My first exposure to the Vantage was watching it battle Corvettes at the American Le Mans Series in the early to mid 2000s. Breathtaking looks and an intoxicating sound.

Now that I am able to afford one, I was looking back on reviews of the V8 Vantage. Many mentioned handling being a weak point. Coming from a Porsche background, handling is probably the most important characteristic in a sports car for me.

For those who have brought their Vantage to HPDE, track days, etc, what is the weak point for handling? Is this something that could be corrected with sticky tires, aggressive alignment, better dampers, and perhaps geometry correction?

Just wondering if it would be worth pursuing a Vantage, or if a "GT car" simply isn't for me.

Thanks

 

I came from a Porsche 911 (997S) and Cayman before making the move to my Vantage. I did autocross and track days in those cars.

The 2007 Vantage I bought initially felt like a brute by comparison, as it had a lot of body roll, less traction and feedback, had a tendency to oversteer (which was fun actually) and didn't inspire as much confidence.

I set out to dial things in by upgrading the brakes to the same ones the GT4 race cars use. Made a great difference as the car lost some weight and could go faster in/out of corners.

My next upgrade was the kW coilovers, and that removed the body roll and improved ride quality. The car inspires much confidence now and I'm finally happy with the way it drives relative to my older cars.

Overall the Vantage is a great platform and if you upgrade to the recommended parts from this forum, you'll be impressed with the results!

 

Get one with the Sport Pack suspension and you won't have those complaints.

 

What @Mathman85 said. The stock suspension was set up for GT use. The sport pack, with it's Bilsteins, thicker sways and included lighter wheels makes the car neutral, responsive, and extremely controllable. It's 49F/51R weight distribution, stiff all aluminum construction and low CG make it a great platform. What Porsche are you coming from (I would guess 944 but I don't want to jump to conclusions)?

 

Bilsteins, sways, and light wheels is a great combo for the street. Have driven a few BMWs and VWs with that setup.

Yes, coming from 944s but also have a bit of experience with pre-89 911s and the Boxster/Cayman. Currently have a BMW E9, a 944 (with Koni's, springs, sways, delrin/poly bushings), and a Subaru WRX (Ohlins coilovers, sways, 15 lb wheels etc.).

Well, that's good news that either the Sports Pack or some relatively simple mods are all that might be needed. 50/50 weight and double wishbones rather than torsion bars should be interesting.

 

I've driven and/or owned the cars you've listed. In general, the Vantage will feel heavier and its lack of visibility compared to them will make it a little hard to place, but it is immensely more powerful and planted. The controls are much heavier than the cars you've listed but the feel through the chassis and steering are excellent. The balance of the chassis makes the car really easy to control, like the 944 but the limits are much higher. The biggest detriment to me is the Vantage's 3500 lb weight, which is noticeable, especially compared to the 944 and Boxster which feel much lighter on their feet at moderate speeds.

 

Wow, that was a well thought out and concise answer. That helped a lot. Thanks.

Sounds like the Vantage could be a comfortable daily and the WRX could be relegated to autox/track use. That would be a good combo.

 

I have tracked BMW and Porsche, 944S and limited autocross my 04 Boxster...

while I've never tracked the vantage, comparing spirited road driving, as others have said, the vantage drives heavier than the others. I would focus on keeping the vantage as is (or at least upgrade to sports pack) and set up one of your others for the track.

good choices to "have" to make!

 

I really liked my WRX once I upgraded the suspension. I can't understand how a car that understeered so severely when stock got so much praise from the press. It had really nice chassis communication and there was good power above 3500RPM. Great in the snow as well. But while I was able to dial out the understeer, it still was very nose heavy and tall so dynamically, it's just not a sports car. It also had very clear economy car roots. The steel was thin and the interior plastics were just OK.

The Vantage is so different that it's not fair to compare the two . You're in a whole new world when you sit in the interior of an Aston Martin.

 

a large percentage of Vantages sold will have the sports pack, you can usually tell by the wheels on the car (for example mine are 2010-2012ish sports pack wheels)
It is quite the stiff suspension with the garbage Bridgestone stock tires you can feel every freakin bump through the steering wheel and your butt. Car also trams a lot due to the wide tires and rutted roads out here. I still need to switch tires but I hear Michelin P4S is a massive upgrade in ride quality and grip.

 

The WRX isn't so much a sports car as it is an excellent Rally Car on unimproved roads. If you aren't sideways, you are aren't going fast enough. I used to do SCCA ProRally back in the days of the Audi works teams and John Buffum.

 

Agreed. Not an ideal autocross or track car.

 

This is part of the reason I like it!

 

Split spoke sport suspension wheels, the early version, for reference. Beautiful to look at kind of a pain to clean. Plus I just like to look at pictures of my car

 

I was initially thinking of keeping the WRX as a daily and picking up a Cayman to build as a weekend/track toy. Then I thought that perhaps I was doing it backwards, why ruin the relatively luxurious car (my bar is low, I daily'd a 944 for a decade) with track bits. Which is what got me thinking of water cooled 911s, the Vantage, an R8 (the latter doesn't sound too fun). And yes, the WRX is not a sports car. More of a tool. With -3 camber and a bit of front toe out, it does quite well for an econobox (1st or 2nd in class at most autoxs in the past year and on the heels of a few FTDs). It's still limited by the engine being too far in front of the axle.

And, yes, PS4S are excellent. Very comfortable. Not noisy. Excellent grip even on cold wet days. You can overheat them, though probably not on the street.

And blue2000, that is a beautiful car.