I put the General Altimax RT43 on my taurus soon after the Memorial Day DTD tire deal. I got them for $280 shipped to my door. We got our first snow fall yesterday of 8" with a lot of slush and slick roads.
Frist 5,000 miles.
The tires have excellent wet and dry traction. Very little slippage or hydroplaning in heavy down pours. The tires really absorb alot of the imperfections in the road and make for a smooth ride. They are much more quiet than the firestone tires they replaced. I'm going to get them rotated within the next week. Minimal wear so far.
Snow...
One of the reason I went with this tire is because it had to be good in snow. The funds are not here for a set of snow tires this year. Yesterday we had our first snow fall and had to drive on slushy slick roads. I'm glad to report, these tires did excellent. The tires grabbed the road and had little problem getting moving. At one point I was behind a school bus and got stopped on the bottom of a hill. I was able to get started with minimal slippage. At the end of our street there is a stop sign on a steep hill, just for the heck of it I tried it out. I never use to be able to make it up the road due to that stop sign and usually had to go around the block. The traction control kicked in and there was some spinning/slipping at first but I was able to take off from the stop sign. Impressive. When it comes to stopping, they did pretty good. Of course not as well as a dedicated winter tire but Id say the stopping distance was very acceptable. These tires clean out pretty well and leave a good mark in the snow. I'm very happy with these tires. Best tires I've had on a car so far - better than the firestone fr710, continental procontact (oem focus) and even the cooper CS4 I've had in the past imo...
Havent tried the CS5 and probably wont as these tires are cheaper.
In summary. The General Altimax RT43
Frist 5,000 miles.
The tires have excellent wet and dry traction. Very little slippage or hydroplaning in heavy down pours. The tires really absorb alot of the imperfections in the road and make for a smooth ride. They are much more quiet than the firestone tires they replaced. I'm going to get them rotated within the next week. Minimal wear so far.
Snow...
One of the reason I went with this tire is because it had to be good in snow. The funds are not here for a set of snow tires this year. Yesterday we had our first snow fall and had to drive on slushy slick roads. I'm glad to report, these tires did excellent. The tires grabbed the road and had little problem getting moving. At one point I was behind a school bus and got stopped on the bottom of a hill. I was able to get started with minimal slippage. At the end of our street there is a stop sign on a steep hill, just for the heck of it I tried it out. I never use to be able to make it up the road due to that stop sign and usually had to go around the block. The traction control kicked in and there was some spinning/slipping at first but I was able to take off from the stop sign. Impressive. When it comes to stopping, they did pretty good. Of course not as well as a dedicated winter tire but Id say the stopping distance was very acceptable. These tires clean out pretty well and leave a good mark in the snow. I'm very happy with these tires. Best tires I've had on a car so far - better than the firestone fr710, continental procontact (oem focus) and even the cooper CS4 I've had in the past imo...
In summary. The General Altimax RT43