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AltiMAX RT43 Installed today.
- Thread starter SabrToothSqrl
- Start date
I put General RT43's on my P3D- last Friday and thought I would share my review in this thread.
I live at the bottom of a hill and know from experience that even a Subaru Impreza with OEM all seasons can not get up the hill if there is snow. And people always rave about how great those cars are in snow. So I wanted to get a tire with a better snow rating than the OEM tires.
I have the factory 19” rims and have found that tire options are limited to fit. I don’t want to mess with a dedicated set of winter and summer tires as snow is rare here. Maybe once or twice a year, but being stuck at home until it melts sucks.
I did a bunch of research and the new “All Weather” tires sounded very promising. So I made my preferred list. Michelin CrossClimate, Nokian WR G4, Goodyear WeatherReady. None of those will fit. So I went with my 4th pick General RT43. Rated very highly by Consumer Reports.
Things I was worried about. What will the dry traction be like compared to OEM tires, ride quality, noise, efficiency.
I also wanted to go up to 245/40-19 to get a slight increase in curb rash protection and dry traction. Yes I know wider is worse for snow and efficiency. But I value the positives more.
For noise, I ran Decibel X on my phone over the same stretch of road before and after the tire change. I had my phone laying on a block of soft foam to isolate from vibration, hopefully. Before and after was avg 66.3 and 66.4 dB. So basically no change. I did think it sounded different, possibly different frequencies. But I didn't capture frequency spectrums.
I’m happy with the very slight overhang of the tire from the edge of the rim hopefully for some curb protection. Probably about 1/8 inch.
Ride quality and traction feel the same by my butt in seat testing.
I didn’t have / couldn’t think of a good way to compare efficiency. My car is only about a month old and I did a 2400 mile road trip. So that will extremely skew my lifetime efficiency. The weather has recently been getting colder each day. So that will also skew efficiency across my normal driving over the last few days before / after the tire change. I also am still in the phase of thoroughly enjoying stomping on the go peddle every chance I get. Which also seriously skews efficiency. So I don’t think I’m going to be able to make any determination on efficiency hit from the tires.
To summarize
Changed to 245/40-19 General RT43
No sound pressure level increase as measured with Decibel X on my phone
Slight tire overhang of the rim should give some amount of curb protection
Ride quality and traction subjectively "feels" the same
Unable to evaluate efficiency
I live at the bottom of a hill and know from experience that even a Subaru Impreza with OEM all seasons can not get up the hill if there is snow. And people always rave about how great those cars are in snow. So I wanted to get a tire with a better snow rating than the OEM tires.
I have the factory 19” rims and have found that tire options are limited to fit. I don’t want to mess with a dedicated set of winter and summer tires as snow is rare here. Maybe once or twice a year, but being stuck at home until it melts sucks.
I did a bunch of research and the new “All Weather” tires sounded very promising. So I made my preferred list. Michelin CrossClimate, Nokian WR G4, Goodyear WeatherReady. None of those will fit. So I went with my 4th pick General RT43. Rated very highly by Consumer Reports.
Things I was worried about. What will the dry traction be like compared to OEM tires, ride quality, noise, efficiency.
I also wanted to go up to 245/40-19 to get a slight increase in curb rash protection and dry traction. Yes I know wider is worse for snow and efficiency. But I value the positives more.
For noise, I ran Decibel X on my phone over the same stretch of road before and after the tire change. I had my phone laying on a block of soft foam to isolate from vibration, hopefully. Before and after was avg 66.3 and 66.4 dB. So basically no change. I did think it sounded different, possibly different frequencies. But I didn't capture frequency spectrums.
I’m happy with the very slight overhang of the tire from the edge of the rim hopefully for some curb protection. Probably about 1/8 inch.
Ride quality and traction feel the same by my butt in seat testing.
I didn’t have / couldn’t think of a good way to compare efficiency. My car is only about a month old and I did a 2400 mile road trip. So that will extremely skew my lifetime efficiency. The weather has recently been getting colder each day. So that will also skew efficiency across my normal driving over the last few days before / after the tire change. I also am still in the phase of thoroughly enjoying stomping on the go peddle every chance I get. Which also seriously skews efficiency. So I don’t think I’m going to be able to make any determination on efficiency hit from the tires.
