General Altimax RT43

[Andrew1972]

My wife's 2018 Tiguan SE with 50k has well worn factory tires at 4/32". I peeked at Consumer Reports in library and the General Altimax RT43 is top tier rated tire.

I just want quiet, decent winter traction and life >=50k. Decent choice or should I look elsewhere?

 

[scurvy]

I have those tires on my Golf right now and they are some of the worst tires I have ever had. Noisy, lousy wet or winter traction (we do get a little snow in Chicago), wearing poorly. They were fine for the first 20k miles, they are worn out now with less than an additional 20k on them.

Foolishly, I put the same tires on the Mazda 5. Still wearing OK on that car for now, but when they start to go, they go fast. Noise goes up fast and traction goes down at the same time.

 

[paoester]

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tire...Make=Firestone&tireModel=WeatherGrip
Sounds like you want the tire category of All-Season leaning toward winter performance (3-peak snowflake on the mountain rated). Firestone WeatherGrip
or, depending on the tire size you want, Michelin CrossClimate or Goodyear WeatherReady also good category choices.

 

[JustN89]

I've heard mixed reviews- but most of the positive reviews are from media outlets which I always take with a grain of salt.

 

[supton]

I like them, have gone through a few sets. Once they hit 4/32's the wet traction goes way down. Snow traction starts off pretty good though, at least for an all season. I usually get at least 40k out of them, last set did top 50k. Which is pretty good; I had two sets of Michelins that were done at 30k, so IMO RT43's last longer and don't have to deal with cracking either. No brainer for me, cheaper to buy and last longer?

I used to really like them, but lately their prices seem to be rising, I think the last set I bought were $100 per and then I still had mnt&bal to pay. But they are a known entity to me, so I'll probably keep buying them.

I did put a set onto a Jetta and boy did they change the handling. On a Camry they are about perfect. On something that requires corning ability... you might want something else.

I have to wonder if you'd rather have some Nokian WR's, although I don't think long tire life is a given with anything that is expected to have good winter traction. I suspect two sets of wheels is best bet, WR's (or similar) second if wanting only one set of wheels, third would be RT43's.

 

[MParr]

Did your car come with Bridgestone tires? Our 2019 came with Bridgestone Ecopia HL Plus and they have been a decent tire for 10,000 miles. Would I buy them as a replacement? Maybe, I would. I've had the General Altima RT43s in the past and they were awful. I made the dealer take them back and replace them with something that would balance. I would look for a tire other than the RT43. Pirelli, Goodyear, Hankook, Bridgestone

 

[jims5600]

Put RT43's on my wife's CRV. She loves them, We live outside of Buffalo NY so we get
alot of snow,they handle the snow with no issues. This is our second set of these tires.
Wear has been very good and all season traction has been real good

 

[FordBroncoVWJeta]

First time I have ever seen a RT43 bash thread.

 

[volk06]

I've had the RT43 for 45K miles and am at 5/32nds. I have no complaints and would buy them again. Good wet and dry traction, its quiet and winter traction is pretty good for what the tire is. That could also be because of the vulcan engine over the front wheels on the taurus.

 

[Sayjac]

Originally Posted by FordBroncoVWJeta
First time I have ever seen a RT43 bash thread.
Surely you jest. In my observation, it's not uncommon bitog sport.

Preface by saying, no idea how they perform in frequent snowy winter conditions. That said, very satisfied with V rated on an Accord for several years now. Compare favorably with Primacy MXV4 I had on prior. For significantly less cost.

 

[Kira]

It's impossible to weigh individual assessments of tire qualities.

So many people are "heavy foot" drivers and have no idea what that even means.

You really do need scores if not hundreds of opinions.

The RT43 is mentioned often here. I now know it's a General Altimax RT43 from this thread's title.

 

[slacktide_bitog]

The RT43 and CS5 Ultra are popular on here due to the low price and good discounts that can be had

For your conditions, you should consider a 3-peak all-season tire, such as:
Vredestein Quatrac 5
Toyo Celsius
Nokian WRG4
Michelin CrossClimate
Goodyear Weatherready

 

[Imp4]

I have 2 cars with RT43s and one with CS5 Ultras. I'd buy RT43s again in a second.
CS5 Ultra, never again. Now granted the CS5s are on a car that is nearly exclusively driven by our teenagers but I'm relatively confident they aren't doing burnouts on an 03 Camry.

Both models have demonstrated decent grip in our 4 seasons of weather in a Midwest snowbelt city.

My gripe with the CS5s is that the treadwear is significantly less that what Cooper claims.

The RT43s have worn much more consistently for me and have generally been a better experience. If I had to ding the RT43s for anything, it would be that they're loud on our '15 Civic.

I think the takeaway here is that the user experience is heavily influenced by car model, driving conditions, driving style, and user expectations as to what makes a good product.

You'll hear opinions all over the map and at the end of the day, you need to make a decision for yourself.

Good luck!!!

 

[Killer223]

wife has Michelin defenders on her car, and they are a great tire. even in the snow. they do just fine. lots of sipes, long lasting. zero complaints from those tires.
we also liked the cooper CS4 over the CS5, then once we used the defenders, i've no reason to change now. very satisfied with these tires.

 

[davglt]

I have bought 3 sets of General RT43 tires and have had very good luck with them on a 2005 Buick Century, 2007 Chevy Impala, 2017 Acura MDX Hybrid, great wet and dry traction, decent snow traction, no balance problems and quiet on the road. Good tire for the $$ and decent performance.

 

[Traction]

I've installed many sets of RT43 tires since they came out so well on the tests, and reviews, but I haven't had any positive feedback from anyone when it was time to replace them. I think they are highly over rated, with sloppy handling, and poor wet traction. Probably a big improvement over some other cheap tires, but for a middle of the road tire, I've gone back to installing CS5's.

 

[andyd]

I'm gonna make an appt with Town Fair to mount the Altimax Arctics next week for season 3 Noisy tires mean deep treads, I like that in a snow tire. Car is a gently driven Camry in mixed driving. I think the Fridge has some sorta 3 season that holds air pretty good. When those wear out, the no brainer choice is the RT 43 3 season.

 

[69GTX]

My Lincoln daily drivers have been on several sets of Michelin Primacy MXV4's since 2001 over a total of around 365K miles. I was going to try the General Altimax RT43 due to all the "good things" I heard about them on other sites. Now I'm not so sure. Maybe I'll just stick to the Michelins. Other than dry cracking by 5-6 yrs they have been fine to me.

 

[Nick1994]

Have had RT43's on my Camry for 30k miles. Happy with them. Handling isn't the best but as supton said, it's a Camry...

 

[Eddie]

I find the Altimax RT43 on my MAZDA CX5 to be a very good tire in rain and dry. Reasonably quiet and appear to be medium long wearing here on the shell roads here in Cape Coral Fl. I have 32,000 + miles and it appears I'll get ~ 50K on the road surfaces I drive on. Ed