Car Tire Store

Initial Review, 7,500 Miles on Tires
March 16, 2013

I am starting on the second season with these tires. My car is stored most of the cold months. I am happy with how these tire hold up to rough roads and very aggressive driving I do. These are very low profile tires in a staggered formation on my AMG- 245/35/19 front and 275/30/19 rear. The quietness and traction they provide is outstanding. I have been in a few hard rain storms and maintained 75-80mph to test the traction, hydroplaning, and they felt very capable. The Michelin's feel very confident at high end speeds. I believe the warranty on these is 30,000 miles. I don't expect them to last that long with my driving style, though if i were to get 20,000 on them, I'd be happy. I will most likely try these tires on a track day in the future. They are worth the money!

Initial Review, 2,000 Miles on Tires
March 08, 2013

Needed to replace the OE tires on my 2011 Rav 4. The tires that came with the car the Toyo Tires were bad bad bad in snow. So checked around, If I wanted a well rated, name brand tire, they were very expensive. And no name store brand tires were cheaper but the treads were not that impressive and could not find any info on them far as ratings. So i looked again and ran into these Firestone Destination LE 2 tires here on tirerack and the ratings were good.. So I Went to a Firestone shop and got a set of 4 of the Destination LE 2 tires under $600 bucks installed! Beating the no name tires by 20 bucks! So far so good I'm very happy with the Destination LE2 tires. They just saw snow for the first time (over 6 inches plus of snow) and do very well for an all season tire. Stopping going down hill, climbing up hill and turns in snow are good. Tires hold on with very little slipping. So if you want a 60,000 mile all season tire for your SUV that can take on the snow too but not rip you off in price.... I would really consider these tires..

Initial Review, 0 Miles on Tires
February 25, 2013

Tire was purchased as a spare for a Hyundai Elantra, since the car did not come with one. Was able to get it mounted at a local tire store. Have not needed to use the tire yet.

Initial Review, 2,000 Miles on Tires
February 22, 2013

I bought these tires to replace the factory Hankook "death-traps" that Hyundai had put on the car after I almost died getting to the store in the MILD slush. I immediately noticed an improvement while driving in the same nasty weather on the way home. The one thing I really noticed is how these tires HOWL while driving in the ice and snow. They also will sing a little if the temp is in the 30s or below.

Another immediate thing that I noticed is that the fuel economy for my wife's Elantra went from a more varying average of 33 mpg to to a pretty much consistent 28.5 mpg.

The tires ride a lot smoother and the car does not do the pothole two-step that it used to do but if you go hard in to a corner it is evident that turn in is not as crisp.

One more thing that I will note is that the pressure in the Ecopias are set at 32 psi while the Hankooks I used to run were kept at 35-38 max psi, though there was never any noticeable differece in the ride for the Hankook's in the variation from normal 32 to my running psi.

Initial Review, 25 Miles on Tires
August 27, 2012

I had to replace the Hankook tires in this brand new car after only 1,700 miles. My teenage daughter drove on top of a curve and severely damaged both tires on the driver's side.

Facing the decision, with the frustration of events, I decided not to replace like-for-like since I was already extremely disappointed with OE tires. I selected the Michelins based on the reviews and tests from TR.

Within driving off the store with the new tires, I was just in heaven. All of the sudden I felt I was in a great car!! No more bouncing around; no more feeling that the car was going to lift up after every bump; no more feeling that the tail was going to come around every time I turned a corner at low speeds; no more "empty can like" sound every time I hit a bump on the road.

Now the car drives securely planted on the road. Turns corners with an extreme feeling of grip and control. Braking is also much better!!!

Hyundai should install these tires as OE!!! I am sure people would pay the little extra!!

So, in order to apeace my mind towards my daughter, I decided to believe that her little accident was a sign for me to replace the OE tires in order to ensure her safety from now on!! Otherwise, I would have to ground her until she goes to college!!! LOL!!

The interesting thing was that my daughter, with only months of driving experience, was also complaining about the OE tires. She told me she did not feel safe with them.

I will post an update later once I get more miles in different conditions and also can evaluate gas mileage. That is assuming that my daughter does not have any other serious "event" with the car (--- help us!!!)

Initial Review, 10,000 Miles on Tires
February 05, 2013

I purchased these directly from The Tire Rack store in Indiana, and had their folks mount these tires on my winter rims. Then I waited 3 over 3 months for a chance to test them in snow.

