I went to see a V8 Vantage Sportshift today. The dealer told me it was on it's 3rd clutch as it had 70,000 miles on it.

He had no way of proving it and neither do I, but he did let me plug in my ODB2 reader.

Just a couple of O2 sensor codes came up and that's all.

I know that clutch wear wouldn't come up as a code, but are there any codes that do start to come up when the clutch is slipping or if the ASM pump is overheating due to being overworked for example.

And in general, is a clear ODB2 read a good indication that the car is good or is it not really that thorough on an Aston?

Thanks,

 

The AMS system is able to tell the clutch life. But that means a trip to the dealer.

 

If you plan to buy one, invest in a Foxwell with AM software it does alot for little money and will give you clutch readings.

 

On my 2010 V8V 6 sp there was ZERO OBC2 indication that it needed a new clutch. And damn - did it! Use your own common sense and experience to discern this - oh, yea, and save your $$$. It's very pricey.......but my new V AP clutch is fabulous! Thanks to the team at LoCo Exotics!

 

If the owner/seller will let you, buy a Foxwell and take it with you when you look at the car. It will return one of the clutch readings (the AMDS will give you two).

When I was shopping for a car, I found that dealers would not predict clutch wear based on the readings. Apparently the initial reading on a new clutch is not very precise, and without the initial reading you can't project probable clutch life. There are other factors as well (a glazed clutch disk won't hold as much torque), so I'm not condemning the dealers, just sharing what I found.

 

exactly what clutch reading does the Foxwell provide? how does one determine clutch state from these readings?

 

There is a sensor that measures the amount of travel at which point the clutch begins to bite. That is the reading the Foxwell can report. While the reading itself is repeatable and precise, the starting bite point of a newly assembled clutch and the failure point aren't precise. I've lost my notes as far as the typical readings for a new and needs to be replaced clutch, but at a measurement of 1550, my clutch is somewhere around 45% "used up".

IIRC, I found the assumed readings for a new and worn-out clutch on this site.

 

thanks mbrant
i have read several threads here. information is either contradictory or not clear

i asked VAP about this. they responded that when this value reaches 1800 the clutch is at or near end of life
Self-tuned clutch closed position
it seems a new clutch will have a value between 1200 and 1300 bits. the clutch release bearing stroke is fixed and somewhere in the 6xx bits range.
my understanding from VAP is new clutch starting value (12xx) plus release bearing stroke (6xx) = clutch end of life value.
there is an absolute limit of 2000, but the clutch will be dragging by the end of life value above

 

FWIW, checked my reading and it was 1830. 2007 with 142000 miles. Original clutch went at 35000 miles. So the second one has 107000 miles on it.
drove it fairly hard first 5 or so years, fairly easy since then.

 

I measured mine and about 1760. Car only has 20k miles on the clutch (36k total on the car) most of which the previous owner added. The clutch feels fine other than a little rough when cold in low gear or reverse- but I think that’s pretty “ normal” of the SSI (2008 vantage)

the scary thing to me is I’ve heard when the clutch goes in the sport shift you get a red light and the car is bricked with basically no warning. Has this happened to anyone here? I’m a little nervous with that clutch reading to do a 400 mile round trip with the Mrs. If there is a moderate chance of being stranded - everything else on the car is solid though.

 

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