Continental ExtremeContact Sport 02 vs Goodyear Eagle Exhilarate tires

Two of the most globally recognized tire manufacturers, Continental and Goodyear commenced their tire manufacturing journey in the 19th century. While Continental was founded on October 8th, 1871 in Hanover, Germany, Goodyear was established on August 29th, 1898 in Akron, Ohio, United States.

Both, Continental and Goodyear incorporate top-notch technologies, materials, and design to manufacture tires that are high in quality and performance and serve well to the end customers. When it comes to the Continental ExtremeContact Sport 02 and the Goodyear Eagle Exhilarate UHP or Ultra-High-Performance tires, each of these brands go with the similar manufacturing approach and dedicate their time, effort, and research to meet the customer’s expectations.

Both of these tires are made for use in sports, luxury performance, and muscle cars, and are optimized for high-speed stability, steering response, and traction. They both feature a wider footprint and low profile, however, the ExtremeContact tires are, summer tires, and the Eagle tires are UHP all-season tires designed to deliver year-round performance.

But, the question a buyer might ask is “Which one should I buy?”, because they both look great performance-wise. So, to find out the better option in one or the other area, let’s compare ExtremeContact Sport 02 vs Eagle Exhilarate tires using our SimpleScore and see where each tire stands and which one might be right for you.

Continental ExtremeContact Sport 02 tires

Launched on November 1, 2022, the Continental ExtremeContact Sport 02 is an Ultra-High-Performance (UHP), summer tire that features an asymmetrical tread design and is more dedicated towards use on passenger cars, sports cars, luxury performance cars, and muscle cars whose tire size ranges between 15-21” rim diameter. The tire is ideal for both street and track purposes and is optimized to provide responsive handling, better grip on wet roads, and longer tread life. The tire certainly features an array of patented technologies that enhance driving performance in warmer weather conditions, where the temperature usually remains above 45 degrees Fahrenheit.

Overall, the ExtremeContact tire gets an excellent SimpleScore of 9.3, thanks to its exceptional traction, superior handling, and long-lasting tread life.

Goodyear Eagle Exhilarate tires

The Goodyear Eagle Exhilarate is a few years older and was introduced on January 28, 2019, as a replacement for the Eagle F1 Asymmetric All-Season tire. It has an asymmetric tread design and is suitable for use on sports, luxury, and muscle cars, with rim sizes ranging between 17-22” rim diameter. The Eagle Exhilarate is an ultra-high-performance (UHP), all-season tire suitable for use in dry, wet, and light wintry conditions. Utilizing many advanced and patented technologies, Goodyear has optimized this UHP tire to deliver top-notch handling and traction, and superior braking performance.

Overall, the Eagle Exhilarate sports an outstanding SimpleScore of 9.3, thanks to its exceptional traction and handling performance, and an admirable tread life.

Continental ExtremeContact Sport 02 vs Goodyear Eagle Exhilarate tires on traction

The standard UHP tires are suitable for use in warmer weather conditions, in temperatures above 45 degrees and they can offer excellent traction performance and steering response. However, for driving winter weather conditions, they need to be swapped with suitable winter tires or all-season tires. Another variation of UHP tires, called UHP all-season tires is also popular in the market, which doesn’t have to be swapped with another set of tires with the arrival of winter season, as they can handle light winter conditions.

The phenomenal UHP tire made for warmer weather use, Continental ExtremeContact Sport 02 boasts an exceptional 9.8 out of 10 SimpleScore in traction and features an optimized asymmetric tread pattern and a silica-rich rubber compound that enhances traction performance. The tire features three wide and one narrow grooves that channel water out of the footprint for increased traction performance in wet conditions.

The Eagle Exhilarate is slightly different from the ExtremeContact tire because it not only can offer outstanding traction like the standard UHP tires in dry and wet conditions during warmer months but can also deliver a similar driving experience in light wintry conditions. It boasts a 9.9 out of 10 SimpleScore rating in traction. The four wider circumferential grooves, siping across the rib and shoulder blocks, and advanced tread compound ensure that the traction performance of the tire is maximized on the pavement as well as tracks.

When comparing the traction performance of both tires, the Eagle Exhilarate has a very slight edge over the ExtremeContact Sport 02 tire.

ADVANTAGE: Eagle Exhilarate

Continental ExtremeContact Sport 02 vs Goodyear Eagle Exhilarate tires on handling

For any UHP tire, handling is one of the most important factors of purchase consideration as it is not just related to changing lanes or the vehicle’s turning ability, but also correlates with factors like high-speed stability and braking performance. Fortunately, both Continental and Goodyear have considered handling as one of the key performance factors and catered the best of the experience in both their respective UHP tires.

Boasting a score of 9.7 out of 10, the ExtremeContact Sport 02 comes with SportPlus Technology that ensures responsive handling and even provides surefooted drives on wet roads for enhanced controllability. The wider footprint and shorter sidewalls also serve as an advantage and the optimized asymmetric tread pattern helps in achieving faster acceleration and improved handling performance.

On the other hand, the Eagle Exhilarate is slightly better than the ExtremeContact Sport 02 in the handling area and has a 9.9 SimpleScore rating for handling. It comes with the patented ActiveGrip Technology that boosts handling whereas its ActiveBraking Technology reduces braking distances on dry and wet surfaces. There’s another patented ActiveStrength Technology that offers confident handling because of the tire’s strong lightweight construction. Additionally, the all-season tread compound of the tire also helps in improving handling performance in dry, wet, and light wintry conditions.

