The new Continental SportContact 7 debuted in the independent tests.

List of models tested:

• Bridgestone Potenza Sport
• Continental SportContact 7
• Federal Evoluzion ST-1
• Goodride SA37
• Goodyear Eagle F1 SuperSport
• Kumho Ecsta PS71
• Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S
• Nankang AS-2+
• Toyo Proxes Sport A
• Vredestein Ultrac Vorti+

In 2022, the results of the Tyre Reviews test were out very early, and, as Jonathan Benson, the creator of the portal, says, that was because he wanted to be the first to test the newcomer of the season — Continental SportContact 7 — and for this model it was indeed a debut in independent tests.

The tires were tested using Toyota Supra. Source: tyrereviews.com

The test car was a Toyota Supra, fitted with 255/35 R19 front tires, and 275/35 R19 rear tires. Besides Continental, the test also involved the recently launched Bridgestone Potenza Sport, as well as Michelin Pilot Sport 4S, Goodyear Eagle F1 SuperSport, Toyo Proxes Sport A, Kumho Ecsta PS71, Vredestein Ultrac Vorti+, Nankang Sportnex AS-2+, and Federal Evoluzion ST-1. In addition, Jonathan Benson tested the cheapest set of tires he could buy online for this Supra, which was a mix of Star Performer for the front axle and Goodride for the wider rear.

In the dry handling test, the Goodyear and Continental tires showed almost identical results, the difference in lap time being mere 0.02 seconds; Benson said that the Goodyear model is «just at home on the dry track." «I get a lot of questions on the Tire Reviews website asking what’s my recommendation for the best road tire to use on track days, and people always seem surprised when I say the F1 SuperSport — Benson said — Stop being surprised, it is awesome. Quick steering, loads of lateral grip, lovely controllability at the limit, yes it’s not quite as easy to drive at the limit as the Conti, which leads the group, but it’s fun and fast. It’s not the best in the wet anymore, but it handles the heat of track driving so well, it’s great.»

The steering wasn’t quite as quick as the Bridgestone, but it was the most linear of the group in terms of steering force build-up. It was also one of the nicest to drive quickly, as it communicated everything at the limit really beautifully and was really progressive past the limit, meaning you weren’t scared to slide. «Tires move into you confidence, and furthermore, on the sensations, they were better than rest in the plan of the effectiveness of braking» — Benson noted.

The third line of the tournament bracket was occupied by the Bridgestone model, which was the quickest of all to respond to the driver’s actions. «It had great grip, and direct, quick steering, the quickest of the group actually, and it was very precise. While that did make it feel a bit nervous, I’m ok with that. What I’m not ok with was the communication at the limit. At 90% it was really fun, and possibly the best tire here, but at 100% it just gave up some detail you want» — Benson commented.

Then came the Michelin model, about which Benson noted that he had noticed before that its dry handling response was to a certain extent sacrificed in favor of extra versatility, and the test confirmed his suspicions. «As always with the Michelin, the grip is fantastic — he added. — It’s really strong on the brakes, but its steering has a big delay compared to the best, and it gives you little information at the limit. Am I understeering? Am I about to oversteer? You have to wait for your inner ear to tell you rather than the steering wheel. Oh, and it liked to understeer.»

Speaking about the Vredestein model, the creator of TR commented that the tire’s grip was really peaky, and it was just a bit of a handful to drive. «Shame, but this is an old tire now and probably ready for an update» — he said.

Test discipline: dry handling. Source: tyrereviews.com

The Kumho model came only seventh, and Benson noted that its handling was ok but nothing special, while the grip was pretty stable. A line still lower was occupied by the Nankang tire, which already had handling issues. «The steering was merely a suggestion of where you wanted to go, and once the car rotated you were better off steering the car on the throttle — Benson said — But it was really easy to slide, really progressive, and one of the most fun tires. People always ask me what tire they should buy if they want to learn to drift — it’s this. It doesn’t wear out either. We’ve used it for the drifty filming laps and it held up really well.»

According to Benson, the Federal and Nankang tires demonstrated almost identical levels of grip, the difference being that Nankang does not like high speeds and is prone to heavy understeer, and, if you try to regain the balance with the gas pedal, the grip on the rear axle is quickly lost.

