Tahoe, I think your analysis of the flywheel options that are available is spot on.

My experience of the matter is that a few people have had a go at releasing a lightweight flywheel for Vantage but have not been totally successful at seamlessly integrating it, which is why some owners are put off. Let's see if we cant get some of those folk who drive Vanatges with this mod successfully integrated to write on here about their experience.....

Back on the track of the original post.......

In Euro land widespread premature clutch failure is rife, and quite frequently threads appear on forums from owners venting anger about both the premature failure and cost to repair at dealer.

Also, I am aware of a great number of owners with premature clutch failure who have complained 'assertively' to dealer / AM and reached free clutch kit and fit as the outcome of their....endeavour.. Does this angle of attack work in US?

A few questions for the wider forum...

What is the mileage owners on this forum suffer clutch failure?

What was the price charged to fit clutch kit?

What is a usual $ per hour for shop time in US?

 

I'll have a fresh invoice from Aston Martin by next week. But it's around $5,200

 

I wonder if the additional sets of clutch springs on the OEM clutch disc are to blame for the excessive wear since it allows additional slip at the expense of engagement crispness in order to give a super smooth engagement point. Luckily, the stock disc is a pretty large size (Spec said its roughy 265mm) so it can handle quite a bit of power if mated with a proper pressure plate & friction material.

My clutch still seems to be doing fine, but at a certain point it will probably eventually give around the 20k mile mark (still 8k away). A part of me wants mine to prematurely fail so I can go ahead and get the Spec stage 2+ kit (kevlar/carbon hybrid design).

I too agree there is no seamless direct bolt aftermarket aluminum flywheel equivalent to the stock setup. I have tried to get numerous manufacturers to produce something but every single one wants at least a 10 unit minimum to start production (which is not easy to do). The most likely candidates are Fidanza and Spec (I spoke to both).

It is possible due to the abnormally high drivetrain mass and super thick tranaxles gear fluid that the chatter may come down to a minimum (If non existent) when mated to the proper sprung hub clutch. However, until somebody does it and proves it doesn't chatter its hard to cough up the investment based on a guess.

If the stock flywheel is 20 pounds, the lightest one should really go is about 13 lbs (about the avg weight of a conservative street-friendly aluminum lightweight flywheel. Whether or not 7 pounds will be a profound enough of a difference is yet to be determined.

This is one area I would prefer to not be the guinea pig (for once)

 

Who are you talking about?

 

this has gone way too far and Mike has stepped over the line again...I put him in touch with someone to help him with sponsorship but I guess he has decided it is not for him...sorry guys but you will have to find him somewhere else or he will have to become a paying sponsor so he can promote himself and his products freely..thread closed