We Tried Continental's New Tyres At Sepang International Circuit And We Were Blown Away

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Prior to Continental's invitation to try out their newly released MaxContact MC7 tyres, we weren't really sold on the idea that tyres made a huge difference in performance, handling, comfort, and so on. However, after putting their new tyres through four distinct tests, we were quite surprised by the outcome.

The research and development that goes behind the MaxContact MC7 is insane, and we were fortunate enough to try the tyres out in a few crucial test drives.

We started with the dry handling course. We were tasked to drive Mercedes-Benz C43 AMG sports cars down turn four, turn five, and turn six of the Sepang International Circuit. While we were driving fast but still shy of full throttle, our driving partner, who was a seasoned motorsport driver, put the tyres on a run for its money.

Approaching turn four, the tyres were able to shave off considerable speed as we clipped the apex heading into the winding left-right sweeper of turns five and six. While we experienced some understeer, the tyres quickly gripped the tarmac as we opened up onto the racing line.

The insane grip provided by the tyres is courtesy of Continental's new Cornering Macroblock technology that distributes pressure and heat evenly through the tyre surface. The contact patch is now also larger, creating a wider footprint and thus, maximising grip. The ReFlex Compound also helped increase the rigidity of the tyres to improve steering response.  

Our first test simulated wet braking conditions to demonstrate the MaxContact MC7's perfomance in handling slippery surfaces.

We were tasked to accelerate to at least 95kmh and brake as your reach the braking point. Despite the daunting challenge, the MaxContact MC7 excelled at stopping the cars from 100kmh to a complete stop in approximately two seconds, or roughly 35 metres.

The competitor's tyres did not perform as greatly, stopping at almost 50 metres from the braking point.

We also did a wet cornering test at the infamous turn three of the Sepang International Circuit. We accelerated the car up to 60kmh and performed a turn.

Again, the organisers pitted the MaxContact MC7 against the competitor tyres. Both performed almost equally with the MaxContact MC7 proving to be the better out of the two.

Understeer — the tendency of a vehicle to turn less sharply than intended — was prevalent in the competitor tyre, but was not present while swerving in the wet with the MaxContact MC7.

This is chiefly thanks to the 3D Laser-Cut Sipes that channel water efficiently. This improves grip and braking tremendously, giving the drivers utmost confidence.

With the upgraded Noise Breaker 3.0, the tyre noise inside the cabin is almost inaudible. The technology breaks up sound waves, preventing noise from building up and travelling into the cabin. This is especially noticable while driving on highways.

You can find the MaxContact MC7 from your nearest official Continental tyre dealers, with sizes ranging from 16-inch all the way to 21-inch.