Vredestein Quatrac Pro or General Altimax RT43

Joined
Mar 28, 2007
Messages
387
Location
York, Pa.
I'm deciding between these two for this winter. The vehicle is a '19 Kia Sorento V6 with AWD. I'm currently approaching 10,000 miles on the OE Kumho Crugen tires, but they have already slid sideways on me on a damp road. I would like them replaced before winter.

Using Tire Rack for my figures and reviews, the Quatrac Pro in my size (235/55/19) is a 400 AA, XL tire that weighs 30 lbs and has the three mtn. peak winter symbol. Cost in my size is $185.29. They are very well liked by the users reporting on Tire Rack. But it's a fairly new tire with only 662,705 accumulated miles by the reviewers. That's not much. And folks are usually pretty happy when tires are brand new.

The General RT43 is a favorite around here and I can see why. I already had a set on a previous vehicle and liked them. I was impressed with them in the snow, and it turns out that other people like their snow capability also. In my size, the RT43 cost $177.99, is a 700 AA XL tire that weighs 27 lbs.. And as most of you know, they are also well liked on Tire Rack by owners.

So I'm not sure whether to stick with a known tire (RT43), or try something new. From the reviews and the UTQG ratings the Vredestein will not last as long. I'm also wondering with that tread pattern on the Quatrac if it will be 'buzzy' with road noise. If any of you have experience with Vredesteins, please chime in with your thoughts.

My one question is, they are both XL tires, and the RT43 has a 700 UTQG rating, but weighs 3 lbs. less than the Quatrac Pro. So that 700 rating must come from tire compound. They both have tread depth of 10/32. So is the Quatrac which weighs 3 lbs. more, a sturdier tire? Am I reading too much into the weight difference? Again, these weights and measurements are all coming from Tire Rack. Are they all correct? Who knows.

Any thoughts will be appreciated. And of course, none of this is life or death. Just thought it might make for good tire discussion.
 
My stepson has had Vredestein on his 2010 Elantra for about 3 years now . He used to use dedicated snow tires during winters in Omaha. Well 2 years ago he moved to Fargo ND and he had no room to store a set of winter tires. So he went with Vredestein and he said they do just as well as his old dedicated snow tires without the hassle of changing them out every winter. I figure Fargo has about as harsh of winter as you can get in the lower 48. I live in Lincoln and when my dedicated winters wear out or age out( about 2 years from now. I am going to go with Vredestein tires. Save some room in my garage as well as storing 8 tires takes up considerable room in my little 1 car garage.
 
they're pretty different tires. Quatrac Pro is going to be a lot better in terms of traction--wet or dry--in exchange for higher wear. I have the Quatrac Pros on my Golf R. Originally I was going to use them as my "Pacific NW winter tire", but I left them on all year. Performance-wise they're great, and they are wearing better than their UTQG rating. I'd expect 35-40K out of them on a 400 hp hatchback that's driven pretty hard. Wet traction is really impressive.

Noise-wise, they're very quiet. I can't really compare them to the RT43's, because I've only used those on a different car with a much higher-profile tire. Compared to other UPH A/S tires though, it's quiet.
 
The Vredstein rated better in every category. That’s what I would got with, the superior tire. It’s a premium tire at reasonable prices. The General is a middling tire at inflated prices, especially in your size.
 
Consumer Reports rates the RT43 higher. The RT43 is the highest rated all season tire. You have to move to the performance category to get something better. Snow performance on the RT43 is rated as very good, but it is still not as good as a dedicated snow tire, especially on ice.

That being said, in your size I would go with the Vredstein Hightrack or a Continental TruContact Tour. The Continental has a 95K (!) projected life vs 55K for the Hightrack and both have excellent snow ratings, exemplary for an all-season tire. The Hightrack has better wet braking ratings but otherwise the tire ratings are similar. I would probably err on the side of safety and get the Hightrack unless you are a high mileage driver in a dry area.
 
Consumer Reports rates the RT43 higher. The RT43 is the highest rated all season tire. You have to move to the performance category to get something better. Snow performance on the RT43 is rated as very good, but it is still not as good as a dedicated snow tire, especially on ice.

That being said, in your size I would go with the Vredstein Hightrack or a Continental TruContact Tour. The Continental has a 95K (!) projected life vs 55K for the Hightrack and both have excellent snow ratings, exemplary for an all-season tire. The Hightrack has better wet braking ratings but otherwise the tire ratings are similar. I would probably err on the side of safety and get the Hightrack unless you are a high mileage driver in a dry area.

Looking at the pictures on Tire Rack, the HiTrac looks good. But it's so new that there are no customer reviews yet. Are you getting your review from CR? I would like to see what consumers think. When looking at Tire Rack customer reviews, I always sort them to show those with the most miles on the tires. Fairly new tires usually are quiet and ride nice and may be good in snow. I'm interested in reviews of tires with 20,000 or 30,000 miles on them. Are they still quiet and good in rain and snow?

I am retired and live in southern Pa. We get snow here but not huge amounts like states farther north. And most of the time we don't 'have' to go anywhere. But sometimes you get caught in unexpected situations. That's why I want a tire that's better in snow than my OE tires.

Thanks for your suggestions. I will look at both of those some more before I make a decision.
 
I'm deciding between these two for this winter. The vehicle is a '19 Kia Sorento V6 with AWD. I'm currently approaching 10,000 miles on the OE Kumho Crugen tires, but they have already slid sideways on me on a damp road. I would like them replaced before winter.

Using Tire Rack for my figures and reviews, the Quatrac Pro in my size (235/55/19) is a 400 AA, XL tire that weighs 30 lbs and has the three mtn. peak winter symbol. Cost in my size is $185.29. They are very well liked by the users reporting on Tire Rack. But it's a fairly new tire with only 662,705 accumulated miles by the reviewers. That's not much. And folks are usually pretty happy when tires are brand new.

The General RT43 is a favorite around here and I can see why. I already had a set on a previous vehicle and liked them. I was impressed with them in the snow, and it turns out that other people like their snow capability also. In my size, the RT43 cost $177.99, is a 700 AA XL tire that weighs 27 lbs.. And as most of you know, they are also well liked on Tire Rack by owners.

So I'm not sure whether to stick with a known tire (RT43), or try something new. From the reviews and the UTQG ratings the Vredestein will not last as long. I'm also wondering with that tread pattern on the Quatrac if it will be 'buzzy' with road noise. If any of you have experience with Vredesteins, please chime in with your thoughts.

My one question is, they are both XL tires, and the RT43 has a 700 UTQG rating, but weighs 3 lbs. less than the Quatrac Pro. So that 700 rating must come from tire compound. They both have tread depth of 10/32. So is the Quatrac which weighs 3 lbs. more, a sturdier tire? Am I reading too much into the weight difference? Again, these weights and measurements are all coming from Tire Rack. Are they all correct? Who knows.

Any thoughts will be appreciated. And of course, none of this is life or death. Just thought it might make for good tire discussion.

In addition to the user reviews, Tire Rack themselves also tested the Vredestein Quatrac Pro and were overall impressed. However, it was the poorest performer in the test for winter traction despite the 3PMSF symbol.
 
The Quatrac seems to be higher rated then the RT43 now. I’m highly considering these to replace my rock hard Michelin’s that slip and slide all winter long
 

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I'm writing this as an update as I am the OP. I went with the RT43s as they were a known quantity since I had had them before and we're impressed with them.
 
if it helps...my sister has had the RT43s on her Toyota Corolla for two ChicagoLand Winters (coming into the third) and has been very pleased with them...

Good luck with yours...

Bill
 
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