Playing with supercars in the rain - Aston Martin V8 Vantage at Falkenberg Motorstadion

First time for me in rain with my 2009 V8 Vantage.
The car runs on Continental SportContact7 which turned out to be a really good choise this wet and cold (only 3 deg C) afternoon.
KW V3 suspension, GT4 camber sleeves and GT4 brake cooling with slightly bigger front brake discs (380x32) and Carbotech race pads. Engine and exhaust completely standard.
Most cars in this video is using semi slicks and are in normal conditions much faster than me. The temperature and rain made it almost impossible for them to get the tires into working temperatures.
0:00 Welcome to a rainy afternoon
0:05 First time in rain
1:28 Que of Ferrari and Porsches
2:39 McLaren 720S
4:00 Cayman, 968CS, GT3 RS & GT4
5:11 Endurance racing Volvo fighting the grip
6:02 A que of Porsches again
6:47 McLaren again
7:23 GT3 RS
7:47 Ferrari 430
7:57 New stint, better pace
8:38 Porsche 968 CS
9:14 GT3 and GT4
10:48 GT4
12:15 GT3 RS

[@sin_zigga]

Wonderful run. Thank you for spending your time to record and share with us. I been stuck between 997 and V8V, because both of them are excellent cars; I grew up with Porsche, but Aston Martin sure something else. I have been researching between them for the past 3 months. I know what to buy now. Once again thank you for your time to record and share the experience of riding the V8V. Gorgeous car

[@JohanSamson]

Thank you for your comment!
The 997 is probably the better sports car but with fairly small updates the V8V behaves really good on track as well. It’s rare, sounds lovely and is one of the best looking car ever produced. It’s a simple choice, isn’t it? 😜
I really love the GT capabilities without sacrifice track performance. A perfect combination! 👌🏼

[@sin_zigga]

⁠@@JohanSamsonI like the V8V more, because the interior is far much nicer than a 997. I do admit that the 996 n 997 performance better wise. V8V is mix of luxury inside and outside. I test drove base and S mode of Vantage and Carrera before, but The Vantage always got my attention.

[@sin_zigga]

@@JohanSamsonmay I ask what mods have you installed for your V8V?

[@JohanSamson]

I’ve tried to improve track performance without compromising the on road capabilities. The engine and exhaust is completely stock. I’ve had cars with sport exhausts so loud I stopped using them. Fun for a while but I want to be able to use my car without getting headache from a too loud exhaust. It’s also nice to know there will not be any issues at the tracks. In Sweden we have quite strict noise regulation but with a stock exhaust it’s never an issue. I really like being able to close the exhaust valve, grab a cup of coffee and listen to music while cruising home after a track day.
Another thing with keeping the engine stock is reliability. If you maintain it regularly and always make sure oil temp is correct before revving the engine you will limit the risk of causing very expensive failures.
I did change the clutch when I bought the car to a dual plate clutch and light weight flywheel. I changed it just because of reliability to make sure I’m not stranded at a remote place with the gearbox in neutral unable to engage a gear.
I’ve kept the exterior standard apart from the front splitter which is bought from Maxton Design. That’s a small change but I think it makes a big difference to the front of the car without it’s too much.
For the interior I custom made two bucket seats. I didn’t like the standard seats, I know most people like them but they didn’t offer the support I want. Not even for driving on public roads. The seats is Mirco in black alcantara with contrast stitching and Aston Martin logo at the headrest. They are really comfortable and I have no issues driving the whole day in those seats. A good upgrade!
Chassis and brakes is where I have put most efforts. The calipers is standard 4 pot front and rear but with racing pads. I’ve run Carbotech most of the time but I bought a couple of sets of Pagids to try next time.
I’ve installed a GT4 brake cooling kit for the front brakes. An inlet in the front bumper via a hose to an outlet at the center of the brake disc. During the winter I bought bigger front discs, from 355x32 to 380x32 which also is floating. The caliper is moved with a spacer to host the bigger disc. Improved efficient radius of the brakes, increased mass of the friction ring but still more light weight thanks to the disc centre in Aluminium.
Suspension wise I’ve changed the shock absorbers to KW V3 where I can change compression, rebound and height individually. That enables corner weighting as well as good possibilities to tune vehicle behaviour on track.
Thanks to the GT4 camber sleeves for the lower control arm in the front upright/knuckle the camber adjustment range is track oriented. With the original sleeve 2,2 deg negative camber was the maximum I could achieve but that wasn’t enough for the tires. The outer part of the tire got overheated and wore very fast. With the GT4 camber sleeves I’m now running 3,1 deg camber and so far it seems very good in terms of tire wear. The outer part of the tire seems not to be overheated anymore. At the rear I’ve maximised camber (-2,2 deg). The other wheel alignment figures is kept to standard according to Aston Martin. Bushings etc is still standard and I want to keep it that way to not adding more road noise.
Most V8V used on tracks is running 18” wheels. I kept the original 19” wheels and is still running the car on standard tires. I have two sets of wheels, a black/anthracite set from the old 4,3 liter version of the V8V and my cars standard wheels, the y-spoke. Thinking of putting semi slicks on one of the sets but let’s see next time I need to buy new tires.
I think that was most of the mods I’ve made to the car. You just gave me an idea, maybe I should create a video review of the car in the garage?

[@sin_zigga]

@@JohanSamson oh wow that was stock exhaust?? I thought it was modified since it sounds so nice when you drove it in the video. Yeah it is nice to just cruise in the car sometimes without much noise. That’s why I was thinking to buy open/close valve. I was thinking to do a light ecu tunes to the V8V when I got the car just to put a little bit more power. I don’t know what about the ecu tunes now since I read your comments, because I want to keep the car reliability. Thank you so much for sharing all the mods you did to your V8V, I look up to you a lot. I been on the market to find one right now, but it is very rare for my location which is in Florida. I just hope at the end of the year I will found a nice one. I definitely will do the same mods as you and maintain it well to boost the car reliability. Thank you so much 🙏