Continental SportContact 7

The Continental Sport Contact 7 is a UUHP summer tire designed to have optimum grip in the dry and wet. Initially the Sport Contact 7 will be launched in 42 sizes covering 19" to 23", but further sizing in the future will include certain 18" sizes!

This tire replaced the Continental Sport Contact 6.

Dry Grip 97%
Wet Grip 93%
Road Feedback 91%
Handling 91%
Wear 71%
Comfort 75%
Buy again 81%

Tire review data from 37 tire reviews averaging 85% over 98,680 miles driven.

The SportContact 7 is ranked 16th of 74 Summer Max Performance tires.

In Depth Tire Comparisons

Latest Tire Test Results

2023 AutoBild Sports Car Summer Tire Test - 1st of 13 tires

  • Positive - The new SportContact 7 is completely convincing in its first test: dynamic cornering, stable cornering, precise steering behavior with very good feedback, convincingly safe braking performance on wet and dry slopes.
  • Negative - Moderate safety reserves for curve aquaplaning.
  • Overall - Exemplary.
View Full Test >>

2023 The Best Electric Vehicle Tires VS UHP Tires - 1st of 10 tires

  • Positive - Maximum aquaplaning safety, very balanced wet safety with strong understeer, works well with the ESP control system. Very short braking distances dry.
  • Negative - Strong understeer even in the dry, increased tire noise.
  • Overall - The SC7 is a sporty, efficient all-rounder with high safety reserves.
View Full Test >>

2023 ACE / Gute Fahrt UHP Summer Tire Test - 1st of 7 tires

  • Overall - Best wet performance on test, very short wet and dry braking, no other weaknesses.

    Test Winner.
View Full Test >>

Sorry, we don't currently have any label data for the Continental SportContact 7

Questions and Answers for the Continental SportContact 7

2022-03-21 - Is this tire good for an audi rs3 sedan? if not, which one is? (except the ps4s)

This would be great on an RS3!

2022-03-23 - I am deciding between this and the Goodyear Eagle F1 SuperSport. You praised the latter for having excellent steering response. How would you say it compares to these. For context I have an 2015 m235i RWD I drive on weekends. I like driving sideways from time to time but do not go on track days

They're fairly close, the Continental is the more rounded tire and is certainly better in the wet so if you use the car in the rain I would side with this tire.

2022-03-31 - I need a new set of tires for an R35 GTR running 660bhp. The MPS4S are tried and tested on the GTR but this tire seems to be better on paper. I have three questions: The first is what is the wear like on the SC7? Secondly, do you think the SC7 can handle the power and AWD capabilities of the GTR? Finally, what tire sizes would you recommend? (OEM 255/40/20 front and 285/35/20 rear)

The wear rate of the SC7 is as yet untested, Continental say it should be similar to the PS4S though. The tire will have no issues with the power of the GTR, and for sizes I can only recommend sticking with OE. The tire should have an advantage to the PS4S in the wet.

2022-05-20 - I am looking to upgrade my BMW star rated MPSS* on a 2021 Toyota Z4 M40I G29 (they often lose grip when not warm 100%). Initially I was thinking about the BMW star rated MPS4s* (saw your G80 M3 review), then the Sport Contact 7 came out and I’ve seen only great reviews about them. Which of these two would you recommend for best dry grip/handling with decent levels of noise/comfort? Not worried about wet caracteristics since I don’t push the car hard enough in the wet. 255/35/ZR19 front 275/35/ZR19 rear Thanks

As you won't be able to get the G80 version of the * 4S in your sizes and I've not tested the sizes you can get, the SC7 is a very safe option for excellent performance.

2022-08-08 - Just bought a GLC 43 SUV fitted with ContinenetalSport 235/55 R19 Y radial tubeless tires. It rides a little on the hard side and nationally we are limited to 120 Km/hr. What is the minimum safe tire pressure we can set them at to improve comfort?

Unfortunately we're unable to advise on tire pressures outside of stock as there are too many variations.

2022-09-05 - I’m deciding between the Continental sportcontact 7, the Goodyear eagleF1 supersport and the Pilot sport 4s which is what I currently have but I’ve run out of life in the tire, I drive a 350z 2008 and I do track events doing 3-4 15 minute sessions in a day which is fun but it can rain sometimes so need to handle the wet as well but it’s mainly driving when it’s dry I also drive it on most weekends but very much spirited driving so I need a tire that will last a long time but can handle the track and getting hot as I found on the hot day at JDM Combe on track the pilot sport 4s was getting too hot and the tire was switching off causing me to slide a lot more, what would you recommend?

