Continental Premium Contact 6 vs Michelin Pilot Sport 5: We saw previously how well the latest Michelin Pilot Sport 5 performed against Eagle F1 Asymmetric 6 in our previous head to head coverage. This time around we would like to pair the Pilot Sport 5 with another premium competitor Continental’s Premium Contact 6 to see whether Michelin’s latest donut can withstand the competition. Premium Contact 6 is a fairly old tire as it was launched in 2016 and has participated in a huge number of press test over the years while the Pilot Sport 5 was just launched recently in 2022.
Table of Contents
Results
Results below were taken from the 2022 Tyre Reviews 17 Inch Summer Tyre Test. A total of 9 tires were tested on the Goodyear’s track in France. The graph below shows the comparison between Continental Premium Contact 6 vs Michelin Pilot Sport 5 based on the relevant performance category. The Premium Contact 6 was set as a reference hence at the 100% mark.
Note that for subjective comfort evaluation, we equate 1 point as 5%. Hence for example if tire A is graded 7 while tire B is graded 6, A is better than B by 5%. The natural scaling does not really make sense in evaluation whereby the max number is 5. The tire size of interest is 225/45 R17 which is a common tire size for Audi A3 and Hyundai Elantra. You can check out our latest tire size table for more information.
Dry
One of the most important performances when it comes to the ultra ultra high performance segment is to have a very strong dry showing. In dry braking, Pilot Sport 5 managed to out brake Premium Contact 6 by 0.3m, a relatively close margin.
The tables were turned in the dry handling criteria as the Premium Contact 6 dominates strongly. In dry handling lap times, the Premium Contact 6 was quicker by 1.28 seconds compared to the Pilot Sport 5. From the total lap times, the Premium Contact 6 ranked 1st among the rest of the field.
From a subjective point of view, the Premium Contact 6 was rated +1.2 points better than Pilot Sport 5. According to the test driver, the Premium Contact 6 it has an “excellent dynamic steering with a nice weight, really quick sharp reactions, and great levels of grip across the three laps” while the Pilot Sport 5 was “easy to drive, safe understeer balance, GREAT levels of grip… but just not that sporty”. Overall the Premium Contact 6 has great subjective handling but was slightly edged out by the Pilot Sport 5 in braking.
Pilot Sport 5:
- +0.9% in dry braking
- -1.4% in dry handling (lap time)
- -6% in subj dry handling
Wet
Safety has always been the main theme when it comes to the need for wet performances. In objective wet braking, the Premium Contact 6 managed to out brake the Pilot Sport 5 by 1.2m. The Pilot Sport 5 took back the honors when it comes to straight aquaplaning with the highest slipping speed of 87.4 km/h compared to the 85.7 km/h of Premium Contact 6.
Even though the Premium Contact 6 had a strong wet braking performance, Pilot Sport 5 totally dominates in wet handling. The Pilot Sport 5 was 1.22 seconds faster while having a +1.5 point advantage in subjective wet handling. It is astonishing to see how having the better wet braking tire does not necessarily contribute to a good wet handling tire. There are other key contributing factors other than the rubber compound which makes wet handling performance a very tricky one to master.
Pilot Sport 5:
- -3.8% in wet braking
- +1.9% in wet handling (lap time)
- +8.1% in subj wet handling
- +2% in straight aquaplaning
Noise & Comfort
In the noise vibration & hardness criteria, Pilot Sport 5 was more comfortable with a subjective rating of 9.8/10 while the Premium Contact 6 only managed a 8.5/10 score. In exterior noise, the advantage belongs to Pilot Sport 5 as it is 0.8dB quieter than Premium Contact 6.
Pilot Sport 5:
- +1.1% in exterior noise (-0.8 dB)
- +7% in comfort
Rolling Resistance
When it comes to extreme sporty tires, rolling resistance is definitely not something the user has in mind when purchasing the tire. However with the sustainability topic being more prevalent, it is good to know where they stand. Pilot Sport 5 was 2.5% better than the Premium Contact 6 which makes it a much more fuel saving tire.
Pilot Sport 5:
- +2.5% in rolling resistance
Price
Michelin being Michelin with no surprises as it commands one of the highest priced tire in the market as Pilot Sport 5 is €15 more compared to the Premium Contact 6.
Tire size: 225/45 R17
Premium Contact 6: : €90
Pilot Sport 5: €105
Difference: +15% more expensive for Pilot Sport 5.
Summary
With its newest updated package, Pilot Sport 5 was able to show a great dominance in dry braking, wet handling, noise/comfort & rolling resistance. The only strong points for Premium Contact 6 is in wet braking and dry handling. Overall from our point of view, Pilot Sport 5 is the clear winner !