Sportauto latest to acclaim Conti SportContact 7

Firestone Firehawk Sport narrowly bests premium Bridgestone tyre, while other sub-premium brands make up bottom half in 18” test

Continental’s SportContact 7, WhatTyre Tyre of the Year 2022, added to its impressive tally of test victories as it was named the “outstanding” tyre in the Sportauto summer tyre test 2023. Elsewhere there was a very notable showing for the “very good” Firestone Firehawk Sport, one of only two tyres to record above-average ratings in all three disciplines rated in Sportauto’s final analysis – wet, dry and environmental. The tyre infiltrated the group of five premium brands in the top half of the rankings, beating its Bridgestone stablemate, the Potenza Sport, and the Pirelli P Zero PZ4. The magazine tested eleven tyres in size 225/40 R18 92Y XL mounted on an Audi S3.

Continental’s SportContact 7 secured victory in the test – the only tyre to be given the top rating of “outstanding”. The Conti ultra-high performance tyre, which has been a fixture at the top of test rankings since its launch, beat all its rivals in wet and dry conditions, with testers giving the tyre 9.8 out of 10 in the latter category. The SportContact 7 did take some criticism for wet cornering grip that was “not quite at the top level” and higher than average drive-by noise.

In the overall stakes Goodyear’s Eagle F1 Asymmetric 6 narrowly missed out on joining the SportContact 7 in the “outstanding” band, though it demonstrated above-average performance throughout the test’s disciplines. The tyre was just unable to match its rival in the wet and dry, though it did come quite close. Overall it was just three-tenths of a mark behind.

The gap to the third-placed Michelin Pilot Sport 4S was a little larger – five-tenths of a mark – due largely to “less balanced” handling in the wet and “increased values ​​in rolling resistance and rolling noise.” The Michelin tyre, which has been in the market longer than the two products on the higher steps of Sportauto’s podium, held its own much better in the dry.

The Firestone Firehawk Sport achieved the same overall score as the Pilot Sport 4S with above-average wet and dry performance and test leading eco-credentials. The tester noted that its only deficit was in curved aquaplaning. It was narrowly ranked three-tenths of a mark ahead of its flagship stablemate, the Bridgestone Potenza Sport. Both tyres were considered “very good”, so Bridgestone can be satisfied with the overall result even if its two products are ranked in an unexpected order. The Potenza Sport offered similar quality wet and dry handling, marginally better in the wet, slightly worse in the dry, but was considerably behind the Firestone brand product in the environmental characteristics. Indeed, the Potenza Sport was praised in particular for its “razor-sharp wet handling” as well as “safe, active handling” on the dry track. Braking distances and the highest rolling resistance in the test saw the Potenza Sport lose ground on its rivals.

Pirelli’s P Zero PZ4 splits the stablemates on the same overall score as the Bridgestone tyre. The Pirelli UHP tyre has the widest discrepancy between its excellent dry performance and its sub-par wet score. Room for improvement was identified in the tyre’s weak wet braking properties and increased rolling resistance.

Mid-range brands given “good” rating

While the other five mid-range brands in the test make up the bottom half of the table, there were no catastrophic performances, with all five products receiving Sportauto’s “good” rating. The quintet was led by Falken’s Azenis FK520 with “somewhat indifferent balance” in the wet and “somewhat longer braking distances” in the dry costing the tyre a better performance.

Longer braking distances and understeer in the wet as well as sluggish steering and increased rolling resistance were the drawbacks of the Kumho Ecsta PS91 in eighth place. The tyre was praised for its water drainage, cornering grip and balance in the wet, alongside good deceleration values ​​on dry roads and very quiet pass-by noise.

Maxxis’s Victra Sport 5, a high performer in previous years, finished with the same average mark as the Kumho. The tyre offered a good balance of performance characteristics, though slight deficits in cornering aquaplaning and grip in comparison with competitors were chiefly responsible for its lower ranking.

The GitiSportS2 and Nexen’s N’Fera Sport made up the last two places in the rankings, separated by one-tenth of a point. The Giti UHP tyre offered above average wet performance, with “objectively good wet properties” and the test’s “best aquaplaning safety” but “longer braking distances” and “unbalanced handling” on dry roads cost the tyre points. The Nexen tyre was marked down for “sluggish steering” in the wet and long braking distances and less dynamic handling on dry roads. On the other hand, the tyre offered “good braking in the wet, decent longitudinal aquaplaning, and quiet pass-by noise.”