That is a difficult question! The SportContact 7 is undoubtedly the best of the three in the wet on track and is very good in the dry, but I have a small concern if you're overheating the 4S you might do the same with the Conti. With this in mind I would suggest trying the Goodyear Eagle F1 SuperSport as it has consistently been great in the dry during my testing.

2022-12-28 - Is the Continental Sport Contact 7 a run flat tire?

Continental call their runflat system SSR, so if there are runflat versions available for sale they will be marked as SportContact 7 SSR.

2023-01-12 - I currently have the Sport Contact 6 RO2 version on my Audi TTS. Are there AO/RO versions available or am I allowed to use of the shelf SC7 tires with the sane 93Y speed rating and size

I don't think Audi / Conti will re-OE for the latest generation. You definitely can use the SportContact 7 on your TTS as long as you match the correct load rating, and I'm sure you'll find it a good upgrade on the OE 6.

2023-04-04 - I currently have Pirelli P Zero on my AMG A35 which were factory fitted at the time of purchase. I have seen that the AMG A45 are now running on Michelin Polit Sport 4 S as factory fitted tires, which probably would have been my go to tire. However from watching a couple of the tests / reviews, I am trying to decide if the Continental SportContact 7 would be a better choice given the steering response and potential better wear level. What would you recommend for a A35.

In current tests the Conti SC7 is proving to be a better tire than the PS4S, however in tests we always test the aftermarket version of the tire, so if there's a MO (Mercedes) OE version of the PS4S that might suit the car better.

2023-04-16 - I currently have a FK8 with stock Sport Contact 6 (SC6) and going to replace 2 first with Sport Contact 7s (SC7) and place them at the back and move the older ones that still have tread to the front and in the next few months repeat the process until they are all SC7s, is that recommended?

Yep, that is the correct way of swapping from the SC6 to SC7 in pairs.

2023-09-12 - Hi, I own a 2022 G80 M3 Comp and am planning to swap out my Cup 2s with Continental Sport Contact 7. As the M3 wheel set up is staggered, are the Sport Contact 7 directional i.e. can I swap left to right and vice versa for the front and rear respectively?

The SC7 is an asymmetric tire so you can mount it either side, meaning you can swap the tires left to right. As you have wider rears, you can't swap them front to back.

2023-09-14 - How do these SC7 stack up for track days? They seem to be #1 on the road, but how they handle heat and a heavy car like a mustang? Compared to say a Yoko AD09 or Nankang CR-S. Would be an interesting comparison review

Not as well, but then no road focused tire does. There's a lot of variables in track endurance, but if you're on a high grip track and you can actually drive, any road bias product will struggle with the extreme heat.

Ask a question

We will never publish or share your email address

capatha

To verify you're human please type the word you see above in the box below.


