So this post took a little longer to finish up than expected. I've learned so much from the community here that and I thought it was time to contribute back some of my experiences over the past 7 months. =) Details on brand new OEM N420 carbon fiber pieces that I'm going to be selling coming soon in another post!!

How it started last winter:

08 Vantage SS with AM Factory Power Pack, cats and Tubi Exhaust. White with Kestrel Tan interior, nav, red calipers.

The car sounds absolutely amazing with this setup.. though it is a bit on the loud side. I'm on the fence, and might think about going for an OEM valved setup.. perhaps the n420, Vantage S or maybe even stock silencer. With this setup, I definitely don't feel the car is underpowered. It definitely isn't the fastest in the world, but once the revs get moving, there's plenty on tap.

Apologies in advance for the blurry pictures!!



First the clear bra!

I decided to shell out a little extra and went to Detailing Dynamics in Mineola, NY. I read about their work on 6speed and all over the F-car forums. These guys are real, real professionals who clearly enjoy their work and take car care very seriously. When you get there, you immediately notice two things: 1) how clean the facility is and 2) how many other exotics they're working on. On my two trips, they had several R8's, a brand new Bentley Conti GT Speed (shipped across the country), a GTR, several P's and a few F's, including an F40! Seemed like it was safe to trust the Vantage with them. =)
All in all, top notch work and not a bubble or lifted corner in sight almost 6 months later. They literally can help you do anything custom to your car.. if you can think it up, they can do it.








Next came the clear tails!

Ordered these off of Aston Martin Bits and have nothing but great things to say about AMB. One side actually developed some condensation, but AMB made the exchange process hassle free (even though they were across the pond in England). The tails weren't too hard to figure out.. just remember that you disconnect the harness with a flat head screwdriver (the red piece slides out), and that you'll need some patience changing out the small top mounted light. A fastener removing tool would have helped in removing the trunk lid liner, but you can also make do with some pliers and finesse. *Also, taking off the painted insert just takes a little bit of heat and some patience to get it off. It probably takes 2 hours to do it the first time, but after you've done it once.. takes about 30 mins tops. The most time consuming part is lining up the nuts/bolts so that the lights sit flush with the lines of the car (overtightening them actually makes it recede into the body.. if that makes sense)






More fun stuff! n400 side sills and n420 CF rear diffuser

These pieces really transformed the look of the car. The pictures really don't do the diffuser justice... the CF detail doesn't come through in pictures. In person, the car looks a lot more aggressive from the rear and the CF weave is amazing. I bought the CF side strakes and the front spoiler, but decided against putting them on. Selling them in another post (soon) if you're interested!






That's about it for now, hope you enjoy the pics!

 

Nicely done, car looks beautiful. I had a quicksilver exhaust on my 07 and loved it. Aggressive but not too loud.

 

Looks great! I also had the Quicksilver on my 08 with Power Pack and it wasn't too loud. I didn't have anything done to the cats though.

 

Looks great. I would consider black wheels as the next step. I did it to mine and below you can see a pic.

 

Great pics and excellent info on the DIY stuff. Thanks for posting!

 

Did you install the diffuser yourself as well?

 

Thanks everyone! Will consider going back to stock cats as an option.

@Kamran, I was actually thinking the same! Dark wheels are a nice contrast.
@Brumma, I thought about it but it was a little more than I could stomach without a lift! From what I understand, you have to remove the wheels, tailights, rear bumper..then have to drill additional holes in the bumper since the mount points are different. Definitely quite the process for something that looks like it should be just a bolton replacement!

 

Looks great, I want to do the tails but not really looking to spend anymore money.... The Stratus White is amazing..

Look at getting my set of wheels, they are perfect for any Vantage, especially contracts well against the white.

Canon

 

Love those wheels as well.. I actually remember seeing them up for sale! Hesitated and saw that you picked them up =)

 

There were two sets too!

 

I really like the changes. I think it modernizes the car a lot.

 

... and the second set is on mine now. Finally got around to installing them this week

 

Thanks AMusic!
@AstonCa... dammit! its been slim pickins on eBay since..

 

It would be cruel to gloat I will just wish you good luck on your continued hunt. Have you called up the original vendor that had those two sets of Sport Pack wheels? They move _a lot_ of high end OEM wheel pulls and might be able to source for you.

 

Not a bad idea at all, I'll drop him a line