All-season tire Updated November 2026

General AltiMAX RT43 review

Name: General AltiMAX RT43
Brand: General

± 6

Relative score from owner reviews only

Better than 60% of the all-season tires we score.

Owners 67 · 1,371 reviews analysed

How scores work

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General AltiMAX RT43 has a Relative Score of 68 out of 100 among all-season tires. 1,371 owner reviews rate it 67 out of 100. 67% would buy it again.

General is Continental's mid-range brand, made in Portugal, Czechia and Romania.

Community sentiment Positive Read the buzz

#value and pricing#snow and winter traction#wet grip and hydroplaning#soft ride comfort#soft sidewalls and handling

Two scoring systems, side by side

Owner scores come from reviews found online; road-test scores come from instrumented tests. Where they disagree, it is usually a discipline owners rarely push to the limit.

How scores work

Relative score: 0–100. Blends road tests (60%) and owner reviews (40%) category by category, the same way on every TireWheelGuide page. With only one of the two, the missing half is estimated from it, so the score stays closer to average. It needs at least one road test or five owner reviews.
Road tests: 0–100 per score, from published tests, newer tests counting more. Each result is compared with every other tire in the same test, so a win against a strong field counts for more. The average tested tire gets 70, the best 100; with only one or two tests a tire stays nearer 70. The discipline rows show % of the best tire in that test.
Owner reviews: 0–100 from the owner reviews we found online, adjusted for how generously each site rates and scaled like the road tests: the average tested tire gets 70. With only a few reviews a tire stays near the average.

Full methodology

By owner reviews

67/100

From 1,371 owner reviews analysed, scaled like the road tests: the average tested tire gets 70.

Would buy again 67%

Dry

Overall dry

Wet

Overall wet

Snow & ice

Overall snow & ice

Comfort

Overall comfort

Noise

Overall noise

Treadwear

Overall treadwear

Handling

Overall handling

Own these tires? Write a review →

By road tests

Scaled across every tested tire: the average gets 70, the best 100.

Treadwear

What owners like and dislike

Themes extracted from 1,371 owner reviews found online.

The General Altimax RT43 is widely praised by users as an exceptional value-focused all-season touring tire that rivals more expensive name brands in ride comfort, quietness, and wet weather performance. While the overwhelming majority of reviews highlight impressive dry and wet traction, solid durability, and confident light-snow handling, a minority of drivers report issues with sidewall durability, balancing challenges, or reduced traction in harsher winter conditions over time.

Pros

Excellent value and lower price point compared to premium brands like Michelin
Quiet and smooth ride quality with minimal road noise
Strong wet and dry traction with dependable hydroplaning resistance
Above-average tread wear and durability

Cons

Occasional balancing difficulties or vibrations reported by some users
Softer sidewalls can lead to slightly spongy handling or reduced cornering sharpness
Winter and snow performance can diminish notably as the tread wears down
Isolated complaints regarding sidewall splits or premature wear

Worth knowing

Users frequently noted strong performance and improved ride comfort when fitted on crossovers, family sedans, and minivans (such as Subaru Foresters, Toyota Siennas, and Honda CR-Vs).
Drivers tackling mixed terrain, including gravel roads, noted that the tread pattern holds up well to rough daily commutes.

1 published test appearance

Placement within each field. Open a test for the discipline-by-discipline result.

2022 Consumer Reports All-Season Tires · 215/60R16

2nd of 8

Discipline	Placement	Field position
Tested Tread Life (Miles)	3rd of 8

Source: Consumer Reports

General AltiMAX RT43 specs & sizes

Specifications
Tread depth	10 - 12/32″
UTQG	600 - 700 A A - B
Sidewall	Black Side Wall - Raised Outline White Lettering
Max pressure	44 - 51 psi

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What owners are saying

From Reddit, forums and review threads. Not part of the scores above.

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.

forum.miata.net

“I had the RT43s on my 1996 NA for the last couple of years prior to sale. They worked really well on my car. I had the stock NA8 alloys.”

odyclub.com

“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.”

2013-12-21

vwvortex.com

“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”

2017-12-12

bobistheoilguy.com ·1 upvote

“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.”

2021-06-18

impalaforums.com

“General Altimax RT43's are absolutely amazing. I live in Minneapolis, MN and all I can say is they are amazing. Sidewalls are a little bit thin and can lead to some body roll on the cloverleaf. I bought another car and wanted something a little more sporty looking and I have to say Discount Tire's Yokohama YK740 GTX has also been amazing in all weather, however with just a bit more lateral slide in icy conditions. If you want to just simply move in any weather, either of these are tires fantastic.”

2020-08-07

r/cars ·1 upvote

“I've personally installed the RT43's on my own family members cars. They were great. Great in the snow, rain, and they are quiet. I don't think they're in the same class as a Michelin Premiere, but for the price they are great tires.”

2017-04-10

Sentiment breakdown

Positive56%

Mixed15%

Negative14%

Neutral15%

Top themes

#value and pricing#snow and winter traction#wet grip and hydroplaning#soft ride comfort#soft sidewalls and handling#tramlining on grooved roads#treadwear and longevity

From 261 threads and comments.