Summer with an Aston Vantage (part 2)

From the get go, I worked out that the Vantage's suspension system was not working at it's best so I did some research and after much chewing of fat, procrastinating about the bush, dismissed the after market solutions, nearly passed out at the price of the Aston upgrades and the Bamford Rose solution... 

...I decided to just get the Geo done. I would normally have gone up to Atherstone to get Chris at Centre Gravity to do the job. Chris knows how I like my cars to feel and I'm always delighted with the results. I wasn't at all convinced that a geometry set-up would cure the ills and so I decided to look more locally. As luck would have it, Torque Developments in Lakeside know quite a bit about Vantage suspension and so I booked the car in with them. 

They offered a 2 (or 3) step approach : 

Step 1 was to just sort out the geo but to not touch the castors - as this requires the removal of the under trays and doubles the bill. Since I was considering a full spring damper and ARB change anyway in future, I just went for the cheap option. 

The car was transformed. Not as much as I was hoping for but it was pretty good afterwards. One of the big problems in the Aston is knowing what the front wheels are doing. My ideal stance is to go in to a corner, 'leaning on the front' and then balance the car on the gas. This was not possible before  - the car just washed out wide well before the back started to move. I was hoping to have the kind of adjustability that would have me chucking the car sideways like it is an M3. Unfortunately it is not easy to achieve. 

The engine is to blame really. Here's what happens. Post geo (TCS OFF), I go into 3rd gear corners, a gear lower, very quickly...the front grips and as soon as I can see the exit, I feed in the gas to wide open throttle and....nothing happens at all. It just revs out and needs another gear. 

OR 

I go into 3rd gear corners, a gear lower, very quickly...the front grips and as soon as I can see the exit, I tread on the gas to wide open throttle and....nothing happens at all...and then the engine gets to 5,500 rpm and I suddenly get massive power oversteer out of nowhere which I can only just catch. And this is from the girl who is happy sliding 996 Turbos at silly speeds (on private roads of course) and drifts around the chicane at Goodwood in her S190 lotus. I'm no Sabine Schmidt but I'm not Miss Daisy either. I'm not happy on the rack stops but I can do oversteer. 

The problems is that there isn't enough torque to make the chassis balance without mega revs and the car is heavy and the momentum starts taking over..

I don't drive it like that any more. I leave the traction control ON and enjoy the car at 8 tenths. It's much better like that. 

It's a charming car to cruise in or drive briskly but if you want to put a rocket in your knickers, it's the wrong tool for the job. 

It's at it's best when I'm pretending to be a rock star. I was with my sister driving into Portsmouth for some shopping last month. It was sunny and we had the roof down. There we were , two raven haired birds in a silver convertible Aston, got to be celebs - right? Right.  People took photos, waved, thumbs up. Unrepeatable gestures from white van men...

That's what the Vantage is great at....showing off ;-)

...oh and when the exhaust is really hot, it crackles and pops on down shifts. Awesome. 

A summer with an Aston Vantage (part 1)

The thing about owning an Aston is that everybody wants to know all about it: "is it expensive to run", "what's it like to drive", "is it reliable?"

Those of you who know a bit about me know that I'm a fuss-pot when it comes to cars. I like them to be practically perfect in every way (like Mary Poppins). My Aston was owned by a pal who likes fast cars but by his own admission, is not an enthusiast. He got the car serviced at Grange Aston Martin - on time every time, bought the right tyres...blah blah blah.

BUT, there were little things that were not right. The gear shift software was all over the place, the suspension geo was horrid, the powder coat was peeling of the mirrors and most of the 'black-work' looked like it need a trip to the dermatologist.

I got cracking with the shift issues first. After a few hours spent on the forum(s), I worked out how to do the gear learning and that improved things no-end. I also learned that you have to lift the gas peddle as you shift (by maybe 50%) to make the shift smooth. Practice makes perfect and it's the only  way to do a full throttle shift without smelling clutch. I reckon it's £20 a sniff !!!

The car is now drivable on the idle and I can park and reverse without any problems at all.

So what is it like to drive and own ? in two words, "very special". It's not the last word in driver involvement. It's not super quick. I worry about electrical issues (which haven't actually happened - touch wood) and the satnav is crap BUT- It's an occasion to drive. Simple as that. Another 50 horse power and a more edgy chassis and I would be in heaven.

I'd take it over a Merc SL AMG every day !

Goodbye Lisa

It’s funny what the winter does to you isn’t it?

I hadn’t driven the lotus for about 4 months and had almost forgotten about it. Then a pal of mine said that he wanted to sell his Aston Vantage Roadster. I never really considered myself an Aston driver. I always thought they were all show and no go. BUT I asked how much he wanted for ‘Jess’ and we did a deal.

I didn’t really expect that to happen – I was still thinking about getting a 996 GT3 (too pricey now) and had even thought about getting another 996 turbo.

So I had to find a buyer for Lisa. Barry the Lotus man came to my rescue (yet again) and sold my car for me really quickly.

