Countach Tires - does anyone care

Dougal, my report, better late than never.

I drove Countach Downdraft FLA12835 with the new generation Pirelli Cinturato P7 fitted over the past few days and long story short, I am impressed.

First thing I did was to bring them up to factory-recommended PSI.

Having driven Countachs on both PZeros and old P7s, to me the car immediately felt as if it was tracking truer, none of the weight-transfer issues I'd get with the Zeros. No question the more rounded profile these car's suspension was built around makes it work better.

I must confess though that the guys @ Dugan Specialties scrubbed them in nicely before I got the car this past week.

Driving it through some twisty canyon-type roads, the car unquestionably has more grip, but I expected that with the modern rubber compound.

Bottom line, like Harry, I like the new generation P7 even more now than the original tires from the era, with them the car feels connected to the driver, which is a good thing.

My verdict? Love them, and I can't say it better than Harry did, so I'll just quote him:

"If you care about how your Countach drives, then I have no hesitation in saying these are the tyres for you, thank you to all involved in getting them back in production, us Countach owners should be most grateful."

I'll also drive the Mimran Countach Downdraft this weekend and see if I still feel the same way

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Dougal let us know when more 345s are in stock.

 

Dougal, after quite a bit of testing the past few weeks, I must say the new P7s are significantly superior to the incorrect-spec PZeros in every performance way, not to mention looks.

They are a no-brainer.

That view was further reinforced when in the last few days when I switched to a completely different brand (BF Goodrich G-Force Sports) on a completely different car, (288 GTO), admittedly an apples-to-oranges comparison, but still both cars from the mid-80s. Now I feel the new Pirelli Cinturato P7s may be one of the best classic performance tires I have driven on as fitted to any classic car

Hope you are well!

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We don't like the funky modern tread-pattern of Michelins so we are using the BFGs which have a more traditional tread pattern, till the Pirelli's Ferrari requested are available.

Are the BFGs any good?

Put it this way - not nearly as good as the Pirelli Cinturato P7s!

 

So true.

 

I bought a set from you, and agree with Joe - no brainer, and feel much better. For me, it's the first time I've had the correct 205 fronts (400S), instead of 215s, and that really makes it feel sharper.
I guess a lot of people don't need a new set of rubber, but will get from you when they do.
I didn't 'need' a set either, but went ahead anyway and have kept the zeros as emergency spares.

 

I swapped back to the 205/50's from the 225/50's and it made a huge difference to how the car feels and knocked a chunk off the steering effort.

 

At this point, the only people buying PZeros ought to be 25th Anniversario owners.

Good move.

TBH, I'd rather have my car temporarily laid up than use incorrect-spec PZeros, to me they diminish the Countach driving experience, too square-shouldered so you can get sudden weight transfer and snap oversteer if pushed, and they cause the car to tramline, in my experience.

Good move here too, also, the Countach's steering effort is sensitive to correct front tire pressures.

 

Much better with the P7. Better steering and less darting on uneven roads. Also softer in a good way Always felt the Zero s where over powering the relativly light Countach.

 

Very well stated.

 

Definitely buying the new Pirelli Cinturato P7 from what I see, multiple sets piled high

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As of today, with these new P7s I continue to experience the best handling & performance of any other Countach tire I've experienced in the past

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I love mine.

 

Thank you Dougal

 

I can confirm that what Joe states is absolutely true - compared to Assimetricos, the "feel" of the car with P7s, especially when entering a curve in an aggressive manner , is fantastic - and the grip is tremendous!
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Very useful!

It saves me answering 3 emails a day from Countach owners who do not know the original specs of their car's tires!

Alex, Pirelli hit the ball out of the park with these new tires, IMO they are one of the best things to happen to the Countach since the cars were made.