Tests 78 · 1 test Owners 48 · 123 reviews
Best test result: #1 of 9 in 2017 Motor Mag UHP Tyre Test (wet braking)
Head-to-head
Updated
Continental ContiSportContact 5P 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 1 + 1 road tests and 123 + 1,506 owner reviews. How we score
Pilot Super Sport is ahead, 78–62
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Tests 75 · 1 test Owners 82 · 1,506 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.
-
71
Dry
Pilot Super Sport +1283Why this score
Source ContiSportContact 5P Pilot Super Sport Professional tests (TWG score) · 1 / 1 tests 78 77 Reviews found online 59 90 Dry Braking (% of best) · 1 shared test · wins 1–0 100% 99% Dry Handling (% of best) · 1 shared test · wins 0–0 100% 100% ContiSportContact 5P: 60% × 78.3 + 40% × 59.2 = 71
Pilot Super Sport: 60% × 77.4 + 40% × 90.2 = 83
-
69
Wet
Pilot Super Sport +877Why this score
Source ContiSportContact 5P Pilot Super Sport Professional tests (TWG score) · 1 / 1 tests 77 73 Reviews found online 58 84 Wet Braking (% of best) · 1 shared test · wins 1–0 100% 95% ContiSportContact 5P: 60% × 76.9 + 40% × 58.1 = 69
Pilot Super Sport: 60% × 73.1 + 40% × 84 = 77
-
53
Snow
No comparison–Why this score
Source ContiSportContact 5P Pilot Super Sport Professional tests (TWG score) ≈ 60 (est.) – Reviews found online 43 – ContiSportContact 5P: 60% × 60.3 (est.) + 40% × 42.7 = 53
No road tests of snow for ContiSportContact 5P. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.37).
-
55
Comfort
Pilot Super Sport +1974Why this score
Source ContiSportContact 5P Pilot Super Sport Professional tests (TWG score) ≈ 65 (est.) ≈ 71 (est.) Reviews found online 49 77 ContiSportContact 5P: 40% × 65.4 (est.) + 60% × 48.6 = 55
Pilot Super Sport: 40% × 70.6 (est.) + 60% × 76.9 = 74
No road tests of comfort for ContiSportContact 5P or Pilot Super Sport. The test half is the tested tires’ average (69): owners’ comfort ratings barely follow the road tests.
-
59
Noise
No comparison–Why this score
Source ContiSportContact 5P Pilot Super Sport Professional tests (TWG score) ≈ 67 (est.) – Reviews found online 49 – ContiSportContact 5P: 60% × 66.6 (est.) + 40% × 48.5 = 59
No road tests of noise for ContiSportContact 5P. The test half is the tested tires’ average (67): owners’ noise ratings barely follow the road tests.
-
43
Treadwear
Pilot Super Sport +2770Why this score
Source ContiSportContact 5P Pilot Super Sport Professional tests (TWG score) ≈ 53 (est.) ≈ 68 (est.) Reviews found online 28 73 ContiSportContact 5P: 60% × 52.8 (est.) + 40% × 27.9 = 43
Pilot Super Sport: 60% × 68.4 (est.) + 40% × 72.8 = 70
No road tests of treadwear for ContiSportContact 5P. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.35).
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 0.35).
-
56
Handling (owners)
Pilot Super Sport +2783Why this score
Source ContiSportContact 5P Pilot Super Sport Reviews found online 56 83
Scores at a glance
| Category | Continental ContiSportContact 5P | Michelin Pilot Super Sport |
|---|---|---|
| Relative Score | 62 | 78 |
| Dry | 71 | 83 |
| Wet | 69 | 77 |
| Snow | 53 | – |
| Comfort | 55 | 74 |
| Noise | 59 | – |
| Treadwear | 43 | 70 |
| Handling (owners) | 56 | 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
Recomputed
Headline score
62
/ 100
ContiSportContact 5P
78
/ 100
Pilot Super Sport
Only categories both tires have data for count toward the headline score.
