Tires are the only contact point our cars have with the road, and people often underestimate their impact on driving performance and safety when buying a new set of rubber.
Choosing the right tire is important and it can even save your life.
While car manufacturers wage war for the hard-earned dollars of Australian new car buyers, tire companies are also engaged in a battle for supremacy theirs.
The performance tire market is particularly competitive and we took the opportunity to test a new addition to the portfolio – the Continental Maxcontact MC7.
Located about an hour west of Sydney, the technical and tight Luddenham Raceway plays host to the track portion of our Maxcontact MC7 test, while a mix of country and road driving The highway provided the experience.
Challenging weather conditions set the scene. Here’s what we did during the day.
We drove on them in wet conditions
Two separate tests were devised by Continental to test the Maxcontact MC7 against rival tires on track at Luddenham, looking at wet braking and wet road handling under the microscope.
Interestingly, Continental decided to put the brand on its competitor’s tires, but further investigation revealed that they were Bridgestone products.
An 80-0km/h braking test was carried out on the main straight, while a blind, downhill corner provided the backdrop for the handling.
Both areas are exposed to a constant flow of water to ensure slippery conditions, and we drove identical BMW 3 Series variants on both sets of tires back-to-back.
When braking hard, you can immediately feel the Continental tires digging into the tarmac despite the humidity, which is impressive.
We’ve excluded the total distance because the conditions didn’t correlate with our testing at Lang Lang and the data is difficult to verify, but the Continental-equipped car stopped 1.66m shorter than the competitors.
The wet road handling test is more subjective, designed to test the limits of both tires when cornering at high speeds.
We tried a total of four times with each tire and the results were consistent.
The Maxcontact MC7 performed well through the first hard turn and tended toward understeer that was easily predictable and manageable.
On the other hand, rival tires do the same when cornering but lose grip faster, leading to more struggle with the steering wheel.
In the afternoon we hit the public road and didn’t need a water hose as paradise opened up in typical east coast fashion.
Our route back to Sydney mainly consisted of twisty country roads, which can be a nightmare in wet conditions, but our BMW 330i always felt planted.
Continental says it focuses on wet weather performance; Apparently the PR team had high-ranking friends organizing that shower.
We tried to see how loud they were… or not
Despite heavy rain and uneven road surfaces, tire noise was also noticeable while driving on the Maxcontact MC7.
We left the stereo on mute for most of the journey and the cabin remained quiet, allowing occupants to converse without distraction.
It is important that it is consistent across different road surfaces, from suburban roads to country roads and motorways. Typically, European high-performance tires struggle to keep noise down on Australia’s rough-and-ready rural highways – Continental says these roads are the focus of the MC7.
Unfortunately, none of the cars used for this launch were equipped with replacement tires, so it’s difficult to truly assess how the MC7 stacks up against its competitors.
We also do not have access to any current generation Maxcontact MC6 tires.
We read about its competitors
Continental claims that the MC7 is purpose-built for the Asia-Pacific region, with a focus on wet weather performance.
It certainly had the right weather to show it off, although it’s hard to know how the MC7 will perform until we put it through its paces alongside some of its major rivals. .
Continental is positioning the Maxcontact MC7 as a rival to the Michelin Pilot Sport 5, Goodyear Eagle F1 Sport and Bridgestone Potenza RE003, all of which are considered high-performance options for road cars with exceptional performance.
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