I have to say that I am really ambivalent about the S190. Mine needed a fair amount of sorting out and to be fair, when I bought mine, no one was spending money on making Elise S1s nice so I won’t be the only one spending money on an S190 or S160. On a quiet B road (like the ones where I live), It was simply ballistic. I loved it so much. BUT on a long run, it left my deaf, stinking of gas and with back ache. As I drove Jess away from Barry’s workshop I was thinking about the lovely late model Europa he had for sale. I need medication for this.

Anyway as the ‘stones said: “…I used to love her, but it’s all over now”

Here’s a photo of Jess to make up for it…

Goodwood is Finally Glorious

After my crappy experience at Snetters which was largely the fault of the car but I also blame the trackday people for organizing an event full of male-chest-beating snot rags, I am very glad to report that I had an ace event at the GRRC members track day in October.

The weather was fine. I fuelled up at the night before (I was staying with my Mum and Dad in Emsworth). I left the house at 7:30 and crept stealthily away in my virtually full-race S190 before the rest of gentle Emsworth had ‘come-to’.

First of all  - the noise test. Yeh, passed that. 102 dB I think. Easy peasy.

I decided to use my feminine charms and ask a friendly instructor for a few helpful laps before I made I complete womble of myself in front of all the boys. It was easy to be a womble because the other cars in my group comprised a Golf R32, Porsche 994 C4s, Ferrari 360, Nissan GTR running about 750 hp and finally an Aston Vantage V12 (which is a girls car).

Anyway I got blown away by the fast cars for about the first 3 sessions and then something clicked. I got the instructor out again and this time we were getting quick. No one overtook me (I went out half way along the line up).

The final session of the morning was epic. I went out behind a gorgeous race Ferrari 250 GT and tried like mad to keep up (I couldn’t). 3 laps later I got overtaken by the 997 at no-name and then ‘did’ him back at Lavant (me likey lavant). I overtook 4 cars on that session including a lightweight E type so I was very happy indeed. I’m getting to like track days, especially when they are more Ferrari than ‘Fast and Furious’

I still think that there are nowhere near enough girls at track days and certainly not many girls who bring their own cars….this must change!

Lots of Trouble Usually Serious

Dear Reader.

I know it's been a long old time since I last posted. I'll say a dozen 'hail Maseratis' when I get the chance. So this an adventure that I had last year with Lisa the Lotus but failed to post...

So it's strike two against the Lotus:

Last time (at Goodwood) the car was too damn loud to go on the track.
So we fixed that noisy race exhaust (£££).

Today (at Snetterton) for 18 glorious laps the car ran like a dream.
Only a 911 turbo (which was rather galling) and a full race honda
(driven by a robber of some kind) got passed me. Everyone else got
dropped behind.

I don't think my performance was too badly deteriorated by the 80
kilos of expert race instructor sitting in the passenger seat;-)

And then at the end of the 1st full session, i decided that I could do
with some more gas. So I drove the 150 meters from the pit to the fuel
station.... And the bloody thing wet itself all over the car park.
Very large green puddles of coolant. Got helpful comments from lots of
fold too!

I took the car to the trackside workshop but no use. The very posh
mechanic started looking for the radiator leek in the engine bay.
That's a bit of a worry in a mid-engine car. I then showed him where
the rad was and suggested that the hose that had 'popped off' could be
the cause of the leak. He sucked his teeth and finally agreed with me
but said that the whole of the front of the car would have to be
removed to fixed it (not true but just shows you what you get told).

So it was a call to green flag who asked me (among other daft things)
if my car was a 4x4. I was NOT sarcastic at all. Fortunately, someone
in the green flag office must have known something about cars because
I got a call back about 10 minutes later saying that they would send a
special truck because I have a 'Low Sportscar'. No Sh1t Shurlok..!

After a 2.5 hour trip in the recovery truck with an extra from the
'Village People', I have decided to count my blessings. I didn't crash
the car, the engine didn't blow, I didn't turn the oil into metallic
paint and its really is a very sunny day for the time of year.

Lisa the lotus is now back in the workshop, making Barry-the-lotus man
slightly richer and I'm taking the bus home.

I swing from hating that car for having ikea like build quality, for
being more uncomfortable than a bus shelter and for not being a
Porsche, to feeling very protective towards it.

Still, they took some great shots of me out on the track, so that's
something to smile about.


At moments like this I can't help but wonder, what would Jimmy Buffet do?

Lisa the Lotus - Part 2

Ok, so I got the car home and was pretty sure I'd made a BIG mistake. I rang the dealer and asked if I  could give the car back. He suggested that "I live with it for a bit and then see where we get to...". If he had someone in the the wings who was willing to take the car for anything like the price I paid then that would have been the end of the story.

BUT

Lotus' are strange beasties. They are horrid to drive one day and marvellous to drive the next. And for good or bad, I had an amazing few drives over the next week or so. Roof off, sunshine, empty English 'B' roads, that's where a really sporty Lotus is at it's best.

So I decided to 'sort the car out'...

