After having driven the 510HP older V12 and many V8s. I actually would prefer my current V8 any day of the week over the 510HP V12. I have not driven the 565HP V12 so thats a different story, but the 510 just dies off on the top end, and it has way too much torque at lower rpms for the level of grip. Its a great motor, but its NOT the screamer that my V8 has become.

I also agree with Stuart on the 80/20 rule. 80% of the gains from from 20% of the costs. with just Eurocharged V2 tune (7800rpm) and the Ken Harrison cats, I gained almost 60 crank HP (roughly 50HP on dyno). Both combined cost less than $3k installed and have totally transformed the car in a way I never first thought possible. I would be not surprised if I can V12 run for its money at high rpms, its feels SOO much faster at high rpms than the V12 did. Furthermore, the handling dynamics of the mid engine V8 are far superior to the nose heavy front engine V12.

V12S I am sure is a totally different car so I will reserve judgement on that until I drive the ASM3 V12S, but from all other possible combinations I still think a properly modded 4.3L short stroke V8 is the best Aston out there.

 

The 4.3L motor can handle 8K no problem. But its overall lifespan may be reduced if you race the hell out of it. Hitting 8K once in a blue moon would not significantly reduce the life of the engine. On the 4.7L, 7600rpm is the absolute max you should take it.

The reason I set the limit at 7800 is the piston speeds are still reasonable and the power finally starts to level out so there are no more gains past 7800rpm, it will just maintain same power to 8k. The 4.3L sounds epic from 7400-7800, literally sings. I still believe the 4.3L is the best sounding Aston V8 and is still the most tunable from bone stock to max potential (largely in part to its naturally much higher rev ceiling due to its short stroke design).

 

Thanks 007, I appreciate your input. At what point does the additional power start to stress the rest of the driveline (clutch, trans, etc)? I'm thinking a bit more power across the range would be good, especially down low. Maybe 50 +/- HP?

 

Clutch is possibly the weak point, but won't be stressed by hard acceleration in gear, it is the slippage that will wear it so messing around in town, poor technique on starts more than anything.

The rest of the driveline is pretty bulletproof, generally speaking. Wheel hub assemblies, for example, are the same as on the DB9/DBS/V12V

 

No related issues on my modified 2007, nearly 47k miles with lots of hard driving included. Only problems I've had with the car are the ones that are commonplace for all V8Vs.

 

"Far superior"? "Nose heavy"?

Let's not get carried away - we are dealing with a 49/51 and 51/49 weight balance. Having owned both V8V and V12V I will concede that the V8V has a subtly better turn in and is much more of a challenge to oversteer than the V12V (the latter not really a benefit IMO). In the real world this counts for little if anything and is rendered moot by the superior suspension / body control and mechanical grip of the V12.

 

Exactly. +1

 

Juries out on ASM3 for me as it is not significantly different to ASM2 and that has suffered a fair few failures.
The additionally torque and speed of the changes is only going to make life harder for it.

 

Oh what do you know..it's not like you've owned a few V8V's and a few V12V's ...

HAHA J/K ...