Tyre Reviews vs Evo UK: Continental Sport Contact 7 vs Michelin Pilot Sport 4S vs Bridgestone Potenza Sport

Continental Sport Contact 7 vs Michelin Pilot Sport 4S vs Bridgestone Potenza Sport: We have covered quite extensively the success of Continental’s Sport Contact 7 quite a bit in our website and also its main rivals in the form of Michelin’s Pilot Sport 4S and also Bridgestone’s Potenza Sport. Rather than comparing head to head once again, we would like to see how well these 3 tires perform in 2 different press tests. As these 3 tires are hugely popular, we are lucky that Tyre Reviews and Evo UK have included them in this season’s test. We would like to explore the differences in performance across different categories and see whether the results are consistent and do not curtail a ranking change,

Sport Contact 7 & Potenza Sport was recently launched in 2021 with the tires widely available in the 2022 summer season. Michelin did not launch anything new in this segment and it is sticking to its highly reliable Pilot Sport 4S which was launched in 2017

Results

Results below were taken from 2 sources, Tyre Reviews & Evo UK from their UUHP summer test. We took only the 3 mentioned tires and compiled it side by side with the Sport Contact 7 designated as the reference hence the 100% mark. Before we get into the fine detail results, there are some differences which have to be established between the 2 tests.

Testing location

• Tyre Reviews: Contidrom, Lower Saxony, Germany
  
• Evo UK: Uvalde, Texas, USA

Both tests were done in Continental’s proving ground but in different locations. This would also mean different ambient temperatures and also different track surfaces. Note that as both tracks are by Continental, this means that Sport Contact 7 possesses a “Home” ground advantage in the test. This is definitely something to be aware of during the overall evaluation process.

Tire size & Testing vehicle

• Tyre Reviews: 255/35 R19 front & 275/35 R19 rear // Toyota Supra
  
• Evo UK: 265/35 R20 // Ford Mustang GT.

The tire size tested in both tests were not the same. Tyre Review has chosen a mixed fitment Toyota Supra with a 19″ tire and due to handling reasons have a much larger width in the rear. Evo UK on the other hand had a 20″ tire with a powerful Ford Mustang GT. As different cars react to tires differently, we have to take the handling results with a pinch of salt. One thing to note is that both chosen vehicles are having a rear wheel drive setup.

Note that for handling criteria, the lap times were used as an evaluation method. Even though Evo UK provided subjective evaluation, we have excluded them as it was not available in Tyre Review. The tire size and testing vehicle are listed above. For more information of what vehicle uses what tire size, you can check out our latest tire size table for more information.

Wet Braking

Tyre Review

• Sport Contact 7 : ref (100%) 
• Pilot Sport 4S : -5.2% 
• Potenza Sport : -6.1% 

Evo UK

• Sport Contact 7 : ref (100%) 
• Pilot Sport 4S : -12% 
• Potenza Sport : -9.5%

When it comes to wet, the key theme has also been about safety safety safety. Apart from having the longest braking distance conditions during wet, the possibility of losing control due to aquaplaning phenomena is also a threat. True to its promise of increased wet capability, Sport Contact 7 managed to dominate the other 2 tires in wet braking.

Comparing the 2 different test results, both showed the same direction as the 2 other tires trail the Sport Contact 7. The magnitude was slightly different as Tyre Review had a much longer braking distance from 100km/h to 0 while the Evo UK test had a 80km/h to 0 test methodology. Overall in wet braking both tests showed clear consistency as Pilot Sport 4S and Potenza Sport played second fiddle to Sport Contact 7. All 3 tires covered here were the top 3 finishers for Tyre Review’s wet braking test showcasing the best of the best performances.

