I used to have lowering springs on my old lexus, and the ride was rough. Then I got my lotus, and even though the lotus was set on full stiff, the ride was night and day better than the lexus. The effect of a well damped set up is amazing.

 

I really like it. No pogo effect at all. I'd like to see more '09 w/sport suspension on VAP springs as my car seems to be lower than any other Vantage I've seen with the same springs.

 

Thank you for the feedback!

Could you share some updated picture with closer capture of the fender/ tire gap please.

 

Here is a couple pictures with the new springs. Before and after. Also changing from stock 19" wheels to 20" wheels with a better offset.

Before


After

 

Thanks for sharing.

Beautiful car!!

Did your Vanatge come with Sport package suspension?
Do you have a picture with the 19" and VAP springs?

 

Because mine is the S model I believe it comes with the sport suspension. I had the wheels and springs done at the same time so no pictures with only the AP springs.

 

I'm on the fence.
From the pictures above, my stock Sport pack Vantage sits pretty much at the same height.

I met my car buddies last night and 2 out of 5 thought my Vanatge sits lower than this:


Do we have other lowering springs options besides H&R (don't work with Sport pack) and VAP (not lower than stock)?

 

I think Eibach made some a long while back. They were used for the Prodrive V8V, if I recall correctly.

 

Thanks for the clue.

a little research showed they used Bilstein shocks.
and the pro kit

http://eibach.com/sites/dedevperform...vantage_de.pdf

I'll check for availability since I can't pick AM in the US shop.

 

Damn, I don't have access to Eibach through any of my distributors

 

I've never been a fan of Eibach springs, it's just a personnel opinion but they always sag more than the normal OEM and aftermarket spring. Every DB7 and almost every old Vanquish that comes in for an alignment needs to get a new set of springs all around, to correct camber issues resulting in pulling.

I've installed H&R's and even now VAP springs, H&R's for Vantage/DB9 are really just for looks and not for handling(just my opinion). You cannot get the alignment even near what it should be to handle perfectly on a track, again leaving only the good looks and wonderful excessive rebounding(ever go a little to inside over the apex with H&R's? HOLY Sh*T hold on, there's almost nothing left to compress in the spring and you max out and feel like your pulling a 2 wheeler)... They simply don't absorb the bumps and drop the suspension past it's limit of function, even the driveline does not flex correctly with the H&R's, the amount of halfshaft replacements I've done at customer pay for destroyed boots or worn out inbound joint can't even be counted. Anyways, the roads in my area are something of amazement which kills even the oem shocks regularly and not everyone rages their beauties around a track to need caring about pulling side wheelies off the inside apex ...

The VAP coils I like(no I don't get paid for this comment..haha I wish, cause then I could quit my day job)..they are easy to install and line up perfectly, they actually compress when you assemble them with the damper and top mount(I've had H&R's that don't and cause rattling over large bumps). The VAP coils also do a nice job of absorbing the impact and reduce the amount of effort required from the damper(basically helping reduce the mechanical wear of the dampers and prolonging damper life from not bottom out all the time, especially on the spirited days). When doing the alignment, I can get the alignment perfect and in spec..although in spec doesn't always mean perfect but that's a whole other topic :-)

On the sport pack cars, I've noticed they do sit lower with aftermarket springs, but I believe on the newer models that's because the lower spring perch is lower mounted on the damper, resulting in a lower setup with any spring. When the newer Vantage's came out(face lift), the dampers shared the same casing through the brand but had extra ring cuts in the damper to adjust the lower perch per model installed. So a DB9 damper and a V8V would share the same exterior tube but with the extra grooves PRE cut to adjust correct perch height. Bilstein made it possible to adjust the height of the perch and just change the internal damping for the extra load and response(bring down manufacturing costs). Btw, not saying this makes it possible to swap dampers from a DB9 to a Vantage, just now Bilstein doesn't need to make a whole entirely different damper casing per Aston model and package..they now have 1 exterior tube to suit all needs and they then build the damper with this "base".

Sooo, all that to say.. I'd imagine if you had the newer style damper with the extra grooves and did not like the drop(too low or too high), you could test the waters and adjust the lower perch to desired height. I know some guys that have used this method to lower the fronts in V8VS, just I've never drove their cars to see how it feels, nor have I tried changing the perch height.

 

Post rated.

a lot of great information right here.

I need to find out if my 2009 4.7 Sport pack has the newer Bilstein shocks.

What I understand you say there are more brackets on my shocks where i can mount them lower?
That would be too good to be true.

 

No the pre-facelift so anything before 12.12MY didn't have the extra grooves cut, that's unless the dampers had been replaced recently then it's possible to have. Best bet would be to climb under the car or take off the wheel and inspect the damper to see if the extra grooves are present

 

This make sense. This answers my questioning about why my car(09 w/sport s.) was sitting so low with VAP springs.

 

I installed a set of VAP springs on my 07 Vantage a few months back. It is a non-sport pack car. I have some roads near my home that are rough from a recent re-pavement and the stock set-up was very rough riding on those sections. With the VAP springs the car does not vibrate near as much on those roads. I would guess that the VAP springs are better matched to the damping rate of the stock shocks. The ride height is about perfect for my liking. On some of the taller speed bumps I encounter I will hear the deflectors in front of the front wheels barely make contact. I would not want the car any lower.