Sport Contact 7 experience

[Chris Hinds]

Evening all,

Has anyone got experience with Continental SportContact 7s on their Vantage? Mine is a 4.7 S Roadster. I've recently replaced the (supposedly poor) standard RE050As which were 7 years old and on 18k miles with Sport Contact 7s all round, factory fit dimensions, no changes on the 19" wheels - 285/35R19 rear and 245/40R19 front.

I picked the SC7s on the grounds of them having won all the tyre tests and driven brilliantly by Evo et al. What I'm experiencing is what feels like a comparative lack of grip (like I'm nearer the limits) - I feel like I can't corner as quickly and when accelerating out of bends I'm seeing traction control flickering if I'm not quite careful. I've only done 150-200 miles since I had them... just bedding in or could they be mega sensitive to pressure variation or something?

[Kawasicki]

I’ve driven them a fair bit recently - they are very, very grippy. Have you had the car sliding, or is it more of an impression that it might do so unexpectedly?

[Chris Hinds]

I haven’t actually had a slide, but definitely more “steerable” using the right peddle. I feel like it’s rear more than front in that respect… I feel like it’s less “trustable” as a car, like it could snap if it did break away, whereas it always felt so solid. That kinda makes me think it must be pressures or balance, because everyone else seems to rate them like anything. Thanks for your feedback on them!

[Import]

Running conti’s on my 08…been very happy so far..may try reducing pressure 1# at a time to see if it makes any difference…had a couple of spirited drives..felt solid..good grip…but I do understand what you mean..when you go hard into a long corner…feels like the edge of traction is coming…I am used to it now..but I get it..

[kith]

Brand new tyres often feel a little skittish initially in my experience, you just need to scrub them in for a while and they should improve.

[johns355]

Had them fitted on my V8s nearly 2 years ago, to me they were ok for first 300-400 miles, wasn’t impressed tbh, but then they improved a lot, so scrubbing in made a big difference

[raceboy]

Just about to buy new tyres and these were my current 1st choice so watching with interest.

[skyebear]

Chris Hinds said:

Evening all,

Has anyone got experience with Continental SportContact 7s on their Vantage? Mine is a 4.7 S Roadster. I've recently replaced the (supposedly poor) standard RE050As which were 7 years old and on 18k miles with Sport Contact 7s all round, factory fit dimensions, no changes on the 19" wheels - 285/35R19 rear and 245/40R19 front.

I picked the SC7s on the grounds of them having won all the tyre tests and driven brilliantly by Evo et al. What I'm experiencing is what feels like a comparative lack of grip (like I'm nearer the limits) - I feel like I can't corner as quickly and when accelerating out of bends I'm seeing traction control flickering if I'm not quite careful. I've only done 150-200 miles since I had them... just bedding in or could they be mega sensitive to pressure variation or something?

https://www.continental-tyres.co.uk/b2c/tyre-knowledge/braking-with-new-tyres/

Ignore the erroneous URL, it's their guide on breaking in new tyres. Going by the guide you need to do another 300 miles to get the tyres optimal.

[PHFS]

This makes me glad I chose PS4S last year. Still impressive and a known entity, maybe yet to be really surpassed

But hopefully, your Conti's just need a few more miles and maybe lower pressures a bit.

[Apollya]

I’ve got Sport Contact 7’s on my V8V N400 Roadster.

Mine are definitely run in and feel incredibly well planted and very grippy. I’ve not tested them much in any serious wet weather, don’t really plan to either, but on an only slightly wet road still no issues with grip.

[N430]

I have Conti 7’s on my recently purchased 2016 V8 Vantage N430 and find them very good with good traction. I find them quiet and so far during some spirited drives the handling is very good with what I can only describe as a little bit of squirming under heavy acceleration during cornering which I’ve put down to softness of the suspension of my car set up as it’s comfort rather than the sport of the Vantage S or a bit more give in the side walls of the tyres.

Edited by N430 on Tuesday 30th July 21:05

[LTP]

N430 said:

I find them quiet and so far during some spirited drives the handling is very good with what I can only describe as a little bit of squirming under heavy acceleration during Corning which I’ve put down to a softness of the suspension of my car set up as it’s comfort rather than the sport of the Vantage S orca bit more give in the side walls of the tyres.

I have ContactSport 6's, not 7's, on my 2015 non-S V8V (comfort suspension) which I fitted to replace the original Bridgestones, but I'd agree that the Conti's appear to have something like a softer sidewall (probably why the Brickstone originals rode so hard) so if I apply power coming out of a bend before the car is fully straightened, it gives the impression of a sideways squirm at the rear, but I've never had it let go - it just sort of settles into the sidewalls then hangs on beyond my courage levels on the road.

[BiggaJ]

Not had the Continentals fitted however, the people I use for tyres do a lot of high performance cars and when I had my P4S fitted, they did tell me to go easy until bedded in. They recommended a good 300-500 miles before really feeling the benefit.

[Chris Hinds]

Long time since I could reply to this, thank you for all the feedback and suggestions. Work and life then conspired to mean I didn’t get to drive the car for a couple of weeks!

I checked the pressures and I am bob on factory (33 front, 36 rear), but having done another hundred miles or so to take to 500, grip does seem to be improving… though not “there” in the same way as before. I still don’t feel confident in the same way. What I’m noticing is that tyre pressures rise very fast vs the old tyres and even a little motorway drive sees me at 38-41psi very quickly. I wonder if I need to drop pressure a couple of PSI and just live with the TPMS being cross at me!

[cypriot]

I have the Conti 6 on my car, and the grip and stability of the car is night and day better than the Bridgestones. The Conti 7 should be a step again better. If your car is not feeling balanced, and your tyre pressures shoot up, I would suggest getting your alignment checked out. There is no scenario where the old Bridgestone is better than any modern tyre (Michelin/Conti etc). Literally none.

[R1CKF]

I have a pair of brand new Continental Sport Contact 7 285/35 R19 for the rear of my Vantage S for sale , cars gone ,so £250 for the pair if of any interest - based on Junction 9 M25,