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Head-to-head Updated

Continental WinterContact TS 850 P vs Dunlop SP Winter Sport 4D — 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 9 + 0 road tests and 20 + 38 owner reviews. How we score

SP Winter Sport 4D leads, 78–75 Narrow edge

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Continental WinterContact TS 850 P
Tire AContinental

WinterContact TS 850 P

Winter

± 5

Tests 76 · 9 tests Owners 72 · 20 reviews

Best test result: #1 of 20 in 2020 Auto Bild Performance Winter Tyre Test (wet handling)

Category by category

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

  1. 71

    Dry

    SP Winter Sport 4D +7
    78
    Why this score
    SourceWinterContact TS 850 PSP Winter Sport 4D
    Professional tests (TWG score) · 8 / – tests71≈ 74 (est.)
    Reviews found online7184

    WinterContact TS 850 P: 60% × 71.3 + 40% × 70.7 = 71

    SP Winter Sport 4D: 60% × 74.4 (est.) + 40% × 83.6 = 78

    No road tests of dry for SP Winter Sport 4D. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.41).

  2. 84

    Wet

    Level
    84
    Why this score
    SourceWinterContact TS 850 PSP Winter Sport 4D
    Professional tests (TWG score) · 9 / – tests88≈ 81 (est.)
    Reviews found online7789

    WinterContact TS 850 P: 60% × 88.1 + 40% × 77.2 = 84

    SP Winter Sport 4D: 60% × 80.7 (est.) + 40% × 89 = 84

    No road tests of wet for SP Winter Sport 4D. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.55).

  3. 73

    Snow

    WinterContact TS 850 P +2
    71
    Why this score
    SourceWinterContact TS 850 PSP Winter Sport 4D
    Professional tests (TWG score) · 9 / – tests76≈ 71 (est.)
    Reviews found online6871

    WinterContact TS 850 P: 60% × 76.4 + 40% × 68 = 73

    SP Winter Sport 4D: 60% × 70.6 (est.) + 40% × 70.7 = 71

    No road tests of snow for SP Winter Sport 4D. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.32).

  4. 70

    Comfort

    SP Winter Sport 4D +9
    79
    Why this score
    SourceWinterContact TS 850 PSP Winter Sport 4D
    Professional tests (TWG score) · 1 / – tests72≈ 72 (est.)
    Reviews found online6885

    WinterContact TS 850 P: 40% × 72.1 + 60% × 68.4 = 70

    SP Winter Sport 4D: 40% × 71.8 (est.) + 60% × 84.5 = 79

    No road tests of comfort for SP Winter Sport 4D. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.20).

  5. 67

    Noise

    No comparison
    –
    Why this score
    SourceWinterContact TS 850 PSP Winter Sport 4D
    Professional tests (TWG score) · 7 / – tests67–
    Reviews found online≈ 66 (est.)–

    WinterContact TS 850 P: 60% × 67.2 + 40% × 66.4 (est.) = 67

    No owner ratings of noise for WinterContact TS 850 P. The owner half is the owners’ average (66): owners’ noise ratings barely follow the road tests, so the tests say nothing about how owners would rate it.

  6. 72

    Treadwear

    SP Winter Sport 4D +4
    76
    Why this score
    SourceWinterContact TS 850 PSP Winter Sport 4D
    Professional tests (TWG score) · 1 / – tests72≈ 72 (est.)
    Reviews found online7182

    WinterContact TS 850 P: 60% × 72.2 + 40% × 71.4 = 72

    SP Winter Sport 4D: 60% × 72.1 (est.) + 40% × 81.9 = 76

    No road tests of treadwear for SP Winter Sport 4D. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.36).

