Relative Score (0–100): the weighted average of the categories below, each 60% road tests and 40% owner reviews (comfort 40/60). Based on 1 + 0 road tests and 1,371 + 81 owner reviews. How we score
AVID Ascend leads, 70–68 Narrow edge
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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.”
Tests – · none yet Owners 71 · 81 reviews
Relative Score per category, 0–100. Open “Why this score” for the tests and owner ratings behind it.
| Source | AltiMAX RT43 | AVID Ascend |
|---|---|---|
| Professional tests (TWG score) | ≈ 68 (est.) | ≈ 70 (est.) |
| Reviews found online | 68 | 73 |
AltiMAX RT43: 60% × 67.8 (est.) + 40% × 67.6 = 68
AVID Ascend: 60% × 69.9 (est.) + 40% × 72.6 = 71
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).
No road tests of dry for AVID Ascend. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.41).
| Source | AltiMAX RT43 | AVID Ascend |
|---|---|---|
| Professional tests (TWG score) | ≈ 70 (est.) | ≈ 74 (est.) |
| Reviews found online | 70 | 77 |
AltiMAX RT43: 60% × 70.4 (est.) + 40% × 70.2 = 70
AVID Ascend: 60% × 73.9 (est.) + 40% × 76.6 = 75
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).
No road tests of wet for AVID Ascend. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.55).
| Source | AltiMAX RT43 | AVID Ascend |
|---|---|---|
| Professional tests (TWG score) | ≈ 67 (est.) | ≈ 67 (est.) |
| Reviews found online | 60 | 58 |
AltiMAX RT43: 60% × 67.1 (est.) + 40% × 59.9 = 64
AVID Ascend: 60% × 66.6 (est.) + 40% × 58.1 = 63
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).
No road tests of snow for AVID Ascend. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.32).
| Source | AltiMAX RT43 | AVID Ascend |
|---|---|---|
| Professional tests (TWG score) | ≈ 67 (est.) | ≈ 69 (est.) |
| Reviews found online | 62 | 73 |
AltiMAX RT43: 40% × 67.3 (est.) + 60% × 62 = 64
AVID Ascend: 40% × 69.4 (est.) + 60% × 72.5 = 71
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).
No road tests of comfort for AVID Ascend. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.20).
| Source | AltiMAX RT43 | AVID Ascend |
|---|---|---|
| Professional tests (TWG score) | ≈ 66 (est.) | ≈ 66 (est.) |
| Reviews found online | 73 | 74 |
AltiMAX RT43: 60% × 66.4 (est.) + 40% × 73 = 69
AVID Ascend: 60% × 66.4 (est.) + 40% × 74.4 = 70
No road tests of noise for AltiMAX RT43 or AVID Ascend. The test half is the tested tires’ average (66): owners’ noise ratings barely follow the road tests.
| Source | AltiMAX RT43 | AVID Ascend |
|---|---|---|
| Professional tests (TWG score) · 1 / – tests | 71 | ≈ 67 (est.) |
| Reviews found online | 67 | 68 |
AltiMAX RT43: 60% × 70.8 + 40% × 67 = 69
AVID Ascend: 60% × 67.1 (est.) + 40% × 68.2 = 68
No road tests of treadwear for AVID Ascend. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.36).
| Source | AltiMAX RT43 | AVID Ascend |
|---|---|---|
| Reviews found online | 63 | 72 |
| Category | General AltiMAX RT43 | Yokohama AVID Ascend |
|---|---|---|
| Relative Score | 68 | 70 |
| Dry | 68 | 71 |
| Wet | 70 | 75 |
| Snow | 64 | 63 |
| Comfort | 64 | 71 |
| Noise | 69 | 70 |
| Treadwear | 69 | 68 |
| Handling (owners) | 63 | 72 |
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.
AltiMAX RT43
AVID Ascend
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 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
We haven't collected enough community discussion about this tire yet.
| Attribute | A · General AltiMAX RT43 | B · Yokohama AVID Ascend |
|---|---|---|
| Category | All Season | All Season |
| Vehicle type | Passenger Car / Crossover | Passenger Car / Crossover |
| Tread depth | 10 - 12/32″ | 12/32″ |
| UTQG | 600 - 700 A A - B | 740 A A |
| Treadwear warranty | — | 75,000 mi |
| Sidewall | Black Side Wall - Raised Outline White Lettering | Blackwall |
| Max pressure | 44 - 51 psi | 51 psi |
General AltiMAX RT43
Yokohama AVID Ascend
Narrow edge: Yokohama AVID Ascend — better handling, comfort and wet. Where the General AltiMAX RT43 is ahead, it is by less than 3 points.
Yokohama AVID Ascend scores 72 vs 63 on handling.
Yokohama AVID Ascend scores 71 vs 64 on comfort.
Yokohama AVID Ascend scores 75 vs 70 on wet.
Yokohama AVID Ascend scores 71 vs 68 on dry.
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Yokohama AVID Ascend, 75 vs 70 on our wet score.
Yokohama AVID Ascend, 71 vs 68 on our dry score.
Neither, by our numbers: 64 vs 63 on the snow score, within 3 points.
Neither, by our numbers: 69 vs 70 on the noise score, within 3 points.
Yokohama AVID Ascend, 71 vs 64 on our comfort score.
Neither, by our numbers: 69 vs 68 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
