Continental VikingContact 8 vs Pirelli Ice Friction
The data show a clear split in character. Pirelli tends to lead on rain-soaked asphalt-shorter wet and dry stopping distances, crisper steering, and the strongest aquaplaning resistance in one test-while Continental dominates pure winter surfaces, especially ice, where it offers best-in-test braking, traction, and handling with calm, predictable balance. Comfort and noise slightly favor Continental; rolling resistance is essentially a draw.
Test Results
Independent comparison tyre tests are the best source of data to get tyre information from, and the good news is there have been two tests which compare both tyres directly!
| Tyre | Test Wins | Performance |
|---|---|---|
| Continental VikingContact 8 | two |
While it might look like the Continental VikingContact 8 is better than the Pirelli Ice Friction purely based on the higher number of test wins, tyres are very complicated objects which means where one tyre is better than the other can be more important in real world use.
Let's look at how the two tyres compare across multiple tyre test categories.
Key Strengths
- Best-in-test ice performance (braking, traction, handling) with stable, predictable balance
- Very consistent across conditions; two overall test wins
- Low noise and refined ride with solid straight-line stability
- Efficient rolling resistance with strong real-world economy
- Class-leading wet performance (shorter wet braking, strong wet handling, top aquaplaning in one test)
- Crisp steering and best dry-road subjectives
- Strong snow performance, close to leaders on ice
- Well-rounded debut with competitive consistency
Dry Braking
Looking at data from one tyre tests, the Pirelli Ice Friction was better during one dry braking tests. On average the Pirelli Ice Friction stopped the vehicle in 1.76% less distance than the Continental VikingContact 8.
Best In Dry Braking: Pirelli Ice Friction
See how the Dry Braking winner was calculated >>
Subj. Dry Handling
Looking at data from one tyre tests, the Pirelli Ice Friction was better during one subj. dry handling tests. On average the Pirelli Ice Friction scored 20% more points than the Continental VikingContact 8.
Best In Subj. Dry Handling: Pirelli Ice Friction
See how the Subj. Dry Handling winner was calculated >>
Wet Braking
Looking at data from one tyre tests, the Pirelli Ice Friction was better during one wet braking tests. On average the Pirelli Ice Friction stopped the vehicle in 2.88% less distance than the Continental VikingContact 8.
Best In Wet Braking: Pirelli Ice Friction
See how the Wet Braking winner was calculated >>
Wet Handling [s]
Looking at data from one tyre tests, the Pirelli Ice Friction was better during one wet handling [s] tests. On average the Pirelli Ice Friction was 1.43% faster around a wet lap than the Continental VikingContact 8.
Best In Wet Handling [s]: Pirelli Ice Friction
See how the Wet Handling winner was calculated >>
Subj. Wet Handling
Looking at data from one tyre tests, the Continental VikingContact 8 was better during one subj. wet handling tests. On average the Continental VikingContact 8 scored 16.67% more points than the Pirelli Ice Friction.
Best In Subj. Wet Handling: Continental VikingContact 8
See how the Subj. Wet Handling winner was calculated >>
Straight Aqua
Looking at data from two tyre tests, the Pirelli Ice Friction was better during two straight aqua tests. On average the Pirelli Ice Friction floated at a 5.21% higher speed than the Continental VikingContact 8.
Best In Straight Aqua: Pirelli Ice Friction
See how the Straight Aqua winner was calculated >>
Snow Braking
Looking at data from one tyre tests, the Pirelli Ice Friction was better during one snow braking tests. On average the Pirelli Ice Friction stopped the vehicle in 1.31% less distance than the Continental VikingContact 8.
Best In Snow Braking: Pirelli Ice Friction
See how the Snow Braking winner was calculated >>
Snow Traction
Looking at data from one tyre tests, the Continental VikingContact 8 and Pirelli Ice Friction performed equally well in snow traction tests.
Best In Snow Traction: Both tyres performed equally well
See how the Snow Traction winner was calculated >>
Snow Handling [s]
Looking at data from one tyre tests, the Continental VikingContact 8 was better during one snow handling [s] tests. On average the Continental VikingContact 8 was 0.43% faster around a lap than the Pirelli Ice Friction.
Best In Snow Handling [s]: Continental VikingContact 8
See how the Snow Handling winner was calculated >>
Subj. Snow Handling
Looking at data from one tyre tests, the Continental VikingContact 8 and Pirelli Ice Friction performed equally well in subj. snow handling tests.
Best In Subj. Snow Handling: Both tyres performed equally well
See how the Subj. Snow Handling winner was calculated >>
Ice Braking
Looking at data from one tyre tests, the Continental VikingContact 8 was better during one ice braking tests. On average the Continental VikingContact 8 stopped the vehicle 0.93% shorter than the Pirelli Ice Friction.
