Relative Score (0–100): the weighted average of the categories below, each 60% road tests and 40% owner reviews (comfort 40/60). Based on 0 + 1 road tests and 776 + 1,371 owner reviews. How we score
CS5 Grand Touring is ahead, 74–68
Both Amazon links then search this exact size.
TireWheelGuide may earn a commission from purchases made through these links.
Tests – · none yet Owners 76 · 776 reviews
“I too was looking for quiet tires when it came time to replace. Have been very happy with COOPER CS5 GRAND TOURING ==> The CS5 has many modern technologies which improve longevity and traction AND they are M+S rated. I run them all year in Vermont and the snow traction is acceptable with Subaru AWD.”
Tests – · 1 test Owners 67 · 1,371 reviews
Best test result: #3 of 8 in 2022 Consumer Reports All-Season Tires (tested tread life (miles))
“I have the General Altimax RT43 on 19s as my winter tires, and they are perfectly fine. For sure louder than oem, because there is no foam, but for wear, tear and handling, perfectly fine. I am not racing anyone or driving aggressively with those tires on anyway.”
Relative Score per category, 0–100. Open “Why this score” for the tests and owner ratings behind it.
| Source | CS5 Grand Touring | AltiMAX RT43 |
|---|---|---|
| Professional tests (TWG score) | ≈ 74 (est.) | ≈ 68 (est.) |
| Reviews found online | 82 | 68 |
CS5 Grand Touring: 60% × 73.6 (est.) + 40% × 81.6 = 77
AltiMAX RT43: 60% × 67.8 (est.) + 40% × 67.6 = 68
No road tests of dry for CS5 Grand Touring. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.41).
No road tests of dry for AltiMAX RT43. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.41).
| Source | CS5 Grand Touring | AltiMAX RT43 |
|---|---|---|
| Professional tests (TWG score) | ≈ 75 (est.) | ≈ 70 (est.) |
| Reviews found online | 79 | 70 |
CS5 Grand Touring: 60% × 75.2 (est.) + 40% × 79 = 77
AltiMAX RT43: 60% × 70.4 (est.) + 40% × 70.2 = 70
No road tests of wet for CS5 Grand Touring. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.55).
No road tests of wet for AltiMAX RT43. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.55).
| Source | CS5 Grand Touring | AltiMAX RT43 |
|---|---|---|
| Professional tests (TWG score) | ≈ 68 (est.) | ≈ 67 (est.) |
| Reviews found online | 64 | 60 |
CS5 Grand Touring: 60% × 68.3 (est.) + 40% × 63.6 = 66
AltiMAX RT43: 60% × 67.1 (est.) + 40% × 59.9 = 64
No road tests of snow for CS5 Grand Touring. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.32).
No road tests of snow for AltiMAX RT43. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.32).
| Source | CS5 Grand Touring | AltiMAX RT43 |
|---|---|---|
| Professional tests (TWG score) | ≈ 70 (est.) | ≈ 67 (est.) |
| Reviews found online | 76 | 62 |
CS5 Grand Touring: 40% × 70.1 (est.) + 60% × 76 = 74
AltiMAX RT43: 40% × 67.3 (est.) + 60% × 62 = 64
No road tests of comfort for CS5 Grand Touring. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.20).
No road tests of comfort for AltiMAX RT43. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.20).
| Source | CS5 Grand Touring | AltiMAX RT43 |
|---|---|---|
| Professional tests (TWG score) | ≈ 66 (est.) | ≈ 66 (est.) |
| Reviews found online | 81 | 73 |
CS5 Grand Touring: 60% × 66.4 (est.) + 40% × 80.8 = 72
AltiMAX RT43: 60% × 66.4 (est.) + 40% × 73 = 69
No road tests of noise for CS5 Grand Touring or AltiMAX RT43. The test half is the tested tires’ average (66): owners’ noise ratings barely follow the road tests.
| Source | CS5 Grand Touring | AltiMAX RT43 |
|---|---|---|
| Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 1 tests | ≈ 69 (est.) | 71 |
| Reviews found online | 73 | 67 |
CS5 Grand Touring: 60% × 68.8 (est.) + 40% × 72.8 = 70
AltiMAX RT43: 60% × 70.8 + 40% × 67 = 69
No road tests of treadwear for CS5 Grand Touring. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.36).
| Source | CS5 Grand Touring | AltiMAX RT43 |
|---|---|---|
| Reviews found online | 72 | 63 |
| Category | Cooper CS5 Grand Touring | General AltiMAX RT43 |
|---|---|---|
| Relative Score | 74 | 68 |
| Dry | 77 | 68 |
| Wet | 77 | 70 |
| Snow | 66 | 64 |
| Comfort | 74 | 64 |
| Noise | 72 | 69 |
| Treadwear | 70 | 69 |
| Handling (owners) | 72 | 63 |
Higher is better. The Relative Score follows your weights below; category scores do not change.
Wet grip starts at “Important”. Treadwear starts at “Neutral” here: road tests measured it for at most one of the two tires, so it rests on owner reviews. Move the sliders and the scores update instantly.
CS5 Grand Touring
AltiMAX RT43
Themes extracted from owner reviews found online — not the opinion of TireWheelGuide.
