V8 Vantage prodrive/factory upgrade - HELP!

[MarlonM]

Guys

Can someone lend a hand?

I am thinking of upgrading my 4.3 V8V, the sums quoted by AM Works for their upgrade http://site.astonmartin.com/eng/worksservice/optio...

and Prodrive's upgrade http://www.prodrive.com/products_level2.html?id=76...

are a lot cheaper than upgrading to a 4.7 Vantage. I am aware that both these products wont bridge the power gap completely, but around £3500 is a lot cheaper than the change over process.

Has anyone had either of these done to be able to provide a view? My aims are a more sensitive throttle, a little more torque through the range and if possible some more noise (I have removed fuse 22)

Thanks in advance :-)

Ollie

[mikey k]

Call Bamford Rose
Cheaper & better power output options from the guys who designed the AM power upgrade

[Neil1300R]

See the Bamford Rose thread at the top of this forum. Everything you need to know about the power upgrades.

[Highrisedrifter]

Also have a look for the 'search for more power' thread started by Pommeghoster for a good write-up on hte BR power upgrade.

[michael gould]

dont waste your money....leave it in the bank and suffer your 0-60 being 0.3 sec slower than if you had spent £3500....you will never see that money when you come to re-sell the car....there is even a good argument that you will devalue the car by having a performance enhancement done

[yeti]

michael gould said:

there is even a good argument that you will devalue the car by having a performance enhancement done

Where, pray tell Michael, is that argument?

Or is the argument only with you, who must drive the car as it was born, compromised and built to a tight budget?

[michael gould]

I have pals in the trade .....one in particular who's company turned over 45m in motor vehicles last year, and he tells me that his buyers stay clear of modified or especially engine enhancements of any kind....it tells you a lot about the owner and the car...i.e. it is more likely to have been hammered.......I can see the logic in that argument

[Grant3]

Your not just buying the upgraded engine with the 4.7, but a host of interior, specification, suspension and transmission upgrades - well worth the extra IMO - My advice is go test drive a 4.7 and see what you think.

If you do want to go for either Powerpacks then both add most of their power at the very top end of the rev range, where they do feel noticeably quicker - although they are also feel a tad more free revving in the mid-range, they add very little extra power there, so still have to be revved hard to gain the benefits. If you want extra sound the Prodrive has racing cats so sounds VERY loud but also has a cabin switch - You would need to add the Aston sports exhaust system to enhance the sound of the official powerpack - and I agree with Michael if you stray beyond "officially warranted mods"

[mikey k]

michael gould said:

I have pals in the trade .....one in particular who's company turned over 45m in motor vehicles last year, and he tells me that his buyers stay clear of modified or especially engine enhancements of any kind....it tells you a lot about the owner and the car...i.e. it is more likely to have been hammered.......I can see the logic in that argument

I can see his perspective from a sellers point of view.
The reason his buyers don't like it is they don't understand what has been done and nor whether the people doing it have suitalbe experience and expertise. As a trader he would not be able to get enough info to inspire the confidence needed by the buyer.
There are exceptions to the rules though on both sides of that fence
I'm a serial modder, I confess, and I enjoy it and consider any changes very carefully
My last car had ALOT of time and money spent on it, I ended up returning it to stock and selling the bits for not much less than I paid for them. I was happy with that.

[TJB69]

Having owned a V8V 4.3 prodrive and now a V8V 4.7 IMO I have to say that the 4.7 is a far better finished, faster and more refined version.

The only strange thing is the prodrive had a far more aggressive exhaust note even with the fuse out the 4.7.

[JohnG1]

michael gould said:

dont waste your money....leave it in the bank and suffer your 0-60 being 0.3 sec slower than if you had spent £3500....you will never see that money when you come to re-sell the car....there is even a good argument that you will devalue the car by having a performance enhancement done

I agree with Michael on this. It's not a huge chunk of money versus the cost of a new car but I doubt it will pay back at resale.
Think of the rule of thumb that optional extras get you 10% at resale.

[yeti]

michael gould said:

I have pals in the trade .....one in particular who's company turned over 45m in motor vehicles last year, and he tells me that his buyers stay clear of modified or especially engine enhancements of any kind....it tells you a lot about the owner and the car...i.e. it is more likely to have been hammered.......I can see the logic in that argument

My post was tongue in cheek, as usual

I do see your chum's point of view and I wouldn't buy a modded Merc, BMW or even slower fodder. But a Maserati, Porsche or Aston I would as my intention would be to do the same anyway, that's how I view the car. My car has every mod going on it, however I never rag it, never blat it from cold and it never wants for anything. If the mods are backed up with bills and perfect mechanical and service history, I think it shows the opposite with certain type of car, a car that's been looked after.