Last place was expectedly occupied by the mixed budget pair, about which Benson said that driving on them «was a terrible thing». «It made the Supra quite nasty to drive, with the front axle bobbing about and the rear suddenly and constantly breaking into oversteer with no ability to control the slide.»

In the braking test, the top four places were occupied by the same top tires, while the Federal model demonstrated a much better performance than it did in the handling test.

On wet pavement, the differences between the tires grew more prominent, and the best lap time with a significant lead over the competitors was shown by the Continental model, as if it was «from a different category of tires». «Yes I know it’s the newest tire here by quite some margin, so it’s no surprise it’s the best in the wet, but it was five seconds faster than the next best tire!» — Benson noted, adding that this Continental model behaved in a very predictable way and ensured easy handling response at high speeds.

Second-placed was the Bridgestone model, which also ensures excellent wet grip — this looks particularly impressive considering its small initial tread depth. The third to cross the finish line was the Michelin model, which had a somewhat limited stability on the rear axle, but very good longitudinal grip, particularly during the braking. The Michelin tire had a slightly fuzzy handling response, and it was not the most informative.

The Nankang tire came fourth. According to Benson, it did not have the most grip, but it did have good front/rear balance unlike some of the previous tires, which made it easy to drive. This is quite a result, especially considering the price of this tire. Then came Toyo, whose performance was similar to that of Nankang, followed by Vredestein that had a strong grip on the front axis but a relatively weak grip on the rear, due to which you had to slow down in corners — something you don’t need to do when driving on better tires. Kumho was seventh fastest. Its levels of grip were pretty low overall, and the biggest issue was once you were past the limit of grip, you were sliding a long time, waiting and waiting for the grip to come back, on both axles.

Test discipline: wet handling. Source: tyrereviews.com

In the wet test, the Goodyear tire came only eighth. «The balance of the car felt really bad, in fact not knowing what I was driving on at the time, I thought this might be the mixed tires as the grip difference was so big between the axles." «The front end had great, nicely weighted steering, the car turned in quickly, but the rear tire just couldn’t hook up, and I found myself oversteering mid corner. Not because I was braking, not because I was applying throttle, just because the car wanted to slide and I had no idea why» — he said, adding that the tires did feel better as they started to warm up, but not enough to score higher positions in the tournament bracket.

The pair of budget tires scored the last-but-one place. The front axle was fitted with the Star Performer tires that did not provide sufficient grip. «This DID mean the Supra had quite an understeer balance, which is usually considered safe, but I guess it’s only safe if the car actually turns. Not recommended» — Benson said.

The worst overall performance, however, was demonstrated by the Taiwanese brand Federal, which was even worse than the budget mix. «This tire had zero redeeming features» — Benson said. «Like, not even „fun to drive sideways“ as the grip was so low, and so difficult to recover when sliding, it was just frustrating» — he added. «I wrote in my notes „almost undriveable, extremely low grip at both ends, poor traction, poor braking, understeer and oversteer, really difficult tire to drive consistently“ and was happy to get them off.»

Continental was also the quickest to stop the Supra on wet pavement; Michelin and Bridgestone also demonstrated good results, while Federal obviously lacked grip.

In the straight and lateral hydroplaning tests, the balance of power remained pretty much the same, the best being Kumho and Nankang. It must also be noted that, unlike Bridgestone, Continental, and Goodyear, Michelin did not sacrifice hydroplaning resistance in favor of better dry and wet handling response.

The Nankang tire turned out to be the quietest on test, the noisiest being Kumho and Goodyear.

Nankang was also highly rated for ride comfort, sharing the first place with Toyo and Vredestein.

The test also involved measuring rolling resistance, and the best tires in this performance area were Goodride, Michelin, and Nankang.

Verdict

The first place in the final standings was scored by the Continental SportContact 7, which «set a new standard for the UUHP segment», surpassing all of the competitors with a big lead. At the same time — and this is important — the outstanding wet performance was achieved not at the expense of compromising other characteristics of the tire because the new Continental model turned out to be the best both in dry handling and dry braking. Minor issues with this tire are relatively weak hydroplaning resistance and relatively strong rolling resistance, but with such a lead over the competition on wet pavement, the SportContact 7 still scores a well-deserved victory.

