Continental SportContact 7 vs Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S

In this article we will be looking at independent tire test data, and real world driver reviews of the Continental SportContact 7 and the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S to find out which tire is best for your own driving.

The good news is that both the Continental SportContact 7 and Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S are Max Performance Summer tires designed to be fitted to Passenger Cars, which means comparing the two tires is relatively simple.

Both tires are hugely popular in the market place with drivers, and both have been featured in independent tire tests.

In This Article
Introduction Test Results Driver Reviews Conclusion
SportContact-7 VS Pilot-Sport-4-S

Test Results

Independent comparison tire tests are the best source of data to get tire information from, and the good news is there have been three tests which compare both tires directly!

Out of these three tests:

  • Continental SportContact 7 finished ahead of the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S in three of the tests

While it might look like the Continental SportContact 7 is better than the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S purely based on the higher number of test wins, tires are very complicated objects which means where one tire is better than the other can be more important in real world use.

Lets look at how the two tires compare across multiple tire test categories.

Dry Braking

Looking at data from three tire tests, the Continental SportContact 7 was better during two dry braking tests. On average the Continental SportContact 7 stopped the vehicle in 0.06% less distance than the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S.

Continental SportContact 7
35.12M
Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S
35.14M
Dry braking in meters, lower is better

Best In Dry Braking: Continental SportContact 7

2022 Tire Reviews UUHP Summer Tire Test
255/35 R19		 ✓ Continental SportContact 7: 33.17M Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S: 33.73M
2023 Sport Auto UHP Tire Test
225/40 R18		 ✓ Continental SportContact 7: 33.7M Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S: 33.9M
2024 Sports Car Tire Test
295/30 R20		 Continental SportContact 7: 38.5M ✓ Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S: 37.8M

Dry Handling [s]

Looking at data from one tire tests, the Continental SportContact 7 was better during one dry handling [s] tests. On average the Continental SportContact 7 was 0.65% faster around a lap than the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S.

Continental SportContact 7
52.16s
Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S
52.5s
Dry handling time in seconds, lower is better

Best In Dry Handling [s]: Continental SportContact 7

2022 Tire Reviews UUHP Summer Tire Test
255/35 R19		 ✓ Continental SportContact 7: 52.16s Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S: 52.5s

Dry Handling [Km/H]

Looking at data from two tire tests, the Continental SportContact 7 was better during one dry handling [km/h] tests. On average the Continental SportContact 7 was 0.24% faster around a lap than the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S.

Continental SportContact 7
105.5Km/H
Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S
105.25Km/H
Dry Handling Average Speed, higher is better

Best In Dry Handling [Km/H]: Continental SportContact 7

2023 Sport Auto UHP Tire Test
225/40 R18		 ✓ Continental SportContact 7: 101.8Km/H Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S: 100.6Km/H
2024 Sports Car Tire Test
295/30 R20		 Continental SportContact 7: 109.2Km/H ✓ Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S: 109.9Km/H

Wet Braking

Looking at data from three tire tests, the Continental SportContact 7 was better during three wet braking tests. On average the Continental SportContact 7 stopped the vehicle in 5.64% less distance than the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S.

Continental SportContact 7
41.14M
Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S
43.6M
Wet braking in meters, lower is better

Best In Wet Braking: Continental SportContact 7

2022 Tire Reviews UUHP Summer Tire Test
255/35 R19		 ✓ Continental SportContact 7: 50.13M Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S: 52.91M
2023 Sport Auto UHP Tire Test
225/40 R18		 ✓ Continental SportContact 7: 24.1M Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S: 24.5M
2024 Sports Car Tire Test
295/30 R20		 ✓ Continental SportContact 7: 49.2M Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S: 53.4M

Wet Handling [s]

Looking at data from one tire tests, the Continental SportContact 7 was better during one wet handling [s] tests. On average the Continental SportContact 7 was 8.64% faster around a wet lap than the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S.

Continental SportContact 7
83.24s
Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S
91.11s
Wet handling time in seconds, lower is better

Best In Wet Handling [s]: Continental SportContact 7

2022 Tire Reviews UUHP Summer Tire Test
255/35 R19		 ✓ Continental SportContact 7: 83.24s Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S: 91.11s

Wet Handling [Km/H]

Looking at data from two tire tests, the Continental SportContact 7 was better during two wet handling [km/h] tests. On average the Continental SportContact 7 was 3.13% faster around a wet lap than the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S.

Continental SportContact 7
83.2Km/H
Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S
80.6Km/H
Wet Handling Average Speed, higher is better

Best In Wet Handling [Km/H]: Continental SportContact 7

2023 Sport Auto UHP Tire Test
225/40 R18		 ✓ Continental SportContact 7: 87.5Km/H Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S: 84.6Km/H
2024 Sports Car Tire Test
295/30 R20		 ✓ Continental SportContact 7: 78.9Km/H Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S: 76.6Km/H

Wet Circle

Looking at data from one tire tests, the Continental SportContact 7 was better during one wet circle tests. On average the Continental SportContact 7 was 3.23% faster around a wet circle than the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S.

Continental SportContact 7
10.78s
Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S
11.14s
Wet Circle Lap Time in seconds, lower is better

Best In Wet Circle: Continental SportContact 7

2024 Sports Car Tire Test
295/30 R20		 ✓ Continental SportContact 7: 10.78s Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S: 11.14s

Straight Aqua

Looking at data from three tire tests, the Continental SportContact 7 was better during one straight aqua tests. On average the Continental SportContact 7 floated at a 0.45% higher speed than the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S.

