Billy Johnson, a driver for Multimatic Motorsports who last year won the 2016 IMSA Continental SportsCar Challenge GS title in the #15 Shelby GT350R-C knows a thing or two about high performance tires. So when he reviews the new Continental ExtremeContact Sport tires on a 2016 Mustang GT, we listen.
What does he have to say about the tire that Continental claims has the “same dry level performance as a Michelin Pilot Super Sport (PSS)”?
After nearly a thousand miles on the new ExtremeContact Sport tires in both wet and dry and a direct comparison to the predecessor tire (the ExtremeContact DW) at the Palm Beach International Raceway, here are the high (and low) points of this tire according to Billy.
On the street and wet weather testing:
On the street, the ExtremeContact Sport leaves nothing subjectively on the table to the PSS in terms of steering response, precision, communication, ride quality, comfort, noise, wet grip, or dry grip, says Billy.
The tire exhibited excellent hydroplaning resistance and retained a significant amount of control and grip. With the Sports’ steering response on a similar level as the PSS, Billy could believe Continental’s claims that it also has better hydroplaning resistance over a PSS.
On the track testing:
On track, the improvement in steering response (over the predecessor DW tires) was immediately noticeable. The new Sport made the entire chassis come alive with more precision, response, and grip. Trailing the brakes into the corner, the combined grip (braking and cornering) really stood out. Billy had the confidence and grip to drive into the corner harder and carry higher entry speeds.
Overall, the subjective characteristics of the ExtremeContact™ Sport felt more like an “R-compound” with a more aggressive slick tread pattern than it does the DW.
In sum, Billy was able to say with confidence that the ExtremeContact Sport is definitely in the same league as the PSS in terms of response, grip, and durability.
More technical details behind the Continental ExtremeContact Sport’s construction can be read in the full review.