However, I can understand the trade would look at it the other way for general cars, happy to concede that! You are buying a car, not the last driver. Very different with an Aston I feel.

[Adam2S]

yeti said:

My post was tongue in cheek, as usual

I do see your chum's point of view and I wouldn't buy a modded Merc, BMW or even slower fodder. But a Maserati, Porsche or Aston I would as my intention would be to do the same anyway, that's how I view the car. My car has every mod going on it, however I never rag it, never blat it from cold and it never wants for anything. If the mods are backed up with bills and perfect mechanical and service history, I think it shows the opposite with certain type of car, a car that's been looked after.

However, I can understand the trade would look at it the other way for general cars, happy to concede that! You are buying a car, not the last driver. Very different with an Aston I feel.

Disagree Im afraid, Im with Michael on this one... An Aston is precisely the kind of car you dont expect to be messed about with by aftermarket modders... If you want to prat about modding a car and retain value then do so only with either an old banger or if you must mess with a new car then something specialised which has niche performance appeal such as a westfield. High value new or nearly new luxury sports cars are not the right type of car to mess with unless you are not bothed about significantly devaluing the car come resale, or are prepared to restore it to factory spec later.

The official AM factory upgrade is another matter and the only upgrade that wouldnt damage value IMHO. That said I wouldnt expect it to add much, if anything either.

[George H]

JohnG1 said:

I agree with Michael on this. It's not a huge chunk of money versus the cost of a new car but I doubt it will pay back at resale.
Think of the rule of thumb that optional extras get you 10% at resale.

Optional extras might get you 10% more, but would you really pay extra for a car that has been modified? Personally, I would always go for a car that is 100% standard, wouldn't even consider a modified one. I would much rather buy a standard one, fit any modifications I wanted (which I never have, probably never will - unless I get a V8V at some point, then I'll fit Bamford Mike's manifolds), then remove before selling on.

[JohnG1]

George H said:

Optional extras might get you 10% more, but would you really pay extra for a car that has been modified? Personally, I would always go for a car that is 100% standard, wouldn't even consider a modified one. I would much rather buy a standard one, fit any modifications I wanted (which I never have, probably never will - unless I get a V8V at some point, then I'll fit Bamford Mike's manifolds), then remove before selling on.

Me, I would not buy a car that has been modified. But my reason is not that I'm anti-modifications. It's that I don't trust most people to touch an engine to the same standards of engineering AND to be able to stand behind the changes in the event of legal claims.

That and I suspect that modified cars are driven by petrol head types rather than the stereotyped 'one careful lady owner driver'.

[Jockman]

JohnG1 said:

Me, I would not buy a car that has been modified. But my reason is not that I'm anti-modifications..

Your reasoning is probably the same for most people.

I have no interest in mods myself, but it always impresses me how many ingenious ideas people come up with to turn their car into a more bespoke, personalised vehicle.

Post warranty, of course

[michael gould]

Jockman said:

JohnG1 said:

Me, I would not buy a car that has been modified. But my reason is not that I'm anti-modifications..

Your reasoning is probably the same for most people.

I have no interest in mods myself, but it always impresses me how many ingenious ideas people come up with to turn their car into a more bespoke, personalised vehicle.

Post warranty, of course

I think some mods are ok......i would love a set of sports wheels on my DB9 and maybe even the clear rear lights....but I dont get it when people spend 4 or 5k on an engine mod.....Yeti of course who is the king of mods is, as we all know, mad as a hatter

[JohnG1]

michael gould said:

I think some mods are ok......i would love a set of sports wheels on my DB9 and maybe even the clear rear lights....but I dont get it when people spend 4 or 5k on an engine mod.....Yeti of course who is the king of mods is, as we all know, mad as a hatter

I would not even categorise new wheels as a modification if they are a straight swap. If you start fitting spacers and larger wheels etc. then you are asking for trouble with mis-reading of speedometer and geometry issues. It's that sort of ill-thought out thing that puts me off. And when you get some idiot saying it's all fine - that makes me run.

I would not spend £5k on a engine mod. A decent crank for a V12 will cost most of that! But I will probably place a considerable amount into taking the V12 to 600bhp-700bhp - depending on how much it will all cost. After the warranty expires!