General Altimax RT43 -- review

We have had some very, very, very heavy rainfall (did I say heavy ). Flooding, winter storm warnings, etc.

I had a doe (a deer, a deer, a female deer....), dash out in front of me yesterday, I was going about 40 and there was heavy amount of water on the road. I am not going to try to speculate how close the deer was to the car, just to say pretty darn close.

Slammed on the brakes in a panic stop, no problem, stopped quick. I was expecting impact. Did not happen. These tires also showed no sign of hydroplaning on road surfaces that usually lend themselves to that with other tires we have run.

Still happy (well with the tires, rest of the world, meh).

 

I think I should contact General Tire and see if I can get some cash for the free marketing I have been doing for them....but....

Have had some very icy road conditions to deal with. I actually put tire chains on for a few days. Road was still pretty icy, but I thought I will live dangerously and take the chains off and see if these tires actually live up to their very favorable rating on TireRack for snow and ice.

Well, they did. Excellent traction on sheets of ice and frozen snow.

I know, I sound like a shill for the company. But if you look at my PriusChat history, you will see that is a pretty remote possibility.

Anyway, have I said i LOVE these tires for the price..

Good MPG, GREAT Price (when you have the rebate) and GREAT traction in varying conditions.

 

Tis the "T-rated."

I actually have the "H-rated" on our second car and have not seen any difference in the two tires, but then again, I am not exactly the sort of driver I was when I was 18 years old, either.

IIRC, the tire guys said at the time I bought them, there was not much real world difference. Of course, they were just trying to sell what they had in stock....

 

Ah, my luck ran out with these tires recently.

I bogged down in heavy snow. Had to chain-up. A bit tongue-in-cheek, actually, because I think they went further before bogging down than any other tire I have run recently would have gone. What do you expect in the mountains in January, after all.

 

The Cooper looks interesting. I just looked at Consumer Reports and they rate it pretty well. Overall, they give it a 62 vs. a 66 for the Altimax.

Not much difference in the scores. The Cooper scores a good on Wet Braking and also a good on handling in the Consumer Reports testing. It scores very good on everything else, except for ice, where it scores poor. Depending where you live, that may or may not matter.

Consumer's scores on the Altimax are much the same (good on wet braking and good on handling), but the Altimax scores an excellent in snow and a good for ice. If the winter stuff matters to you at all, I would give a nod to the Altimax. If not, based on Consumer Reports, they seem pretty much the same.

Again, from Consumer's Reports for the Altimax:
Highs
It's an all-season tire with impressive snow traction
Lows
No shortcomings.
CRs Take
A good blend of all-season performance, comfort, and long tread life.

For the Cooper:

Highs
Long tread life highlights a comfortable, quiet riding tire.
Lows
Long stops on ice relative to other all-season tires.
CRs Take
Long wear and good performance to tackle most weather conditions.

I am very happy with the Altimax and I got it for whatever I said earlier. Just rotated them (I do it myself) and while it has only been six months, they look great. So, while not being able to comment personally on the Cooper, I would wonder how it does on MPG.

The Altimax, as I mentioned earlier, rivals the Continental LRR tires for MPGs. If the Cooper does as well mpg-wise, I would say, on paper anyway, it's a wash if winter traction is not an issue.

If the Cooper is not as thrifty with the gasoline, it might be worth paying a bit more for the Generals.

Oh, if price is an issue at all, make sure you check if any one of the brands is running a rebate, or if they will be running a rebate. Seems like each brand runs rebate offers at the same time each year. I timed my General purchase to catch their end of summer rebate. I just googled something like General tire 2015 rebates and saw when they ran them the year before....yep, they ran them the same time in 2016. Goodyear does the same. You'd feel pretty stupid missing out on $75 by a week or so.

 

O.K.

Time for an update.

Just had a total idiot pull in front of my car on a horrible rainy day. Lots of standing water on the road. I was going about 40 mph. Had maybe 40 yards (a wild guesstimate) to avoid slamming into the other car.

The Altimax took it in stride. Fantastic braking in the wet.

Still VERY IMPRESSED with these tires.

You other guys go for the overpriced Michelin and the somewhat overpriced Conti's.

I am sticking with the Altimax. (pun intended).

But seriously. Reasonable price, good MPG and great traction and handling.

Tell me where I am missing it here.

 

I run dead-on at the factory recommended PSI (which escapes me at the moment).

Does not seem to matter what tires I put on, once I have them for a few weeks they all get pretty much the exact same MPG.

 

43 mpg spring/summer/winter/fall. But, a lot of that is in the very hilly Seattle streets. Pretty much all surface street driving. Lots of stops and goes.

I should say the General MPG bounced around a bit for the first few months, but that is so subjective....

My wife drives it, and she was kind of moody for much of last fall.

But, now seems pretty much at 43.

 

I haven't had a rock throwing issue, and I do drive some short stretches of gravel road almost daily, but there may be a difference in how different types of soil cling to the treads.

Still a great tire with very good treadwear.

Lots of folks only want to spend $$$ on the Chubby Tire man or the Conti's, however.