To summarize
Changed to 245/40-19 General RT43
No sound pressure level increase as measured with Decibel X on my phone
Slight tire overhang of the rim should give some amount of curb protection
Ride quality and traction subjectively "feels" the same
Unable to evaluate efficiency
C141medic
Active Member
The General Altimax will be my “go to” tire when I need replacement. The tire has an excellent tread wear warranty and has an high tread wear rating. I have these on my Subaru and they’re great in the rain and snow.
Yes. We now have these on her AWD Model 3. They seem great. Summer and hot road traction is great, rain is good. Feel solid. Snow feels good.
I haven't checked wear in a while, so if I get a chance I'll do that.
Did the research again when she wore out her OEM set after 1 year.
Came to the same conclusion we did a year ago... these are the best overall tire for the car. 18" Wheels.
I haven't checked wear in a while, so if I get a chance I'll do that.
Did the research again when she wore out her OEM set after 1 year.
Came to the same conclusion we did a year ago... these are the best overall tire for the car. 18" Wheels.
Good to hear. I put the Altimax RT43 on my AWD w/ 18" Aeros in July and have about 5,000 miles on them now. They come with 11/32 tread depth new, which is thicker than many and about 3/32 more than the OEM tires. I don't expect to get anywhere near the 70k warranty, as I went through the stock tires in 25k miles.
My only negative comment and it may just be my installation, but the tires seem to "flat spot" after parking for relatively short periods - maybe 8 hours or so. It can take several miles of driving before the flat spot bounce goes away. They don't seem appreciably louder than the OEM tires.
My only negative comment and it may just be my installation, but the tires seem to "flat spot" after parking for relatively short periods - maybe 8 hours or so. It can take several miles of driving before the flat spot bounce goes away. They don't seem appreciably louder than the OEM tires.
Like to be at 45 typically. When they first got put on they were around 42 for a couple of weeks. Neither should be low enough for the result, but it does seem to go away when they heat from driving.
Other lesson I learned with this tire change is that I scrubbed the inner part of both old front tires even though they were rotated. There was probably 2/32 difference across the tire. I could probably use an alignment but didn't choose to do so. Rears wore evenly - showing slightly more "overinflation" wear, but they were also well past their prime.
I haven't been in any weather except heavy pooling rain, and they've been sure-footed so far.
Altimax Spring Update: 20,000 miles.
Still like the tires
OEM tires were shot and replaced with these at 20,000. (roughly 40k miles on car now).
Depth Guage shows 7/32 for most measurements. Inside of all 4 is a hair less at 5-6/32"
Still lots of life left at 20k miles. quick math = 2/32" every 10,000 miles = approx 25-35,000 miles of life left. = tires worked until not legal (2/32") approx 50,000 miles.
I'd say that's not only better than OEM, but not bad for an EV.... (Tire life is not on my top list for cars, but the OEM ones are crazy priced for what you get... these seem to win in every category I think a tire should.
Your wattage may vary
We run slightly below 'normal' PSI to soften the ride a bit.
I would endorse these to anyone with a Model 3. (No one paying me yet, I'm not special enough to get endorsements).
Still like the tires
OEM tires were shot and replaced with these at 20,000. (roughly 40k miles on car now).
Depth Guage shows 7/32 for most measurements. Inside of all 4 is a hair less at 5-6/32"
Still lots of life left at 20k miles. quick math = 2/32" every 10,000 miles = approx 25-35,000 miles of life left. = tires worked until not legal (2/32") approx 50,000 miles.
I'd say that's not only better than OEM, but not bad for an EV.... (Tire life is not on my top list for cars, but the OEM ones are crazy priced for what you get... these seem to win in every category I think a tire should.
Your wattage may vary
We run slightly below 'normal' PSI to soften the ride a bit.
I would endorse these to anyone with a Model 3. (No one paying me yet, I'm not special enough to get endorsements).
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SabrToothSqrl I'm glad you revisited this thread. This was the kind of review I wished had been more available when it was tire change time for me.
I'm about 16K miles into my Altimax tires and they have still great in snow and rain. I haven't run a depth gauge anytime recently but there's no obvious wear yet. The same couldn't be said for the stock tires that were already starting to have noticeable thinning by this time.
I was fortunate enough to be able to get a Tesla alignment with a control arm change, so hopefully I'll get better results and more even wear than before.
