Seems there are a fair number of comments and questions in this forum about the General Altimax RT43 tire. Here’s a user review:
Positive comments on various web sites indicated the RT43 might be suitable for general use, so when a good deal came along I had a set installed in May of this year. 215/65-16, T rating, on a 2001 Honda Odyssey. 6200 miles later, I can give the tire good marks for providing (relative to two other tire brands/models used on the same van) a pleasingly quiet ride and good absorption of the typical irregularities of road surfaces. Driving on asphalt or concrete in wet conditions ranging from damp to heavy rain have yet to result in any uncomfortable sensations. Cold, ice and snow haven’t yet reached Iowa, so winter driveability is an unknown.
Tread life is of course still a question, but I’m not worried. Neither previous set of tires had a stellar reputation for good tread life, but the OEM Michelin Symmetry tires still had decent rubber left at 45,000 miles and the follow-on Goodyear Viva 2 tires (don’t laugh-they were surprisingly good all-season tires) were still in good condition after 65,000 miles, so these Generals will undoubtedly be good for a bunch of miles.
General handling is reasonable. These tires are not billed as performance tires, so their satisfactory response during heavy braking, sweeps around highway curves, etc. is about all that can be expected. Second generation Odysseys may have a bad reputation in the transmission department, but they do have a reasonably taut suspension (for a minivan) and give a good account of themselves in the twisties. (As a side note, the transmission in this particular van is still performing as always at 117,000+ miles, btw. Anyone wanna start another thread on using non-Honda ATF? I’m partial to a mixture of Valvoline MaxLife and Redline Racing ATF.) So having a tire that isn’t a total wuss in the handling department is a good thing.
The downside I’ve experienced with the RT43 tires is an unfortunate susceptibility to tramlining. There are several sections of concrete highways in central Iowa that have been grooved longitudinally. I never paid attention to those sections before; now I notice every single place. Could be just this size tire, could be some kind of interaction between the tire and vehicle. And no, the various suspension parts and pieces check out tight and solid. I’ve not seen a similar comment about the RT43, so who knows? Then again, a friend’s Kia van went from driving fine with some model of Michelin all-season tire to a tramlining maniac with Blizzaks to driving fine with Destination LE2 tires. Perhaps many drivers don’t notice or don’t care.
Bottom line: a decent tire for a very reasonable price with a footnote that tramlining may bother the driving experience.
Positive comments on various web sites indicated the RT43 might be suitable for general use, so when a good deal came along I had a set installed in May of this year. 215/65-16, T rating, on a 2001 Honda Odyssey. 6200 miles later, I can give the tire good marks for providing (relative to two other tire brands/models used on the same van) a pleasingly quiet ride and good absorption of the typical irregularities of road surfaces. Driving on asphalt or concrete in wet conditions ranging from damp to heavy rain have yet to result in any uncomfortable sensations. Cold, ice and snow haven’t yet reached Iowa, so winter driveability is an unknown.
Tread life is of course still a question, but I’m not worried. Neither previous set of tires had a stellar reputation for good tread life, but the OEM Michelin Symmetry tires still had decent rubber left at 45,000 miles and the follow-on Goodyear Viva 2 tires (don’t laugh-they were surprisingly good all-season tires) were still in good condition after 65,000 miles, so these Generals will undoubtedly be good for a bunch of miles.
General handling is reasonable. These tires are not billed as performance tires, so their satisfactory response during heavy braking, sweeps around highway curves, etc. is about all that can be expected. Second generation Odysseys may have a bad reputation in the transmission department, but they do have a reasonably taut suspension (for a minivan) and give a good account of themselves in the twisties. (As a side note, the transmission in this particular van is still performing as always at 117,000+ miles, btw. Anyone wanna start another thread on using non-Honda ATF? I’m partial to a mixture of Valvoline MaxLife and Redline Racing ATF.) So having a tire that isn’t a total wuss in the handling department is a good thing.
The downside I’ve experienced with the RT43 tires is an unfortunate susceptibility to tramlining. There are several sections of concrete highways in central Iowa that have been grooved longitudinally. I never paid attention to those sections before; now I notice every single place. Could be just this size tire, could be some kind of interaction between the tire and vehicle. And no, the various suspension parts and pieces check out tight and solid. I’ve not seen a similar comment about the RT43, so who knows? Then again, a friend’s Kia van went from driving fine with some model of Michelin all-season tire to a tramlining maniac with Blizzaks to driving fine with Destination LE2 tires. Perhaps many drivers don’t notice or don’t care.
Bottom line: a decent tire for a very reasonable price with a footnote that tramlining may bother the driving experience.