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Head-to-head Updated

Bridgestone Potenza GIII vs Continental Sport Contact 2 — Compared

Relative Score (0–100): the weighted average of the categories below, each 60% road tests and 40% owner reviews (comfort 40/60). Based on 0 + 0 road tests and 8 + 229 owner reviews. How we score

Potenza GIII is ahead, 75–62

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Continental Sport Contact 2
Tire BContinental

Sport Contact 2

Summer

± 8

Tests – · none yet Owners 58 · 229 reviews

“You mean from BMW when bought new? Not sure, my car was pre-owned and came with those horrible Continental SC2 RFT's.”

Category by category

Relative Score per category, 0–100. Open “Why this score” for the tests and owner ratings behind it.

  1. 77

    Dry

    Potenza GIII +11
    66
    Why this score
    SourcePotenza GIIISport Contact 2
    Professional tests (TWG score)≈ 74 (est.)≈ 67 (est.)
    Reviews found online8265

    Potenza GIII: 60% × 73.7 (est.) + 40% × 81.8 = 77

    Sport Contact 2: 60% × 66.7 (est.) + 40% × 64.9 = 66

    No road tests of dry for Potenza GIII. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.41).

    No road tests of dry for Sport Contact 2. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.41).

  2. 77

    Wet

    Potenza GIII +11
    66
    Why this score
    SourcePotenza GIIISport Contact 2
    Professional tests (TWG score)≈ 76 (est.)≈ 67 (est.)
    Reviews found online8065

    Potenza GIII: 60% × 75.8 (est.) + 40% × 80 = 77

    Sport Contact 2: 60% × 67.3 (est.) + 40% × 64.5 = 66

    No road tests of wet for Potenza GIII. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.55).

    No road tests of wet for Sport Contact 2. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.55).

  3. 67

    Comfort

    Potenza GIII +10
    57
    Why this score
    SourcePotenza GIIISport Contact 2
    Professional tests (TWG score)≈ 68 (est.)≈ 65 (est.)
    Reviews found online6752

    Potenza GIII: 40% × 68.3 (est.) + 60% × 66.8 = 67

    Sport Contact 2: 40% × 65.3 (est.) + 60% × 52 = 57

    No road tests of comfort for Potenza GIII. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.20).

    No road tests of comfort for Sport Contact 2. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.20).

  4. 67

    Treadwear

    Potenza GIII +14
    53
    Why this score
    SourcePotenza GIIISport Contact 2
    Professional tests (TWG score)≈ 67 (est.)≈ 58 (est.)
    Reviews found online6844

    Potenza GIII: 60% × 67 (est.) + 40% × 67.9 = 67

    Sport Contact 2: 60% × 58.5 (est.) + 40% × 44.2 = 53

    No road tests of treadwear for Potenza GIII. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.36).

    No road tests of treadwear for Sport Contact 2. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.36).

  5. 81

    Handling (owners)

    Potenza GIII +22
    59
    Why this score
    SourcePotenza GIIISport Contact 2
    Reviews found online8159
Scores at a glance
CategoryBridgestone Potenza GIIIContinental Sport Contact 2
Relative Score 75 62
Dry 77 66
Wet 77 66
Comfort 67 57
Treadwear 67 53
Handling (owners) 81 59

Higher is better. The Relative Score follows your weights below; category scores do not change.

Weight the categories that matter to you

Wet grip starts at “Important”. Treadwear starts at “Neutral” here: road tests measured it for at most one of the two tires, so it rests on owner reviews. Move the sliders and the scores update instantly.

Important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Less important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Neutral
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Less important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Recomputed
Headline score
± 8

Potenza GIII

± 8

Sport Contact 2

Pros, cons & observations

Themes extracted from owner reviews found online — not the opinion of TireWheelGuide.

Tire A Potenza GIII

Pros

  • Outstanding dry grip with great road feedback and minimal squealing at the limit
  • Reliable and confident wet-weather performance
  • Good tread longevity and durability over high mileage

Cons

  • Can be noisy during family trips or extended highway driving
  • Performance in wet conditions can occasionally be perceived as average compared to its stellar dry performance
  • Sensitive to precise tire pressure adjustments to achieve optimal comfort and performance
All owner themes in the Potenza GIII review

Tire B Sport Contact 2

Pros

  • Excellent grip and handling in both dry and wet conditions
  • Predictable and progressive behavior at the limit
  • Strong braking performance

Cons

  • Rapid and often premature tread wear
  • High levels of road noise, particularly on rough or concrete surfaces
  • Poor performance in snow, ice, and freezing temperatures
All owner themes in the Sport Contact 2 review

What real owners are saying

From Reddit, forums and review threads. Not part of our score

Tire A

Bridgestone Potenza GIII

We haven't collected enough community discussion about this tire yet.