  7. 75

    Handling (owners)

    SP Winter Sport 4D +10
    85
    Why this score
    SourceWinterContact TS 850 PSP Winter Sport 4D
    Reviews found online7585
  8. 80

    Efficiency

    No comparison
    –
    Why this score
    SourceWinterContact TS 850 PSP Winter Sport 4D
    Professional tests (TWG score) · 7 / – tests80–
Scores at a glance
CategoryContinental WinterContact TS 850 PDunlop SP Winter Sport 4D
Relative Score 75 78
Dry 71 78
Wet 84 84
Snow 73 71
Comfort 70 79
Noise 67 –
Treadwear 72 76
Handling (owners) 75 85
Efficiency 80 –

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
Important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
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
Not 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
± 5

WinterContact TS 850 P

± 8

SP Winter Sport 4D

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.

DisciplineCategoryWinterContact TS 850 PSP Winter Sport 4DΔHead-to-head
Also published by the testers (not in the score)
Overall Ranking Overall #7/10 2025 Autobild Winter Tire Test R18 #3/48 2014 50 Winter Tyre Braking Overview – Different tests

Pros, cons & observations

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

Tire A WinterContact TS 850 P

Pros

  • Exceptional grip and stability in wet and dry conditions
  • Low noise levels and high ride comfort
  • Predictable handling and good feedback on cold, ungritted roads

Cons

  • Faster than expected tread wear reported by some users
  • High initial purchase price
  • Mixed performance on ice and slush for certain drivers
All owner themes in the WinterContact TS 850 P review

Tire B SP Winter Sport 4D

Pros

  • Exceptional grip and stability in wet, slushy, and cold dry conditions.
  • Remarkably low road noise, often quieter than summer tire counterparts.
  • High level of ride comfort and refined road manners.

Cons

  • Noticeable 'squirm' or lack of sharpness during high-speed cornering.
  • Occasional reports of understeer in specific wet or icy conditions.
  • Some users noted a 'hard' ride quality compared to previous iterations like the 3D.
All owner themes in the SP Winter Sport 4D review

Specs side by side

Attribute A · Continental WinterContact TS 850 P B · Dunlop SP Winter Sport 4D
CategoryWinterWinter
Vehicle typePassenger Car / CrossoverPassenger Car / Crossover
Sizes available12220
Rim diameters15″ – 22″16″ – 21″
Tread depth10 - 11/32″—
SidewallBlack Side Wall—
Max pressure44 - 51 psi—
Sizes in common1212

Which one should you actually buy?

Continental WinterContact TS 850 P

Dunlop SP Winter Sport 4D

Narrow edge: Dunlop SP Winter Sport 4D — better handling, comfort and dry. Where the Continental WinterContact TS 850 P is ahead, it is by less than 3 points.

Pick tire B You enjoy sharp, responsive handling

Dunlop SP Winter Sport 4D scores 85 vs 75 on handling.

Pick tire B You want the most comfortable ride

Dunlop SP Winter Sport 4D scores 79 vs 70 on comfort.

Pick tire B You want the most grip on dry roads

Dunlop SP Winter Sport 4D scores 78 vs 71 on dry.

Pick tire B You want the longest tread life

Dunlop SP Winter Sport 4D scores 76 vs 72 on treadwear.

Tire A · Continental WinterContact TS 850 P
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Tire B · Dunlop SP Winter Sport 4D
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WinterContact TS 850 P or SP Winter Sport 4D?

Which is better in the wet, WinterContact TS 850 P or SP Winter Sport 4D?

Neither, by our numbers: 84 vs 84 on the wet score, within 3 points.

Which grips better on dry roads, WinterContact TS 850 P or SP Winter Sport 4D?

Dunlop SP Winter Sport 4D, 78 vs 71 on our dry score.

Which is better in snow, WinterContact TS 850 P or SP Winter Sport 4D?

Neither, by our numbers: 73 vs 71 on the snow score, within 3 points.

Which is more comfortable, WinterContact TS 850 P or SP Winter Sport 4D?

Dunlop SP Winter Sport 4D, 79 vs 70 on our comfort score.

Which lasts longer, WinterContact TS 850 P or SP Winter Sport 4D?

Dunlop SP Winter Sport 4D, 76 vs 72 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