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Continental ContiSportContact 5P vs Dunlop Sport Maxx RT2 — Compared

Relative Score (0–100): 60% professional tests, 40% owner reviews.

Sport Maxx RT2 is ahead, 73–61

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Tire AContinental

ContiSportContact 5P

Summer

Tests 77 · 1 test Owners 51 · 123 reviews

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

Tire BDunlop

Sport Maxx RT2

Summer

Tests 75 · 32 tests Owners 70 · 3,504 reviews

Best test result: #1 of 9 in 2017 Auto Bild UHP Tyre Test (wet braking)

“For what it's worth, I put a full new set of 18inch Sport Maxx RT2's on my E85 a couple of years ago and found them more than adequate/good when your a looking for a value/capability compromise. Like B21 mentions, if you want a really upto date tyre, you pick a newer release from the manufacturer provided that pushing on a couple of hundred quid extra can be justified. (When you don't need to tell the wife) I just put a set of 19inch Continental Conti Sport 7's on my E89 but wouldn't have had an issue fitting 19inch Sport Maxx RT2's.”

Category by category

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

  1. 71

    Dry

    Sport Maxx RT2 +4
    75
    Why this score
    SourceContiSportContact 5PSport Maxx RT2
    Professional tests (TWG score)7878
    Reviews found online6270
    Dry Braking (% of best)100%95%
    Dry Handling (% of best)100%98%
  2. 70

    Wet

    Sport Maxx RT2 +8
    78
    Why this score
    SourceContiSportContact 5PSport Maxx RT2
    Professional tests (TWG score)7683
    Reviews found online6072
    Wet Braking (% of best)100%100%
  3. 53

    Snow

    No comparison
    –
    Why this score
    SourceContiSportContact 5PSport Maxx RT2
    Reviews found online42–
  4. 60

    Comfort

    Sport Maxx RT2 +10
    70
    Why this score
    SourceContiSportContact 5PSport Maxx RT2
    Professional tests (TWG score)–70
    Reviews found online5170
  5. 60

    Noise

    Sport Maxx RT2 +7
    67
    Why this score
    SourceContiSportContact 5PSport Maxx RT2
    Professional tests (TWG score)–64
    Reviews found online5072
  6. 47

    Treadwear

    Sport Maxx RT2 +22
    69
    Why this score
    SourceContiSportContact 5PSport Maxx RT2
    Professional tests (TWG score)–70
    Reviews found online3466
  7. 56

    Handling

    Sport Maxx RT2 +14
    70
    Why this score
    SourceContiSportContact 5PSport Maxx RT2
    Reviews found online5670
Scores at a glance
CategoryContinental ContiSportContact 5PDunlop Sport Maxx RT2
Relative Score 61 73
Dry 71 75
Wet 70 78
Snow 53 –
Comfort 60 70
Noise 60 67
Treadwear 47 69
Handling 56 70

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

Weight the categories that matter to you

Wet grip and treadwear start at “Important” — the two things buyers rank highest. Move the sliders and the scores update instantly.

Important
NoneLessNeutralMoreMost
Important
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Neutral
NoneLessNeutralMoreMost

Neither tire has a score here yet, so this weight changes nothing.

Less important
NoneLessNeutralMoreMost
Less important
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Important
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Neutral
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Recomputed
Headline score

ContiSportContact 5P

Sport Maxx RT2

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

The professional test results behind the scores

Each result is shown as % of the best tire in that test. “Same test” rows are the strictest comparison: both tires were measured side by side.

DisciplineCategoryContiSportContact 5PSport Maxx RT2ΔBoth?
Dry Braking Dry 100% #1/9 · 2017 Motor Mag UHP Tyre Test 95% #10/10 · 2021 Auto Zeitung Summer UHP Tyre Test +5.2 Different tests
Dry Handling Dry 100% #2/9 · 2017 Motor Mag UHP Tyre Test 98% #6/9 · 2017 Auto Bild Sports Cars Tyre Test +2.4 Different tests
Overall Ranking Overall 100% #1/8 · 2015 Australian Motor 235/35 R19 Tyre Test 6% #17/50 · 2026 Summer Braking Super Tyre Test - How do 52 Tyres Perform in Wet and Dry Braking? +94.1 Different tests
Wet Braking Wet 100% #1/9 · 2017 Motor Mag UHP Tyre Test 100% #1/9 · 2017 Auto Bild UHP Tyre Test 0.0 Different tests

