Pirelli P7 Cinturato vs Continental SportContact 3?

[cktsi]

Has anyone had any experience with the Pirelli P7 Cinturato or Conti SportsContact 3 and any thoughts on wet weather, road noise & fuel economy?

I had Michelin Energy savers from the factory and upgraded to Michelin Pilot Sports 3. Whilst the PS3's are great for wet weather handling, they are noisier than the energy savers & fuel economy has dipped.

So I am thinking about the P7's or SC3's as an alternative.

[Martin]

Have you trying adding pressure and check the economy again?

I've had the Conti CS3 tyres on several cars
They are a competent tyre, good dry grip, confident (but not awesome) in the wet, wear well, they crash and thump through pot holes. Overall a very good tyre but at that price, there are better options.
It's not rated very highly in reviews
Continental Sport Contact 3 | the Continental Sport Contact 3 reviewed and rated | the online tyre guide

I have the the Michelin PS3 tyres on my Octavia
Excellent in all respects, better sports steering response than the Conti
This tyre is consistently highly rated world wide
Michelin Pilot Sport 3 PS3 | the Michelin Pilot Sport 3 PS3 reviewed and rated | the online tyre guide

The Pirelli range are a bit out of favour these days
The P600's have great sports performance but wear out fast
Here are reviews of the P7 and Cinturato P1 (no review of the Cinturato P7 available) - not very favourable
Pirelli P 7 | the Pirelli P 7 reviewed and rated | the online tyre guide
Pirelli CINTURATO P1 | the Pirelli CINTURATO P1 reviewed and rated | the online tyre guide
Your old MIchelin Energy saver was rated better
Michelin Energy Saver | the Michelin Energy Saver reviewed and rated | the online tyre guide

For this month (April) Contental have a special offer on the MC5, buy 3 get 1 free - hard to beat that
I've just put them on the Mazda3 - initial impressions are good - noise/comfort is good - too soon to comment otherwise
This tyre is getting pretty good reviews (remember it's pretty new so feedback is limited)
Continental ContiMaxContact MC5 | the Continental ContiMaxContact MC5 reviewed and rated | the online tyre guide

http://www.productreview.com.au/p/continental-contimaxcontact-mc5.htm

[Diesel_vert]

Has anyone had any experience with the Pirelli P7 Cinturato or Conti SportsContact 3 and any thoughts on wet weather, road noise & fuel economy?

I had Michelin Energy savers from the factory and upgraded to Michelin Pilot Sports 3. Whilst the PS3's are great for wet weather handling, they are noisier than the energy savers & fuel economy has dipped.

So I am thinking about the P7's or SC3's as an alternative.

Both tyres are aimed at a different audience or market.

The Cinturato P7 will be quieter, more comfortable, use less fuel and have reduced wear rates. Alternatives include the Michelin Energy Saver, Continental PremiumContact2, and PremiumContact5. Avoid the old Pirelli P7, as it has been superseded, obviously.

The SportContact3 or SportContact 5 will provide better dry and wet grip at the expense of wear and rolling resistance. Alternatives include the Pirelli P Zero, Michelin Pilot Sport 3 and Pilot Super Sport.

The Continental MaxContact5 appears to straddle both categories, but leaning towards the former rather than the latter.

Sorry, but physics won't allow you to have it all.

[cktsi]

Hey Martin, thanks for sharing your personal experiences. I was really after those as I've already checked out all the reviews & links. Thanks for taking the time to post them. Will be very useful for others.

Whilst I would like really good wet weather grip, I think there's a compromise with road noise and rolling resistence which I'm starting to value a little higher. I would only need wet weather braking ability.

@diesel_very, Re: Cinturato P7's being compared to touring tyres, I'm getting the impression it's an eco performance tyre. It's not the last word in performance - particularly in the wet against more recent tyres, but I think it's got the compromise priorities that I'm looking for. So I'm starting to lean towards these tyres.

