Harry they do jump a lot on the RHD cars. The feed comes off the front o/s wheel. It has to take a bad bend to get to the RHD speedo. The cables tend to break due to this bad bend and are a bit short. I have had mine done twice or three times? the last time Colin fitted one from a RHD muira which is a bit longer and this seems to have worked although the speedo does jump a bit especially at lower speeds. If you need a chat let me know. usual number 07831467360. Iw as going to go over and take the QV out for a run this weekend as weather still quite mild. If you need me to check specific speeds or do a video let me know Regards Paul
You do know that you can adjust the "steering tension"...make is much lighter simply at the rack. Brian
Kudos to Maser for the effort. I'm very surprised that nobody had done this before. Another question for all the folks here: Is it possible to lighten the clutch pedal in the Countach ? Imagine a Countach with a light steering and clutch ala NSX for daily city driving. That would be sooo awesome in my book, although many purists will hate the idea.
Wil deGroot has a clutch conversion for the Countach that changes it from a "pull type clutch" to a push type clutch. From what I understand, it makes the clutch much, MUCH lighter to operate. The conversion changes the master & slave cylinders, disc pressure plate and release bearing. http://exoticars-usa.com/ Mike
I had to put a new clutch kit in my car when I bought it over three years ago. It is much much lighter than others I have tried, possibly 50% easier. The anniversary seems to be particularly heavy although my experience is a bit limited to about four cars I am not sure if the OP has had the clutch done in his? But if we can meet up i am sure one or both of us will post the back to back comparisons on the cars Paul
I saw your car this morning at the Maastricht Classics exhibition and although I prefer cars in their original livery Ive to admit that only an eagle eye can see the difference. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Rear tyres available here http://www.longstonetyres.co.uk/page/345__35ZR15%20Pirelli%20P-Zero%20Asimmetrico.html
Not sure that he is aware...because if you back the tension all the way out you can turn the wheels with one finger while sitting still and would never ever need power steering. Brian
Front tyres are now available and the rears should be available in the next few weeks. I have been chasing them up with Pirelli who advised me that they would be making them as soon as the F1 season was over. I have not driven a countach despite buying one late last year. It was Harry's video of the 1200 mile journey that made up my mind about buying one as it looked quite easy to drive. Now I see that he was so traumatised that he's getting power steering. He was breaking into a sweat at times on those tight bends. I look forward to hearing how the modifications work out. Hopefully my QV will be out on the roads of Cheshire in 3-4 weeks if the tyres arrive, after waiting since the mid 70's to own a countach, a few more weeks won't matter Keith
Keith Glad to hear you have bought one. Was out in mine today. To be honest, there is very little else like them! I hope we can get as many CT's together as possible this year, possibly at the Scottish Italian car and bike day on 12th August or any other ideas? Let me know how you get on Paul
Thanks Paul I will keep you posted and I am sure that I will be contacting you at some stage for advice if that's ok Cheers Keith
Here's the discussion I was referring to about the 911 installation. He seems happy? http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/625956-installation-ez-electric-power-steering.html Being able to turn it off and remove it back to stock seems crucial to me. When it's on I wonder how well the assist transitions from low to medium vehicl speed?
Maser, are you happy with your electric power steering conversion? I'm curious to hear your thoughts on it.
Iso cars are known for their slow steering and I know of a few installations on Grifo's and Rivolta's, it makes the car much easier to park and drive, no complaints, just smiles. http://**********.com/2011/12/power-steering-for-the-iso-grifo.html
Sorry to be slow reporting back on this conversion; lots happening at the moment... I've now done about 1000 miles in my EZ power steering equipped Countach QV and I continue to be as astonished with it as I was when I first drove the car out of their workshop in Holland for the first time. I've done a story on this conversion for Octane Magazine and this will appear in their next issue but here's a quick summary of my thoughts so far: Upsides: 1) Visually, you'd never know it was fitted to the car. 2) It's completely silent in operation 3) It's at its most astonishing when you're stationary because that's when there's maximum assistance, making it almost freaky to manoeuvre the Countach around at very slow speeds. 4) As soon as you get moving, the amount of power assistance quickly falls away, thanks to the speed sensor they fit as part of the conversion and by 10-15mph, the weighting has risen quite considerably, making it feel very close to a Porsche 911 power steering set-up. 5) You can only appreciate the effect heavy steering has on the way you drive a car once you have a conversion like this done. I'm finding I'm pushing the car much harder now and exploring the outer edges of adhesion more often. Whether this is a good thing, though, is debatable! Downsides 1) When stationary, I'm aware of slight play between the column and the rack now, which I need to get adjusted out. 2) A higher speeds (80mph+) I'm not sure the Countach is as absolutely locked on line as it was before the conversion but I want to get the geometry checked out first, before confirming this is down to the new electric power steering because it feels to me like there might be some rear steer going on here (rear toe-out). 3) The conversion costs 2900, which makes it one of the more expensive conversions EZ does but then they needed to use their most powerful motor set-up thanks to the Countach QV's standard steering being so heavy! The conversion has really opened up the way I use the Countach and I'm regularly commuting the 65 miles to the office in it now. I'd like to find a way of adding more caster to the front suspension, to give it more self centring but I'm not sure if the Countach is adjustable in this plane. Finally, EZ fitted a switch which activates a rotary knob to vary the level of assistance the electric motor gives but I know I'll never use it. I'd much prefer to have a simple one-off switch, as I reckon I'd use that more often. I'll report again once I've got the new Pirelli tyres fitted and I've got a few more miles under my belt.
1. I suggest to do, I had a bad uniball which made the car undrivable above 100mph, it was trolling left to right and back like a drunken guy or a knocked out boxer. 2. Since the CT has a race like suspension this shouldn't cause much trouble. Overall it seems to be a great addition, I regularly drove my car on the track and it was like a 5000m Sprint, exhausting in every aspect...
And that's why there are several well known historic race cars out there sporting EZ power steering and, so long as they've got a hidden on/off switch, it's hard to spot which they are..
Thanks for detailing your experiences. Please do keep us updated about how you feel about having it on the car after a few more miles of driving.
Which months issue? Did you get the geometry checked first? Once mine was sorted I didnt had any problems. The CT has fully rosejointed suspension, adjusting it is a doddle. But, like all other owners, would love to try it out (once I get my new clutch fitted ) Jonathan