Pros, cons & observations

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

Tire A ContiSportContact 5P

Pros

  • Outstanding dry and wet traction providing confidence-inspiring grip
  • High level of steering feedback and precise high-speed cornering ability
  • Excellent ride comfort and bump absorption for an ultra-high-performance tire

Cons

  • Rapid and excessively fast tread wear, with many users replacing them under 10,000 miles
  • Prone to straight-line wheel spin and wheel hop during hard acceleration
  • Noticeable road noise as the tires wear down
All owner themes in the ContiSportContact 5P review

Tire B Sport Maxx RT2

Pros

  • Excellent grip and stability in both wet and dry conditions
  • Significantly lower road noise and high ride comfort compared to competitors
  • Competitive pricing offering great value for a premium-tier brand

Cons

  • Soft sidewalls can cause a spongy feel and lack of precision during fast cornering
  • Some reports of premature cracking in the tread valleys or sidewalls
  • Performance and noise levels can degrade noticeably as the tread wears down
All owner themes in the Sport Maxx RT2 review

What real owners are saying

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

Tire A

Continental ContiSportContact 5P

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

Tire B

Dunlop Sport Maxx RT2

Positive

Community opinion portrays the Dunlop Sport Maxx RT 2 as a solid, quiet, and good-value performance tire that performs well in all weather conditions. While some drivers note it is an older design compared to newer flagship releases and point out its 'B' wet rating in certain sizes, it is generally considered capable and competitively priced. There is also frequent discussion clarifying the availability of both run-flat and non-run-flat variants across different dimensions.

zroadster.org ·1 upvote ·2018-11-27

“I have Dunlop Sport Maxx RT2's on my Audi A3 2.0TDI (buckets of torques) and they work incredibly well in all weather conditions. Granted a different proposition with FWD Audi, but for the price it was a no brainer to stick with them when I needed the fronts replacing.”
forums.m3cutters.co.uk ·2021-01-21

“Thanks everyone! I knew this forum would have the answer I think in this case what the tyre fitter might have meant was "there are no Dunlop run-flats for e46 M3s" (he did ask what car it was for) as this size based search does not bring up tyres with the run flat feature. Which I presume means the ones I ordered previously were not run-flats (it certainly looked properly flat, would not want to drive on it let alone at the claimed 50mph) and thence the new one I've ordered is also a not a run-flat. Garage should be able to fit them. Bloody confusing of the Dunlop website.”
z4-forum.com ·2024-01-07

“Dunlop sportmaxx RT2 in XL are only 'B' for rain though :thumbsdown:”
Top themes
#Run-flat availability confusion#Low road noise#Value for money#All-weather grip#Older tire generation#Wet performance rating

Based on 19 community posts

Specs side by side

Attribute A · Continental ContiSportContact 5P B · Dunlop Sport Maxx RT2
CategorySummerSummer
Vehicle typePassenger Car / CrossoverPassenger Car / Crossover
Sizes available4156
Rim diameters18″ – 22″17″ – 21″
Tread depth8 - 10/32″10/32″
UTQG240 - 280 AA A300 A A
SidewallBlack Side WallBlackwall
Max pressure50 - 51 psi50 psi

Which one should you actually buy?

Continental ContiSportContact 5P

Dunlop Sport Maxx RT2

Winner: Dunlop Sport Maxx RT2 — better treadwear, handling and comfort. It leads or ties in every category we score.

Pick tire B You want the longest tread life

Dunlop Sport Maxx RT2 scores 69 vs 47 on treadwear.

Pick tire B You enjoy sharp, responsive handling

Dunlop Sport Maxx RT2 scores 70 vs 56 on handling.

Pick tire B You want the most comfortable ride

Dunlop Sport Maxx RT2 scores 70 vs 60 on comfort.

Pick tire B Your priority is wet-weather safety

Dunlop Sport Maxx RT2 scores 78 vs 70 on wet.

Tire A · Continental ContiSportContact 5P
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Tire B · Dunlop Sport Maxx RT2
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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.

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

73

Leads

Sport Maxx RT2

Amazon