I'm about 16K miles into my Altimax tires and they have still great in snow and rain. I haven't run a depth gauge anytime recently but there's no obvious wear yet. The same couldn't be said for the stock tires that were already starting to have noticeable thinning by this time.
I was fortunate enough to be able to get a Tesla alignment with a control arm change, so hopefully I'll get better results and more even wear than before.
thanks. figure if others can benefit from the info, why not.
I don't mind spending money. I hate wasting money (crap products).
looks like they now have these in Model S size, so if I get back into a S, I'd probably pick these up.
back in 2015, there were only 2 tire options for my 2013 S. now there are lots more.
I don't mind spending money. I hate wasting money (crap products).
looks like they now have these in Model S size, so if I get back into a S, I'd probably pick these up.
back in 2015, there were only 2 tire options for my 2013 S. now there are lots more.
Follow up on my thread and next rotation 20k miles into the Altimax RT43 tires. All tires are still in the neighborhood of 8/32, so it looks right now that these could be legitimate 60k mile tires on the Model 3 18s compared to the 26k I got from the OEM tires in my driving conditions.
Any noise and flat spot wobble I noticed earlier is gone now that the tires are worn in a year later. Based on what I'm seeing now, I'd definitely buy these again.
Any noise and flat spot wobble I noticed earlier is gone now that the tires are worn in a year later. Based on what I'm seeing now, I'd definitely buy these again.
well, these have about 35k on them, and we hoped they'd last another year to about 50k, and they might have... but...
popup on the 3 that PSI was low front left. (33). great... just what we need. Less than a mile from the house, so turn around, get home, check with a gauge. 30 PSI... ok, so car sensor looks correct.
Break out the air compressor to take it to 50 to see if it holds or just leaks out, but I grabbed some soapy water for fun, found some bubbles before I even get the air compressor hooked up.
Turn the wheel hard right and move the car forward a few inches.
Tesla had this car in their possession less than 2 weeks ago... they check the tire depth... I'll be looking for that report.
The inner area of the tire/tread. GONE. ZERO. ZILCH. Steel belts poking out and steel spikes basically. Looks like the inner most area wore to nothing. Clearly not safe to be driving 80 MPH on.
With the inner area of the other front also looking bare, 2/4 are shot (steel showing) and the rear 2 are showing 3-4/ 32"
So, 4 new tires it is. Same kind. I don't think the tires caused this... car did. I'll try to get some pics, but since Audi is changing the tires out (not me) I'm not going to pull them from the car just for pics. Y'all know what a worn tire looks like.
I kinda pride myself on car care and am mad at myself for not seeing this before it was down to steel, but it's the inner most 1/4"... stupid cars are so low maintence you forget that somethings do wear out...
popup on the 3 that PSI was low front left. (33). great... just what we need. Less than a mile from the house, so turn around, get home, check with a gauge. 30 PSI... ok, so car sensor looks correct.
Break out the air compressor to take it to 50 to see if it holds or just leaks out, but I grabbed some soapy water for fun, found some bubbles before I even get the air compressor hooked up.
Turn the wheel hard right and move the car forward a few inches.
Tesla had this car in their possession less than 2 weeks ago... they check the tire depth... I'll be looking for that report.
The inner area of the tire/tread. GONE. ZERO. ZILCH. Steel belts poking out and steel spikes basically. Looks like the inner most area wore to nothing. Clearly not safe to be driving 80 MPH on.
With the inner area of the other front also looking bare, 2/4 are shot (steel showing) and the rear 2 are showing 3-4/ 32"
So, 4 new tires it is. Same kind. I don't think the tires caused this... car did. I'll try to get some pics, but since Audi is changing the tires out (not me) I'm not going to pull them from the car just for pics. Y'all know what a worn tire looks like.
I kinda pride myself on car care and am mad at myself for not seeing this before it was down to steel, but it's the inner most 1/4"... stupid cars are so low maintence you forget that somethings do wear out...
Sounds like an alignment issue if the inner is worn much faster than the outside. Thanks to this thread, I will be using 19" RT43's on my MYP for the winter. Can give some feedback in a few months, they aren't on the car just yet.
Question for folks that used the Altimax: did you feel the braking distance was different? Looking at the website and specifications, it seems that the breaking distance is quite longer for the Altimax compared to the Michelin. Do you think this is noticeable and did you notice a change?
Thanks,
Thanks,
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