Countach Tires - does anyone care

That has been the 345 price on Tirerack for quite a while from what I have seen.

Are the PZero 345s made every few years only? Does anybody know what date codes the Tirerack tires have?

 

That statement alone may answer any dilemmas you might have in terms of choice, given either the correct P7 or the replacement PZero to pick from.

As someone else noted, there is a discernible difference in the stance of the P7 vs the PZero, the sidewalls of the P7 are more rounded and more bulbous, and the shoulder tread is more flowing giving it a meaty aggressive look, whereas the PZero appears more square-shouldered with a shoulder-tread that seems against the flow.

The fact is, The PZero is not right for these cars, but we have gotten used to the look and accepted it.

There is no tire that looks as 'right' on a Countach as the P7, absolutely none. Its part of the car's DNA, it completes the package.

Consider too that the new P7 will be made with advanced rubber compounds that mean handling & lifespan will both be improved.

Personally I think any supplier should be honored to be affiliated with the production & supply of the fabled Pirelli P7.

Besides Dougal and Pirelli USA, I have heard there is a factory effort in Italy as well.

It's only a matter of time, it will happen.

 

Date code mine is 2713. That would translate to the 27th week of 2013.

The date code on the batch prior is 3802. The 38th week of 2002.

 

One of the more unfortunate things that I'm not sure was brought up is the fact that the rear tires on the CT are 345 (as opposed to 335) and 15" instead of 17"/18".

I get the impression that between Lamborghini, Ferrari, Viper, there was a concerted effort to use the same tire width for the rears. It wasn't until the Enzo where this size was exceeded, to my knowledge.

At the same time, 10 extra mm with 2-3" shorter tire should make a noticeably wider looking tire. Those 345 P7s must look really aggressive.

 

Joe, is this 345 P7 vs P Zero situation also found with the 285s for the Silhouettes?

 

Others will be better placed than I to answer that one.

BTW, per your previous post, Countach wheels are 15"s based on its era, 17"s & 18"s are from a later era.

 

No only P7 for the Silhouette as they were only built 1976-78

 

yes of course...no comparisons

P7's revolutionized the tire industry as we know of today. dallara who was instrumental in the development in for the pre-homologated lancia stratos in 72-73 says something to the effect " that the P7 was the single most dramatic factor for the increase of performance. this tarmac rally tire eventually became the P7 for road use.

 

??? i recall seeing P7R before the qv in 85 on the older 2v cars.

 

Do you have anything to support that?

The upcoming new Pirelli P7R was discussed in Road & Track magazine as below, note date.
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When I get a chance I will see if I can did up some old clippings.

 

That will be helpful.

Either way, the R version was definitely used for the entire run of the Quattrovalvole from 1985 to 1988, and it makes sense that the new tire is based on the R. The latter point is what I wanted to underscore.

 

hi joe

i took a look at some old clippings. i couldnt find a period shot of a 2v with the R's. Im recalling that a few CT's ran with R's before the qv. Whether they came that way from the factory or retrofitted i dont know but the cars were fairly new being lp5000's. it might have been from an Alpine Audio or Pirelli ad in the japan publication Car or Car Graphic. my memory is waning on this. i will take another look when i get another chance.

as for the R&T article saying it was new then in 85, it wasnt quite so...im surprised they didnt even use a proper image of the R itself of the standard P7 in that article. i recall driving on R's a few years before 85 and it blew me away on how much more grip it had over anything before it, normal P7s included.

here is an ad pic i pulled from Feb 81 R&T selling the R's with the proper image. given the lead time of pre-computer printing and page layout,and tire stores getting them in stock etc, most likely they were available in 1980 or perhaps earlier in europe. The line drawing image was 82. this list is only a small portion of the tire sizes available for the R and F's. they were mostly available in odd sizes and the countach , panteras, jalpas, R5 turbo's fell in that category.


speaking of P7-F's... here are pics a buddy took and sent to me last night on the prototype stratos at pebble a few years ago. but thats another story



cheers
hf
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Those are some cool-ass wheels!

