Wet and cold day handling on v8v??
Discussion
Hi
As a new owner for 1m and the swift decline in the weather I wonder if anyone can help me with the handling traits of the v8v 4.3 in bad(not snow) conditions.
My car has 19" wheels on.
So far my rwd experience has been a s1 111s elise and a vx220 turbo both I had for 6m each and the lotus inperticular was very twitchy. Is the front engine aston more controllable than the mid engine cars i mention especially with a lsd and traction control?
I wont be driving the car often if at all in bad weather just I have a worry in thw back off my mind.
As a new owner for 1m and the swift decline in the weather I wonder if anyone can help me with the handling traits of the v8v 4.3 in bad(not snow) conditions.
My car has 19" wheels on.
So far my rwd experience has been a s1 111s elise and a vx220 turbo both I had for 6m each and the lotus inperticular was very twitchy. Is the front engine aston more controllable than the mid engine cars i mention especially with a lsd and traction control?
I wont be driving the car often if at all in bad weather just I have a worry in thw back off my mind.
It's pretty vice free due to the fact that you have to rev it very hard to make rapid progress & the DSC is good, in other words if you thrash it at the top end of the rev range in wet cold conditions with DSC off it's frisky and the short wheel base means it can move sideways rather quickly, otherwise you will be absolutely fine its very planted & surefooted!
I had a Porsche 911 for 3 years which was replaced with a VX220 Turbo for 3 years and then my V8V.
Done over 6k miles in 6mths as a second car and driven in all sorts of weather, I've found the Aston to be very predictable which is in no doubt due to the even weight distribution and great balance the car has when pushing on.
The Aston is a lot less "pointy" than the VX but you don't need to worry about a rush of torque when the boost comes in.
Done over 6k miles in 6mths as a second car and driven in all sorts of weather, I've found the Aston to be very predictable which is in no doubt due to the even weight distribution and great balance the car has when pushing on.
The Aston is a lot less "pointy" than the VX but you don't need to worry about a rush of torque when the boost comes in.
Edited by 993Targa on Wednesday 29th September 08:54
its a lot more forgiving that either of your previous cars and has TC, which helps a bit
however, if you really want to know where the limits are, and what its like approaching them, get yourself on an airfield for a days training
I always like to learn a new car in safety and have been going to Andy Walsh of www.carlimits.com since 2002, maybe once or twice a year, often more at the start with a new car (was an Elise too back then)
The Vantage is really well set-up, and for an "Out of the box" car is suprisingly good on track
however, if you really want to know where the limits are, and what its like approaching them, get yourself on an airfield for a days training
I always like to learn a new car in safety and have been going to Andy Walsh of www.carlimits.com since 2002, maybe once or twice a year, often more at the start with a new car (was an Elise too back then)
The Vantage is really well set-up, and for an "Out of the box" car is suprisingly good on track
vantage83 said:
Yes I thought the car would be much more controllable when it loses grip.
I had also been thinking off a High Performance driving day but would ideally like one in the north?
Also concerned as to what damage this will do to the car ie tyres/discs/pads/clutch etc
if you do a driving day in your own car, then the consumables will wear faster for sure ...thats too be expected ...ive done 50K on my clutch, with a couple of trackdays and airfield day...its mostly tyre/brake wearI had also been thinking off a High Performance driving day but would ideally like one in the north?
Also concerned as to what damage this will do to the car ie tyres/discs/pads/clutch etc
dunno about up North though ...not sure who is based where
the AM performance day, is in their car, which is of course, more expensive, about £1000-1200 ....well worth it though
Neil1300R said:
Having moved from a Honda S2000, the vantage is a paragon of virtue in the wet. leave traction control on and everything will be fine. You have to be driving spiritedly to provoke it in the wet.
Same here I came from a 420 BHP S2000 the Vantage is like a 4x4 in comparision. Just done 1800 miles round the Highlands with no issues not even a hint of aqua planning
Funny thing about V8V's they are fine when just pootling around and fine when really going for it, but somewhere in between is a funny non-linearity in the chassis (particularly the way the rear suspension "unloads" if a wheel starts to spin when you already have some lateral G built up) Later cars with the upped spring rate mask it much better but it is still there. It could also be to do with the settings of the rear diff, which has a high locking value on trailing throttle (for stability) and a low but ok value when on high positive torque, but somewhere in between it goes a bit pear shaped!.
most drivers won;t ever notice it, or get to that point (esp. on the road) but on a wet road, say a "slide" that would be a dab and not even a lift in (for example) an M3, can quite quickly develop into rather more of a handful in a V8V, especially if you do the natural thing and back off a bit! (back off a lot is fine as the diff locks back up and stabilises the car) it could also be due to the mass of the car, and with the transmission at the rear perhaps when it lets go it is sudden because 1) there's more mass to deal with & 2) that rear weight allowed you to build more lateral G before it let go??
Finally, and again, most obvious in early cars (06-07) the dsc is frankly a bit dim witted, and doesn't always react in a completely predicably way, which as it is set to come in quite late can lead to a "I thought this had traction control" shout from the passengers!!!
