Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Morgan Aero 8, 2012< Plus 8, SuperSports, Coupe & Aeromax S3 to S5

On Wednesday I traded my S3 Aero for a 2016 S5 on sale at the factory, I had only owned the S3 for 6 months (bought from Richard Thorne CC), and was smitten despite what I felt where some failings.

My thoughts after a few days and a 300 miles.

To be perfectly honest The ride quality of the S3 was pretty poor, a bit like driving a BMW on big wheels and runflats, hitting a bump mid corner resulted in scuttle shake and really upset the car, to be honest this was my biggest motivation to change. Before driving the S5 I had plans to fit quality suspension and swap the 18" rims for 17"s to calm down the ride.

Steering was also a little vague with a feeling on turn in that the rear was lagging behind the front.

To put this into context my previous 3 cars were Elise, Exige and Evora, which are world class in these areas, so the Aero was always going to struggle a bit by comparison.

None of this detracted from the charm and sheer event of driving the S3, it was rock solid on smooth roads, and surprisingly quick over the North Weald sprint course.

Like most of us I idly browse the usual sites looking at used Aeros, a 2016 Black car popped up for sale at the factory and I arranged a test drive. Not really anticipating it going much further than that, although I was interested to experience whether the stiffer chassis and revised suspension would make a perceivable difference, particularly with the new car running on larger 19" rims.

First impressions? It was luvverly, and had real Gotham city presence in black with anthracite rims. The driving position is improved with more arm space, and the seat reclines which helps to get comfy. The roof looks great both up and down, but is a bit of a faff, and not a 5 second job like the S3.

And it's loud! the S3 had side pipes but was pretty quiet when pootling about, the S5 is loud all the time with pops and bangs on overrun, not subtle but fun.

The test drive? Well ride quality and steering are not Lotus quality but a huge step forward, I deliberately pointed the car at potholes and it rode them without any scuttle shake, the steering has also been improved, there is still a slight vagueness, but nothing like the old car, I will be interested whether that can be further improved with decent geometry.

Happy days, a little negotiating and I am now the proud owner of a very black, very loud S5.

Roll on summer trips to Spa classic, Reims and Garda.

Enjoy it Gareth! I have a friend who has an Aero GT and a S3 for his missus, lucky B (!). He prefers the S3, for overall experience I think. Meanwhile I continue to enjoy my S1 - the original and the best ! (?)

Correct me If I am wrong, but the S3 chassis is the same as a S5 from a torsional stiffness point of view.

Photo's please

Martin, the reviews that I read said the chassis was stiffer, which was confirmed in my conversation with the factory, the drive really did feel night and day different to my S3, I did wonder if it was down to suspension being tired on my car but it's only had 20k miles so don't think this is the case.

Martin,

I was told by Mark Jackson that the new front end, including a massive cross tub brace where the coil over units used to be, behind the radiators, was intended to add to the torsional stiffness of the chassis front end.
The changes at the back were less significant, but did improve the package.

I suspect the new chassis will be better still.
I also wonder if the new S5 chassis includes suspension elements that we will see on the new car, allowing the Factory to get valuable road experience.

That's interesting Peter, I wonder if that increased stiffness at the front is why the steering feels a bit more positive.

I think there is more to it than that. The S1 to S4 cars have chassis that was originally designed as a track car. As a road car the lack of ARBs and other quirks made the steering a bit different, despite the springs and dampers being revised for road use.
The S5 has a much more conventional front suspension, with an ARB, upper and lower wishbones. The additional tub stiffness allows the suspension to work better and more importantly like other fast road cars.

And yet at least one S5 owner has spent serious money with independent suspension people getting his new car sorted out, perhaps the factory learnt from that ....

Iirc the stiffer S5 chassis and arbs allow for a softer ride setup.
The factory settings aren't quite right. It's a little pointy, and the spring/damper setup can get confused on fast, bumpy roads.

Shooter's investment with Richard Thorne showed that traction could be significantly improved. (He kindly shared some extracts from their report). I hear that the factory didn't spend quite enough time finessing the standard setup. I thought RT's price for fitting the adjustable setup with right-sized arbs was very reasonable.

My S5 is on 18 inch wheels, which will probably become next year's winter fitting after the car sprouts some 19s. Maybe the softer sidewalls of the 18s mask the imperfections of the setup, which 19s highlight?

Having said all that, I've not driven an S3 for comparison.

Will