The second line of the tournament bracket was occupied by the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S, which also has every right to be considered a very good multifunctional tire with a performance better balanced than that of the competition. At the same time, the Michelin tire had a slightly fuzzy handling response, and it was not the most informative. The Bridgestone Potenza Sport ensures excellent dry and wet handling response, but it has weak hydroplaning resistance, low riding comfort, and high rolling resistance. As for the Goodyear Eagle F1 SuperSport, it again confirmed its reputation for being one of the best road tires for track days. At the same time, one must keep in mind that its wet performance was much more modest, and ride comfort obviously was not a priority.

The fifth place was scored by the Nankang Sportnex AS-2+, which, although at the bottom of the dry handling chart, performed quite well on wet pavement, ensured a smooth and noiseless ride, and had low rolling resistance. «The AS2+ does seem more comfort than performance bias, but it’s still an impressive set of results for the price point» — Benson noted.

Result summary. 2022 Tyre Reviews Summer Tire Test — 255/35R19 Places 1–10. (click to enlarge)

Sixth came the Kumho Ecsta PS71, which has a very strong hydroplaning resistance, but it is the only strong side of this tire: Kumho had obvious issues in all the other tests for the sole exception of rolling resistance. The Toyo Proxes Sport A showed itself to the best advantage in the wet handling test. It also provided good riding comfort but had a weak overall grip and long braking distances both on wet and dry pavement. The Vredestein Ultrac Vorti+, on the other hand, may go down well with those who value riding comfort, but it had weak traction in all the tests.

The combination of Goodride and Star Performer tires made the behavior of the car unpredictable, and using these tires is not advisable, but even they took a higher place than the Federal Evoluzion ST-1, which had weak grip in all conditions and a dangerously long wet braking distance.

1st place: Continental / SportContact 7

Quick Take

N/A 34

Continental SportContact 7

Passenger - Max Performance Summer

Type: / Summer

• This tire replaced Continental / SportContact 6
• Available Sizes in Line: 3
• Original Equipment (OE) tires for:
  • • Maserati Levante M161 [2016 .. 2023]
  • • Maserati Quattroporte VI (M156) Facelift [2016 .. 2023]

• Year Released: 2022
• Regions for sale: Europe, Russia+, Southeast Asia

More Info

• Excellent handling response and short braking distance in any conditions
• Low hydroplaning resistance
• Increased rolling resistance
• Highly recommended

2nd place: Michelin / Pilot Sport 4S

Quick Take

87 76

Michelin Pilot Sport 4S

Passenger - Max Performance Summer

Type: / Summer

Price/Quality Wet Performance Dry Performance Handling Comfort Treadwear Snow/Ice Performance

• This tire replaced Michelin / Pilot Super Sport
• Available Sizes in Line: 213
• Original Equipment (OE) tires for:
  • • Ferrari GTC4Lusso [2016 .. 2020]
  • • Porsche 911
  • • Porsche Boxster
  • • BMW X3 M F97 [2019 .. 2021]
  • • BMW X4 M F98 [2019 .. 2021]
  • • Cadillac CT4-V GM Alpha [2020 .. 2023]
  • • Cadillac CT5-V GM Alpha [2020 .. 2023]
• Recommended Tire by Tests

• Year Released: 2017
• Regions for sale: North America, Central & South America, Europe, Russia+, Japan, South Korea, Middle East, Oceania

More Info

• Excellent wet and dry grip
• Excellent hydroplaning resistance
• Low noise emission
• Low rolling resistance
• Fuzzy steering response
• Highly recommended

3rd place: Bridgestone / Potenza Sport

Quick Take

82 65

Bridgestone Potenza Sport

Passenger - Ultra High Performance Summer

Type: / Summer

Dry Performance Handling Wet Performance Comfort Treadwear

• This tire replaced Bridgestone / Potenza S001
• Available Sizes in Line: 87
• Original Equipment (OE) tires for:
  • • Lamborghini Huracan Facelift [2019 .. 2023]
  • • Fisker
  • • Ferrari Roma [2020 .. 2023]
  • • Maserati
• Recommended Tire by Tests

• Year Released: 2021
• Regions for sale: USA+, Canada, Europe, Russia+, Southeast Asia, Middle East, Africa, Oceania

More Info

• Strong traction and good handling response on wet and dry pavement
• Low hydroplaning resistance
• High noise emission
• Low riding comfort
• Very high rolling resistance
• Recommended

