Conti Sport Contact 7s
Discussion
On our 981 GTS, we've used PZeros and PS4S (both N-rated). The PZeros were a great tyre - just as grippy in the dry and more direct steering when compared to the PS4S (which have very soft sidewalls). The PS4S felt much gripper in the wet.
However, the biggest disappointment with the PS4S was wear on track. They really can't withstand much abuse: we only got 2 track days out of the PS4S before the outside half of the rear tyres were graining and delaminating - really poor! That's compared to 10+ track days from the PZeros.
The PS4S seem to be great road tyres but only excel in the wet, add steering sponginess, can't withstand track days, and are very expensive. In my experience, after a few heat cycles, Michelins also tend to go hard and lose their grip before the tread wears out.
So on the 981 GTS, given the choice between PS4S and PZeros again, I'd go for the latter.
Regarding Conti SC7s, they are comprehensively outperforming the PS4S in all tests. From what I can see, they're matching Cup 2 dry grip and exceeding PS4S wet grip, so it's a bit of a no-brainer IMO.
I had Conti SC6 on my previous FK8 Civic Type R, and much preferred them overall to the Cup 2s I also used on it.
SC7s will be going on my CR as soon as its warranty expires.
However, the biggest disappointment with the PS4S was wear on track. They really can't withstand much abuse: we only got 2 track days out of the PS4S before the outside half of the rear tyres were graining and delaminating - really poor! That's compared to 10+ track days from the PZeros.
The PS4S seem to be great road tyres but only excel in the wet, add steering sponginess, can't withstand track days, and are very expensive. In my experience, after a few heat cycles, Michelins also tend to go hard and lose their grip before the tread wears out.
So on the 981 GTS, given the choice between PS4S and PZeros again, I'd go for the latter.
Regarding Conti SC7s, they are comprehensively outperforming the PS4S in all tests. From what I can see, they're matching Cup 2 dry grip and exceeding PS4S wet grip, so it's a bit of a no-brainer IMO.
I had Conti SC6 on my previous FK8 Civic Type R, and much preferred them overall to the Cup 2s I also used on it.
SC7s will be going on my CR as soon as its warranty expires.
GT03 said:
On our 981 GTS, we've used PZeros and PS4S (both N-rated). The PZeros were a great tyre - just as grippy in the dry and more direct steering when compared to the PS4S (which have very soft sidewalls). The PS4S felt much gripper in the wet.
However, the biggest disappointment with the PS4S was wear on track. They really can't withstand much abuse: we only got 2 track days out of the PS4S before the outside half of the rear tyres were graining and delaminating - really poor! That's compared to 10+ track days from the PZeros.
The PS4S seem to be great road tyres but only excel in the wet, add steering sponginess, can't withstand track days, and are very expensive. In my experience, after a few heat cycles, Michelins also tend to go hard and lose their grip before the tread wears out.
So on the 981 GTS, given the choice between PS4S and PZeros again, I'd go for the latter.
Regarding Conti SC7s, they are comprehensively outperforming the PS4S in all tests. From what I can see, they're matching Cup 2 dry grip and exceeding PS4S wet grip, so it's a bit of a no-brainer IMO.
I had Conti SC6 on my previous FK8 Civic Type R, and much preferred them overall to the Cup 2s I also used on it.
SC7s will be going on my CR as soon as its warranty expires.
I’ve recently put PS4S on my 992S and I agree the steering feels less direct than the previous tyres (NA0 Goodyears). I’ll not buy them again but of course they’ll be replaced soon by the NA0 PS5S. However, the biggest disappointment with the PS4S was wear on track. They really can't withstand much abuse: we only got 2 track days out of the PS4S before the outside half of the rear tyres were graining and delaminating - really poor! That's compared to 10+ track days from the PZeros.
The PS4S seem to be great road tyres but only excel in the wet, add steering sponginess, can't withstand track days, and are very expensive. In my experience, after a few heat cycles, Michelins also tend to go hard and lose their grip before the tread wears out.
So on the 981 GTS, given the choice between PS4S and PZeros again, I'd go for the latter.
Regarding Conti SC7s, they are comprehensively outperforming the PS4S in all tests. From what I can see, they're matching Cup 2 dry grip and exceeding PS4S wet grip, so it's a bit of a no-brainer IMO.
I had Conti SC6 on my previous FK8 Civic Type R, and much preferred them overall to the Cup 2s I also used on it.
SC7s will be going on my CR as soon as its warranty expires.
AndrewGP said:
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.
My 987.2 is on 18s - and according to Blackcircles PS4 are the only option for a matching set. I wonder if I should be looking for a set of 19" rims.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.
Old Trout said:
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.
Really useful feedback, thanks. I've been considering a set for my car and am going to do it. 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.
IroningMan said:
My 987.2 is on 18s - and according to Blackcircles PS4 are the only option for a matching set. I wonder if I should be looking for a set of 19" rims.
I’m not familiar with 987 tyre widths, but with any Cayman/Boxster that’s not a GT4/Spyder, I think 18” are the best choice for all round road tyre if you can find something that will work. (And I sort of agree about matching, but within limits. I seem to recall my GT4 P Zeroes have more rim protection on one end than the other.)Lots of talk about differing grip levels between tyre brands here. I’ve used Pirelli, Michelin and Goodyear on the 4 Caymans I’ve owned so far with good results. The only tyres I haven’t liked was a set of Dunlops on a GT4. They were well worn, probably on the track to some extent, before I bought the car. So it’s hard to know if a new set might have been better, within the limitations of typical track oriented road tyres.
