I bought a 2012 V8V S a few days ago. All of my 1400 mile drive home was interstates, so I drove the car a lot in D. The first few days it performed almost exactly as I expected / wanted. There were a few times (probably several, if I'm being honest) where I stood on the gas and enjoyed the rush up into the 90's. Yesterday there were a couple of occasions where I gave it a moderate amount of throttle while cruising in the low 70's, but the computer dropped 3 or 4 gears and took off like it was in the NHRA finals and tree has just gone green. After each outburst, it was back to a more linear response to my throttle inputs.

The car isn't scary to me when I ask for 100% of what it can give, but I don't like it giving 100% when I've asked for 40%. Do the systems learn driver aggressiveness? Did my hooligan behavior the first two days cause the outbursts?

 

Congrats on the purchase! From everything that I have read, the sportshift is NOT an automatic transmission (and certainly not a PDK) and if you use it like one, you will be disappointed. It is an automated manual so if you shift the gears with the paddles, it is likely to do exactly what you want/tell it to do. If you press the gas and it has to guess, it will not deliver consistent responses.

 

A few ideas from a fellow owner. The D option is terrible in traffic. It is the roughest most stupid ‘automatic’ I have ever used. I exclusively use manual mode. In fact manual mode is not great in traffic, however, get the car on a twisty quiet road a give it a few berries and then, then, you will see why AM offered it as an option over the manual.

The only purpose for D is for recalibration of the misfire sensors (hard to do after 2011) and for Valet parking. But since the Valet will not know how to get the handbrake off, I park myself.

If you are really good you can downshift smoothly in traffic and get into 1st. Mostly I just pull up on both paddles and coast to a gentle stop in N. Be aware that at the most critical moments (turning left in dense traffic) the SS2 will fail to select 1st. Embarrassing, but all part of owning an AM. If it was a normal car the handbrake would be in the correct place and the window controls would not be backwards. Just get used to glancing down when you select 1st to make sure today is your day.

On other matters, it is the LAW that you buy the secondary cat delete package from Velocity AP. The 4.3 AM V made a nice but loud noise. AM got a kicking from Europe and quietened the 4.7, but over shot and it is too quiet. Removing the secondary (optional for emissions) cats is the correct mix of pleasant V8 so people know you are in a V8, and not a nasty loud farty look at me exhaust. An easy DIY job.

Other things to consider. The S model took up about half of the extra power AM left in reserve in the engine over the base model. You can safely and quickly get the other half with the Velocity AP remap.

Also depending on your clutch wear state consider the Velocity AP dual clutch plate upgrade based on the DBS clutch. Almost universally it is agreed that the dual plate clutch is what the car should have had when it left the factory. I certainly agree. SSii still wears clutches. Accept that and move on.

No, I do not work for Velocity AP. I just gave them my money in exchange for goods or services and I would do it again.

Philip

 

Also: You must not immediately put a Sportshift into gear. The early models had no indication as to the 'clutch kiss point' procedure required on startup, the later models have a light that illuminates on the Neutral button after the car is ready to put into gear. If you just put it in gear and do not wait for the kiss procedure the car won't shift right.

 

All interesting replies, but I'm really just curious if the computer goes whackadoodle occasionally on long drives.

The response to small applications of additional throttle while using cruise control was quite inconsistent yesterday. I'll primarily use the paddles after I get more seat time, but my wife would be more likely to leave it in D. If it drops 3 gears when she is using cruise control and just wants to gain a few mph temporarily, she is not going to be happy.

 

Sorry, can't tell you if this is normal behaviour as I don't think my car (SS3) has been driven in 'D' more than once or twice in the 9 years I've owned it. Not trying to be snide or unhelpful, but I think the question is moot, anyway. Here's why:


The earlier posts about never driving the car in 'D' and not expecting it to act like an automatic (because it isn't) are right on the money. 'D' is there because they could do it, not because they should have. Or, less charitably, 'D' is there so that the car can be driven by someone who doesn't know how to drive a manual. Maybe not as bad as sticking such a person in a car with a clutch pedal, but almost. Honestly, I think Aston would have saved themselves a lot of criticism and bad press if they had just eliminated that feature.


