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Head-to-head Updated

Sumitomo H/TR Z vs Continental SportContact 7 — Compared

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

SportContact 7 is ahead, 84–52

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Tire ASumitomo

H/TR Z

Summer Ultra High Performance tires

Tests – · none yet Owners 45 · 4 reviews

Tire BContinental

SportContact 7

Summer

Tests 83 · 22 tests Owners 82 · 1,596 reviews

“I can also give my input, I'm running 245 front and 295 rears with 20inch. I have sc7s and honestly am a big fan of the tire. I can only compare them the pzero's and for me they feel more predictable and way better in the wet. The sidewall protection is quite decent although not sure how it compares to the michelins. Same as Gmuend I found the sc7s for 30% less so it was a no brainer.”

Category by category

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

  1. 56

    Dry

    SportContact 7 +39
    95
    Why this score
    SourceH/TR ZSportContact 7
    Professional tests (TWG score)–97
    Reviews found online5091
  2. 57

    Wet

    SportContact 7 +35
    92
    Why this score
    SourceH/TR ZSportContact 7
    Professional tests (TWG score)–94
    Reviews found online5388
  3. 57

    Comfort

    SportContact 7 +7
    64
    Why this score
    SourceH/TR ZSportContact 7
    Professional tests (TWG score)–56
    Reviews found online4676
  4. –

    Noise

    No comparison
    60
    Why this score
    SourceH/TR ZSportContact 7
    Professional tests (TWG score)–56
  5. 44

    Treadwear

    SportContact 7 +25
    69
    Why this score
    SourceH/TR ZSportContact 7
    Professional tests (TWG score)–72
    Reviews found online2966
  6. 49

    Handling

    SportContact 7 +40
    89
    Why this score
    SourceH/TR ZSportContact 7
    Reviews found online4989
Scores at a glance
CategorySumitomo H/TR ZContinental SportContact 7
Relative Score 52 84
Dry 56 95
Wet 57 92
Comfort 57 64
Noise – 60
Treadwear 44 69
Handling 49 89

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.

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

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Neutral
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Recomputed
Headline score

H/TR Z

SportContact 7

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 H/TR Z

Pros

  • High value-for-money proposition
  • Strong dry weather traction
  • Competitive tread life for some users

Cons

  • Inconsistent tread wear and longevity
  • Subpar wet weather performance
  • Reports of structural failure and blowouts
All owner themes in the H/TR Z review

Tire B SportContact 7

Pros

  • Phenomenal wet and dry grip with high cornering limits
  • Precise steering response and excellent road feedback
  • Strong braking performance and high stability at speed

Cons

  • Faster-than-average tread wear, especially with spirited driving or track use
  • Stiff sidewalls can contribute to a harsher, bumpier ride
  • Elevated road noise reported on certain road surfaces
All owner themes in the SportContact 7 review

What real owners are saying

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

Tire A

Sumitomo H/TR Z

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

Tire B

Continental SportContact 7

Positive

Community members widely praise the Continental SportContact 7 for outstanding dry and wet grip, sharp steering precision, and strong value compared to key rivals like the Michelin Pilot Sport 4S. However, users frequently highlight faster tread wear, reduced initial tread depth, and occasional issues with road noise and comfort as main drawbacks.

bobistheoilguy.com ·2026-03-08

“The Tire Rack no longer has the selection with the major name brands it once did. I can order the Michelin Pilot Sport 5 in 225/45R18 from Costco but the Tire Rack doesn't offer it in that size. I can order the Continental Sport Contact 7 at Discount Tire in 225/45R18 but not at the Tire Rack. When my wife and I had a Corolla Hybrid, it took a 195/65R15. Michelin quit offering the CC2 in that size so the next best all-weather tire at the time that fit was the Hankook Kinergy 4S2 750. The Tire Rack never offered that tire but Discount Tire had it in stock locally. None of the tires I mentioned are exclusive tires for certain retailers. I enjoy the Tire Rack website and the testing they do, but they are no longer the go to merchant when buying tires like they once was.”
mustang7g.com ·1 upvote ·2024-08-26

“I have Continental Sport Contact 7's on my S550 and the are better than the PS4S in my view (plus they stack up well in independent reviews as well)”
bimmerforums.co.uk ·1 upvote ·2024-05-10

“and they don't have Bridgestone tyre model in both sizes I need. I guess it means I'm back to Camskill and consider either Turanza 6 Enliten or Conti Sport Contact 7. Both got good scores on TyreReviews.com. I could get whole set of Turanzas from Camskill, whereas with Continentals, I would need to buy rear ones elsewhere”
Top themes
#exceptional dry grip#wet weather performance#rapid tread wear#michelin ps4s comparison#value and pricing#steering precision feedback#road noise levels

Based on 114 community posts

Specs side by side

Attribute A · Sumitomo H/TR Z B · Continental SportContact 7
CategorySummer Ultra High Performance tiresSummer
Vehicle typePassenger Car / CrossoverPassenger Car / Crossover
Sizes available—123
Rim diameters—18″ – 24″
Tread depth—8 - 9/32″
UTQG—240 AA A
Sidewall—Black Side Wall
Max pressure—50 - 51 psi

Which one should you actually buy?

Sumitomo H/TR Z

Continental SportContact 7

Winner: Continental SportContact 7 — better handling, dry and wet. It leads or ties in every category we score.

Pick tire B You enjoy sharp, responsive handling

Continental SportContact 7 scores 89 vs 49 on handling.

Pick tire B You want the most grip on dry roads

Continental SportContact 7 scores 95 vs 56 on dry.

Pick tire B Your priority is wet-weather safety

Continental SportContact 7 scores 92 vs 57 on wet.

Pick tire B You want the longest tread life

Continental SportContact 7 scores 69 vs 44 on treadwear.

Tire A · Sumitomo H/TR Z
Check price on Amazon
Tire B · Continental SportContact 7
Check price on Amazon

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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.

84

Leads

SportContact 7

Amazon