General Altimax RT43 User Review

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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.
 
I had a set of these on my Nissan versa several years ago. A very good value-for-money tire, gave me approx 30K miles out of it before I sold the car. At time of sale the tires were 75%+ tread left. Handled well in the rain and mild snow flurries of kansas city. When my Accord is due to tires, I will look at these again.
 
I put a full set on my CanAm Spyder. Not a true test of an auto tire, for sure. The CanAm is very light in comparison to any car.
The factory tires were toast at 8200 miles. 2500 miles into the Generals, and if wear stays at the current rate, I'll easily get 40,000 plus out of them. And on the CanAm, I can finally get the nanny to nag me on corners. I could never approach "nanny intervention" before on the factory Kenda's. Rain is nothing to these things either. Very sure footed.
I run a much lighter pressure, 20 front, 24 rear.
 
Im a die hard Michelin man but I found a deal at DTD where I got out the door for < $400 for a set of new 17" tires on a 2014 Sienna. Michelin's would have cost near $800

I could hear my dad repeating "The pain of poor quality last a lot longer than the thrill of a good deal"....

BUT in this case, very little difference between these and the factory Michelin's. Quiet, wet/dry grip, no bad ride characteristics.

about 10,000 miles in and no noticeable changes in ride quality. Wear is very good as well.

no regrets.
 
I have a similar experience with the RT43's(225-70-16) on an AWD Lexus RX300(1st Gen).

I found the RT43's to have good broken road absorption, crisp turn in and great on highway straight line tracking. Wonderful in the snow & ice too! I did not experience the "tramlining" on grooved highway or over steel bridges(that I noticed).

Though the tires were not as quiet as the previously installed Good/Year Assurance Comfort Tread's(G/Y ACT's), the RT43's were NOT loud by any stretch of the imagination. And the RT43's were similar or better in most categories to the G/Y ACT's for a whole lot le$$ money.

In most sizes, one could buy 5-RT43's(1 full size spare) for the price of 4 tires from many other brands. This is what I did as this particular Lexus had a full size spare tire on an aluminum wheel to boot!
 
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All these good reviews here lately on these tires is kind of making me wish I would of went with them on my Buick instead of the CS5 grand touring even though I have no complaints so far. It boiled down to the RT43 or CS5 and what tipped the scale was a $70 rebate and a local dealer matched what it would of cost to have them delivered to me, he couldn't match the online/delivered price of the RT43's.
 
I just put a set of Altimax tires on my Mazda CX5. I choice the "H" rated rather than the slightly softer "T" rated version. Not enough miles to make any real comments yet. Ed
 
I've had the V rated RT43s on an Accord for awhile now. I've found them very comparable to MXV4 Primacy I had on prior, and the Primacy was a very good tire. Difference thus far being significantly less cost, greater value.
 
I'm at a toss up currently on RT43 V rated OE size vs CS5 Grand Touring or Yokohama Avid Ascend in a Plus0 but T rated options.

They all seem relatively well reported on and in similar price points. Amazon has the CS5 at $65 regular price right now. I wonder if DT would match them? Otherwise, I'm probably waiting until deals later this year in September or November.
 
Originally Posted By: ltslimjim
I'm at a toss up currently on RT43 V rated OE size vs CS5 Grand Touring or Yokohama Avid Ascend in a Plus0 but T rated options.

They all seem relatively well reported on and in similar price points. Amazon has the CS5 at $65 regular price right now. I wonder if DT would match them? Otherwise, I'm probably waiting until deals later this year in September or November.




All three are good tires. The difference between them will be more personal liking and how your suspension likes that tire vs another one.
 
Although the title of this post is for the RT43's, I don't think that one can go wrong with the Cooper CS5's. Several years ago, I had the older CS4's and loved'em while I had'em!
 
Strange about a few weeks ago checking online my local DT had RT43's listed for my small SUV for about a week, then gone since. I wouldn't mind giving them a try, but I'm in no need for tires on any of the vehicles.
 
Have them on the GF car - Honda Fit 175/65R14. Tires at 34,000+ miles still have a lot of tread showing above the wear markers. They are quiet on most road surfaces and have a good grip in wet conditions. The are not the best in snow but get you where your want to go. They have not lost air pressure and they give a pretty smooth ride. Not superior or awful in any area, just middles of the road tires.
 
I have been happy with my RT43's, 205/60R16 92H on the Accord. Almost 40k on them with between 5-6/32 left on the tread. No noticeable dips in performance, still very good in the rain. A good value to be sure. My one complaint is "wub-wub" tire noise at city speeds, 25-35mph, which goes away completely at hwy speed. I too notice a bit of tramlining on worn highways.
Not sure if I will go back to them when I'm due for new shoes, might want to try something different.
 
I slapped a set of these in 14" on an E30 BMW with new Bilstein HD shocks. Aside from the sizing, they handle moderately well. I have driven them several thousand miles from San Diego to Portland and everywhere in-between in the last few months. There is no doubt however, that in a larger diameter, say 15-16" they would handle most conditions that a low level of spirited driving could throw at them.
 
We have had RT43's on the 02 Toyota Echo for a couple of years now, they have been some of the best tires on it so far and have been excellent in the Northeastern Illinois climate we have. Just put a set on my 14 Corolla. They are a very good tire for a very good price. I did a lot of research and decided that they appear to be better than may tires that cost more.
 
I have had a set on my 2007 Camry for about 10k miles and I love them. Maryland runs the gamut when it comes to weather and road conditions and they have performed excellently for me in snow/rain/dry. If there has been any tramlining that has occurred while I have had them I have yet to really notice it. The only question I have with them is wear, but so far they seem to be holding up just fine (I also rotate every 5k OCI). If they get within a respectable distance to their 65k treadware rating I will absolutely buy them again for both of my cars. So far for the price/quality I don't plan on buying anything else as long as they are available.
 
I had a set of the Altimax RT43 on my 07 Grand Prix. I had a suspension issue that promptly chewed up the front tires, but before that issue, they wore great. The rain didn't bother me and they were pretty respectable on snow. They rode great down the highway, but they felt a bit soft if thrown through any curves. My two biggest complaints were the slightly mushy ride and the tendency to follow any marks on the road. It wasn't a big deal on many roads, but a stretch of road between my house and work has groves that they liked to follow. When I wore them out, I was very tempted to put on another set despite those negatives, but I was able to catch some Cooper CS5 Grand Touring on sale. Buy three get one free along with a $70 rebate really tipped the scales towards the Coopers.
 
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