Best In Ice Braking: Continental VikingContact 8
See how the Ice Braking winner was calculated >>
Ice Traction
Looking at data from one tyre tests, the Continental VikingContact 8 was better during one ice traction tests. On average the Continental VikingContact 8 accelerated 3.68% faster than the Pirelli Ice Friction.
Best In Ice Traction: Continental VikingContact 8
See how the Ice Traction winner was calculated >>
Ice Handling [s]
Looking at data from one tyre tests, the Continental VikingContact 8 was better during one ice handling [s] tests. On average the Continental VikingContact 8 was 3.89% faster around a lap than the Pirelli Ice Friction.
Best In Ice Handling [s]: Continental VikingContact 8
See how the Ice Handling winner was calculated >>
Subj. Ice Handling
Looking at data from one tyre tests, the Continental VikingContact 8 and Pirelli Ice Friction performed equally well in subj. ice handling tests.
Best In Subj. Ice Handling: Both tyres performed equally well
See how the Subj. Ice Handling winner was calculated >>
Subj. Comfort
Looking at data from one tyre tests, the Continental VikingContact 8 and Pirelli Ice Friction performed equally well in subj. comfort tests.
Best In Subj. Comfort: Both tyres performed equally well
See how the Subj. Comfort winner was calculated >>
Noise
Looking at data from one tyre tests, the Continental VikingContact 8 was better during one noise tests. On average the Continental VikingContact 8 measured 1.71% quieter than the Pirelli Ice Friction.
Best In Noise: Continental VikingContact 8
See how the Noise winner was calculated >>
Fuel Consumption
Looking at data from two tyre tests, the Continental VikingContact 8 was better during one fuel consumption tests. On average the Continental VikingContact 8 used 1.45% less fuel than the Pirelli Ice Friction.
Best In Fuel Consumption: Continental VikingContact 8
See how the Fuel Consumption winner was calculated >>
Real World Driver Reviews
Tyre Reviews also collects real world driver reviews for the Continental VikingContact 8 and Pirelli Ice Friction.
In total the Continental VikingContact 8 has been reviewed 4 times and drivers have given the tyre 78% overall.
The Pirelli Ice Friction has been reviewed 1 times and drivers have given the tyre 95% overall.
This means in real world driving, people prefer the Pirelli Ice Friction.
Conclusion
Pirelli Ice Friction counters with the most engaging dry feel and the strongest wet-road showing, plus competitive snow and near-front-running ice performance. If your winter skews milder, with frequent wet roads and mixed conditions, Pirelli's lively steering and aquaplaning resistance are compelling. For harsher Nordic conditions with frequent ice and packed snow, Continental is the safer, more confidence-inspiring choice-and the overall value winner by virtue of two test wins and balanced strengths.
Key Differences
- Ice dominance: Continental leads ice braking (+0.93%), traction (+3.68%), and handling (+3.89%) in the SUV-size test; Pirelli trails slightly.
- Wet advantage: Pirelli wins wet braking (+2.88%) and wet handling (+1.43%) in one test, though Continental tops subjective wet handling and straight aquaplaning in the other.
- Dry-road feel: Pirelli scores higher subjective dry handling (+25%) with crisper steering; Continental feels a touch slower to respond.
- Aquaplaning: Pirelli posts the highest straight-line aquaplaning speed in the SUV test (+4.62%), while Continental takes a large aquaplaning win in the 235/45 R18 test (+26.82%).
- Noise/comfort: Continental is quieter (−1.71 dB) and praised for damping; Pirelli rated slightly higher on comfort in one test's subjectives.
- Overall results: Continental wins both overall tests (1/8 and 1/20) versus Pirelli's 2/8 and 3/20, indicating stronger all-round capability.
Overall Winner: Continental VikingContact 8
Based on the tyre test data and user reviews we have in our database, the Continental VikingContact 8 has demonstrated better overall performance in this comparison. However, as you can see from the spider diagram above, each tyre has its own strengths which should be considered in your final tyre buying choice.Similar Comparisons
Looking for more tyre comparisons? Here are other direct comparisons involving these tyres:
Pirelli Ice Friction Top Comparisons
Footnote
This page has been developed using tyre industry testing best practices. This means we are only comparing tests which have had both tyres in the same test.
Why is this important? Tyre testing is heavily affected by things like surface grip levels and surface temperature, which means you can only compare values from the same day. During a tyre test external condition changes are calculated into the overall results, but it is not possible to calculate this between tyre tests performed on different days or at different locations.
As a result you will see other tests on Tyre Reviews which feature both the %s and %s, but as they weren't conducted on the same day, the results are not comparable.
Lots of other websites do this sort of tyre comparison, Tyre Reviews doesn't.