So what have you done with your Aston today? (Vol. 2)

[Simpo Two]

bullet7 said:

Simpo Two said:

Today I'm taking mine to the tip!

I trust you are not leaving it there!

Disposing of an old mattress. 2/3 on the passenger seat, 1/3 in the boot!

The website said 'Bring proof of booking', so not wishing to be turned away at the door by Head Tip Man I obediently printed it out. On arrival - no staff about, just a glimmer of a hi-vis jacket hiding inside a portakabin. Absolutely no interest in checking booking details, and besides, they have my reg number as proof of booking. So after heaving the bits of mattress into Skip 15, I went to see Head Tip Man and asked if proof of booking was really needed. 'Yes' he said. I'm not convinced...

[john ryan]

Cloned and fitted some inexpensive generic tpms sensors for my Smartire system. Maintains functionality, and quite easy with the help of a friendly tyre fitter.

[basherX]

200ish miles to DAE to drop mine off for a few jobs pre Euro road trip at end of June.

It rewarded me with a failed parking sensor (I think) this morning, obviously, but a nice morning for a trip across the South nonetheless.

[Dewi 2]

Simpo Two said:

bullet7 said:

Simpo Two said:

Today I'm taking mine to the tip!

I trust you are not leaving it there!

Disposing of an old mattress. 2/3 on the passenger seat, 1/3 in the boot!

The website said 'Bring proof of booking', so not wishing to be turned away at the door by Head Tip Man I obediently printed it out. On arrival - no staff about, just a glimmer of a hi-vis jacket hiding inside a portakabin. Absolutely no interest in checking booking details, and besides, they have my reg number as proof of booking. So after heaving the bits of mattress into Skip 15, I went to see Head Tip Man and asked if proof of booking was really needed. 'Yes' he said. I'm not convinced...

I used to take my booking reference number with me, but this year I have never bothered. There is always a man (are we required to also say woman, although our tip has employment principles based on the Garrick Club) at the entrance gate. That is employment created since the pandemic, but checking registration numbers is not a hugely productive. Experienced trainspotters are perfect for that job.

I do like the booking system, because it has solved the overcrowding situation at busy times. We can now book just a couple of hours ahead, which is ideal for me to be certain it won't rain.

[Agent57]

Simpo Two said:

Disposing of an old mattress. 2/3 on the passenger seat, 1/3 in the boot!

The website said 'Bring proof of booking', so not wishing to be turned away at the door by Head Tip Man I obediently printed it out. On arrival - no staff about, just a glimmer of a hi-vis jacket hiding inside a portakabin. Absolutely no interest in checking booking details, and besides, they have my reg number as proof of booking. So after heaving the bits of mattress into Skip 15, I went to see Head Tip Man and asked if proof of booking was really needed. 'Yes' he said. I'm not convinced...

Well done for getting a mattress in an Aston. I used to drive my MR2 to the tip when it was my only car. Never managed a mattress

This nonsense of employing people at council tax-payers expense to guard local tips and ask lots of questions is a bit annoying. Knowing the car number plate should be enough if they want to go down that route. No wonder fly-tipping is on the increase if people get endless barriers before they can do a good deed of taking their own rubbish to the tip.

[LesXRN]

We are going to a car meet in Avranches, France tomorrow morning, so, I decided it was time to give the Vanquish a good going over.
Wash, clay bar, machine polish, then an IPA wipe followed by a coat of Avalon King Ceramic. It certainly takes some time to do all of that, but it's worth it.

[Simpo Two]

Visited my local theatre group this morning to photograph some rehearsals. Upon returning to the car I heard a voice say 'That's a nice car mister'. Looked round to see a boy of about 11 with a bicycle on the pavement opposite. 'I've been going past looking at it for 10 minutes' he said. It wasn't really the time or place to show him round the car so I thanked him very much, made sure to open the exhaust valves and give it a bootful as I set off with a wave.

Made my day

[DB4DM]

Started to get it ready for a couple of events this week, weather permitting

[AMV8Stuart]

N430 had a 'beauty salon' few days. Full detail, cut and polish, ceramic coating and some new extended PPF as the original stuff was going a bit yellow on the edges - looks a whole better.

All courtesy of Auto-Genie Detailing. Full video can be seen on his Instagram https://www.instagram.com/reel/C7tH_5Ttko9/?igsh=M...

Images are not uploading - only small jpg's so will try later.

Edited by AMV8Stuart on Monday 3rd June 10:21

[geresey]

That looks really nice, roughly how much would detailing like that cost ? I really need to get mine done. However in for a service right now and expecting a largish bill for a few maintenance items needing doing so may have to put it off again!

Ps- it was an Aladdins cave on dropping it off at Aston service Dorset… only a small shop but full … db5 or 6 , db9 or s, old old vantage, lagonda ??? ( 30s/40s) plus a couple of others I didn’t have full sight of- will try and get a couple of sneaky pics when I pick up. Oh, and a zagato renovation in bare metal in the front window…apols for pic quality, will try going inside next time!