YouTube Review

Top 3 Continental SportContact 7 Reviews

Given 93% while driving a Porsche 997 911 Carrera 4s (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 136 - tire reviewed on August 19, 2022
Given 81% while driving a Audi A6 Avant 3.0 TDI Quattro (245/40 R18) on mostly country roads for 4,000 spirited miles
Bought these tires because of the lack of wet grip and quick wear on my previous GoodYear Eagle F1 SuperSport, to which the new ones were driven straight back-to-back.
First off the bat, the SC7s are way quieter, way more comfortable, the small bumps and imperfections don't make as much noise as they did on the SSs. The steering feel was more direct - the SSs had a slightly longer delay in response to steering wheel inputs compared to the SC7s, the Contis still have a delay, but just a little shorter one. Dry grip was lacking on the SC7s, but that was at first thought to have been just due to the tire being brand new and not being run-in yet. On the wet, I've taken it easy for the first thousand miles to not have an incident on the road.
After about 4000 miles, I can say that the SC7s are a straight dream in the wet. Where the SS would start to understeer on tight corners, the SC7 would show not even a hint of deviation from the wheels' direction. Where on the SSs the car would laterally slide out of the corner on hard acceleration, the SC7s would allow for as much acceleration after the apex as the puny 240HP allow the car to at a slight steering angle. So a complete dream to drive in the wet. Even after the tires were definitely run-in, the SC7s would leave much to be desired in the dry. The dry grip is good, but the SSs edge the SC7s. Where SSs were driven hard with some safety reserve, the SC7s would already lose grip and slide, bringing the comfortable cornering speeds down significantly. Where on quick alternating turns and changes of input the SSs wouldn't even flinch, the SC7s start sliding and shift the car laterally. Pre corner lift from accelerator pedal to braking pedal while already turning in the corner would shift the entire car outwards. Mid corner change from acc to braking because of a bad corner length estimate does the same on the SC7s. The SSs didn't care for abrupt imput and transfers, they would just stick to the asphalt.
The conclusion on the tires is still, that these SC7s are the best tires in the wet so far, but for the improved wet performance, noise and comfort over the SSs, the sacrifice on dry performance was made. That leaves me somewhat disappointed, as the SSs were so bad in the wet they weren't really fun at such low corner forces, but the SC7s shine in that area. So the only current solution is to have a dry set of tires for my car - Goodyear Eagle F1 SuperSport, and a set of wet tires - Continental SportContact 7.
I really can not comment on the wear, because the both tires are awful in that regard, but that's not a problem, as it's way better to be safe and glued to the asphalt for the 8000 miles I got from a set of 4 SSs with rotations and maybe 9000ish I expect to get from the SC7s, than to have tires perform badly and last for 13000 miles or even more.
Helpful 107 - tire reviewed on June 22, 2023
Given 100% while driving a BMW M4 Competition (285/30 R20) on a combination of roads for 500 spirited miles
Not many reviews of these yet, but based on the excellent review from this site, I decided I would give them a try when my Michelin Pilot Super Sports came to the end of useful life. The M4 is a demanding car on it's tires to say the least and I came very close to going with Michelin again. I am SO glad I took a chance and went for it....the Continenal SportContact 7 has been astonishing since the day they were fitted. In every single way these tires are superior to the PSS! Dry grip and traction is exceptional, but what is noticeable is how much more grip they give when cold. The PSS's main issue was always that they needed a bit of heat before you could lean on them. Wet grip is astonishingly improved over the PSS....it literally feels like a different car in the wet. Both these things I expected based on the review, but what I wasn't expecting was a tire that is also significantly quieter, handles perfectly and still manages to exceed the steering feel I had with the PSS. There literally isn't a downside to these tires so far. I've even got a sneaking suspicion that my MPG has gone up also. Oh and finally I managed to get a complete staggered set of 4 of these for £100 less that the PS4S would have been and 100s less that a new set of PSS tires....for the performance you get these are a bargain! The only thing I can't comment on yet is wear....to be fair the PSS was excellent in this area. Will report back once I have run them longer, but so far these tires are quite simply the best road tire out there.
Helpful 77 - tire reviewed on July 28, 2022
Have you driven on the Continental SportContact 7 tire?

Have YOU got experience with the Continental SportContact 7? Help millions of other tire buyers

Review your Continental SportContact 7 >

Latest Continental SportContact 7 Reviews

Given 91% while driving a BMW 335d (225/40 R19) on a combination of roads for 1,000 spirited miles
Really, really good tires 225/40/19 front and 255/35/19 rear. Dry grip is really good, in high speed turns the cat is very stable. Wet grip is also incredible. The comfort is really nice for such a UUHP tire. I've been driving them since 1500km. and I'm very happy.
Helpful 1 - tire reviewed on August 27, 2023
Given 87% while driving a SEAT Leon Cupra (235/40 R18) on track for 2 spirited miles
I’m writing this review coming from Michelin PS4S then onto Goodyear Eagle F1 SuperSport and now time to try these new Continental Sport Contact 7.

I decided to put these tires on my Cupra Stage 1 track focused car for their price and watching/reading Jonathan’s reviews.

They went on a few days before a trip to the Nurburgring from Ireland. I done a trackday at the ring and then drove home and one trackday in Mondello Ireland, the front tires worn below the wear indicators and that was roughly 3,000km done.

Now onto my thoughts.
I must say they are amazing tire and the grip is phenomenal in the dry or wet. They are definitely a better tire to the Michelin but I do think the Goodyear is equally as good.

The major problem is I only got 3,000km. When I had the Michelin’s I done 5 trackdays on Mondello and they had enough tread left to go onto the wife’s car for a few months. The Goodyear’s done 4 trackdays and I will say on the fourth trackday the Goodyear’s had no grip left even with a bit of tread left.

