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I bought a 4.7l v8 manual Vantage coupe with lightweight sports seats and sports pack a couple of months ago.
Love it! Its a step up from everything else I have owned and I just cant stop looking at it haha.
Next steps are to get some track day tuition and / or driver training but I also want to make a few little tweeks to it.
I have already put a smaller front plate on and removed the plinth.
I had thought about 20" wheels but having seen the prices of HRE / BC forged etc do not think it is worth the massive cost.
A friend is developing an Ohlins coilover kit for the car so will probably get that.
Thinking 2piece brake rotors when mine need doing, and maybe upgrade to the V8VS calipers.
Thinking of some sort of exhaust tweek, and maybe the relocated filters, and potentially a lighter weight battery... oh and a Divinatech splitter (although would be nice to have a bit more choice in terms of splitters!)
Heres a couple of pics. Colour is Tungsten which changes a lot in different lights. I think its a great colour, maybe too sophisticated though for the black lightweight grill?
Welcome and congratulations on your Aston Martin! Great choice on color, transmission, and upgrades, especially your seats!
Sounds like excellent plans you have for your Vantage. I went on a similar journey over the last 5 years, first upgrading my brakes (which were in need) to Brembo/AMR GT4 brakes, DBS gear shift ****, kW coilover suspension, lightweight redpants battery, and most recently added HRE wheels to the car. My next projects will be adding CarPlay via Aston Installations/redpants, oil catch can, interior glass buttons and eventually new AMR clutch.
The car transformed at every stage and you will be amazed how much the car improves over time.
This forum is a wealth of knowledge for fixes and upgrades, so be sure to search and then share any new developments!
Last edited by spyder997s; Sep 2, 2019 at 08:17 AM.
Was just about to say your brakes sound interesting when I realised its your thread I found a while ago about having 2piece Brembo discs fitted to the standard 4 pot calipers. Seems really hard in the UK to find these discs, but I am going to try. Nice to hear you are still happy with them
Living in the UK I plan on going down to Aston Installations soon for Carplay.
I'd check with a few places since you have you have the benefit of being in Europe: Prodrive (who races and supplies AMR parts), Bamford Rose, and David Appleby engineering. Search for all 3 and see which ones are close enough for a visit. They'd be able to guide you on Brake upgrades for your car.
Originally Posted by Matt Barnes
Was just about to say your brakes sound interesting when I realised its your thread I found a while ago about having 2piece Brembo discs fitted to the standard 4 pot calipers. Seems really hard in the UK to find these discs, but I am going to try. Nice to hear you are still happy with them
Living in the UK I plan on going down to Aston Installations soon for Carplay.
Congratulations and welcome Matt.....beautiful Vantage and nice photos. Some very good aftermarket wheels available but what you have now are among the best of all OEM styles. Excellent shot of the lightweights too.....too bad the US market missed out.
Thanks! The lightweight seats and manual were top of my wants list and I waited a long time even in the UK for one to come up with them.
The wheels arent my favourites but are growing on me. I actually prefer the SP10 / 2011+ sport pack wheels (the ten spoke with the diamond cut face) but these are light apparently and quite rare so cannot complain. Its why it makes "upgrading" them to HRE or something and paying $8k+ dollars grates on me slightly
Thanks! The lightweight seats and manual were top of my wants list and I waited a long time even in the UK for one to come up with them.
The wheels arent my favourites but are growing on me. I actually prefer the SP10 / 2011+ sport pack wheels (the ten spoke with the diamond cut face) but these are light apparently and quite rare so cannot complain. Its why it makes "upgrading" them to HRE or something and paying $8k+ dollars grates on me slightly
If you're going to be tracking the car I'm surprised that performance wheels aren't near the top of your list. Upgraded brakes + performance wheels/tires go hand-in-hand. I've lost count with how many times in the last few months that customers have told me the they feel the improvement in handling, steering feel, acceleration, & deceleration after installing lightweight wheels. Choosing the right ones will save you over 15 kg's from the OEM sport pack wheels.
If you're going to be tracking the car I'm surprised that performance wheels aren't near the top of your list. Upgraded brakes + performance wheels/tires go hand-in-hand. I've lost count with how many times in the last few months that customers have told me the they feel the improvement in handling, steering feel, acceleration, & deceleration after installing lightweight wheels. Choosing the right ones will save you over 15 kg's from the OEM sport pack wheels.
Perhaps you can help with the weights of the sport pack 19" lightweight forged sport pack wheels then? I havent been able to find any weights for them online, but have seen 20" x 10" HRE P101 are 22lb (10kg in my world). Would be interesting to know whether "upgrading" to HRE would see a 15kg weight saving, and on what size wheels I would see that.
Perhaps you can help with the weights of the sport pack 19" lightweight forged sport pack wheels then? I havent been able to find any weights for them online, but have seen 20" x 10" HRE P101 are 22lb (10kg in my world). Would be interesting to know whether "upgrading" to HRE would see a 15kg weight saving, and on what size wheels I would see that.
