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Head-to-head Updated

Continental ContiSportContact 5 vs Michelin Pilot Super Sport — 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 + 1 road tests and 27 + 1,507 owner reviews. How we score

Pilot Super Sport is ahead, 77–66

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Michelin Pilot Super Sport
Tire BMichelin

Pilot Super Sport

Summer

± 6

Tests 75 · 1 test Owners 82 · 1,507 reviews

Best test result: #1 of 9 in 2017 Motor Mag UHP Tyre Test (dry handling)

“Damn. 295s on Style 359Ms? That's pushing it a bit, isn't it? I so desperately wish Michelin would make a 285/30 PSS. I'm running 275/35s now, and while I like the extra rubber on the road, I don't like the increased sidewall height over the OEM 265/35.”

Category by category

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

  1. 67

    Dry

    Pilot Super Sport +15
    82
    Why this score
    SourceContiSportContact 5Pilot Super Sport
    Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 1 tests≈ 67 (est.)77
    Reviews found online6690

    ContiSportContact 5: 60% × 67.2 (est.) + 40% × 66.2 = 67

    Pilot Super Sport: 60% × 77.5 + 40% × 89.8 = 82

    No road tests of dry for ContiSportContact 5. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.42).

  2. 71

    Wet

    Pilot Super Sport +6
    77
    Why this score
    SourceContiSportContact 5Pilot Super Sport
    Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 1 tests≈ 71 (est.)73
    Reviews found online7184

    ContiSportContact 5: 60% × 71.1 (est.) + 40% × 71.3 = 71

    Pilot Super Sport: 60% × 73 + 40% × 83.8 = 77

    No road tests of wet for ContiSportContact 5. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.55).

  3. 68

    Snow

    No comparison
    –
    Why this score
    SourceContiSportContact 5Pilot Super Sport
    Professional tests (TWG score)≈ 69 (est.)–
    Reviews found online67–

    ContiSportContact 5: 60% × 69.4 (est.) + 40% × 66.7 = 68

    No road tests of snow for ContiSportContact 5. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.32).

  4. 63

    Comfort

    Pilot Super Sport +11
    74
    Why this score
    SourceContiSportContact 5Pilot Super Sport
    Professional tests (TWG score)≈ 67 (est.)≈ 70 (est.)
    Reviews found online6176

    ContiSportContact 5: 40% × 67.2 (est.) + 60% × 61 = 63

    Pilot Super Sport: 40% × 70.3 (est.) + 60% × 76.2 = 74

    No road tests of comfort for ContiSportContact 5. 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 Pilot Super Sport. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.20).

  5. 70

    Noise

    No comparison
    –
    Why this score
    SourceContiSportContact 5Pilot Super Sport
    Professional tests (TWG score)≈ 66 (est.)–
    Reviews found online74–

    ContiSportContact 5: 60% × 66.3 (est.) + 40% × 74.3 = 70

    No road tests of noise for ContiSportContact 5. The test half is the tested tires’ average (66): owners’ noise ratings barely follow the road tests.

  6. 56

    Treadwear

    Pilot Super Sport +14
    70
    Why this score
    SourceContiSportContact 5Pilot Super Sport
    Professional tests (TWG score)≈ 61 (est.)≈ 69 (est.)
    Reviews found online5073

    ContiSportContact 5: 60% × 60.6 (est.) + 40% × 50 = 56

    Pilot Super Sport: 60% × 68.7 (est.) + 40% × 72.7 = 70

    No road tests of treadwear for ContiSportContact 5. 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 Pilot Super Sport. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.36).

  7. –

    Handling (owners)

    No comparison
    83
    Why this score
    SourceContiSportContact 5Pilot Super Sport
    Reviews found online–83
Scores at a glance
CategoryContinental ContiSportContact 5Michelin Pilot Super Sport
Relative Score 66 77
Dry 67 82
Wet 71 77
Snow 68 –
Comfort 63 74
Noise 70 –
Treadwear 56 70
Handling (owners) – 83

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
Neutral
NotLessNeutralImportantMost

Only one of the two tires has a score here, so this weight changes nothing in the head-to-head.

Less important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Less important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost

Only one of the two tires has a score here, so this weight changes nothing in the head-to-head.

Neutral
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Less important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost

Only one of the two tires has a score here, so this weight changes nothing in the head-to-head.