It would still be great to hear from anyone who's had practical experience living with Cinturato P7's

[Diesel_vert]

Hey Martin, thanks for sharing your personal experiences. I was really after those as I've already checked out all the reviews & links. Thanks for taking the time to post them. Will be very useful for others.

Whilst I would like really good wet weather grip, I think there's a compromise with road noise and rolling resistence which I'm starting to value a little higher. I would only need wet weather braking ability.

@diesel_very, Re: Cinturato P7's being compared to touring tyres, I'm getting the impression it's an eco performance tyre. It's not the last word in performance - particularly in the wet against more recent tyres, but I think it's got the compromise priorities that I'm looking for. So I'm starting to lean towards these tyres.

It would still be great to hear from anyone who's had practical experience living with Cinturato P7's

Best is highly subjective because it depends on one's on priorities.

I've not personally used the Cinturato P7 before, but they seem to offer a decent blend of low noise and low rolling resistance without giving up too much wet performance, so I think they will be perfectly suited to your needs.

[Buckets]

I put the cinturatos on the TDI about three months ago. After 5000+km I can say the road noise is minimal, performance both wet and dry is good enough for my needs (mainly suburbia driving, plenty of knuckleheads and meanderthals to test the reflexes and the braking performance). They were a replacement for Bridgestone RE002 (never again) and Conti SC2 before that.

[PassCruiser]

P7's

This thread maybe a little old but the tyres are still available & would like to share my experience.

I fitted a set of Pirelli P7 after having a set of Dunlop SP Fast Response. I drove from Adelaide to Cairns inland then returned via the coast. We drove most road types from coarse outback bitumen to dirt roads.

The Pirelli's were a step backwards. The initial bite is less than the Dunlop's & reduced feeling of being connected with the road. In the hills around Cairns I couldn't drive as confidently as on the Dunlop's especially in the wet.

On the positive they were a quiet & comfortable tyre (a little softer than the Dunlop's) on the outback roads soaking up bumps well but if you like to get a little spirited in the hills the P7's aren't for you. I would not buy again for my purpose.

I currently have ContiSportContact5 & I rate them same as the Dunlop's mentioned above, however, they are noisier on our coarse bitumen roads. As I do a lot of country road driving these are too focused toward spirited driving whereas I'm looking for something that will be comfortable & quiet out in the country then when I hit the twisty stuff I can have a bit of fun without scaring the bejesus out of the wife. The Conti's have about 10k in them & as I'm about to drive back up to FNQLD I think I'm going to try the ContiMax Contact MC5 235/45R17 for my B7.

Buying tyres is a real head scratch . The challenge is not choosing too focused.

[gazzmo]

I had ContCS3 on my Jetta when it was new, good allrounder and lasted 62k, I replaced them with Khumo KU31 good allrounder but get noisey when about worn out also needed to have good pressure 34psi-38psi for dry performance they lasted 52k (as suspension wears it increases the wear rate of tyres) I have moved to the KU31 replacement the KU22 better grip less noise and appear to be wearing well.
Just my 2 cents worth, I drive 28k a year mostly highway miles but like my twisty bits

[Martin]

Buying tyres is a real head scratch

Thanks for the write up - it's entirely in line with many of our views

Try a set of PS3's next time, as long as you can get a good price you will enjoy them

[popeclement]

Thanks for the write up - it's entirely in line with many of our views

Try a set of PS3's next time, as long as you can get a good price you will enjoy them

I recently changed to Dunlop Maxx Sport (the German one) on the Bora and very impressed with road noise & turn in.

Interestingly & quite coincidentally the new Golf I picked up also has Dunlops - Sport Bluresponse and can report that they too seem very good (especially quiet) but it's early days yet.

[PassCruiser]

PS3's thanks for the tip I'll look into it, Martin.

Thanks for your input Gazmo, you must be happy with the Kumo's to move to the next generation.