pdbailey

Hey, I'm thinking about General Tire AltiMAX HP or Yokohama AVID H4S. I sometimes have the whole family in the car, and I'm really most concerned with safety. Mostly dry and wet, but it snows once or twice a year here and so I just want it to not slide off the road even if I have to go half the speedlimit. I'm from a snow state and here nobody knows how to drive it in so you really have to go half the speed limit or less anyways.

But mainly I don't want to turn the thing into the junky steering I found on some of the RLs I test drive (don't know the tires, sorry). Basically, this car can get mushy up front, so I think I don't want too soft of sidewalls (right?). The RL is so much more comfy than my old Accord, even just wheels would probably seem cushy to me, so I'm not too worried about ride comfort. I also like the Michelin Pilots I have on it now but realize they are probably not the best deal.

Also, why would I pay $40 more for V rated tires (I never intend to go as fast as say 110, so 130 seems like lots of head room). Is there some other benefit?

pdbailey

I guess I should mention I did read through every tire related thread on this board and could see nobody talking about General Tire, so any comments on them would be very much appreciated!

Ken1997TL

Stay away from General Tire

Hop on Tirerack.com and read reviews on various snow tires to help you out.

pdbailey

The General tires are #2 rated at tirerack in the catagory, "Grand Touring All-Season Tires"! I would just get the Yokohamas but there are always reviews that say they are trash. I think this is probably because they have a bad QC process that leads to some being too out of ballance to fix because all the other reviews can't be of the same tires.

I just walked past my old car and realize I'm driving Avid T4s that are a few years old, so I guess I have some experience with Yokohama. The thing is that car is such a dud I have no idea how good the tires are--though I have no complaints.

Ken1997TL, Are you still driving on tripple treads? How long do those last? They cost about 1.5 times as much as the Yokohamas, are they that much better?

Also Kumho gets reasonable reviews here but on tirerack they get trashed. The kind my shop wanted to install the third review said he doesn't let his family ride in the car now.

Ken1997TL

I've had the triple treads for just under 20,000 miles and they seem to be about halfway done. They're very quiet, grip reasonably well and do fine in the rain.

They suck in the snow but I wasn't expecting them to be good.

sr4dt

Toyo Proxes are a good all season tires that you may want to try out. I have them on the RL and they have been pretty good so far.

Ken1997TL

I agree. I have Proxes on my TL.

pdbailey

Why do you say this?

Ken1997TL

As a brand they're hit or miss.

Like i said, check the reviews to make sure you get a tire you won't end up hating.

vas25tl

I have Yoko Avid TRZ's on both my cars and I like them. I have about a year (10-12K) on one set and about 500 miles on another. I think they handle great in the snow for an all season tire. Of course, ideally it would be better to have a summer/winter set up.

SPUDMTN

I've got the Assurance Triple Treads as well...on my second set. They've served me quite well (through half a Michigan winter, even) and I'll probably continue to put them on as long as I have the car. "If it ain't broke..."

As far as tires are concerned (and all consumer items in general), you get what you pay for, in my humble opinion.

pdbailey

Just thought I'd follow up. I've had these General tires on for about 5k now and they are can't complain at all. The car is not really designed to push tires this wide, so I wonder if it really matters that much.