Conti Sport Contact 7s

[AndrewGP]

It’s fast approaching new tyre time for my 987.2 Cayman and I wondered if anyone had an experiences of the new Continental Sport Contact 7s. They seem to get great reviews online but I can’t find anything on how they wear.

Previous versions of the Sport Contacts were apparently terrible for wear so despite being cheaper than equivalent Michelin Pilot Sports, they didn’t represent better value, hence I’ve always gone for Michelins. Has that changed now? My car is on 19s with 235s on the front and 265s on the back. No track use, just road, so wet weather performance is really important to me.

[DJMC]

I used Conti SC 2s and 3s on BMWs years ago which were excellent for wear, then tried the 5s which were terrible.

Is there no Michelin which will fit?

I've had faults with both Pirelli and Goodyear on my 981, on PS4S now which seem fine for grip and wear.

[cerb4.5lee]

I'd be interested to hear how these wear as well. I put conti sport contact 5 on the GLE400d and they only lasted 3 months/6k miles. So I can't say that I rate them very highly at all in fairness.

As a comparison the MPS4S lasted 15k miles, and the Pirelli P Zero lasted 20k miles. So I wouldn't go anywhere near a conti tyre now to be honest for sure(I never rated the contis that were on the Z4M or the E92 M3 to be fair either).

For me personally I'd go Michelin all day everyday, however I also really rated the Pirellis too though. Contis are massively overrated in my opinion.

[LiamH66]

No recent Continental experience, and I am more than ready to be crucified for saying this...

Most of the Michelin sport tyres everyone loves on their Porsches aren't that great in the wet. Pirellis are definitely not as good in warm/dry conditions, but they are to my mind a fair bit better in the wet. To the point that I left a set of P Zeroes on my 981 GT4 for a predicted wet track day at Silverstone earlier this year. I was really glad I did, as I could drive really confidently in very wet conditions.

It dried out later in the day, and you know what? They were alright! I'm sure I would have gone faster in the dry if I had my Michelin Cup 2s on the car, but that would have involved not having any monumental "offs" in the morning when it was wet. I also ran P Zeroes on a 718 Cayman for 17,000 miles, because it was what it came with, and was really happy with them as an all-round summer road tyre.

Also for consideration, Goodyear Eagle F1. My second 718 came with those. Better than the Pirellis I think, but pretty similar in being a good all-rounder. Only kept the car for about 8,000 miles, and did the only long winter on Pirelli Sotto Zeroes, but no issues with the tyres it arrived with.

And finally, the latest is a Cayman 4.0 GTS, that came with Michelin PS4S. In the dry, on the road, they are everything everyone says. In the wet, less so, but OK, at least predictable I think (/hope! So far so good.). A very good dry weather road tyre, but probably not the best in the cold and wet. No issues with aquaplaning so far at least.

I'll be changing over to some 18" wheels with Pirelli Sotto Zero when the weather gets just a little colder. Winter tyres are better for winter weather, and it doesn't matter all that much who has made them for that to be true.

Liam

[PaulD86]

LiamH66 said:

No recent Continental experience, and I am more than ready to be crucified for saying this...

Most of the Michelin sport tyres everyone loves on their Porsches aren't that great in the wet. Pirellis are definitely not as good in warm/dry conditions, but they are to my mind a fair bit better in the wet. To the point that I left a set of P Zeroes on my 981 GT4 for a predicted wet track day at Silverstone earlier this year. I was really glad I did, as I could drive really confidently in very wet conditions.

Liam

Pirellis better in the wet? The P Zero is the worst cold/wet combo tyre I've experienced on a number of cars including 997, 987, 991, 981 and on a number of other performance cars. When new they are OK in the wet but the wet grip dops off like a cliff edge, especially in cooler temps. My ex and I had a 991 C4S which came on P Zero N1s and bad doesn't even come close to how I'd rate them. The were swapped for PS4S and the wet weather performance was night and day better - this wasn't just as the Michelins were new; the Pirellis were ditched with about 5mm of tread left as they were so bad (still in the garage if anyone wants them - I tried to give them away before and got no takers). If you want to drift in drizzle then the P Zero is a great choice, but as the OP says they want wet grip I wouldn't go near P Zeros.

On track the P Zero may work better as you'll be able to get them hot, but on the road the only positive I can say about them is they are predictable.... in never having any wet grip.

In fairness, the Pirelli winters I have for my Cayman are actually pretty good and better in the wet than the P Zeros were.

We all have our opinions and I respect that but having driven a pile of cars on P Zeros I cannot understand anyone recommending them. On the 9X7 cars, N rated PS2s work better in my experience.

[IanB_76]

I haven't tried the Conti SC7's but a friend is running them on his E92 M3 and has been impressed so far.