Recomputed
Headline score
± 8

ContiSportContact 5

± 6

Pilot Super Sport

Only categories both tires have data for count toward the headline score.

Pros, cons & observations

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

Tire A ContiSportContact 5

Not enough owner reviews yet to extract themes.

Tire B Pilot Super Sport

Pros

  • Phenomenal dry grip and cornering stability
  • Precise steering response and excellent road feedback
  • Better-than-expected tread wear and mileage for a performance tire

Cons

  • Reduced grip and traction in cold weather (below 15°C)
  • Mediocre performance and tendency to aquaplane when tread wears down in heavy rain
  • High price point compared to some alternatives
All owner themes in the Pilot Super Sport review

What real owners are saying

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

Tire A

Continental ContiSportContact 5

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

Tire B

Michelin Pilot Super Sport

Positive

The Michelin Pilot Super Sport is widely praised by the community as a benchmark high-performance street tire offering outstanding dry grip, sharp cornering capability, and decent ride comfort for daily driving. Many drivers note that its successor, the Pilot Sport 4S, improves upon it—especially in cold and wet conditions—while several users highlight downsides such as poor winter/snow capability, premium pricing, and eventual rubber degradation or tread cracking as the tires age.

r/ft86 ·2 upvotes ·2016-04-18

“As someone who lapped the car until I destroyed the OEM tires, and then lapped a set of PSS until I destroyed those too. The PSS are stickier than stock for sure, but they arent really sticky when it comes to tires for the track. They overheat and get greasy if you drive them hard, and they will slip at just slightly higher speeds. TL;DR: they are better than stock, but they arent a track sticky tire by any means so tail happy is still a thing.”
r/370z ·2 upvotes ·2017-10-20

“I switched to Pilot Super Sports a couple months ago and can say there is some noise reduction. So far they are holding up pretty well, probably better than the RE50A considering I did a fair bit of auto crossing with it. Biggest difference I noticed was grip, significantly more grip especially when abused (hot). I also went 255 up front so that may have had an effect on the grip as well. They are also more comfortable over rough surfaces.”
r/BMW ·1 upvote ·2014-01-22

“Damn. 295s on Style 359Ms? That's pushing it a bit, isn't it? I so desperately wish Michelin would make a 285/30 PSS. I'm running 275/35s now, and while I like the extra rubber on the road, I don't like the increased sidewall height over the OEM 265/35.”
Top themes
#Dry grip and cornering#Comparison to PS4S#Poor snow performance#Tread life and wear#High purchase price#Age and cracking issues#Daily driving comfort

Based on 364 community posts

Specs side by side

Attribute A · Continental ContiSportContact 5 B · Michelin Pilot Super Sport
CategorySummer tireSummer
Vehicle typePassenger Car / CrossoverPassenger Car / Crossover
Sizes available8650
Rim diameters17″ – 22″17″ – 23″
Tread depth8 - 10/32″—
UTQG280 - 420 A - AA A300 AA A
SidewallBlack Side Wall—
Max pressure50 - 51 psi—
Sizes in common1414

Which one should you actually buy?

Continental ContiSportContact 5

Michelin Pilot Super Sport

Winner: Michelin Pilot Super Sport — better dry, treadwear and comfort. It leads or ties in every category we score.

Pick tire B You want the most grip on dry roads

Michelin Pilot Super Sport scores 82 vs 67 on dry.

Pick tire B You want the longest tread life

Michelin Pilot Super Sport scores 70 vs 56 on treadwear.

Pick tire B You want the most comfortable ride

Michelin Pilot Super Sport scores 74 vs 63 on comfort.

Pick tire B Your priority is wet-weather safety

Michelin Pilot Super Sport scores 77 vs 71 on wet.

Tire A · Continental ContiSportContact 5
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Tire B · Michelin Pilot Super Sport
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ContiSportContact 5 or Pilot Super Sport?

Which is better in the wet, ContiSportContact 5 or Pilot Super Sport?

Michelin Pilot Super Sport, 77 vs 71 on our wet score.

Which grips better on dry roads, ContiSportContact 5 or Pilot Super Sport?

Michelin Pilot Super Sport, 82 vs 67 on our dry score.

Which is more comfortable, ContiSportContact 5 or Pilot Super Sport?

Michelin Pilot Super Sport, 74 vs 63 on our comfort score.

Which lasts longer, ContiSportContact 5 or Pilot Super Sport?

Michelin Pilot Super Sport, 70 vs 56 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