I’d make sure my tyre search was broad before considering another set of rims in your position.
Liam
LiamH66 said:
IroningMan said:
My 987.2 is on 18s - and according to Blackcircles PS4 are the only option for a matching set. I wonder if I should be looking for a set of 19" rims.
I’m not familiar with 987 tyre widths, but with any Cayman/Boxster that’s not a GT4/Spyder, I think 18” are the best choice for all round road tyre if you can find something that will work. (And I sort of agree about matching, but within limits. I seem to recall my GT4 P Zeroes have more rim protection on one end than the other.)Lots of talk about differing grip levels between tyre brands here. I’ve used Pirelli, Michelin and Goodyear on the 4 Caymans I’ve owned so far with good results. The only tyres I haven’t liked was a set of Dunlops on a GT4. They were well worn, probably on the track to some extent, before I bought the car. So it’s hard to know if a new set might have been better, within the limitations of typical track oriented road tyres.
I’d make sure my tyre search was broad before considering another set of rims in your position.
Liam
I’m sure PS4s would be a safe choice, and it looks like PZeros might also be available, but it would be nice to have the option of something newer.
The car doesn’t have PASM, so 19s would probably hurt the ride quality - never mind the cost.
LiamH66 said:
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.
I suspect it's because they produced, and kept on producing the P Zero Rosso for far, far too long.The Rossos were awful from just about every perspective, added to which they suffered with horrendous sidewall cracking, something the later iterations of P Zeros also suffered with in the early days.
Reputations stick, both good and bad, and Pirelli's Rosso well and truly cemented their reputation for producing poor quality tyres. I've not bought their tyres in over 20 years, and I probably won't buy them again.
The issue with the Michelin PS 4S is, it tries to be all things to all men, and whilst it's an excellent all-rounder, it doesn't excel at anything, "jack of all trades, master of none" springs to mind.
Michelin I suspect are aware of this, and so have developed the Cup further and in the process made it more track focused, which leaves the 4S well placed to fulfil the needs of the other 90% of the performance market.
What's clear is the "jack of all trades" 4S is now a relatively easy target for the likes of Pirelli, Continental etc to better its performance from some perspectives, but rarely all of them.
IroningMan said:
Appreciate the input. 987s wear 235/40-18 (95Y) front and 265/40-18 (97Y) rear; mine’s currently on the three-year-old Bridgestone RE050As that the previous owner fitted: they have life left in them, but they’re nothing special and the road noise is tedious.
I’m sure PS4s would be a safe choice, and it looks like PZeros might also be available, but it would be nice to have the option of something newer.
The car doesn’t have PASM, so 19s would probably hurt the ride quality - never mind the cost.
Conti Sport Contact 7s are available in those sizes, but you could also try Michelin Pilot Sport 5 or Goodyear Eagle Asymmetric I’m sure PS4s would be a safe choice, and it looks like PZeros might also be available, but it would be nice to have the option of something newer.
The car doesn’t have PASM, so 19s would probably hurt the ride quality - never mind the cost.
IroningMan said:
You’re quite right - I hadn’t looked beyond a handful of retailers’ sites, but Continental themselves list them.
You could always get a set and tell us all what you think! 
If I needed tyres (and I will need some for track days next year, but I’m thinking some more PS Cup 2) then trying a set of the newer Conti’s would be my first port of call. Still need to wear out 2 sets of road tyres before the money is burning a hole in my pocket. I’ll do my best.
Liam
Tyres will be due on my GR86 soon. Rotated them to wear evenly so I can go for a 225 as it's more rubber and cheaper. Was going to go PS4 again but want a change. My only concern with Conti's from past usage is once they get to about 3mm they drop grip considerably. Whereas with the Michelin's they'll grip to the markers.
I wonder why the Pilot Sport 5's have not been tested ?
For comparison my GT4 on MPSC2's regularly reads 1.34g under braking ... and at Cadwell Park recently peaked at over 1.5g laterally ...
The day was dry and coolish ... herewith the last two trackdays ...
For comparison my GT4 on MPSC2's regularly reads 1.34g under braking ... and at Cadwell Park recently peaked at over 1.5g laterally ...
The day was dry and coolish ... herewith the last two trackdays ...
Edited by ChrisW. on Monday 13th November 15:43
ChrisW. said:
I wonder why the Pilot Sport 5's have not been tested ?
For comparison my GT4 on MPSC2's regularly reads 1.34g under braking ... and at Cadwell Park recently peaked at over 1.5g laterally ...
The day was dry and coolish ... herewith the last two trackdays ...
How about in the wet? For comparison my GT4 on MPSC2's regularly reads 1.34g under braking ... and at Cadwell Park recently peaked at over 1.5g laterally ...
The day was dry and coolish ... herewith the last two trackdays ...
I think the g-force comment further up was in relation to a wet track day.A good point which I missed ... I don't have equivalent figures from my PS4S in the wet ... the problem is there is wet, Wet, and WET ....
This rather boring video is the best I have in the wet ... on Pirellis.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-5LTaoat4I&t=...
This rather boring video is the best I have in the wet ... on Pirellis.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-5LTaoat4I&t=...
Edited by ChrisW. on Monday 13th November 22:05
On the Pirellis; I mentioned in a previous post I still have a set of N1 P Zeros in the garage that I removed from a 911 we used to have which have lots of tread if anyone wants them. Off the back of this thread I got a PM asking about them which I responded to with pics and tread measurement (fronts are just under 6mm tread left). Not had a reply but if anyone wants N1 P Zeros for a 991 then let me know and they can have them if they can pick them up in Aberdeen. If not they will go to the tip.
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