Continental Sport Contact 3 SSR Run flat

The confort is very bad, have to avoid potholes and bumps. cant relax when driving. Not comfortable at all, prefer pirelli eufori@, better overall. I had pirelli on my previous MINI, after 18000km still like new, didnt want to replace them but dealer gave me a package so switched to continental which is very loud and uncomfortable.

I have always had Goodyear NCT5 Runflats on my 5 Series, just because they were the tyres that came with it when I brought the car, and was generally pleased with them overall for the cost, but recently they have been on back order and I have been unable to get any. After researching on the net I decided to go with either the Pirelli P Series Run Flat tyre, or the Continental Sport Contact Run Flat. I went with the Continental as they got better praise, and I'm glad I did. I have only had them a short while but I noticed a difference immediately the moment I drove away from the tyre shop. The road noise is virtually non existent, the bumps in the road don’t seem so harsh when you ride over them, unlike the Goodyear if you hit the smallest pot hole it was like you were crashing through a wall. The Continental give a much smoother ride, and grip better than the Goodyear in the wet and dry.
I have not had the tyres on long enough to comment on their longevity, but based on the short time I have been using them I would definitely buy them again, only downside of course is the cost, they are a more expensive tyre than the Pirelli and what the Goodyear were, but then again, regardless of who makes them, Run Flat Tyres aren’t cheap.

Although it is early days these tyres are so much better than the previous worn Pirelli Eufori run flats. The Pirelli's tramlined so much that I got the tracking adjusted. This didn't help so I thought there was something wrong with the supsension. The Conti's get great reviews and it is like driving a new car again!!

This review is for Continental Sport Contact 3 225\45\17 W (Run flat) Fitted to a 2003 Z4 2.5i SE

I decided to fit these tyres to replace the rear tyres on my Z4 which were OE Bridgestone RE-05 run flats. The Bridgestone's had worn out very quickly over a short period down to the indicators, and not very evenly. I would describe myself as an enthusiastic driver so anything above 12,000 miles from a pair of rear tyres on a car of this type with close to 200bhp is acceptable.

Dry Grip : Very good so far, good confident traction out of the bends and roundabouts

Wet Grip : Not tested much but initial impressions are favourable
Road Feedback : Initially a little squirmy during fast cornering but have now bedded in nicely. Noticeably Quieter than the RE-05's

Progressiveness : So far so good, not reached the limit yet.

Wear : Too early to say

Comfort : A BIG improvement on the Bridgestone RE-05's

Buy again : The choice of Run flat tyres for the Z4 appears to be a bit limited, but based upon impressions so far and the choice available I would say yes.


Summary:

Throughout their life on the car I found the OE Bridgestone RE-05 offered good grip and cornering stability in the dry but was much less impressive in the wet especially in tight corners, and the constant tram lining behaviour was a chore, especially on badly paved tarmac or when changing lanes over cat eyes in the road. The Bridgestone's in my opinion were\are so bad in this respect, I thought my rear suspension had become badly worn, but fitment of the Conti's has pretty much cured this characteristic. The other good news is that the Conti's have improved the spine jarring ride that the Bridgestone's provided on the Z4, the sidewalls look to be of a different shape and more generous on the Conti's so maybe this has something to do with it. Of course the Z4 is a sports car so is not intended to be a comfy cruiser but the RE-05's pushed this tolerance to the limit and on anything but a perfect road surface almost totally spoiled my enjoyment of driving the car. I was surprised to read the negative comments here regarding these tyres as in my experience on my rear drive Z4 the Conti's have restored the enjoyment to my car and the smile is back, so from me at least the CSC3's are recommended.