Going to buy 2 more Conti Sport Contact 7’s but go from 235 to 245 and see how many trackdays they will do.
Helpful 3 - tire reviewed on August 5, 2023
What to know the BEST tires for 2023? Click to find out!
Given 86% while driving a Volvo S90 (255/40 R19) on mostly town for 1,000 average miles
If you drive a car of which NVH won’t be much affected by the tires these Contis are are very precise and definitely give a sporty feel. But if you are concearned about NVH then be warned that these tires produce excesssive amounts of noise and are quite harsh rising. Not a tire to buy for comfort. Changed them for Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmteric 6’s and the difference is night and day.
Helpful 4 - tire reviewed on July 30, 2023
Given 56% while driving a Skoda (245/40 R19) on mostly motorways for 1,500 average miles
Probably one of the best looking sidewall tires with the fonts "Sport Contact 7". Excellent and confident in the dry while initiating the bends. However due to its stiff side walls....the ride can be really uncomfortable (bumpy). It is too harsh especially for daily usage. Running on coilovers and set to softer settings (ran pretty comfortable with F1A5) however it's too bumpy & unbearable for this CSC7. Had to replace them after 1500 miles.
Helpful 5 - tire reviewed on June 26, 2023
Given 84% while driving a Hyundai I30N (235/35 R19) on mostly town for 3,000 spirited miles
Initially I had PS4 in mind as my next tire, however since CSC7 released, I have been reading many glowing reviews. When the time came, I pull the trigger to try these SC7. They replaced the original fitment PZ4. I must say the PZ4 are very good tires, nothing to complain about. Except perhaps they wear out quite fast. My front lasted only 16K KM.

So what do I think of the CSC7 ? Freaking marvelous! The grip improvement is the first thing I noticed, this comes in the form of braking and cornering performance. It just bites and wouldn’t let go. Previous I remember with the PZ4 sometimes you can feel the slip, losing traction when you go all out accelerating (pedal to the metal) in 1st, 2nd & 3rd. However with the CS7 I have not experienced that yet (okay still new).

I do not care much about comfort/noise as this I30N is not a really a “comfort” car, but I will say this, it is about the same as PZ4. Wet weather performance so far so good. I live in a tropical climate country so the rain here is quite frequent and heavy. I have nothing bad to report. Traction and aquaplaning excellent. However one must be extra careful during wet weather driving.

My only reservation for now is the wear performance. From general consensus, previous SC6 people were saying that it wear out quite quickly. Well I hope these SC7 with the new ‘black chili’ technology will improve matters. If I can get at least 18-20K out of it I will be satisfied. For now I am already very happy with my decision.
Helpful 7 - tire reviewed on May 31, 2023
Given 93% while driving a Mazda 3 Astina M Hybrid Sedan (235/40 R18) on mostly motorways for 3,728 average miles
This review is coming from Singapore. With either Rainy or Sunny tropical weather ranging from ambient temperature 25-35 degC daily. Summer type tires are sold here mainly.

My ride is a 1.5L NA Mazda 3 sedan comes with stock touring tires Bridgestone Turanza T005A 215/45R18 89W.

I changed out my rims to flow formed Japanese rims along with these Continental SportContact 7 235/40ZR18 95Y tires and here's my observations

Advantages:
- Grip levels greatly improves.
- No more difference in Grip levels between Dry & Wet road conditions.
- Braking distance greatly shorten & becomes easily predictable.
- When cornering, the handling feels planted due to stiff sidewalls. You will feel there is this eagerness of the car to want to 'point-in' and the understeer on my FWD car reduces.
- Subjective comfort "improves". For me, this is an improvement from my previous touring tires due to more road feedback I received through the steering wheel. However, for comfort-biased friends, they might see this as increase in ride harshness. In a way, you will feel that the sidewall is stiff but yet the contact patch is comfortable in a way for most Continental tires.

Disadvantages:
- Going from touring tires to UUHP tires, my FC does decrease by about 0.5 to 1.0 km/L.
- Slightly slower pick up / acceleration but luckily this is assisted by my car's mild hybrid battery system.
- Slight increase in noise levels when cruising on expressways.

Conclusion:
- Most reviews I saw here on TireReview using these Continental SC7 tires are mainly cars with high horsepower or torque. Initially, I have reservations about using these tires on my 1.5L NA car. But I am glad I made the decision to go for it. When driving a bread & butter car for daily commute to work, it is not just about how fast you can drive in busy traffic conditions, but how fast or early you can stop or brake in time to avoid bumping into others. Hence, I recommend buying this tire if you looking also at the safety aspects of daily driving.

