General Altimax RT43's

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Needed to put new tires on my Wife's Toyota Echo, Stock size 175/65R14 81S. The Dunlop SP-60's still had 4/32's but were noisy and the bad wheel bearings (one front and one rear already replaced) and couple of slightly bent rims had taken their toll so I thought I would replace them before winter. She uses this as her work car and I wanted a good all round tire.
Did my research and decided on General Altimax RT43 for replacements. Got a great price locally and got them on today (Replaced the two bent rims with re-furbished ones that I had already bought) Nice ride and MUCH quieter. Nice fresh tires too date code 1614.
The only question I had was the index and speed rating. The OEM call out is 175/65R14 81S. The RT43's are 175/65R14 82T so a slightly higher load index and speed rating but not by much.

Any issues here with moving up to 82T from 81S?
 
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I bought 14" inch rims and bought them as winter tires for a 1999 SL2. Like the ride and handling. They were best winter all season tire I have used.
 
Absolutely no problem moving up in speed rating and load index. Going higher is fine; going lower is not.

The load index is the amount of weight the tire is equipped to handle, so nothing wrong with a tire that can handle more weight than OE
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Originally Posted By: sceva
......Any issues here with moving up to 82T from 81S?


In actuality, you didn't go up in either speed rating or Load Index.

1) The Load Index difference is due to the way different tire standardizing organizations calculate load carrying capacity. From the tire's perspective, it remains the same construction.

2) The speed rating difference is such a minor difference the many tire manufacturers use the same construction for both S and T rated tires. Sure, some will used a very slightly different construction, but this has more to do with their own internal policies than the difference between what they do, and what some other tire manufacturer does.
 
Just put set onto each of my cars. Waiting to see how they do this winter.
 
Just got my RT43's installed but, need lots of miles to form any review at all. Need lots of rain(which is in the forecast) to test the Hydroplaning Resistance. And, we'll see how well they do in the snow/ice this winter. Mostly with the ice stopping in this AWD.

Often in the snow/ice with the OE tires(G/Y Integrity's) the ABS kicked on tooooooo often while stopping. With the tires I just replaced(G/Y Assurance Comfort Treads), the ABS almost never came on. Now with the RT43, I hope for the same!

The RT43's have balanced well(still need a 4 whl align) and are smooth & quiet and ride & handle well. Sharper steering response than the G/Y ACT's which were the Non-Touring and quite bland! Thus far, the RT43's are on par with better known tires!
 
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I had put a set of these on my wife's AWD Saturn Vue before trading it... Only had maybe 10k on them when we traded it off, but they were fantastic riding and handeling in the time we did have them.
 
Add my name to the General Altimax RT43 converts! I just had them installed on my 2013 Hyundai Elantra GT. What a major difference from the Sumitomo pieces of [censored] I had. I wish I would have done more research when I had the Sumi's put on there about 15,000 miles ago. These tires are quiet, responsive and really seem to dull the road imperfections. Thanks to this thread I am a happy camper and I feel like I have a brand new car.
 
Over time I had been using the Bridgestone Potenza RE-7xx and RE-9xx tires on some of the cars. Then I broke a 15 inch wheel on the SE-R and decided to just put the 14s back on. But come to find out that the 185/60 series of Potenzas were no longer available (at least at TireRack). Long story short, I also got the RT-43's and have been pleased so far. The ride quality is outstanding, they're still almost new though, and I don't drive that one much. I "improved" the steering response a little by running them initially at 36 pounds. I may increase that further after they wear in a bit. I buy normal tires with one characteristic above all others - wet traction/braking and these seem to do fine.
 
BTW What ever happened to tires in 185/60? That size seems to have gone "poof". Used to be as common as dirt.
 
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