A trip up north into Michigan threw me into a severe, lake-effect snow storm, with white out conditions, ice, packed snow, and on-road depths over 4 inches. All I can say is these tires were fantastic.

My car is REAR WHEEL DRIVE, not all-wheel drive, not front wheel drive. I was able to drive safely, and with confidence. At one point, I missed my exit and had to use the yet-to-be-plowed freeway turn-around (i.e. deep, deep snow). My car just tore through it. The next day, when everything had turned to ice, again, I feared not. My car, with these tires, remained well planted and predictable.

When it's not snowing, the Generals are really good tires. For snow tires, they aren't too loud. And with over 10,000 miles on them, the treadwear is minimal. I should be able to get at least 3 seasons out of these. I had never before owned or considered General Tires. But now, after this experience with these Altimax's, I will definitely consider General Tires' other tires.

Thanks for the great service Tire Rack. I know I can always count on your folks to take good care of me. This was probably the 10th set of tires I've bought from you!

Initial Review, 10,400 Miles on Tires
January 28, 2013

I have a good commute from the CT. shore to the innermost part of the state and the roads conditions when snowing can be a bit much. well my tire store sales men turned me on to the Altimax Aretic I can not say all the mess that these tires have got me threw thay are so good I got my Daughter a set for here car. In town when others were slipping these tires just pulled us threw. I will definitely get a new set when its time . and yes most aggressive tires will give you some road noise.I did not find the Altimax that bad with road noise just a good Winter tire.

Initial Review, 1,000 Miles on Tires
January 26, 2013

My warm season tire is the BS RE970AS PP, an ultra high performance A/S, and I love it. Compared to that, this tire clearly provides better snow and ice traction. I drove on I495N between Delaware and Philly during a recent light snowstorm. The temperatures hadnt risen above 20F for five days and the salt/sand trucks hadn't been out yet, so the left and right lanes were virtually virgin with two inches of unmelted powder. Just as I broke single file formation into the left lane, a jacked up F150 broke to the right lane. Within seconds he nearly fishtailed and fell back in line. I was worried, but kept plowing ahead carefully, and before I knew it, I was the only one in sight, pushing 80mph after having passed the most daring of other drivers going no faster than 55, so I took the opportunity to try braking and swerving ever so carefully to test the traction. The combination of AWD and these tires resulted in an astounding amount of traction and confidence. Within the limits of my nerve, I literally could not break the rear end loose, or even get the traction control to kick in-- I finally gave up trying. In the grocery store parking lot, jackrabbit starts from a dead stop into a 90 degree parking spot did break the rear end loose, but barely, and the car fell in line immediately when traction control lit up. These tires clearly suffer more squirminess at near triple digit highway speeds, and they aren't as glued and fun in dry weather as the RE970s, but they're definitely no worse than the Michelin Pilot Exaltos or any other all season grand touring tire--may even be better than many. Bottom line, I thought about switching these in/out every time the weather forecast warranted, so as to keep the 970s on as much as possible, but these winter tires sacrifice relatively little dry traction and provide so much more confidence in the snow and ice, that from now on, I'll be putting them on come November and I'll leave them on till the spring.

Initial Review, 5,000 Miles on Tires
November 23, 2012

I work at a tire store and did alot of reaseach on the different tires for my car. I found these and gave them a try. So far a Great tire for the price point. I would have expected to pay twice as much for the quality of this tire. The ride is great and is so queit. Cornering is incredible. Took my car and made it feel like a sports car. I am alittle agresive around corners and feel very confedent that these tires will hug the corner. The rim protector on the tire has come in handy several times and save my rim from curbs. Snow traction has yet to be tested. Over all very pleased with this tire and recomend it to any of my customers wanting a luxury touring tire.

Initial Review, 400 Miles on Tires
November 22, 2012

We bought a set of Michelin Defenders for my wife's Toyota RAV4 and they were so good I bought a set for my Honda Civic Hybrid. I had a good set of Pirellis which handled well and lasted over 40,000 miles but switching to the Defenders was like night and day. Michelin must have done a lot of research and design to engineer a tire that is so far beyond any other tire I've ever had. My mileage jumped from 40 to 42 - no lie. The tires are quieter, the ride is smoother, and the handling is better. As I left the tire store - I immediately noticed that the effort to turn the steering wheel was much less than with the Pirellis. This tire is simply amazing - 90,000 mile warranty, etc. They are not cheap but the performance of these tires is well worth an extra 20 bucks per tire. Michelin has raised the standard of what to expect from passenger car tires.

