So been hemming and hawing on this. Pretty sure I want to replace the sills on my vantage with the v-collection carbon fibre sill plates.

I'd like to take the "made in great britain" metal tags which are mounted to the sill plates and transfer them to the carbon fibre ones. Does anyone know if those small plates are attached to the sill plates just by the two screws, or do they have adhesive tape on the back as well. If so, is it hard to remove without damaging?

Chris

 

The plaques are only held in place by two screws. But, come on Chris, couldn't you have simply used a screw driver and found that out?

 

Guess I could've but didn't think to try til I got the cf plates in. LOL

 

Just a heads up if your going to replace the sills with carbon. I bought the Vantage Collection sills and installed them a few weeks ago. The change was easy and you will actually have to pull the silver Am plate off in order to get at 2 of the allen head bolts that are located under the plate. There is a total of 6 allen bolts to remove in order to get the factory sill off. I had a slight problem with the alignment of the carbon fiber sills pre made holes when I tried to install it on the drivers side. The holes were off by just a tiny bit, but enough to hinder the allen head from going down into the hole as far as it should. It stuck up or would have split the carbon had I tried to force it. I should have sent it back based on the cost but I chose to fix it myself. IN the end they look great. Hope this helps.

 

thanks Steve!
What did you do to fix? enlarge the hole slightly?

 

I just installed new sill plaques on my Vantage. Ordered them from Aston with my signature. Looks cool.

 

what color plates did you get? Mine appear to be a purplish tinged anodizing? It doesn't really go that well with the black car and tan interior that's why I'm kinda leaning towards the CF ones.

 

He got personalized plaques not replacement door sills.

 

I should have read more closely.

 

zvez,
Yes I slightly and carefully enlarged the holes just a bit to allow for a bit of adjustment. Then looking at the allen head bolts that AM used, I didnt like that they stuck up a bit taller so I bought some button head allen bolts to use and they have a just slightly smaller head diameter that also allowed the bolt head to drop down into the hole and set a bit further bellow the surface. I liked the look better. Just be aware that for the cost, I have purchased to pcs. of carbon fiber parts form the V Collection, the door sills and the inner door bars, and had small problems with both when fitting them to my car. Again for the cost, they should be perfect and they both had fitment issues. I almost sent them both back but it took several weeks to get them so I could hardly wait any longer. I dealt with the owner of the V Collection and he was really a nice guy, but at the price of carbon fiber, they should have fit better. If anyone is interested in carbon parts for the Vantage, look at DNA racing located in Thailand. I bought a pc. from them, a rear diffuser and the cost was really almost half, and the part appears to be made just as well. Shipping cost is a bit high but I came out way ahead even with the shipping cost. In comparing the quality of the carbon fiber parts I bought, I could not see any difference in the finish or fit. And as an aside, I did install the rear diffuser without pulling the rear bumper or tail lights. Yes, It can be done!

 

Steve,
Thanks for the helpful info, I might give DNA a try.

I agree, the CF should be a close to perfect fit as it's not inexpensive.

Edit: just checked DNA, they're sill plates are almost the same price as V-collection. Other components seem to be cheaper.

Chris

 

Zvez: the color on my sill plates is driving me a bit crazy also. I have an all black interior, and the lack of proper black on the sills really stands out.

I was discussing this with my friend/race car partner the other day. He RE-finishes wheels for a living. He's fairly certain he can refinish the sills to match (or closely match) the piano black trim on my center stack. I'm gonna try this in lieu of carbon sills. It might not work, but I feel I'm really out nothing giving it a try, cause i hate the look of them now.

Just an idea for you, ymmv.

 

I worry that a glossy black will show scuffing more, I was kind of thinking of a crinkle finish, properly applied, would hide scuffs and is a pretty robust finish.

The other option I consider is to go bare aluminum, but that'd have to be clear coated so just don't know.

Keep us posted on what you end up doing as I'm stymied at present.

 

There are some very realistic brushed steel vinyl wraps that can be used to change the look of the door sills quite easily. I wrapped mine in grey steel with a grey and black custom plaque. Best part is they protect the sill from scratches.

 

Karl, that looks superb, I don't think I remember seeing a writeup in your mods thread o this. Do you have a link to this film?

Thanks!
Chris