Aston Martin V8 Vantage

[kinger]

You all make me feel better, haha.   It threw me because I've never had any noise in past setups, but I also ran smaller cams and I think most (all) of my clutches were sprung disc.

Clutch is a McLeod RXT with aluminum flywheel.

FWIW, I'm used to floater rattle with the clutch in;  my Mustang (Spec Billet Super Twin) rattles like a damn dry clutch Ducati when I have the clutch down.   The Aston confused me because it rattles with the clutch out, but is silent with it in.

Ahh clutch life, not going to lie the noise was one of the main things I was looking forward to eliminating with the 8HP70, that and being able to creep at slow speeds (Think car cruise 4th of july stuff).  I do know I'll miss rowing gears SOMETIMES just not ALL THE TIME.  Sick build here, I could have never attempted this.  Well done and what a sweet ride when done! 

[digitalsolo]

I'm working on a parts list for my winter upgrades on this swap.   ASSuming I can validate everything this fall, I plan to redo the engine harness with tefzel (Mil-Spec) wiring, Raychem heat shrink/potted joints and fresh pins in all of the connectors.  I'll concentric twist it all as well.   The main goal is to move some wires that are closer to the headers than I'd like and getting rid of a bunch of joints from my initial modification of the OEM harness.   It also looks cool.

When I do that, I'll also strip the OEM front harness out and cull all of the unnecessary wires.  The other "while I'm in there" item is to clean up hose routing on the driver side where it gets a little "busy" in the bay.  Either adjust some routing or at least build a bunch of 3d printed/aluminum brackets to keep things a little more organized.   Beyond that, I have one power steering line that I dislike the routing of, and I need to get AC working.   I might also redo the back half of the x-pipe to try and fudge another 1/4" of clearance on each side.

That's all AFTER I get the gauges working (hopefully make progress on that this week) and get the lower shear plates modified/fitted and start finding any "bugs" in the system.   I really am aiming for "perfect" on this car, or at least as close as my funds/abilities allow.

[Venom13132]

That small list sounds very time consuming and slightly expensive.    I am waiting on my garage to get built before getting my car back from my buddy who is going to paint it.   Hopefully I will have a garage before the end of the year.

[digitalsolo]

That small list sounds very time consuming and slightly expensive.

It is decidedly both.  LOL

[wickedrx7]

You all make me feel better, haha.   It threw me because I've never had any noise in past setups, but I also ran smaller cams and I think most (all) of my clutches were sprung disc.

Clutch is a McLeod RXT with aluminum flywheel.

FWIW, I'm used to floater rattle with the clutch in;  my Mustang (Spec Billet Super Twin) rattles like a damn dry clutch Ducati when I have the clutch down.   The Aston confused me because it rattles with the clutch out, but is silent with it in.

I'm hoping to get the car out and around the block next weekend, it'll be interesting to see how it feels/sounds not in an echo chamber of a garage.  I started it up for my wife yesterday and her comment was "did it always sound like that?" but she was talking about the exhaust note, which is pretty high pitched on the Aston due to the muffler setup and x-pipe.  (And yes, it did always sound like that).  That was actually my goal as it pretty closely mimics the Aston stock note, minus the clear cam lope at idle.   I can also definitely smell the high flow cats (200 cell) but hopefully it'll smell a little better once they get hot enough to fire off. 

For what it’s worth, my RST rattles as well. Not terrible but it is there. I still like the clutch but would consider going back to sprung if I ever change it out.

[digitalsolo]

Updated CAN translator code for running Aston Martin VH dash: https://github.com/analoghan/AstonMartinVH_DashCAN/tree/main

"v6" is the new version which adds reading broadcast CAN messages from the GM ECU, processing this into decimal, then processing those values to send to the Aston dash.   It's built around a "Gen V" ECU, but should work on at least Gen 4+

I also added a control circuit setup for managing the early (non "emotion") start button.   The microcontroller runs an external MOSFET that will connect a ground.  This ground can feed the start button to both enable the functionality (make it run the starter) as well as light it up red.   The code will disable this feature once RPM reaches a set amount (500 in my case) to turn the light off, just like stock.

My circuit for the above starter control runs through the clutch switch also, so it works like stock.  Put key in, turn it to run, press clutch, if car is not running, start button lights up red.  Once RPM exceeds 500 (this is higher than the starter can turn it, indicating a running condition) it will disable the ground, in turn shutting off the light and preventing you from engaging the starter on a running engine.
I'll have an update to V6 to add speed output for the dash soon(ish).

This is designed to run on a CANBED Dual (Raspberry Pi 2040/Pico) but is pretty adaptable to any microcontroller with decent memory/CPU speed, from a design perspective.   I try to document the code pretty clearly, but you will need to understand CANbus to make any changes. 

[digitalsolo]

So my CAN controller isn't running the gauges;  looking at the logs it's not getting CAN data from the GM ECU for some reason.   I'll tone that out and see, but that shouldn't be too big of a deal.