From Reddit, forums and review threads. Not part of our score
Community sentiment toward the Cooper CS5 Grand Touring is largely positive, with owners highlighting its smooth ride, low road noise, and reliable all-season traction in rain and light snow. While praised as a strong value compared to premium competitors like Michelin, several users note that treadwear often falls short of the advertised 80,000-mile warranty, particularly on heavier minivans or under high-heat conditions.
“I put Cooper CS5 Grand Tourings on my Sienna after having gone through several sets of Michelins, I am happy with them so far. Regardless of what tire you purchase, they will not get to their warranty mileage on a Sienna. The Sienna is notoriously hard on tires. A word of advice, run them at 40 to 42 PSI and rotate them regularly if you want to get reasonable wear. The Sienna's 35 PSI recommendation is FAR too low for the weight the tires carry and the front tires wear 3x faster than the rears.”
“I have the Cooper cs5 grand touring on my Odyssey and love them. Very quiet and snoot riding. Fwiw, I'm in Southern California so we have little cold/wet weather let alone snow, but they did great when I drove up to Sequoia and had cables on during the snow storm. Much better than the Michelin Defenders I had before.”
“My wife and I have been running Cooper CS5 Grand Touring on Outback and Impreza for many years. (the Outback is on its 2nd set) For us, having a QUIET tire is primary importance... followed closely with winter-traction here in Vermont winters. We do NOT want to have 2nd set of dedicated snow-tires for the winter. The CS5 have met our requirements. At the very least, I would suggest you consider the CS5 Ultra as you make a decision.”
Based on 38 community posts
Community sentiment for the General AltiMAX RT43 is predominantly positive, with reviewers praising its comfort, strong winter and wet weather capability, and solid value as a budget-to-midrange touring tire. However, critics frequently point out soft sidewalls, tramlining on grooved surfaces, and mediocre handling or dry grip under aggressive driving. Tread life reports are mixed, with many reaching 50,000 to 80,000 miles while others report premature wear around 30,000 miles.
“Update -- in the middle of a snowstorm tonight, the Altimax RT43 did very well. The best description for the RT43 in snow would be "predictable" -- if there is a bit of slide the steering response is easy to control. Better handling overall than the Optimo H727, now over 800 miles and still very quiet.”
“I keep seeing graphs like this with the off-brand tires and cannot be convinced that they would actually perform in a panic braking situation. The Laufenn takes 44 additional feet (three carlengths) to stop on a wet road from 50 MPH than the budget favorite, the General RT43; 77 feet (5 carlengths) longer than the Michelins . I am buying a set of the Michelin Premier A/Ss for my wife's car when the OE Continentals wear out (it came with the regular OEM-style ContiProContacts which are okay but kind of noisy - looks like they will last around 30-35k miles). Source = TireRack”
“I haven't tried the Contis, but I took my RT43s off last month after wearing them down to 4/32 after ~50K miles (5K miles rotations.) While hydroplane resistance was good, everything else about the tire was pretty bad. Dry grip was abysmal and the sidewalls were way to soft. Wet grip was decent when rolling but from a stop and/or while turning felt quite dangerous if I was pulling out into traffic (one wheel peel like crazy.) The Sumitomos A/S P02s I had before were better in every way except noise. No idea on the snow performance, I run dedicated snows in the winter.”
Based on 261 community posts
| Attribute | A · Cooper CS5 Grand Touring | B · General AltiMAX RT43 |
|---|---|---|
| Category | All Season Touring tires | All Season |
| Vehicle type | SUV and 4x4 | Passenger Car / Crossover |
| Tread depth | 11 - 12/32″ | 10 - 12/32″ |
| UTQG | 780 A A | 600 - 700 A A - B |
| Treadwear warranty | 80,000 mi | — |
| Sidewall | Black Side Wall | Black Side Wall - Raised Outline White Lettering |
| Max pressure | 44 psi | 44 - 51 psi |
Cooper CS5 Grand Touring
General AltiMAX RT43
Winner: Cooper CS5 Grand Touring — better comfort, dry and handling. It leads or ties in every category we score.
Cooper CS5 Grand Touring scores 74 vs 64 on comfort.
Cooper CS5 Grand Touring scores 77 vs 68 on dry.
Cooper CS5 Grand Touring scores 72 vs 63 on handling.
Cooper CS5 Grand Touring scores 77 vs 70 on wet.
TireWheelGuide may earn a commission from purchases made through these links.
Cooper CS5 Grand Touring, 77 vs 70 on our wet score.
Cooper CS5 Grand Touring, 77 vs 68 on our dry score.
Neither, by our numbers: 66 vs 64 on the snow score, within 3 points.
Cooper CS5 Grand Touring, 72 vs 69 on our noise score.
Cooper CS5 Grand Touring, 74 vs 64 on our comfort score.
Neither, by our numbers: 70 vs 69 on the treadwear score, within 3 points.
Every category score blends two independent signals. 60% comes from professional tire tests (braking distances, lap times, noise measurements), each result compared with every other tire in the same test and newer tests counting more. 40% comes from owner reviews found online, adjusted for how generously each site rates. Both use one scale: the average tested tire gets 70, the best 100. When a tire has only one of the two, the missing half is estimated from the other and the score stays closer to average; with no road test and fewer than five owner reviews it gets no score yet.
Handling is the exception: road tests measure it inside the dry and wet scores, so its own row comes from owner ratings only and starts as less important.
Community buzz from Reddit and forums is shown for context only — it never changes the score. Full methodology
