General Altimax RT43 vs Michelin CrossClimate 2 : All season tires have always been the go to tires for the American market and this segment has been well established across the years. We have written quite extensively about Michelin’s CrossClimate 2 as the gold standard for all season tires with an incredible all round balance portfolio.
This time around we picked up another all season challenger in the form of General’s Altimax RT43. This tireline was launched in 2013 and covers a large range of passenger cars and crossovers. The major difference between the tires is that CrossClimate 2 comes with a 3 peak mountain logo while Altimax RT43 only has the M+S logo on it. CrossClimate 2 was launched in 2020 and covers a wide variety of sizes. Let’s put them head to head and see who comes out on top !
Table of Contents
Results
Ideally you would like to have a 1 v 1 test results to show its clear performance difference. However as there are no direct testing results available, we have to rely on the consumer report‘s testing values. Do note that the consumer report uses a maximum rating of 5 which means that a rating of 5/5 is the best possible achievement.
The graph above shows the comparison between General Altimax RT43 vs Michelin CrossClimate 2 based on the relevant performance category. The tire size of interest is 215/55R17 which is a common tire size for Honda HR-V.
Winter : 3 peak mountain
- Altimax RT43: No
- CrossClimate 2: Yes
Both tires are classified in the grand touring all season segment but only CrossClimate 2 has the elusive 3 peak mountain logo which qualifies legally as a winter tire. All tires which have this certification are required to pass a snow traction threshold as defined by the regulation. Based on this, you can expect CrossClimate 2 to be much better in winter performances compared to Altimax RT43.
Dry
As for dry, safety is usually not an issue as the braking distance is much longer than wet. However this is the default daily usage and the tires have to perform at a very consistent level. Both tires performed equally well with a 4/5 rating. The dry braking was tested from a speed of 60 mph down to 0.
Dry Braking :
- Altimax RT43 : 4/5
- CrossClimate 2 : 4/5
Wet
With dry braking being neck and neck, the wet performance proves to be a significant differentiation as we saw that the CrossClimate 2 performed one level better than the Altimax RT43 in braking from 60 mph to 0. Although there is a deficit in wet braking, the wet handling performance was rated equally at 4 out of 5. The CrossClimate 2 performed exceptionally well in aquaplaning with a top rating of 5 out of 5, while the Altimax RT43 was one level short. Overall, based on the test results, it is clear that the CrossClimate 2 performs better in wet conditions compared to the Altimax RT43.
Wet Braking:
- Altimax RT43 : 3/5
- CrossClimate 2 : 4/5
Handling (Wet) :
- Altimax RT43 : 4/5
- CrossClimate 2 : 4/5
Hydroplaning :
- Altimax RT43 : 4/5
- CrossClimate 2 : 5/5
Snow
As previously predicted, the snow performances of the 3 peak mountain certified CrossClimate 2 was found to be 1 level better than Altimax RT43 with the highest 5/5 rating while Altimax RT43 only obtained a 4/5 rating. Snow traction was performed with a medium packed snow and the time taken to accelerate from 5 to 20mph was measured.
Snow Traction :
- Altimax RT43 : 4/5
- CrossClimate 2 : 5/5
Ice
With such good performance in snow, we would expect the CrossClimate 2 to dominate in ice as well. However based on the results, Altimax RT43 was ranked a level higher at 4/5 compared to the 3/5 rating of CrossClimate 2. This demonstrates that a good snow performance do not necessarily constitute to a good ice braking performances. The ice braking was performed from a speed of 10 to 0 mph in a skating rink.
Ice Braking :
- Altimax RT43 : 4/5
- CrossClimate 2 : 3/5
Noise Vibration Harshness (NVH)
In normal conditions, the softer your compound the better your NVH performance is. Both tires being on the softer all season compound, perform equally good when it comes to noise. However when it comes to ride comfort, CrossClimate 2 just managed to edge Altimax RT43 with a 1 level higher comfort rating.
Ride Comfort :
- Altimax RT43 : 3/5
- CrossClimate 2 : 4/5
Noise :
- Altimax RT43 : 4/5
- CrossClimate 2 : 4/5
Rolling Resistance
When it comes to all-season, rolling resistance is definitely not at the highest priority as the engineer has to handle the most important winter vs summer target conflict. However with the sustainability topic being more prevalent, rolling resistance has been widely used as a competitive marketing tool as it could be easily seen in the label values.
This time around, Altimax RT43 took the lead by being 1 point better in rolling resistance with an overall score of 3/5 compared to the 2/5 of CrossClimate 2.
Rolling Resistance :
- Altimax RT43 : 3/5
- CrossClimate 2 : 2/5
Mileage
- Altimax RT43 : 70,000 miles
- CrossClimate 2 : 85,000 miles
When it comes to mileage, no product handles the target conflict management as well as Michelin with the CrossClimate 2 holding the highest mileage among all all-season tires with an impressive 85,000 miles tested results. Altimax RT43 was not far behind with a mileage rating of 70,000 miles.
Price
Being the undisputed technology leader, we would expect Michelin to command the highest priced tire in the market. This was in alignment as CrossClimate 2 was 54 dollars more expensive than Altimax RT43.
Tire size: 225/60R17
Altimax RT43 : $160
CrossClimate 2 : $214
Difference: +25% more expensive for CrossClimate 2.
Summary
Based on the test results comparison, CrossClimate 2 was strong in wet, snow, noise & mileage which constitutes the main requirement for the all season market. Altimax RT43 on the other hand only excels in ice & rolling resistance. In our opinion, Michelin’s CrossClimate 2 is clearly the best tire in this match up !