Initial Review, 4,000 Miles on Tires
October 13, 2012

Awesome looking tire, nice rounded shoulder with smoother sides and no ugly huge side bitter garbage on the side of the tire.
They balance well and sound great, not loud at all, but a good 4x4 hum to let you know this is no car. Great in deep snow, Great in sand, good in mud, great on dry pavement and even towing, especially for a mud tire, the high duromater rubber does not squirm so steering and towing is precise and stable. Very impressive for an aggressive tread!
I now have these tire on my Jeep and my 3/4 ton 4x4 truck.
This tire has 2 severe downfalls however, it is bad on Ice and does something I have had no other tire I have ever owned do before. (And I used to own a tire store, I also sell my tires and buy new ones just to try different tires)
When entering puddled water on the roadway, they swerve violently to one side, its is seriously scary. I have new steering dampers on my Jeep and my truck and they both do the same thing. It is seriously weird and very bad. Other than that I love the tires. Neither of these rigs is a daily driver so its not a big deal, but you really need to be careful in deep or puddled water.

Initial Review, 4,000 Miles on Tires
August 03, 2010

12,000 Km's on the car and the rear's are shot. That is considering that half the year I had snow's on the car. I had the Pirelli's stored for the winter months! No burn-outs, traction control on all the time. Fronts are good lot's of tread - rear's bald in the centre... I'll be looking at Michelin Pilot Sport's when it's time to replace all 4...

Initial Review, 25,000 Miles on Tires
June 04, 2012

I have had these tires on or 07 T&C minivan for almost 9 months and with out last trip we are now at 25K miles. They still look like new. Minivan owners should be aware that vans are just as heavy as a SUV's. The manufacture sells them with passenger tires, my stock tires needed to be replaced at just under 30k. Further more when the stock tires started to wear out were loud and handing was terrible. These tire are quiet I would venture to say the quietest tires I have ever used. They grip like no tomorrow. One thing I will point out is the handling was sloppy at first when cornering. I checked the tire pressure and the store that installed the tires had set them to the stock pressure listed on the door sticker. Since the van is front heavy I set the front tire pressure to 44psi and the rears to 42psi. That cleaned up the handling perfectly it is not loud the ride is smooth. Snow and Ice performance is excellent. I live in Colorado and spend a good deal of time driving in the mountains I did not pull out the chains one time this winter! The grip in these tires is amazing wet weather handling is just as good. I have read were some complain about the squishy handling. Please keep in mind if you are using tires are a different brand from stock use the PSI rating on the tire not the door of the car, your tire will last longer,your car,truck or van/minivan will handle better and you will get better gas mileage. I cannot say enough this is the perfect tire for a minivan. We do weekend in the mountains on some pretty rough roads and my only limiting factor now is ground clearance. My mother in law is now using these tire on her Jeep and is happy with them as well. I only wish they would make them in a size to fit my car. remember proper tire pressure is key to these tire and depending on the weight of your vehicle you may need to adjust accordingly. Yokohama if you are listening my tire size is 225/50/17R :)

Initial Review, 10,000 Miles on Tires
May 08, 2012

CRAP - horrible treadwear! The developed a defect (uneven treadwear) on 2 of the 4 tires that were stored in a heated garage all winter............I will never buy a tire from this manufacture ever again! Always drove Michelin, you pay for what you get in life! OE tires are usually not that good with soft compounds, this is the worst OE tire I have ever had in my life (I flip cars every 2 years)! Stay away from these!!! CRAP!

Initial Review, 50,000 Miles on Tires
May 17, 2012

I put 4 years of daily use on these tires, driving in winter and summer. Then went to storing the car in a garage/back yard for the winters.
The tires took a lot of abuse - with the car sitting for 10 months of the year without moving. Sometimes they were under inflated, sometimes they sat in a puddle all winter. And in the summer they always sat out in the sun.
Amazingly - they have survived 9 years, feeling smooth and quiet on the road every summer. This spring I will replace them because one of them is finally showing some dry rot.