update...
pads:
i was getting a little squeal at low speed. original pads had copper grease on their backing plates and i hadn't gone to the trouble of putting any on the new ones. i corrected that and so far, all's well. original incentive to change pads was excessive brake dust, and that has now been put to rest. there is practically NO brake dust now. no more or less than on any other disc brake equipped car or truck i've ever owned. and i'm perfectly satisfied with performance. all in all a rare and unequivocal success.

tires:
balance issues persisted after new front-only tires were installed and balanced (numerous times) without completely fixing the annoying vibrating steering wheel at highway speeds. eventually bought rear tires too. that fixed the problem for good. the old rear tires (front ones too for that matter) were 13 years old and probably permanently flat-spotted from lack of use. immediately upon leaving the parking lot where the tires were installed a few days ago the softer, more compliant ride from the rear tires was immediately noticeable. oddly, i do not remember having the same sensation when the new front tires were installed a couple of months ago. go figure. BTW, these rear tires (a different manufacturer from the fronts) were Atlas tires in 275/35r19 and priced at about 90 apiece.

transmission:
i've been noticing a bit of gear gnashing between 1st and 2nd when the transmission is cold and since pulling the transmission doesn't sound like a cost effective way to do problem determination on a transmission with less than 18,000 miles on it, i decided to do something that MAY fix the problem, although unlikely to. so while i was having the guys mount the new rear tires, i asked them to change the transmission oil. i bought five qts of the stuff redpants recommends (thank you) and had them install that. i'm sure it's never been done, probably doesn't need it, and won't fix it, but COULD use it, MAY need it, and MIGHT fix. results YTBD.

bluetooth:
installed a Mr12Volt bluetooth audio gizmo. needed to disassemble center console up to and including the waterfall piece. i unpluged an optical wire or two from back of the alpine premium stereo, connected the supplied wiring harness, and spliced in a couple of power wires (hot and ground) to the unswitched power wires feeding power to the cigarette lighter/aux power outlet in the ashtray for power. pretty simple really. the CD player was sacrificed (a bishop for a castle, IMO). then permanently stuffed everything under the waterfall piece on the dash. i had plenty of room in there because the original owner wisely decided that he or she didn't need the navigation unit. it comes with a small microphone that i mounted in the ashtray. and yes, the door closes completely and the mic is sufficiently sensitive to still function well enough. Mr12Volt has a USB port on it so i use it to run a USB cable out through the cooling vent above the radio so as to power my smartphone, which is convenient because the car didn't originally come with one. BTW, a bluetooth equipped FM transmitter for about 10 bucks could be a satisfactory substitute for Mr12Volt if he acts up. so he's on notice....

that's all for now.

 

Maybe do a real-world comparison? Like if you get together with someone who has the same car but with Porterfield pads and Michelin PS4 tires, and do a magazine-style track test (stopping distance, figure-8, skidpad, max-speed run, etc.), I'd be interested to see the observable differences in performance between the two.

 

I do my own services on most of my cars. my concern on oil filters would be the one area of concern, as back pressure can vary on different engines, even though the filter may fit a car.
it is for that reason that oil filters should be used that meet the expected pressure put on them as well as size only... there has been some threads on this subject here... may be worth a good read.

 

+1 on oil filter. Considering the Aston filters are available from Scuderia for $24, I see no reason to cheap out and save $10 to risk destroying a $20,000 engine.

 

You can source the rotors from a Ford Mustang and the are 1/4 the cost of OEM. (2007 4.3)

 

that's quit a laundry list of if's, but should i run across a stranger with those qualifications i'll ask if they're game.

 

i'll keep that in mind. i suspected those rotors were used on a variety of cars other than aston martin. if and when it becomes an issue, i'll know where to begin the search. thank you.

 

Back when I bought my Cayman it had new Cooper tires and for some reason the ABS wouldn't kick in during a hard stop (as I found out at AutoX school during controlled conditions). I also noticed during initial AutoX runs that the tires lacked grip to the extent that the car would be tough to get in a straight line for long enough to get settled enough for the next apex. Changing the brake pads (and rotors as they were rusted), and putting on a new set of PS4S all around totally transformed the car under those more 'extreme' AutoX conditions, and somehow the ABS started working again

The lesson is, you may not think there's any difference between the best and the 'no name' brands, but when it counts there really is. I hope you never find yourself in that position. For me, saving $50 here and there on safety critical components is really a false economy. Using other equivalent parts dating back to Ford's ownership - if they're not critical - isn't such a big deal. You may find that Scuderia can get you most of what you need for a reasonable price - AM branded door check arms are less than $30 for example.

 

They're the same 355mm front rotors from the 07-12 Mustang GT500, right? I was planning on getting a set to see if they fit, but if you've already done that work...

Edit: I did some digging and found the engineering specs from Brembo for the rotors (09.8780.21). The Aston and Mustang rotors are both 355mm diameter with a 71mm center bore and 32mm nominal thickness, but the height is different. The Aston rotors are 52.5mm tall, whereas the Mustang rotors are only 46mm. So if you use them, they'll bring the caliper 6.5mm closer to the wheel.

Edit 2: Similar situation with the rear rotors. The stock Brembos on the Aston (09.8781.21) and the front rotors from a 2004 Mustang Cobra are similar; same 330mm outer diameter, 71mm center bore, 28mm nominal thickness. But the Aston rotors are 46.5mm tall while the Mustang rotors are 42.3mm, meaning a 4.2mm caliper displacement outward.

 

Where abouts in Denver are you? There are quite a few DIY's here in Denver!

-Ryan

 

Has anyone tried this?