Continental SportContact 7
88.1Km/H
Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S
87.7Km/H
Float Speed in Km/H, higher is better

Best In Straight Aqua: Continental SportContact 7

2022 Tire Reviews UUHP Summer Tire Test
255/35 R19		 Continental SportContact 7: 86.61Km/H ✓ Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S: 88.1Km/H
2023 Sport Auto UHP Tire Test
225/40 R18		 Continental SportContact 7: 80.1Km/H ✓ Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S: 80.6Km/H
2024 Sports Car Tire Test
295/30 R20		 ✓ Continental SportContact 7: 97.6Km/H Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S: 94.4Km/H

Curved Aquaplaning

Looking at data from two tire tests, the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S was better during two curved aquaplaning tests. On average the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S slipped out at a 6.75% higher speed than the Continental SportContact 7.

Continental SportContact 7
2.9m/sec2
Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S
3.11m/sec2
Remaining lateral acceleration, higher is better

Best In Curved Aquaplaning: Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S

2022 Tire Reviews UUHP Summer Tire Test
255/35 R19		 Continental SportContact 7: 2.43m/sec2 ✓ Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S: 2.59m/sec2
2023 Sport Auto UHP Tire Test
225/40 R18		 Continental SportContact 7: 3.37m/sec2 ✓ Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S: 3.63m/sec2

Subj. Comfort

Looking at data from one tire tests, the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S was better during one subj. comfort tests. On average the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S scored 5.26% more points than the Continental SportContact 7.

Continental SportContact 7
9 Points
Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S
9.5 Points
Subjective Comfort Score, higher is better

Best In Subj. Comfort: Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S

2022 Tire Reviews UUHP Summer Tire Test
255/35 R19		 Continental SportContact 7: 9 Points ✓ Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S: 9.5 Points

Noise

Looking at data from three tire tests, the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S was better during three noise tests. On average the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S measured 1.77% quieter than the Continental SportContact 7.

Continental SportContact 7
73.4dB
Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S
72.1dB
External noise in dB, lower is better

Best In Noise: Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S

2022 Tire Reviews UUHP Summer Tire Test
255/35 R19		 Continental SportContact 7: 73.5dB ✓ Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S: 73dB
2023 Sport Auto UHP Tire Test
225/40 R18		 Continental SportContact 7: 73.3dB ✓ Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S: 72.1dB
2024 Sports Car Tire Test
295/30 R20		 Continental SportContact 7: 73.4dB ✓ Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S: 71.2dB

Price

Looking at data from one tire tests, the Continental SportContact 7 was better during one price tests. On average the Continental SportContact 7 cost 38.12% less than the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S.

Continental SportContact 7
112
Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S
181
Price in local currency, lower is better

Best In Price: Continental SportContact 7

2023 Sport Auto UHP Tire Test
225/40 R18		 ✓ Continental SportContact 7: 112 Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S: 181

Rolling Resistance

Looking at data from three tire tests, the Continental SportContact 7 was better during one rolling resistance tests. On average the Continental SportContact 7 had a 2.35% lower rolling resistance than the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S.

Continental SportContact 7
8.71kg / t
Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S
8.92kg / t
Rolling resistance in kg t, lower is better

Best In Rolling Resistance: Continental SportContact 7

2022 Tire Reviews UUHP Summer Tire Test
255/35 R19		 Continental SportContact 7: 9.565kg / t ✓ Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S: 9.04kg / t
2023 Sport Auto UHP Tire Test
225/40 R18		 ✓ Continental SportContact 7: 8.2kg / t Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S: 9.6kg / t
2024 Sports Car Tire Test
295/30 R20		 Continental SportContact 7: 8.36kg / t ✓ Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S: 8.11kg / t

Real World Driver Reviews

Tire Reviews also collects real world driver reviews for the Continental SportContact 7 and Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S.

In total the Continental SportContact 7 has been reviewed 49 times and drivers have given the tire 86% overall.

The Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S has been reviewed 132 times and drivers have given the tire 86% overall.

This means drivers in real world driving, people prefer the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S.

Best Review for the Continental SportContact 7
Given 93% 305/35 R19 on a combination of roads for 2,500 spirited miles
Bought these based on the group test results and was not disappointed. The wet grip is at a new level! I've tracked them several times both in dry and wet and they didn't fail. I was especially impressed with how they held up during the day and the tread that was left afterwards. These tires transformed the driving experience both on the road and track.
Helpful 216 - tire reviewed on August 19, 2022
View all Continental SportContact 7 driver reviews >>
Best Review for the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S
Given 100% 275/35 R19 on a combination of roads for 1,000 spirited miles
Replaced the Pilot Super Sports on my F80 M3 and it's better in every way. The wet grip is insane, it's like you're driving in the dry. Best tire on the market.
Helpful 538 - tire reviewed on March 9, 2017
View all Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S driver reviews >>

Conclusion

In conclusion the Continental SportContact 7 was better in dry braking, dry handling [s], dry handling [km/h], wet braking, wet handling [s], wet handling [km/h], wet circle, straight aqua, price and rolling resistance tests, whereas the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S was better in curved aquaplaning, subj. comfort and noise tests.

Which tire is best for you depends a lot on your driving style and situation, plus what you want from the tire, but comparing all the data in the tire reviews database, on balance the Continental SportContact 7 seems to be the best tire overall.

Overall Winner: Continental SportContact 7

Overall Winner: Continental SportContact 7

Footnote

This page has been developed using tire industry testing best practices. This means we are only comparing tests which have had both tires in the same test.

Why is this important? Tire testing is heavily affected by things like surface grip levels and surface temperature, which means you can only compare values from the same day. During a tire test external condition changes are calculated into the overall results, but it is not possible to calculate this between tire tests performed on different days or at different locations.

As a result you will see other tests on Tire Reviews which feature both the Continental SportContact 7 and Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S, but as they weren't conducted on the same day, the results are not comparable.

Lots of other websites do this sort of tire comparison, Tire Reviews doesn't.