 

on that note, is there a build list of interested people for a full set of P7 countach specs that at least would consider buying? I kow the issue is also price but first what is the maximum level of interest that we could get here? I am in.

if we dont have a list yet may be we could set up something with survey monkey and drag everyone to that for filling it out. That would be raw customer data for someone to chew on

 

As far as price, there should be no valid reason it would be any different as the P-Zero 2yrs ago. Tirerack and the other Pirelli seller sellers all had it for reasonable prices.
Unlike a Coker tire.

 

Thanks for sharing.

I think the P7 R rally-inspired tire you are speaking of is entirely different from the P7 R road tire which the Countach QV was shod with from 1985 to 1988. If you notice, the tire is marked "P7 R Rally". The tires I'm speaking of where marked "P7 R" only.

Please see self-explanatory images below, the 1st image (Ad) is what I think the old Ads you proffered refer to, the 2nd & 3rd images show the markings that are on the P7R as fitted to the Countach QV (1985 - 1988) as fitted by the factory for original equipment.

Again, checking all my factory-new images, every LP500S where the tires are clearly discernible shows P7 tires, and not P7R, in keeping with the fact that LP500S (1982 - 1985) were supplied with P7 and LP5000QV (1985 - 1988) were supplied with the P7R.

This does not mean that the P7R was not available or did not exist prior to 1985, I'm simply speaking to what was original spec for the Countach variants as supplied from Sant Agata when new.

I'm happy to adjust the received wisdom if proven otherwise.

Having said all the above, all that matters is that Countach owners will be getting P7s again soon, P7 or P7R I predict they will be even more popular than PZeros ! P7R just makes more sense.
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Hi Joe
yes the first 81 "introducing" R&T ad shows R-Type rally in the artwork. Wa this was an artist rendition before the tire was finalized?

The second drawing image in 82 removed the "Rally Type" and appears just like the image you have posted.

You may be very well correct on Qv being the first on P7R's. Perhaps the 2v cars had them retrofitted afterwards like the koenig CT and Isdera's.

Good to know they will be avalible again...hope they do the 285's also.

Cheers.

 

I think that's what happened.

 

Any news regarding the poss limited P7 production?my tires are running out of time.not miles,thanks

 

This process of over-analyzing the whole issue is taking so long that I bought the 2012 dated tires from Tire Rack. I just couldn't wait any more, my tires were out of date.

If you're gonna make some P7's, just do it already. Yes people care. But we are not gonna wait forever.

 

I have not mounted my new P-Zero's I bought. I am holding off mounting them in anticipation of the P-7's. Car will be off the road anyway for quite awhile for work/servicing.

When the P-7 comes to light, I will sell these for you guys with the late cars. They are stored properly.

Btw, we Gen1 Viper owners are at the beginning of the same problem. The only company making them, Michelin, had stopped. Owners are panicking. I posted that they can expect them again but, as with the Countach, it will be years in between.....and told them to grab a set when they do!
After my Countach bedtime story, I think a few Viper guys we a little shocked at what we Countach owners had to endure lol.

 

Basically how everyone (without an agenda) feels. I mean, why would anyone not want P7s?

Dougal posted that P7 fronts should be ready "end of May/June all being well". No mention of rears.

I'm checking with John as regards Pirelli USA who have both fronts and rears in the production pipeline.

 

Does everyone want a reliable and safe P7? Then read on:

In defense of Pirelli, it is not that quick. Before the decisions are made to even give the nod, pretty much all aspect of the company get involved from mailroom/shipping receiving to marketing to legal and everything in between.

Dust has to be blown off the tooling after 30+yrs, tested, retested, tested again. The test dummy tires are put on the road simulating test machines.

Then the thousands of tire have to be made.

But in between is so much corporate BS.
I can go on and on and on.