I would add that in addition to not expecting the behaviour of a torque converter, don't expect the behaviour of a dual clutch transmission, either. SS really, truly is a manual transmission. As such it requires some skill and planning to drive smoothly. You don't have to manage a clutch pedal, but you do have to learn to manage the computer which is its own challenge. You have to learn what to do with the throttle and when to do it, while shifting (both up and down) to extract maximum smoothness from the car.


Put yourself in a manual transmission mindset - this is absolutely critical. Again, with respect, I don't think you have done this, because your comment about driving the car in 'D' because your journey was mostly on the interstate makes absolutely no sense. If you don't know how to drive a manual, then expect a substantial learning curve. Also, no disrespect to 'Phil rae', but how often when driving a 'true' manual (with clutch pedal) would you actually downshift into first with the car moving? And calling it "the roughest most stupid 'automatic'" shows you are completely missing the point.


SS behaves like a clutch pedal manual in almost every way, with one exception in my experience (at least with SS3): downshifts at low rates of deceleration are more difficult to execute smoothly than those at under heavier deceleration. The computer seems to have trouble finessing such situations, but when I drive a clutch pedal manual I find these downshifts the easiest to make seamlessly.

 

Welcome to Aston Martin ownership. 1400 mile drive in your new car had to be great.

 

Mine shifts quickly and smoothly up and down…I never drop into first…if the car wants it..it selects it…obviously a slight lift on up shift makes the change super slick..I drive it like a manual…just without a clutch…and I love it…

 

I guess I haven't explained this adequately. Very similar throttle inputs, but sometimes I got the mild acceleration I expected and sometimes it was like I matted the throttle. Just wondering if others have noticed this or have explanations.

My take-away from the thread is to not bother asking questions about D mode, as no one uses it. That is completely understandable on a forum for gearheads. Five years from now I doubt that I would have any additional insights on D mode either.

 

if I had to guess (not having had any real experience in ‘D’ mode) I would say this is not normal behaviour.

Key question for me would be: does it behave like this in manual mode? If not, I wouldn’t lose sleep over it.

’Gearhead’ or not (your term), if you plan on using the car in ‘D’ a lot, I would prepare to be frustrated and disappointed. Again, not trying to be rude or harsh, but just realistic.

 

There is a video, put out by HWM Aston Martin, on how to drive the ASM transmission... Lots of other videos as well...

Not sure why anyone would drive this in D mode

 

Wow. I thought it was clear that I don't intend to use D, but telling me not to use it, or that I'm dumb to use it, seems to be everyone's focus.

My wife WILL use D - she won't drive the car enough to get used to the paddles. I'd like it to not be a Jekyll & Hyde experience for her, but this seems to be the wrong place to ask about that.

 

Not the best video but maybe a more straightforward demonstration.
I don't think anyone here is trying to be rude. Your original post asked if there was a problem with how the Sport Shift was performing and people responded not only with clear answers but also with first hand experiences and tips on how to drive the car well. All while trying to gently tell you that "D" in Sport Sift isn't ever going to work like "D" in an automatic transmission. I think that if you and your wife spend a little more time in the car, you will both get used to it (I don't think it will take 5 years btw--a month max). To be honest, Sport Shift looks kind of fun. Imagine there's a little robot near the trunk helping you shift. Worst-case-scenario is that your wife doesn't want to drive the car--which would be the EXACT opposite from mine who ONLY wants to be in the car if she's driving

2012 V8VS is a great car. Spend some time with it and maybe ppf your rear bumper and hatch (to solve your other issue with the hatch) and you're going to love it.

 

Go back and read the first post. My questions were about D, and only D. Any reply about paddles completely missed the point.

I'm not expecting it to drive like a torque converter automatic when in D, I'm just expecting it to give a proportional response to a moderate push on the gas pedal, and in several instances, it did not.

I probably should have just contacted my closest dealer (350 miles away, but Velocity AP is under 200 miles!). I doubt there is a SportShift owner on the face of the planet with enough D mode experience to answer my question.

 

with 10 posts under your belt... glad you are an expert and find folks here with little experience...

If you started your thread with the fact that you want your wife to drive it only in D mode, perhaps you'd have gotten different responses.

My wife drives the car in D mode sometimes and keeps in comfort mode... it's real sloppy but gets her down the road... she much prefers driving her AMG SUV or our BMW Z4 with a DCT.

Good luck with your dealer. Hope they can work out your troubles or teach you and your wife to drive it they way you want to.