I'm running PS4S on my R, and whilst they are a great tyre, they are also a nearly 7 Yr old design. If you watch the UUHP test on Tyrereviews.com, they thoroughly recommend the SC7 and also the new Goodyear Eagle F1 Supersport as having moved the game on from the much loved PS4S.

In particular the SC7 was super strong in the wet, as well as excelling the the dry.

From the wear ratings on the site, the Michelin is still the best, but the SC7 is noticeably better than the SC6. The Goodyear is slightly behind the SC7.

[AndrewGP]

Thanks all, some great insights there.

I've always used Michelins as a rule, I have two sets of wheels for the 987.2, a set of 19s with Cup 2s on and a set of 18s with MPSS. The 18s came with the car when I bought it in 2020 and were brand new at the time; they currently have loads of life left as I only do 3-4k miles per annum. The 19s are an extra set of wheels I bought a couple of years back and came with the Cup 2s which I've run in the summer months. They've been great, even in the wet but they're now due a change which is why I'm looking at all the options.

I was going to go for a set of MP4S but I thought I'd do a little research before committing. I can't believe they've been around for 7 years, seems like only a couple! It was the the tyrereviews video that highlighted the Conti SC 7s being better in the dry and the wet than the MP4S tyres. They're also a bit cheaper so it seemed a win-win if they didn't wear like the old Colti SC 5s did.

IanB_76 said:

I haven't tried the Conti SC7's but a friend is running them on his E92 M3 and has been impressed so far.

I'm running PS4S on my R, and whilst they are a great tyre, they are also a nearly 7 Yr old design. If you watch the UUHP test on Tyrereviews.com, they thoroughly recommend the SC7 and also the new Goodyear Eagle F1 Supersport as having moved the game on from the much loved PS4S.

In particular the SC7 was super strong in the wet, as well as excelling the the dry.

From the wear ratings on the site, the Michelin is still the best, but the SC7 is noticeably better than the SC6. The Goodyear is slightly behind the SC7.

Thanks Ian, that's useful. I'm in no rush as the MPSS are on the car right now but it sounds like the SC7s would be worth a punt to see how they wear in the longer term. Hopefully Black Friday will produce some good deals

[IanJ9375]

Running the Conti 7s on my F80 M3 - the MichelIn Pilot Supersports that were on it from new are truly shocking in the wet, the Contis have at least matched the dry weather performance if not bettered it whilst adding a gread deal of surefootedness to the wet/cold experience to the point I actual enjoy driving it in the rain now wheras before it was a very nervy affair at best!

[Crudeoink]

Following as I also have a 987.2 on 19's that needs new boots soon. Currently running Potenzas which were on the car when I got it. They're ok but not brilliant. Always liked the PS4s which is currently on the i30n. That said, I'm interested to try the conti 7's so any more feedback would be ace !

[80sMatchbox]

No info regards the Conti's but I agree with the post about the Pirellis. I had them on my 986 S and they just let go on me. I then read up about them and towards the latter part of their life this sort of thing is well documented.

I went down the Goodyear Assymetric 6's and they have been fantastic. They aren't any cheaper than the PS4's but have fantastic reviews and putting them on a par with them.

[abucd4]

“Better” in both wet and dry and cheaper on paper than PS4Ss is what I’d read. Seemed like a no brainer so I stuck a set on my 997 a few weeks ago.

I’m no tyre reviewer but honestly they feel extremely comparable to the Michelins which is no bad thing - they’re fantastic.

[LiamH66]

PaulD86 said:

<snip>
We all have our opinions and I respect that but having driven a pile of cars on P Zeros I cannot understand anyone recommending them. On the 9X7 cars, N rated PS2s work better in my experience.

Rather than an opinion, I’ve currently got a 981 GT4 wearing a set of P Zeroes (because it turned wet, and Cup 2’s don’t feel safe to me in the wet, even less so if it’s cold), and a 718 GTS 4.0 wearing a set of PS4S. My experience tends to agree with most of the objective reviews, that the Pirellis have a little bit of an edge in the wet. I know most forum opinions tend to disagree with the objective data as well as my opinion. Not that the PS4S’s are particularly bad, and certainly more progressive than Cup 2s.

I honestly don’t see why everyone gives P Zeroes such a hard time. They seem more than alright to me, and objective reviews seem to agree.

E.G. from tyrereviews.com:

Wet Handling [s]
Looking at data from three tyre tests, the Pirelli P Zero PZ4 was better during two wet handling [s] tests. On average the Pirelli P Zero PZ4 was 0.15% faster around a wet lap than the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S.

Wet Handling [Km/H]
Looking at data from two tyre tests, the Pirelli P Zero PZ4 was better during two wet handling [km/h] tests. On average the Pirelli P Zero PZ4 was 3.23% faster around a wet lap than the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S.