4th place: Goodyear / Eagle F1 SuperSport

Quick Take

77 67

Goodyear Eagle F1 SuperSport

Passenger - Ultra High Performance Summer

Type: / Summer

Dry Performance Handling Wet Performance Comfort Treadwear

• Available Sizes in Line: 79
• Original Equipment (OE) tires for:
  • • Cupra Formentor [2020 .. 2023]
  • • Porsche 911 IX (992) [2019 .. 2023]
  • • Volkswagen Golf GTI Mk8 (CD1) [2020 .. 2023]
  • • Lotus
• Recommended Tire by Tests

• Year Released: 2018
• Regions for sale: USA+, Canada, Europe, Russia+, China, Southeast Asia, South Africa, Oceania

More Info

• Excellent handling response and short stopping distance on dry pavement
• The best tire to use on track days
• Long braking distance and generally weak grip on wet pavement
• Low hydroplaning resistance
• The noisiest tire on test
• Low riding comfort

5th place: Nankang / AS-2+

Quick Take

72 39

Nankang AS-2+

Passenger - High Performance Summer

Type: / Summer

Dry Performance Handling Comfort Price/Quality Treadwear Wet Performance

• This tire has run-flat model:
  • Nankang / AS-2+ ZPMS
• Available Sizes in Line: 85

• Year Released: 2017
• Regions for sale: Europe, Russia+, East Asia, Oceania

More Info

• Good grip on wet pavement
• Excellent hydroplaning resistance
• The quietest tire on test
• Very good riding comfort
• Low price
• Poor traction and prone to oversteer on dry pavement

6th place: Kumho / Ecsta PS71

Quick Take

69 41

Kumho Ecsta PS71

Passenger - Ultra High Performance Summer

Type: / Summer

Dry Performance Wet Performance Handling Treadwear Comfort

• Available Sizes in Line: 88
• Original Equipment (OE) tires for:
  • • Skoda Octavia Mk4 A8 (NX) [2020 .. 2023]
  • • Kia
• Recommended Tire by Tests

• Year Released: 2016
• Regions for sale: Canada, Central & South America, Europe, Russia+, Japan, South Korea, Southeast Asia, Middle East, North Africa, Oceania

More Info

• Excellent hydroplaning resistance
• Low rolling resistance
• Poor grip on dry and wet pavement

7th place: Toyo / Proxes Sport A

Quick Take

70 34

Toyo Proxes Sport A

Passenger - Ultra High Performance Summer

Type: / Summer

• This tire replaced Toyo / Proxes Sport
• Available Sizes in Line: 17

• Year Released: 2020
• Regions for sale: USA+, Canada, Europe

More Info

• Great handling response in the wet
• High resistance to straight hydroplaning
• Great riding comfort
• Long braking distance on wet and dry pavements
• High rolling resistance

8th place: Vredestein / Ultrac Vorti+

Quick Take

N/A 32

Vredestein Ultrac Vorti+

Passenger - Max Performance Summer

Type: / Summer

• This tire replaced Vredestein / Ultrac Vorti
• Available Sizes in Line: 67

• Year Released: 2021
• Regions for sale: Europe

More Info

• Great riding comfort
• Poor grip on dry and wet pavement
• Average hydroplaning resistance
• High rolling resistance

9th place: Goodride / SA37

Quick Take

58 30

Goodride SA37

Passenger - Ultra High Performance Summer

Type: / Summer

Dry Performance Wet Performance Comfort Handling Treadwear

• This tire has run-flat model:
  • Goodride / SA37-ZRT
• Available Sizes in Line: 171

• Year Released: 2013
• Regions for sale: Mexico, Central & South America, Europe, Russia+, East Asia, Oceania

More Info

• Good resistance to straight hydroplaning
• Low rolling resistance
• Low price
• Very poor traction and poor handling response on wet and dry pavement
• Not recommended

10th place: Federal / Evoluzion ST-1

Quick Take

69 34

Federal Evoluzion ST-1

Passenger - Ultra High Performance Summer

Type: / Summer

Dry Performance Comfort Treadwear Handling Wet Performance Snow/Ice Performance

• Available Sizes in Line: 68

• Year Released: 2016
• Regions for sale: USA+, Canada, Europe, Russia+, East Asia, Oceania

More Info

• Low noise emission
• Low price
• Extremely poor traction, long braking distance, and poor handling response on wet pavement
• Low hydroplaning resistance
• Poor traction and poor handling response on dry pavement
• Not recommended