The professional test results behind the scores
Per discipline: the average % of the best tire over every test both tires were in, and how many of those tests each one won. “Different tests” rows compare results from separate tests.
In the overall rankings of 5 tests that ran both, Continental ContiSportContact 5P finished ahead 3 times and Michelin Pilot Super Sport 2 times.
| Discipline | Category | ContiSportContact 5P | Pilot Super Sport | Δ | Head-to-head |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dry Braking | Dry | 100% | 99% | +1.4 | 1–0 in 1 shared test Newest: 2017 Motor Mag UHP Tyre Test · 235/35 R19 |
| Dry Handling | Dry | 100% | 100% | 0.0 | 0–0 in 1 shared test Newest: 2017 Motor Mag UHP Tyre Test · 235/35 R19 |
| Wet Braking | Wet | 100% | 95% | +5.0 | 1–0 in 1 shared test Newest: 2017 Motor Mag UHP Tyre Test · 235/35 R19 |
| Also published by the testers (not in the score) | |||||
| Overall Ranking | Overall | #1/9 | #2/9 | – | 3–2 in 5 shared tests Newest: 2017 Motor Mag UHP Tyre Test · 235/35 R19 |
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
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
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
Positive
Michelin Pilot Super Sport
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.”
bimmerfest.com
·2026-03-23
“All four of my Michelin PSSs had cracks in the inner circumferential channels after prolonged exposure to temperatures below +20F (while the car was parked in a u-stor-it garage). All four of my Michelin PS 4Ss were never exposed to temperatures below +32F and did not develop similar cracks.”
r/Miata
·11 upvotes ·2026-10-07
“Worth bearing in mind the Sam Vimes "Boots" Theory of Socioeconomic Unfairness. The tires I got on my new '17 RF GT didn't last very long, the two sets of cheap tires I replaced them with didn't either, then I put Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires on it and they're great performers as well as outlasting the earlier sets combined.”
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 5P | B · Michelin Pilot Super Sport |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Summer | Summer |
| Vehicle type | Passenger Car / Crossover | Passenger Car / Crossover |
| Sizes available | 41 | 50 |
| Rim diameters | 18″ – 22″ | 17″ – 23″ |
| Tread depth | 8 - 10/32″ | — |
| UTQG | 240 - 280 AA A | — |
| Sidewall | Black Side Wall | — |
| Max pressure | 50 - 51 psi | — |
| Sizes in common | 18 | 18 |
Which one should you actually buy?
62
/ 100
Continental ContiSportContact 5P
78
/ 100
Michelin Pilot Super Sport
Winner: Michelin Pilot Super Sport — better treadwear, handling and comfort. It leads or ties in every category we score.
Pick tire B
You want the longest tread life
Michelin Pilot Super Sport scores 70 vs 43 on treadwear.
Pick tire B
You enjoy sharp, responsive handling
Michelin Pilot Super Sport scores 83 vs 56 on handling.
Pick tire B
You want the most comfortable ride
Michelin Pilot Super Sport scores 74 vs 55 on comfort.
Pick tire B
You want the most grip on dry roads
Michelin Pilot Super Sport scores 83 vs 71 on dry.
Tire A · Continental ContiSportContact 5P
Tire B · Michelin Pilot Super Sport
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ContiSportContact 5P or Pilot Super Sport?
Which is better in the wet, ContiSportContact 5P or Pilot Super Sport?
Michelin Pilot Super Sport, 77 vs 69 on our wet score.
Which grips better on dry roads, ContiSportContact 5P or Pilot Super Sport?
Michelin Pilot Super Sport, 83 vs 71 on our dry score.
Which is more comfortable, ContiSportContact 5P or Pilot Super Sport?
Michelin Pilot Super Sport, 74 vs 55 on our comfort score.
Which lasts longer, ContiSportContact 5P or Pilot Super Sport?
Michelin Pilot Super Sport, 70 vs 43 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