Subj. Wet Handling
Looking at data from one tyre tests, the Pirelli P Zero PZ4 was better during one subj. wet handling tests. On average the Pirelli P Zero PZ4 scored 12.1% more points than the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S.

Wet Circle
Looking at data from one tyre tests, the Pirelli P Zero PZ4 was better during one wet circle tests. On average the Pirelli P Zero PZ4 had 1.28% higher lateral wet grip than the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S.

Liam

[PaulD86]

LiamH66 said:

PaulD86 said:

<snip>
We all have our opinions and I respect that but having driven a pile of cars on P Zeros I cannot understand anyone recommending them. On the 9X7 cars, N rated PS2s work better in my experience.

Rather than an opinion, I’ve currently got a 981 GT4 wearing a set of P Zeroes (because it turned wet, and Cup 2’s don’t feel safe to me in the wet, even less so if it’s cold), and a 718 GTS 4.0 wearing a set of PS4S. My experience tends to agree with most of the objective reviews, that the Pirellis have a little bit of an edge in the wet. I know most forum opinions tend to disagree with the objective data as well as my opinion. Not that the PS4S’s are particularly bad, and certainly more progressive than Cup 2s.

I honestly don’t see why everyone gives P Zeroes such a hard time. They seem more than alright to me, and objective reviews seem to agree.

E.G. from tyrereviews.com:

Wet Handling [s]
Looking at data from three tyre tests, the Pirelli P Zero PZ4 was better during two wet handling [s] tests. On average the Pirelli P Zero PZ4 was 0.15% faster around a wet lap than the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S.

Wet Handling [Km/H]
Looking at data from two tyre tests, the Pirelli P Zero PZ4 was better during two wet handling [km/h] tests. On average the Pirelli P Zero PZ4 was 3.23% faster around a wet lap than the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S.

Subj. Wet Handling
Looking at data from one tyre tests, the Pirelli P Zero PZ4 was better during one subj. wet handling tests. On average the Pirelli P Zero PZ4 scored 12.1% more points than the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S.

Wet Circle
Looking at data from one tyre tests, the Pirelli P Zero PZ4 was better during one wet circle tests. On average the Pirelli P Zero PZ4 had 1.28% higher lateral wet grip than the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S.

Liam

The Cup 2 is never going to be the tyre choice for the wet so the P zero being better in those conditions is what would be expected. I've driven my Cayman on Cup 2s in the wet and I certainly wasn't inclined to push it hard. They do not deal well with standing water. Damp/drying conditions when they are warm they were better than expected.

I had a chat with the guy who does the tyre reviews videos about the P zero results in various UHP tyre tests as I don't think they match "real world" experience. I wasn't the first person to have said the same to him. I have a feeling there are a few factors in the P zero tests which make them appear better. Many, though not all, of the tests are conducted in much warmer countries and I think the higher temps help the P zero. A couple of years back the P zero won an EVO mag tyre of the year award. The test was conducted in Italy. At Pirellis testing centre.

The tests are also all carried on with new tyres and in my experience the P zero suffers far more from a drop in performance when worn than other tyres. When we had the 991 C4S it arrived with P zero N0s on it (car bought with 700 miles on the clock). They were OK at first but didn't take long to be unpleasant in the wet. The car replaced a 997.2 C4S which has been on PS2s and which was phenomenally sure footed in the wet. The decision to change the tyres was made even though the P zero N0s had plenty life left. We were convinced the N1 variant was a big improvement so a set of those went on. The improvement was massive over the N0s but it didn't last. By the time they had some wear on them they were just like the old set and these are the tyres I still have in the garage with 5mm of tread on them as they were ditched for PS4s. The car was sold with PS4s which were fairly well worn and still doing better than the P zeros in the wet.

So whilst I agree that there is plenty of test data which makes the P zero look good, I question whether the reason for the strong showings is the tyres being new and the temps being high. I'd be interested in a test of the same tyres with 20% wear and at Millbrook in autumn rather than summer in Italy, the states or the south of France. The chap from tyre reviews said that while good to do, testing of worn tyres is extremely expensive and logistically challenging.

[Old Trout]

I bought a Cayman earlier this year with Conti 7s on it. They had clearly had some hard track driving done on them and looked pretty well worn - indeed I was worried about getting them through the MOT.

Since then I have done about 600 track miles, 50 hill climb runs and a couple of thousand road miles and they are still comfortably road legal.

They were sticky when it was hot and dry, much more so than I expected. And they have been great in the wet.

Progressive handing in the dry and wet, with no snappiness.

I will be replacing them with Conti 7s when they finally give up.

[DJMC]

I recall it was the PZero N0 which got stick (mine were awful) but the later N1 version was better received.