Approximate distance travelled as of 23rd May 2023: ~6,000 km.
Original thread depth: Between 7.50 to 7.99 mm.
Current thread depth: Between 7.20 to 7.50 mm.
Helpful 53 - tire reviewed on May 30, 2023
Given 94% while driving a Audi RS3 8V (255/30 R19) on mostly country roads for 14,000 spirited miles
I bought a full set of Sport Contact 7s for my RS3 Saloon back in February 2023, fast forward to today - 26th May - I have driven approximately 12-14k miles on this set and I could not be more impressed with these tires. The level of grip in the dry is fantastic and very confidence inspiring. RS3s are known for their understeer but with the SC7s I have experienced very little to no understeer. The 12-14k miles have consisted of a mix of spirited and normal driving however it has predominantly been spirited. These tires have also seen numerous days at Santa Pod and Donnington Race Circuit and despite all of the hard driving and considerable mileage they are holding up very well. Wear across all 4 tires have been consistent and currently have approximately 2-3mm tread all round but even at this level the car grips wonderfully in the dry and exceptionally well in the wet. It feels so planted in the wet and is equally impressive, if not more, in the downpours as it does in the dry. By far the tire of the year, can definitely see and feel as to why the SC7 outperformed the mighty MPS4s and for the price difference, its a complete no brainer. Will definitely be buying these again.
Helpful 5 - tire reviewed on May 26, 2023
Given 53% while driving a BMW 530d F11 (245/40 R19) on mostly motorways for 4,000 average miles
I bought these tires about a year ago. The drive was great and the grip immense no matter what the conditions were. I knew there is gonna be faster wear on those tires, but i figured it is worth the pleasure, however after just one summer season - about 4000 miles - mostly driven on a highway, the tires were pretty much gone. What is worse the thread is there but become step shaped and the noise they produce is unbelievable. They were not the quietest tires when I bought them, but now they are essentialy undrivable. I wouldnt recommend them for heavier cars, i recon on VW Golf they work just fine, but in this size, it was not the best purchase.
Helpful 6 - tire reviewed on May 24, 2023
Given 80% while driving a BMW (235/40 R19) on mostly motorways for 8,000 easy going miles
BMW 435d xdrive
235 40 19 on the front 265 35 19 on the rear
Pros : Great grip dry or wet, comfort is good
Cons : slightly noisy on concrete sections of the motorway and a high wear rate, rears did 8000 before needed changing.
Fronts look they will last twice as long as the rears but still not great
Helpful 7 - tire reviewed on May 23, 2023
Given 63% while driving a BMW 330d M Sport (255/35 R19) on mostly motorways for 1,500 average miles
Having just purchased these tires for my F30 330D based on the rave reviews I was totally disappointed when I got home and looked at the tread depth which looked low for a new road tire. I confirmed this by using my digital tire depth gauge. They come new with just 6.5mm! If I would have known this beforehand I wouldn't have purchased them given my car is only for road use.

Performance wise they are a great tire in dry and wet conditions, feed back is also good, but if I'm totally honest they perform and feel no better on the road than the Falken FK510's they replaced. Also having now completed 1500 miles, I can confirm the wear rate is shocking! They are down to 5.5mm on the rears already, and the car has only been used for work duties which consists of 80% motorway. On fitting the tires the alignment was checked and was well within OE spec. If this wear rate continues I'll need to replace the rears within 7500 miles.

My conclusion, they are total overkill for a road tire and i'll be going back to Falken FK510's.

Hope this helps.
Helpful 6 - tire reviewed on May 18, 2023
Given 80% while driving a Unknown (225/40 R18) on mostly country roads for 0 miles
I tried several tires on my Leon Cupra and the continental sport contact 7 and much better I wonder if the premium contact 7 would be as good given that it is so well rated I regret that the continental sport contact 7 wears very quickly 400km it remains 5mm I would still take these tires despite their rapid wear because there are no tires that are as good in the rain and the dry I would like to see a thorough test of the continental sport contact 7 on their wear please
Helpful 6 - tire reviewed on May 11, 2023
Given 97% while driving a Opel Insignia 1.6 Turbo 180 HP (245/45 R18) on a combination of roads for 1,500 spirited miles
These tires are quieter than I expected despite the 72db noise tag. Hard sidewalls reduce comfort, but that's okay.

The SportContact 7 are the best tires I've ever used on wet roads.
Even if it rains, I am as comfortable as traveling on a sunny day.
Many times in heavy rain, I drove through a large puddle at speeds of +130 km/h. The steering wheel makes me feel like I'm going through a puddle, but the tires almost completely prevent the car from destabilizing.
The healing process after getting into the puddle is very fast.
It definitely shows the same success in braking.

You can expect a tire with this performance on wet roads to stay behind on dry roads, but you are wrong! Best dry road performance I've ever seen. You have to make a serious effort to get them out of the way.
When you brake, you stick to the road like glue.
It is truly incredible to be able to give the top performance on both wet and dry roads.
The best performing tire money can buy in this size.
Helpful 4 - tire reviewed on May 3, 2023