.

Adam

 

I forgot to mention, the TCU is located in the rear passenger side trunk section where the fuse box is located. If you pulled fuse 22 you are in the correct area.

Attached is a pic of my TCU for reference.

The ECU is located under the passenger side front tire under the wheel well.

 

Thanks Adam, I do a ton of electronics stuff, I'll pull it myself.

Speaking of the fuse 22, since I did that, I get a backfire every now and then, is that normal? I do like being able to hear the exhaust more, but the backfire makes me wonder if its doing more than just opening the exhaust?

 

My pleasure. Let me know if you have any questions. I would be happy to help if I can.

Yep, my car backfired as well when I had the stock exhaust with fuse 22 removed. I noticed more when I was lightly cruising around town. I get it once in a very short while, but very infrequently, with the RSC exhaust. BTW, I was shocked how heavy the OEM exhaust is. Holy crap! I am guessing my new exhaust is ~35lbs lighter.