As mentioned by other, none of this is a serious flaw, but it doesnt have the transparency of the best rwd cars, but thats not really what a V8V is all about. And as mentioned, go do some driver training, well worth it just for the fun factor!!
(and if you really want a jedi tweek, get your diff turned upside down
most drivers won;t ever notice it, or get to that point (esp. on the road) but on a wet road, say a "slide" that would be a dab and not even a lift in (for example) an M3, can quite quickly develop into rather more of a handful in a V8V, especially if you do the natural thing and back off a bit! (back off a lot is fine as the diff locks back up and stabilises the car) it could also be due to the mass of the car, and with the transmission at the rear perhaps when it lets go it is sudden because 1) there's more mass to deal with & 2) that rear weight allowed you to build more lateral G before it let go??
Finally, and again, most obvious in early cars (06-07) the dsc is frankly a bit dim witted, and doesn't always react in a completely predicably way, which as it is set to come in quite late can lead to a "I thought this had traction control" shout from the passengers!!!
As mentioned by other, none of this is a serious flaw, but it doesnt have the transparency of the best rwd cars, but thats not really what a V8V is all about. And as mentioned, go do some driver training, well worth it just for the fun factor!!
(and if you really want a jedi tweek, get your diff turned upside down
I booted it a little on a wet straight road in second gear the other day and the tail danced (with TC switch on), but I styled it out. (I did crap it a little).
Just before I set off I did think about taking the A3 Quattro instead, but a little voice said "Take the Aston, go on you'll be fine"
It has made me think about going on a course mind, so thanks 'Bogie' I'm going to give 'Car Limits' a call....
Just before I set off I did think about taking the A3 Quattro instead, but a little voice said "Take the Aston, go on you'll be fine"
It has made me think about going on a course mind, so thanks 'Bogie' I'm going to give 'Car Limits' a call....
Edited by SirVandru on Thursday 30th September 17:18
they always feel "totally secure" until they let go on you and you wonder what happened 
you need to practise it letting go many, many times so you can instinctively catch it, otherwise the first time it happens, it will just be chance that you may not end up in the hedgerow
unfortunately, you cant (and shouldnt) practise finding the limit of your car on the road.....hence a familiarisation day on an airfield is good fun
..or a trip to Millbrook with AM is even better......
you need to practise it letting go many, many times so you can instinctively catch it, otherwise the first time it happens, it will just be chance that you may not end up in the hedgerow
unfortunately, you cant (and shouldnt) practise finding the limit of your car on the road.....hence a familiarisation day on an airfield is good fun
..or a trip to Millbrook with AM is even better......
You'd have to be driving like a proper boner in poor conditions to get in trouble with a V8V. They're very benign.
Remember that it has wide tyres so be very careful with standing water etc, remember the basic rules about making sure everything's straightened up before applying lots of throttle (or brakes) and you'll be fine. They even work nicely in snow.
Driver training is also a very good idea if you're nervous.
Remember that it has wide tyres so be very careful with standing water etc, remember the basic rules about making sure everything's straightened up before applying lots of throttle (or brakes) and you'll be fine. They even work nicely in snow.
Driver training is also a very good idea if you're nervous.
bogie said:
its a lot more forgiving that either of your previous cars and has TC, which helps a bit
however, if you really want to know where the limits are, and what its like approaching them, get yourself on an airfield for a days training
I always like to learn a new car in safety and have been going to Andy Walsh of www.carlimits.com since 2002, maybe once or twice a year, often more at the start with a new car (was an Elise too back then)
The Vantage is really well set-up, and for an "Out of the box" car is suprisingly good on track
however, if you really want to know where the limits are, and what its like approaching them, get yourself on an airfield for a days training
I always like to learn a new car in safety and have been going to Andy Walsh of www.carlimits.com since 2002, maybe once or twice a year, often more at the start with a new car (was an Elise too back then)
The Vantage is really well set-up, and for an "Out of the box" car is suprisingly good on track
I've done about 5 days with Don Palmer at Bruntingthorpe (which is northish) and I'd certainly recommend him. I've been in various cars including a V8V but whatever you're driving he can help with mastering car control. If you're lucky it will be a wet day which saves on tyre wear !
I also had a day with Andy Walsh at Car Limits in my V8 which I enjoyed but was a bit of a drag to get to from Leeds.
The Bridgestones on the 19 inch wheels are good in the wet and dry but all tyre manufacturers for sports set the temp limit at 7 degrees. That's the lowest usable temperture for most sport orientated tyres. They still work below that but lose a lot of their grip. The main thing is that most people on this forum seem pretty happy with the cold weather performance from their cars so you can have some confidence from that. I still keep an eye on that ambient temp gauge though.
Neil1300R said:
Having moved from a Honda S2000, the vantage is a paragon of virtue in the wet. leave traction control on and everything will be fine. You have to be driving spiritedly to provoke it in the wet.
+1 to that. The S2000 remains the only car I've ever owned that I thought could kill me.I managed to waggle the V8V tail a few times but in a nice predictable manner.
I also agree - with very wide 19" tyres you need to watch for standing water - aquaplaning is no fun at all. I managed once to aquaplane all the way across the M11, just missed a couple of articulated trucks...
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