While the handling of the ExtremeContact Sport 02 is excellent, it is slightly behind the Eagle Exhilarate.

ADVANTAGE: Eagle Exhilarate

Continental ExtremeContact Sport 02 vs Goodyear Eagle Exhilarate tires on longevity

Whether it is your passenger car with great caliber, a sports car, a luxury performance vehicle, or a muscle car, you would want the UHP tires to serve for a longer period and not wear too fast. This is where longevity plays an important role. When analyzing the longevity SimpleScore in this ExtremeContact Sport 02 vs Eagle Exhilarate tires comparison, we found something interesting!

Starting with the ExtremeContact Sport 02, the tire has a SimpleScore of 8.5 out of 10 in longevity. Thanks to the SportPlus Technology used in making this UHP tire, the tread life is remarkably extended. The wider footprint of the tire helps in even wear, whereas the sturdy construction and advanced rubber compound slow down the wear rate. Moreover, the Continental UHP tire comes with a 30,000-mile limited manufacturer tread life warranty for standard fitments and a 15,000-mile tread life warranty for rear staggered fitments.

Now coming to the interesting part! The Eagle Exhilarate also boasts a longevity SimpleScore of 8.5, signifying that if longer tread life is the priority for a tire buyer, he/she can trust either of these UHP tires. All thanks to the Eagle Exhilarate’s ActiveStrength Technology that keeps the construction adequately durable. The tire also comes with a Wear Gauge that visually indicates the remaining tread depth and vehicle alignment. The wider footprint leads to even wear and enhanced rim protectors guard the wheels from curb damage while providing an additional layer of protection to the tire for long-lasting usability. Additionally, the Exhilarate comes with a 45,000 miles limited manufacturer tread life warranty, irrespective of tire size.

On the longevity front, we do not have a clear winner and both the Continental tires and the Goodyear tires compared here share the same spot, resulting in a tie!

ADVANTAGE: Tie

When to use each

Both, the ExtremeContact Sport 02 and the Eagle Exhilarate are UHP tires, and therefore, they both are engineered for use in dry and wet weather conditions and deliver the punch of responsive handling, faster acceleration, and high-speed stability and traction to the drivers. However, the Eagle Exhilarate is also tuned to perform year-round and can be used in light wintry conditions. That being said, the usability of both of these tires extends from dry to wet weather conditions (and milder winter conditions in the case of Eagle Exhilarate), but they aren’t suitable for use in extreme winter weather conditions. For driving in temperatures below 45 degrees, it is always good to switch to buying a set of winter tires as they are Three Peak Mountain Snowflake certified. Additionally, these tires are made for driving only on paved roads and tracks and aren’t recommended for use in any rough or off-roading condition.

Before you consider buying any of these ultra-high-performance tires for your coupe, convertible, sports car, or any other passenger vehicle, do match your vehicle’s tire size with the available sizes of these tires.

Which one should you choose?

Now, coming to the most important question of the comparison – “Which UHP tire is the best choice for you?”. While comparing the overall SimpleScores of both the tires, there was a tie as both the tires scored a 9.3 out of 10 SimpleScore rating. But, as we discussed previously, both tires are different in one or the other way and in one or the other area, so the selection needs to be made considering them all. Someone living in a region where the temperature is typically warmer might go for the ExtremeContact tires, whereas someone who needs tires for year-round use might choose the Eagle tires.

Price-wise, the ExtremeContact Sport 02 will cost you at least $161.99 per tire, while the Eagle Exhilarate costs at least $163.99 per tire. That means a set of four ExtremeContact tires will cost you at least $647.96, while a set of four Eagle tires will cost you at least $655.96.

Looking at the prices, you can learn that price isn’t one of the biggest deciding factors for both tires and therefore, it keeps the option open for the buyers to buy any of these tires as the price difference is very minimal. Some buyers might prefer to pay extra bucks and own an all-season UHP tire with a Goodyear badging. Likewise, some might want to own the standard UHP tire and enjoy Continental’s cutting-edge performance in warmer conditions.

Based on SimpleScore, you should choose the ExtremeContact Sport 02 if you:

• Drive an older compact executive sedan like the BMW 3 Series, a mid-size luxury car like the Cadillac CT5, or a sports car like the Porsche 911
• Need a UHP tire for warmer weather conditions
• Need tires that can offer long-lasting service in dry and wet weather conditions (8.5 vs 8.5)

Contrarily, you should pick the Eagle Exhilarate if you:

• Drive a compact executive car like the Volvo S60, a sports car like the Toyota Supra, or a pony car like the Ford Mustang
• Prefer slightly better handling (9.9 vs 9.7)
• Want to enjoy slightly better traction and that too year-round (9.9 vs 9.8)
• Need tires that come with a better warranty offering

At first look, ExtremeContact vs Eagle tires might not appear to be a strong comparison, but when you analyze the similarities between both the tires and see that they score very close or similar in many areas, the comparison becomes completely justified.

At the end of the day, the decision to shop one or the other tire largely depends on your vehicle, where (warmer or warmer plus light wintry) and how you drive, and what’s your preference in terms of handling, traction, longevity, price, or warranty.

Still not sure which tire to buy? Fortunately, SimpleTire is here to help as our helpful agents are more than happy to assist you in selecting the right tire for your ride and budget.