Not sure if there's been another update, N2 etc?

I had GY F1 A2 on my 981 for a while but the fronts split all the way around the inner sidewall (MOT fail).

Current PS4S seem fine.

[Adrian-9iafn]

I replaced wheels and tyres on a. 997.2 and did the same research to establish which is the better tyre. I had MPSS but 3 out of 4 were 10 years old, so not a fair comparison but now running 9x19 and 12x19 with 235/35 and 305/30

My impression is nice road feel with a lot of bite and grip (I disliked MPS4S on a BMW F10 M5, it lost all the steering feel and turn in, so I have avoided MPS4S ever since, although I think the heavy fronted M5 is not a fair indicator)

Great dry grip and really feel 'grippy' and tactile. In the wet they are very confidence inspiring and have grip and feel, so no longer that dreaded disconnected greasy slidy problem that can happen from time to time. I'd definitley buy again. I cant provide a direct comparison but they are a good tyre even if non N rated

[AndrewGP]

Great stuff, thanks everyone for the feedback.

I'm going to give the Sport Contact 7s a go, I meant to say given the car is now over 10 years old, I'm not bothered about them being N rated, just how well they perform overall. So I'm just waiting for the wheels to get back from being refurbished which should coincide nicely with Black Friday to hopefully get a good deal on a set of 4

[IanB_76]

AndrewGP said:

Great stuff, thanks everyone for the feedback.

I'm going to give the Sport Contact 7s a go, I meant to say given the car is now over 10 years old, I'm not bothered about them being N rated, just how well they perform overall. So I'm just waiting for the wheels to get back from being refurbished which should coincide nicely with Black Friday to hopefully get a good deal on a set of 4

Look forward to hearing your thoughts. Definitely good to have other options than PS4S... just need the PSS5 to come out for non-OEM now.

[IanJ9375]

IanB_76 said:

Look forward to hearing your thoughts. Definitely good to have other options than PS4S... just need the PSS5 to come out for non-OEM now.

That's not how they are replacing PS4S, "new product"
Read the end of this - https://www.tyrereviews.com/Article/Exclusive-The-...

[LiamH66]

PaulD86 said:

The Cup 2 is never going to be the tyre choice for the wet so the P zero being better in those conditions is what would be expected. I've driven my Cayman on Cup 2s in the wet and I certainly wasn't inclined to push it hard. They do not deal well with standing water. Damp/drying conditions when they are warm they were better than expected. <snip>

So whilst I agree that there is plenty of test data which makes the P zero look good, I question whether the reason for the strong showings is the tyres being new and the temps being high. I'd be interested in a test of the same tyres with 20% wear and at Millbrook in autumn rather than summer in Italy, the states or the south of France. The chap from tyre reviews said that while good to do, testing of worn tyres is extremely expensive and logistically challenging.

Well I did say I was expecting to be crucified, so well done for your acceptance of the mantle!

Agree that Cup 2 are not great (AKA crap) in the wet, but my only genuinely scary experience in the 981 GT4 was with well worn Dunlop Sport Maxx in cold/wet “greasy” conditions not long after I got it. I ordered my first set of P Zeroes before driving much further in the car. On the track, in the dry, with the right pressures, I can see why people rave about Michelin Cup 2. Amazing tyres, just have to b a bit careful if it rains on the way home.

Clearly last few days has been experience of wet weather here in the UK, and the PS4S definitely has some benefits over P Zero in the wet, particularly in standing water on the motorway. My gut feel is that they clear water a bit better, but it takes a special sort of bravery to risk aquaplaning on the M65 when it has rained heavily, so I remain circumspect on the commute. The Michelins are pretty much brand new, on a car with 1200 miles on it so far, and I am more impressed than I expected to be after today’s very wet commute.

I honestly can’t remember if my P Zeroes are N0 or N1, but I’ll maintain my position that they are alright. Like you say, on a warmer day, and scrubbed in, they’d make a great intermediate race tyre. Under-rated on the internet, so they are never terribly expensive or hard to get hold of either. I’m relatively comfortable with them when it gets colder, but I can see why others might not be. If I say much more than that I’ll get unlucky and stuff my GT4 into a roundabout barrier in the next couple of weeks… But so far I don’t feel that’s terribly likely.

From specs and objective reviews, Conti Sport Contact 7s look pretty amazing. I’ll be impressed if they feel as good in the dry as Michelin PS4S. Haven’t had much dry weather with the Michelins, and I suspect they’ll get very hot very quickly on track. But, however old the design might be, probably the best summer road tyre I’ve used to date. I’ve had a set of Goodyear Eagle F1 for summer use. In my opinion, great (definitely better than the Pirelli’s in pretty much all “road car” circumstances), but Michelin PS4S most definitely a nicer summer tyre.

Liam