General Altimax Arctic

[sciphi]

The tires showed up today, 24 hours after ordering. They look like serious snows. Giant channels between the large tread blocks, and sipes everywhere. At 65*F the rubber is very soft. The sidewalls flexed easily. They likely won't win any handling contests on dry pavement. I'll put them on in mid November, when it's consistently below 45*F.

I like the looks of these. Come late fall will show how they work on the car.

 

[SLCraig]

You guys wont be disappointed. I'm excited to put mine on again this winter and drive with confidence in the SW Ontario snow belt.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: sciphi
At 65*F the rubber is very soft. The sidewalls flexed easily. They likely won't win any handling contests on dry pavement.

Yup. They're soft and they stay relatively soft when the temps drop. That's what makes them great winter performers, as compared to a typical all-season or summer tire.

 

[sciphi]

The Pirellis on right now get rock-hard at low temperatures. These should be a lot better.

I hope these are better in the wet than the Blizzaks I had on a previous car. They were great in the snow, and terrible when the pavement was just wet.

 

[kkreit01]

I plan to get these as well from DTD -- mounted on their cheapest alloys. They are their least expensive winter tire was well (for my applcation)

 

[Drew99GT]

Originally Posted By: sciphi
The Pirellis on right now get rock-hard at low temperatures. These should be a lot better.

I hope these are better in the wet than the Blizzaks I had on a previous car. They were great in the snow, and terrible when the pavement was just wet.


Which Blizzaks?

 

[sciphi]

The now-discontinued MZ-02's. The second season I had them, my 140 hp Hyundai could spin them on wet pavement. I had maybe 6k miles on them. Snow grip was okay that season. They were fantastic the very first winter they were put on. The second winter they didn't grip worth anything in the wet.

 

[Smokescreen]

By way of information, if it hasn't been mentioned before the General Altimax Arctic are made in the same General Tire factory in Germany as the Gislaved NordFrost 3s( http://www.gislaved-tires.com/generator/...ter_nf3_en.html ) which have been discontinued and now carry the Gislaved EuroFrost 3, NordFrost 5 and Soft Frost 2( http://www.gislaved-tires.com/generator/...view_pc_en.html ). The Arctics are the same rubber, same design, just name stamped differently and can be had for 30-50% less cost of the Gislaveds.

There are many reviews of this tire out there, and they are all very good. I think this is a great sleeper winter tire. I came across this information while doing a comprehensive search on these tires for the past 2 months, and based on my research, pulled the trigger on a set for myself. I actually look forward to safer driving this winter.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: Smokescreen
General Altimax Arctic are made in the same General Tire factory in Germany as the Gislaved NordFrost 3s

Depending on specific size, some of them are made in the US as well.

 

[David_Corbett]

I've got these on my Accord V6. I've been extremely satisfied with them in any winter condition - I never felt like I didn't have enough grip. That's a lot to say up here!

 

[J_Sap]

I was looking for a new set of snow tires and I ordered a set of these for my Subaru Legacy. I was able to get discount tire direct to match tire rack and ended up saving a good chunk of money, enough to get the install cost covered on each tire I purchased.


If I had not seen this thread I would have probably gone with a different snow tire. Thanks guys.

 

[sciphi]

I found a local shop to install the tires on wheels for the same price as Wal-Mart. And, they have the exact same size in General AA in stock for just a little more than TireRack after shipping. Support a local business and know where to go for a local replacement if/when something happens, priceless!

 

[97tbird]

I am playing with the idea of putting these on my Tbird for the winter months. the Tbird's all season Kumhos have worn out anyway...
good thing it's available in 225/60/16...

 

[Drew99GT]

Originally Posted By: 97tbird
I am playing with the idea of putting these on my Tbird for the winter months. the Tbird's all season Kumhos have worn out anyway...
good thing it's available in 225/60/16...


I doubt it snows a whole heckuva a lot where you live - I'd consider getting a good solid set of all season tires. The Hankook H727 for example has stellar winter driving performance.

I drive a lot in bad winter conditions and picked up a set of studded Altimax Arctic's; I can't wait to try them out.

 

[mercuryblues]

Looks like that I'll also be going with the Altimaxs on my Grand Marquis this winter. I was also considering the Firestone Winterforce until I saw the posts here and then saw a Tire Rack comparision video between the Altimax, the Winterforce and another (I think) Dunlop.

 

[sciphi]

I'll update in a few months when the Arctics are on the Buick. Right now they're bagged up, sitting in the basement for when it's colder.

 

[xBa380]

Just mounted my General Altimax Arctics this past weekend! Got them for a great price off ebay from a dealer for like $400 shipped but got 8% bing cashback, 3% ebay bucks and 2% mr. rebates cashback on them. I think I did fairly well.


I will report back how they do on my xB once the snow starts falling

 

[weebl]

I put the tires onto my van this past Saturday as the snow was slated to fly sometime during this week (and actually did the very next day, though it hasn't actually stuck around yet). I can't give any comments on ice and snow traction yet, but do have some good positive comments so far.

Dry performance on cold pavement seems very good. Where my 4 year old all season OEM tires would squeal from a stop, these didn't make a sound. Road noise seems minimal, not significantly louder than the A/S tires. Haven't pushed them hard on handling, but they seem quite stable, especially for a Q-rated tire.

Wet performance also is good so far, no moments where I felt that traction loss was impending. Not really wet enough out to comment on hydroplaning resistance.

I suspect that unfortunately, it will be soon that I can give my comments on winter weather performance.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: weebl

I suspect that unfortunately, it will be soon that I can give my comments on winter weather performance.

I'm sure they will not disappoint.

 

[kkreit01]

Mine will be here tomorrow. I bought the left 4 in my size @ DTD. I probably won't need them for awhile. I'll probably put them on in the middle of Nov.