Tires tested:

Continental ContiSportContact 3 (Max Performance Summer 225/45R17 91W)

• What We Liked: Great road manners & dry h&ling
• What We'd Improve: A small increase in wet grip
• Conclusion: A well-rounded Max Performance tire
• Latest Test Rank: 2nd
• Previous Test Rank: 3rd (October '07), 4th (August '07), 2nd (July '07)

Dunlop SP Sport Maxx TT (Max Performance Summer 225/45R17 91Y)

• What We Liked: Excellent wet grip & good dry traction
• What We'd Improve: A minor improvement in road manners
• Conclusion: A very capable Max Performance tire
• Latest Test Rank: 1st
• Previous Test Rank: Not previously tested

Pirelli PZero Rosso (Max Performance Summer 225/45R17 91W)

• What We Liked: Refined road manners
• What We'd Improve: Dry & wet traction
• Conclusion: A benchmark that's beginning to show its age
• Latest Test Rank: 3rd
• Previous Test Rank: 2nd (October, '04), 1st (August '03), 2nd (June '01), 2nd (July '00)

Yokohama ADVAN Sport (Max Performance Summer 225/45R17 91W)

• What We Liked: Responsive road h&ling
• What We'd Improve: A small improvement in overall traction
• Conclusion: A nimble performer
• Latest Test Rank: 4th
• Previous Test Rank: 3rd (July '07)

Vehicles used:
2008 BMW E92 328i Coupe

Max Performance Summer tire designs are engineered to blend the tire manufacturer's latest technologies into a package that can harness all of a performance car's acceleration, braking & cornering power, while remaining civilized enough for the daily commute to work or a night on the town.

Dunlop's latest Max Performance Summer tire is the SP Sport Maxx TT. This new tire combines a motorsports-inspired tread compound for traction, a group of design technologies focusing on tire shape & the wheel/tire bead interface collectively called Touch Technology (TT) for enhanced tire-to-driver communication & Kevlar-reinforced sidewalls to aid h&ling. The SP Sport Maxx TT follows the trend away from highly directional tread patterns, instead featuring an asymmetric design which allows the tire to be rotated periodically to improve long-term wear characteristics (& minimize the undesirable noise created by irregular wear).

To find out how the SP Sport Maxx TT performs, the Tire Rack team conducted a Real World Road Ride & Performance Track Drive, comparing it with three popular tires - the Continental ContiSportContact 3, Pirelli PZero Rosso & Yokohama ADVAN Sport. All three are fitted as Original Equipment on some of the world's finest performance cars, & have a track record of providing well-refined performance. Our evaluation used 2008 BMW E92 328i coupes fitted with new, full tread depth 225/45R17 tires mounted on 17x8.0" wheels.

What We Learned on the Road

Our 6.6-mile loop of expressway, state highway & county roads provides a great variety of road conditions that include city & highway speeds, smooth & coarse concrete, as well as new & patched asphalt. This route allows our team to experience noise comfort, ride quality & everyday h&ling, just as you would during your drive to school or work.

Our team found the Pirelli PZero Rosso & Continental ContiSportContact 3 continue to deliver their trademark refined road manners, leading the group with a taut but relatively compliant ride over all but the roughest sections of our evaluation route. The Dunlop SP Sport Maxx TT followed, also doing a competitive job at minimizing the bumps. The Yokohama ADVAN Sport rounded out the group, allowing just a little more of the road's harshness to find its way to the driver.

Overall tread noise levels among the four tires were fairly similar. All generated a moderate amount of noise at various speeds on the variety of surfaces along our route, with the ContiSportContact 3 showing a small advantage over the other three. The P Zero Rosso generated a subtle singing tone on smoother asphalt surfaces, while the SP Sport Maxx TT & ADVAN Sport both produced a modest growl on cross-grooved concrete.

All four tires felt agile, thanks to their stable & responsive h&ling. Our team found the PZero Rosso & ADVAN Sport tires felt lively, with the quickest steering response of the group. The ContiSportContact3 & SP Sport Maxx TT were both slightly slower to respond to driver inputs, but still provided overall h&ling appropriate for the Max Performance Summer category.

What We Learned on the Test Track

Our 1/3-mile per lap test track course includes 90-degree street corners, lane changes & simulated expressway ramps. Run in both dry & wet conditions, the test track allows our team to experience the traction, responsiveness, h&ling & drivability normally only encountered during abrupt emergency avoidance maneuvers or competition events.

On the track in dry conditions, the SP Sport Maxx TT & ContiSportContact 3 were a virtual tie for total lap time, with the advantage going to the Dunlop by the smallest of margins. During the dynamics of the test track, the ContiSportContact3 felt marginally more responsive than the SP Sport Maxx TT, while the SP Sport Maxx TT delivered slightly better cornering & braking traction than the Continental tire. The PZero Rosso felt responsive, but lacked the ultimate grip to match the pace of the Continental & Dunlop tires. The ADVAN Sport rounded out the group, also without quite enough grip to stay with the quicker tires.

In the wet, SP Sport Maxx TT showed a clear advantage, with more ultimate cornering & braking traction & better control at the limit, making it easier to drive quickly than the other three tires. Close behind were the ContiSportContact3 & ADVAN Sport. Trailing was the PZero Rosso, which just didn't have the level of wet grip to match the others.

Product Details

Continental ContiSportContact 3 (Max Performance Summer): The ContiSportContact 3 is Continental Tire's Max Performance Summer tire developed for the drivers of powerful sports cars, sports coupes & luxury sedans. The ContiSportContact 3 is designed to combine outst&ing braking capability & agile steering precision. Like all summer tires, the Continental ContiSportContact 3 is not intended to be driven in near-freezing temperatures, through snow or on ice.

Dunlop SP Sport Maxx TT (Max Performance Summer): The SP Sport Maxx TT (Touch Technology) is Dunlop's Max Performance Summer tire developed for the drivers of sports cars, sporty coupes & high performance sedans. Dunlop Touch Technology combines sophisticated tire development & manufacturing techniques to enhance road feedback & driving precision. Like all summer tires, the SP Sport Maxx TT is not intended to be driven in near-freezing temperatures, through snow or on ice.

Pirelli PZero Rosso (Max Performance Summer): Italians have always identified the color red with passion. & while red sports cars are probably the most identifiable example when it comes to driving passion, there is also Pirelli's PZero Rosso (Rosso, ro' so, Italian for red). PZero Rosso Max Performance Summer tires were developed to combine high performance, high speed & a high degree of comfort.

Specific design techniques, raw materials & manufacturing methods have been incorporated to produce Pirelli's most comfortable Max Performance tires. Like all summer tires, PZero Rosso tires are not intended to be driven in near-freezing temperatures, through snow or on ice.

Yokohama ADVAN Sport (Max Performance Summer): The ADVAN Sport is Yokohama's Max Performance Summer tire developed for some of the world's most prestigious sports cars, sports coupes & high performance sedans. The ADVAN Sport in the 275/35ZR20 size has been chosen as the exclusive Original Equipment (O.E.) tire for the Bentley Motors Continental GT equipped with the Mulliner Driving Package, the world's fastest four-seater coupe in 2005 with the maximum speed of 197 mph (318 km/h).