its gonna be my daily driver, except when snow is 2 ft deep, i will park it in garage
i will test drive it this Friday.

 

does this mean it will change to automatic mode by itself?

 

Good advice from the guys, I'll add an over view to their tips on clutch learns etc....basically the Sportshift's weak points are jerky and variable stop start take off, manoeuvring- especially reverse when the engine is cold - and the auto mode which is frankly rather poor. These quirks are pretty common on all makes of automated manual cars as they are simply a manual gearbox with automated electronic controls rather than a conventional auto-box or new tech dual clutch DSG.
The benefit is faster changes, lovely downshifts with throttle blips and you don't have to endure the stiff manual-change in certain gears. I prefer manual as it is more involving, but once you get used to the Sportshift it is appealing, just don't use the auto mode stick to the paddles.
It was introduced for the 07MY so yours would be an early system, although software updates have been applied. The first big change was for the 09MY 4.7 cars, then the 7-speed Sportshift II was launched in 2011 on the V8 S, we now have III on the new V12S.
My advice would be to take an extended test drive to see how you get on with the set-up, make sure you try stop start traffic in town, reverse and flat out changes on the open road, but the bottom line is, once you get used to its quirks most owners enjoy Sportshift. Best of luck.

 

I think we will agree to disagree on that
I cannot see how a correctly adjusted robotic movement can be repeated time and time again more accurately by a human?
I know the emphasis is on "correctly"
Both my ASM cars have been great on the clutch/gearbox, but I am religious about the "learn"

 

No it will stay in the gear it drops to until you change up or select D

 

so when the car stops at lights, does it goes to N? or stays at 1st gear?

Im going to test drive this week, but just want to get some ideas.

 

A human can modulate the clutch pedal to minimize wear, whereas I think paddle systems are set up to be quick-shifting and (at least tolerably) smooth -- that can include clutch slip. On a fairly open road it probably makes little difference, but in town, traffic, or other low-speed maneuvering (including reversing), auto-clutch systems slip the clutch a lot more than I do. I can see what is ahead -- the computer cannot. With a clutch pedal, the driver can control exactly how much/how little to slip the clutch -- that's not possible when a computer makes the engage/disengage decisions. With a clutch pedal, the driver can inch forward in traffic or other low-speed maneuvering by very briefly engaging the clutch and then disengaging it -- the car continues to roll forward. He can shift as quickly or as slowly as he wants whenever he wants. In my experience, auto-clutch systems shift quicker than I do while not driving fast because once the driver pulls the paddle he is waiting for the shift to be completed -- this can feel slow and unsatisfying, even if it isn't slow, so the system is calibrated to shift quite quickly even at fairly low revs and load. With a manual, even if the driver takes a long time to shift, the driver is involved in the shift process from start to finish -- there is no unsatisfying waiting for the system to complete the process. Since SS shifts faster more of the time, it works the synchros harder.

Also, the SS nearly always forces the shift through, even when it balks, whereas with a gear lever the sensitive driver feels the balk and reduces the pressure, tries again, etc. The mechanic at my dealer told me that he has seen damaged shift forks only on SS cars for this reason. Of course, the manual driver has the potential to miss a shift with disastrous results -- hence the vital element of "well-driven" to this whole argument

I've driven my manual '83 Saab 900 Turbo (my first car) 266,000 miles in a wide variety of driving including city stop-and-go, back road blasts, stoplight grands prix (I was very young ), long trips, and towing trailers with a small boat or snowmobiles -- it still has its original clutch.

 

how tall are you guys driving vantage?
im 6'4, might not have a lot of headroom.

 

CHOI,

Had an 07 V8V and AM's customer service is by far the best I've encountered in my years of driving. AM sent a towtruck from Bellevue, WA to Nowhere, MT(659 miles one way) when I had a serious oil leak under the transfer case. The car was under warranty but it was also a part of a recall. To make the story short, soon after I sold it... the new owner asked for $5,000 for a clutch replacement. Even though I had no problems or complaints about the SportShift, apparently Aston of Calgary diagnosed it with a bad clutch at 6000 miles, two weeks after the warranty expired. To my defense, Bellevue gave my Aston a good bill of health which petty much settled the case and never heard from the new owner again. Truth is that sometimes I smelled rotten eggs when I backed out of the garage... and some people told me that it was the first sign of a clutch going bad but what did I know? My point is that no matter how well you drive the Aston, truth is you have no clue what the last owner did to it. All I know is that when I was driving it, I felt like a king inside his crystal carriage. I never got the satisfaction from my 911 turbo I got from the "inferior" Aston and that's why I am in the market for a new one... Hope this helped and with regards to your height, well... you are one tall ****!!!!

 

THANKS!@
gonna see how it drives tmr, and if everything is good, gonna pull the trigger.
the owner did tell me the gas door is not opening when the button is pressed, and this is the only issue.

 

That's pretty impressive. I figure that if I can get 50K on the '07 V8V I just bought before having to replace the clutch, I'll be happy. Its been 10 yrs since I drove a manual regularly and relearning the techniques is a little slow.

 

Stays in first
Pull both paddles back together for neutral

 

I'm 6'3". I fit comfortably enough. All about getting the seat position right. There's a little more headroom in a coupe than a roadster.

 

just bought it this afternoon, the car fit me quite well, im surprised its more room than i thought.
everything looks good, just not sure if i need to pull the hand brake or not if i park the car in Neutral?

 

Park it in 1st gear... and post pics. Many pics