I spent some time today and put the rest of the fender liners in, built a screen to cover the diff cooler on the driver rear liner, modified the front undertray for my slightly larger than stock oil cooler ducting and reworked the rear shear plate to clear the TR6060/Diff.   All of that is bolted in.   I tried to weigh the car but I'm an idiot and set it on the scales before I zeroed them, so we'll do that again shortly.

I did manage to take the car around the block.  Power steering did some weird stuff right at the end where the assist didn't feel right, and the idle RPM is too low.  Wideband says my fueling isn't too far off, so that part is good news.   Clutch feels "ok" and the blower is LOUD, which is fun.   Brakes seemed weird playing in the garage but seem okay driving it around.   Still getting weird smells, vibrations, etc., but I suppose that's to be expected.

Oh, and (cool, but not fully cold) idle video:

[Venom13132]

you could have Zeroed the scales with the car on it then drove it off the scales and took the negative number 

[digitalsolo]

you could have Zeroed the scales with the car on it then drove it off the scales and took the negative number 

I thought about that right after I took the car off the scales.  Haha.

I'm working on the CAN translator right now.   I had it "ready" but it turns out that microcontroller I was using can't handle the data transmission rate from the GM ECU, or at least I can't find a way to make it do so.   So I'm swapping to a different controller.  I had a RPI2040 based "CANBED Dual" initially.  I'm going to go to a Teensy instead.   The failure mode on the Pi2040 setup was annoying as it worked on the bench, but once I slammed a TON of CAN data into it via the GM ECU, it would choke and start sending data once every 5-6 seconds instead of 20 times/second.   That's not helpful.

I already ported my code to run on a Teensy 3.6 (I had one of these in a drawer from a past project), but I have a Teensy 4.0 coming.    The RPI2040 is ~133 mhz, the Teensy 3.6 is ~160 mhz but the 4.0 is 600 mhz.  More faster means I can deal with my crappy coding skills more effectively, haha. The good news is the root of my code doesn't change, just a few details on how I write out/read in CAN data.

I'll test out my 3.6 "beta" version later this week/weekend, and get the Teensy 4.0 setup in the car once I get all the bits (I need DC power converters and CAN transceivers that are coming from Europe).    Either way, these Teensy controllers let me set hardware filters and mailbox controls for the CAN data, which lets me solve the "overrun" issues of the Pi2040.   I tested my initial code with 100,000 messages sent at 1ms intervals and it managed all of these, recorded their IDs/data and continued sending RPM, ECT and warning light controls throughout, so I'm cautiously optimistic this is the solution I need.

[kinger]

Love the plate!

[Venom13132]

I just got a chance to watch/listen to that video.   Damn!  That sounds wild coming out of an Aston.  Love it.    I have always loved the Vantage.  I was planning on buying a Porsche Cayman S in the spring as a fun 3 pedal daily but might have to bump the budget up a little and see if I can find a Vantage.

[digitalsolo]

I just got a chance to watch/listen to that video.   Damn!  That sounds wild coming out of an Aston.  Love it.    I have always loved the Vantage.  I was planning on buying a Porsche Cayman S in the spring as a fun 3 pedal daily but might have to bump the budget up a little and see if I can find a Vantage.

A bunch of the Aston guys are upset because it sounds like a "muscle car" and now it's ruined.  They sound like rotary guys, LOL.

Vantages are about as cheap as they've ever been.  You can get a mid mileage (~50K) manual early Vantage (06-09) for under 40K in nice condition right now.

Love the plate!

Thanks!  It was between that and "UNCVLZD" but "BLDDY EL" won the wife vote, haha.

[Venom13132]

A bunch of the Aston guys are upset because it sounds like a "muscle car" and now it's ruined.  They sound like rotary guys, LOL.

Vantages are about as cheap as they've ever been.  You can get a mid mileage (~50K) manual early Vantage (06-09) for under 40K in nice condition right now.

Haha yeah I bet they do.  Well enjoy your "ruined" car.   
I have been watching them closely over the past few months.   Hopefully I can snag one in March/April/May time frame. 
There was a R-titled one that sold recently for $28k, in Washington, it was super low miles.  I found pictures of the wreck/damage and saw what it sold for at auction as well and it really wasn't bad.  I wasn't ready to buy anything when that one was for sale though.

[digitalsolo]

Took the car on a short drive today.   Driver side halfshaft came apart and stranded me.  Took the pieces out and flat towed it home.  Scraped the garage door frame slightly pushing it in and scuffed my fender and put a tiny crack in the reflector.

Cars, man.  LOL

Buffed the fender mar out and I wanted to get smoked reflectors instead of the OEM orange ones anyway.   I'll figure out what's going on with the half-shaft another time.   I'm done for today.

[cholmes]

Holy crap, glad it didn't come apart at high speed, that could have torn some shit up.