Although the first owner had spent a King's ransom getting the car to full S190 spec, not much had been spent in 'snagging' and making it nicer to live with.

I very quickly got to know Barry Ely in Maldon (not far from where I live). He really is Mr Lotus and knows pretty much everything about them. He's an ex racer and is a mine of information. We agreed to crack on with a partial restoration:

Step1: Make the car nicer to be in!

(a) Change the smelly nasty old red 5 point harnesses with some new Black Schroth harnesses - plus pads Madam? £500

(b) Get some sound insulation on the fire wall and seal the rear window properly...

(c) The muffler on the car was a ordinary Elise item, not a Sport 190 item. The exhaust tips were all sooty, so the engine was rich as hell. So, fit a new Janspeed exhaust and reduce the back pressure a bit.

(d) Give the car a service - engine and gearbox oil change plus all the usual jazz.

So, first the first bill was nicely into 4 figures - BUT the car was much nicer to drive. I went for a 50 mile run. Lisa and I were bonding.

Still not happy about the handling - something wasn't right and the car didn't stop properly. AND it was
making a terrible whine form the engine which can only be the cambelt - oh dear...

Polished and with new belts!

The Story of Lisa the Lotus - Part 1

Goodbye and Hello

In March of this year I sold my beloved Porsche 996 Turbo. Even typing it now makes me feel sad. It was a funny sort of an un-special thing most of the time but those 996 turbos are true monsters and mine made a deep impression on me.

I sold it for 3 reasons:

1.    It was bleeding me white with maintenance bills

2.    I barely used it – it became a 3^rd car and was used for about 3,000 miles per year

3.    The market was dropping quite quickly and it made no sense to keep hold of an expensive to own but barely used super car which is depreciating faster than a race horse with an STD.

4.    Oh and I wanted to do track days and doing track days in a 996 turbo can be a very expensive exercise (that’s 4 reasons).

I was going to buy a Porsche 944 Turbo S. I love those cars. I owned a red one with cream leather (very 1980s) back in the day and really really loved it. The trouble is that many of the these amazing machines have become so cheap that the are own by the ‘wrong sorts’ Wrong sorts are those who refuse to spend £1000+ per year maintaining a car worth less than £6000, when they should clearly lavish money on the car through devotion to the art.

I must be a wrongish sort too because I added up the cost of sorting out an ok-ish car to my ‘happy’ standard and got to £4,000 before I even looked at engine rebuilds. Crazy money pit idea. All of these cars are old and have big miles…

So that was out. 

The next idea was an ordinary water cooled 2003 Porsche 996. These are smashing cars to drive and they’re great value. They were not best made Porsches ever and getting one to track day spec would have cost £5,000 without breaking sweat. Oh and knowing my luck I would have gotten one with cylinder bore wear or intermediate shaft problems (nice cheap sort of engine out / engine in bits job to fix). See 1^st paragraph on reasons for selling the 996 Turbo

So that was out.

Then I had the nostalgic idea of buying an aircooled Porsche 964 from the late 80s/early 90s. Great. The trouble is that a lot of people who owned these the first time round (I’ve had 2) now want them again. Not that many were made and so guess what is happening to the prices? Yep, sky high. Oh and they are getting old now and old cars need lots of maintenance to get them A1. Oh and everything on a 964 takes ages to do so the bills are always high (See 1^st paragraph on reasons for selling the 996 Turbo).

So that was out.

Then I decided to become a heretic and started looking at Lotus. Maybe the menopause is coming and I’m getting hormonal or something but these looked good.

I liked the idea of the Exige: Toyota engine, world class handling, quick, simple design. Very striking design, solid residuals. All perfect except that they were (and are) outside my £15,000 budget.

So that was out.

So then I looked at the Elise. I discarded the Elise Series 1 as being too basic and mickey mouse. The Elise S2 R looked perfect but then I saw one driving by and thought. That was soooo boring. Is that it?

All the cool ones like the super-charged car or the Sports Racer (me likey that one) were way out of the price range.

So that was out as well.

But then I saw an advert on Pistonheads for an Elise S1 Sport 190. Not a genuine factory Lotus one but a standard car which had been back to Lotus (and others) to have the sport 190 bits added. A King’s ransom had been spent doing this by the owner (It would have been MUCH cheaper the buy the genuine article in the first place but perhaps he couldn’t get one from Lotus – they were hard to come by). There were still a few things that had not been upgraded to S190 spec but I thought: “That’s no big deal, a couple of brake disks and a front anti-roll bar isn’t going to break the bank” –

So I agreed the price with the dealer and collected the car a couple of weeks later. By the time I had got it home I decided that I hated it and wanted to give it back. After a 2 hour drive I was deaf, stinking of fuel and fumes (and man-smell from the seats). The car was bogging in side and my back hurt like hell. I thought I was going to be sick on the drive way and started crying. On reflection, that was as much the exhaust and petrol fumes as anything else. So I had a shower to wash the muck me and gave the car a wash too. I felt sorry for us both.