Tire B

Continental Sport Contact 2

Mixed

Community sentiment regarding the Continental SportContact 2 is mixed, with some drivers praising its dry and wet grip, comfort, and wear life on passenger vehicles, while others criticize its road noise and wet performance compared to competitors or dislike the run-flat version. A substantial portion of the discussions mentioning 'SC2' refer to Pirelli motorcycle track tires or Saturn SC2 cars rather than this Continental tire model.

mbworld.org

“I've got 19,000 on my CSC 1's, and problaby another 10,000 left on them. I don't know why they're lasting so long-I'm sideways at least a couple of times a day. I've also heard of people complaining that they only lasted 8,000 miles, so it all depends on how you drive. BTW-I don't know that I would get them again-Why? Becasue now they put their freakin' website on the side of the tires in 1" tall letters. I mean, jeez...”
rennlist.com

“I wasn't all that impressed by the SC2s that were OEM on my S4. IMO the RE050s are less noisy and better in the rain. No experience with the Sport Contact 3s though. If you're not looking for the ultimate in 10/10ths performance in all honesty I would recommend the Kumho SPTs. Pretty impressive tire and when you factor in the low cost - amazing. I am running them on my S4 for daily summer use and am 100% happy. For the C2S I'm running the Bridgestones for street and R888s for auto-x/track use.”
my350z.com

“Finally decided on purchasing the Continental ContiSportContact2 with 255/30/20 front and 305/25/20 rear. Traction has improved but still an issue with the TT setup. Will have to get a spare set of DRs on 18s for the track. The rear wheel is 20x10.5 29mm offset, fenders are cut. Here are some pics.”
Top themes
#tread wear life#dry and wet grip#cabin road noise#ride comfort quality#fitment and sizing#motorcycle track tire confusion

Based on 35 community posts

Specs side by side

Attribute A · Bridgestone Potenza GIII B · Continental Sport Contact 2
CategorySummerSummer
Vehicle typePassenger Car / CrossoverPassenger Car / Crossover
Sizes available—20
Rim diameters—15″ – 21″
UTQG180 A A280 AA A

Which one should you actually buy?

Bridgestone Potenza GIII

Continental Sport Contact 2

Winner: Bridgestone Potenza GIII — better handling, treadwear and dry. It leads or ties in every category we score. Bridgestone Potenza GIII rests on little evidence so far (0 tests, 8 reviews), so read this result as provisional.

Pick tire A You enjoy sharp, responsive handling

Bridgestone Potenza GIII scores 81 vs 59 on handling.

Pick tire A You want the longest tread life

Bridgestone Potenza GIII scores 67 vs 53 on treadwear.

Pick tire A You want the most grip on dry roads

Bridgestone Potenza GIII scores 77 vs 66 on dry.

Pick tire A Your priority is wet-weather safety

Bridgestone Potenza GIII scores 77 vs 66 on wet.

Tire A · Bridgestone Potenza GIII
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Tire B · Continental Sport Contact 2
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Potenza GIII or Sport Contact 2?

Which is better in the wet, Potenza GIII or Sport Contact 2?

Bridgestone Potenza GIII, 77 vs 66 on our wet score.

Which grips better on dry roads, Potenza GIII or Sport Contact 2?

Bridgestone Potenza GIII, 77 vs 66 on our dry score.

Which is more comfortable, Potenza GIII or Sport Contact 2?

Bridgestone Potenza GIII, 67 vs 57 on our comfort score.

Which lasts longer, Potenza GIII or Sport Contact 2?

Bridgestone Potenza GIII, 67 vs 53 on our treadwear score.

How do we compare tires?

Every category score blends two independent signals. 60% comes from professional tire tests (braking distances, lap times, noise measurements), each result compared with every other tire in the same test and newer tests counting more. 40% comes from owner reviews found online, adjusted for how generously each site rates. Both use one scale: the average tested tire gets 70, the best 100. When a tire has only one of the two, the missing half is estimated from the other and the score stays closer to average; with no road test and fewer than five owner reviews it gets no score yet.

Handling is the exception: road tests measure it inside the dry and wet scores, so its own row comes from owner ratings only and starts as less important.

Community buzz from Reddit and forums is shown for context only — it never changes the score. Full methodology