[AMV8Stuart]

geresey said:

That looks really nice, roughly how much would detailing like that cost ? I really need to get mine done. However in for a service right now and expecting a largish bill for a few maintenance items needing doing so may have to put it off again!

Ps- it was an Aladdins cave on dropping it off at Aston service Dorset… only a small shop but full … db5 or 6 , db9 or s, old old vantage, lagonda ??? ( 30s/40s) plus a couple of others I didn’t have full sight of- will try and get a couple of sneaky pics when I pick up. Oh, and a zagato renovation in bare metal in the front window…apols for pic quality, will try going inside next time!

It depends on the level of work required. The detailer should be knowledgeable enough to say how much cutting is required, i.e. don't go for a 3 stage, if it only needs single, all you're doing is removing clear coat and compromising future enhancements as there is less to cut. Mine only needed singe stage with more in a couple of 'bird bomb' areas courtesy of previous owner not clearing off quickly but there was some PPF needing removal and replacement as well as some stone chips that needed filling, plus of course the ceramic coating. You can pay upwards of £600 for a simple job (less if you get someone who charges accordingly for their levels of experience) obviously the more cutting, more PPF it gets more expensive.

[Dewi 2]

geresey said:

That looks really nice, roughly how much would detailing like that cost ? I really need to get mine done. However in for a service right now and expecting a largish bill for a few maintenance items needing doing so may have to put it off again!

A detailer who has been complimented for many years on this forum, is Francis Maloney, Emerald Detailing.
One of my cars has just had the Francis treatment and I can certainly recommend his very thorough workmanship. Three days effort finishing with a sealant to provide at least a couple of years protection against impurities that paint does not like.
The result is stunning.

[bullet7]

New Michelin PS5 tyres fitted to replace 7 year old Bridgestones that had plenty of meat on them. I was not expecting the difference to be so marked, in spite of what others have reported. I live near the A30 where the road surface is concrete. With the Bridgestones, the road noise was horrendous but it is now only noticeable. The ride is so much more compliant too and much happier going over poor road surfaces (of which there are many).

[Nigel_O]

Drove the Vantage down the M5 to DAE, to have the rear suspension squeak investigated, and the damping backed off on the Nitrons.

As customer waiting rooms go….

[DBA086]

Nigel_O said:

Drove the Vantage down the M5 to DAE, to have the rear suspension squeak investigated, and the damping backed off on the Nitrons.

How did you get on?

[Nigel_O]

DBA086 said:

Nigel_O said:

Drove the Vantage down the M5 to DAE, to have the rear suspension squeak investigated, and the damping backed off on the Nitrons.

How did you get on?

Very well, thanks. The squeaking isn’t fully sorted, but it’s much better after James found some grit had got between the Powerflex bush and the large washer that holds it into the arm. I think the remaining squeak is the same issue on the other side, but as it’s a lot quieter, we didn’t know it was squeaking, as the other side drowned it out. Easy fix now I know what to do.

The Nitron suspension was a revelation after the knackered original Dynamics. DAE set the damping to halfway when they fitted them and it transformed the car. However, the damping was still a bit too firm, so I asked James to back it off to about 3/4 soft. (Seven clicks from full soft out of 25 clicks). I asked James to do it as I wanted to see how it’s done on the rears - it’s a bit fiddly (wheelarch liner off).

The car is much nicer to drive now - the ‘brittle’ edge to the damping has gone and it’s now far less jiggly. I’m sure it would be slower around a track, but it’s never going on track, so it’s not an issue. It now feels much more ‘GT-like’ which is what I was aiming for.

When I first went to DAE last year, their facilities were already really impressive, and their stockroom was just jaw-dropping (I seem to recall James telling me there was seven figures worth in there). Now that the ‘office block’ element of the workshop is finished, along with the really plush customer waiting room, it’s a deeply impressive business. Just a shame it’s a full tank of fuel to get there and back….

[basherX]

Nigel_O said:

Drove the Vantage down the M5 to DAE, to have the rear suspension squeak investigated, and the damping backed off on the Nitrons.

As customer waiting rooms go….

My motor in the background

Off to collect on Monday.

[alscar]

( Yesterday ) organised another annual get together of GT8’s at Works.
15 cars made it so nearly 25% of those still in the UK.

[N430]

Since buying my N430, I couldn’t work out why the exhaust was extra loud when cruising on motorways. Sport mode had been set to always on but even switching off didn’t make any difference! Then a thought occurred to me had the previous owner removed fuse 15 (not 16 in a 2016 car!) and low and behold yes they had! Fuse 15 (5a) fitted and now I have control over the exhaust when cruising. Clearly, sport button is obligatory when darting around country roads!

[RoNNy379CH]

full XPEL PPF & CC done - summer 2024 can start :-)