Wet Handling

Tyre Review

• Sport Contact 7 : ref (100%) 
• Pilot Sport 4S : -8.6% 
• Potenza Sport : -6% 

Evo UK

• Sport Contact 7 : ref (100%) 
• Pilot Sport 4S : -4% 
• Potenza Sport : -2.6%

Similarly to what we saw in wet braking, Sport Contact 7 was at its best once again in the wet handling track. In the Tyre Review test, it was 5.33 seconds faster than the Potenza Sport while being 7.87 seconds quicker than Pilot Sport 4S. The differences were not as huge in the Evo UK test but it was in the same direction. Sport Contact 7 had a 1.8 seconds advantage against Potenza Sport while being 2.4 seconds quicker than Pilot Sport 4s.

When comparing the 2 test results side by side, they showed the same tendency and also ranking. The differences could be attributed to the wet handling track as every track layout is different. The overall lap time due to the combination of car & track also differs as Sport Contact 7 clocked 68.7 seconds in Uvalde but managed 83.2 seconds in Contidrom. All 3 tires mentioned here were the top 3 finishers for Tyre Review’s wet handling test out of 10 tires.

Straight Aquaplaning

Tyre Review

• Sport Contact 7 : ref (100%) 
• Pilot Sport 4S : +1.7% 
• Potenza Sport : +0.3% 

Evo UK

• Sport Contact 7 : ref (100%) 
• Pilot Sport 4S : -2.1% 
• Potenza Sport : +1.9%

Coming to the straight aquaplaning category, Pilot Sport 4S was the best tire by having the highest slip speed of 88.1 km/h in the Tyre Review test. However things were different in the Evo UK test as the Pilot Sport 4S managed a lower slip speed of 87.1 km/h while the other 2 tires performed much better. Its hard to find out why there is a ranking change in the test but the margins are really close. It could be attributed to the different tire width fitted in both tests (front 255 vs 265) or in general the vehicle setup. Nevertheless the differences shown are really small and it should not matter in real life situations.

Curved Aquaplaning

Tyre Review

• Sport Contact 7 : ref (100%) 
• Pilot Sport 4S : +6.6% 
• Potenza Sport : +3.3% 

Evo UK

• Sport Contact 7 : ref (100%) 
• Pilot Sport 4S : -8.7% 
• Potenza Sport : +13.6%

The biggest magnitude change between the 2 tests comes in the form of lateral aquaplaning. The Pilot 4S was the best in Tyre Review while being the worst in Evo UK. The ranking changes in both tests were huge and both tests do not agree with one another. It is hard to find out what is the issue here but there is definitely some discrepancy between the 2 conducted tests.

Dry Braking

Tyre Review

• Sport Contact 7 : ref (100%) 
• Pilot Sport 4S : -1.7% 
• Potenza Sport : -6.3% 

Evo UK

• Sport Contact 7 : ref (100%) 
• Pilot Sport 4S : -1.5% 
• Potenza Sport : -6.1%

When you think about a highly sporty tire, you will immediately picture a “racing car” driving at the limit on a race track. This has transcended into a strong requirement for dry performances especially dry braking and dry handling which was incorporated in all UUHP tires. Similar to wet braking Sport Contact 7 dominated by out braking the 2 other competitors.

When comparing both test, the magnitude and ranking checks out. In both test, Sport Contact 7 finished first with the same margins towards Pilot Sport 4S and Potenza Sport.

Dry Handling

Tyre Review

• Sport Contact 7 : ref (100%) 
• Pilot Sport 4S : -0.6% 
• Potenza Sport : -0.4% 

Evo UK

• Sport Contact 7 : ref (100%) 
• Pilot Sport 4S : -0.3% 
• Potenza Sport : -0.5%

The same could be said for dry handling as Sport Contact 7 edges both tires in the 2 different tests. The margins are extremely close as the lap times were separated by 0.3 seconds apart. The directionality of the test checks out but the margins are razor thin.

Summary

When comparing both tests side by side, Tyre Review and Evo UK test shows great consistency in wet braking, wet handling, dry braking & dry handling performance criteria. It however shows ranking changes in both straight & lateral aquaplaning. From the product side, Sport Contact 7 truly reveals its strong performance in both wet/dry braking & handling performances. Compared to Pilot Sport 4S & Potenza Sport, its only drawbacks comes in the form of aquaplaning.