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What A/S tire choice for our vans if you went to DT

  • Goodyear Assurance A/S

    Votes: 1 20.0%
  • Arizonian Silver Edition III

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Falken Sincera SN201 A/S

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • General Altimax RT43

    Votes: 4 80.0%
  • Toyo Tire Extensa A/S

    Votes: 0 0.0%

What A/S tire choice for our vans if you went to DT

4K views 27 replies 9 participants last post by  Special Edy 
#1 ·
There is a Discount Tire close by to the hous. They have the following All Season (A/S) tires available in the store listed in the poll. I'm not a tire brand loyalist either.

In the past, I've had the Yokohamas with poor wet weather and snow over 3-inches difficult to steer in. Thus those were not added in the poll.

Just reading tire reviews can make your head swim. WHY? most of the reviews a vague and do not apply to the vehicle you drive. Te only review site that can actually narrow to body style like 'minivan' is https://tirereviewsandmore.com But, there isn't enough to decide.

Anyone have/had any of the tires in the poll on their Caravan or TnC vehicle? If so, reply by 1= worse up to 5=best

Ride Comfort

Cornering/Steering

Ride Noise

Tread Life

Dry Traction

Wet Traction

And, would you buy them again.

PS, Should you have second thoughts on your first pick, you can change it.
 
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#2 ·
No tire vote for me but under the tires, I usually go for a +0 tire but taller and wider in size. Just my preference for more rubber on the ground and "rim protector"

Check out tirerack and see if you can find their own reviews on the tires. This helps in my decision on tires
 
#5 · (Edited)
Good advice from the man. ? Tires new aren't the same as tires worn though. The Tire Rack reviews should be good to best information for tires with over 1,000,000 miles reported on.

I remember the Michelin Defender being number 1 for many months and then started the downward trend as miles were accumulated. They were initially rated as being quiet and having good snow traction, neither one being accurate after a few thousand miles.

The General Altimax RT43 should be good value/service.

Consumer Reports: https://www.consumerreports.org/products/all-season-tire/general-altimax-rt43-t-296735/overview/

Tire Rack: https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=General&tireModel=AltiMAX+RT43+(H-+or+V-Speed+Rated)

Here, Canadian Tire has their version of the RT43, the General Tire Evertrek RTX: https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/tires/pdp/general-tire-evertrek-rtx-0044901p.html

Canadian Tire professionally test and rate some of the tires they sell and give the Evertrek a score of 96 and the Goodyear Assurance a score of 94.

General Tire is owned by Continental Tire, the World's 4th largest tire manufacturer.

I think the results of your Poll will make you even more confused.



.
 
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#4 · (Edited)
On my 05 DGCV SE 3.3L w/ ~232K:
  • I am currently using 4 BFG Advantage T/A 215/70R15 98T
    • 04/16: installed at 183K
    • 09/19: at ~49K (and ~3 1/2 years) of use now, they are ready to be replaced before winter, as I would have expected w/ warranty of 6 year/70K on T rated
    • 11/18: pleased w/ performance in NJ's 11/15/18 3-5" snowfall on roads/7" total, ~40 miles of hills, w/ ~25% tread left
  • I had 1 front tire develop a sidewall bump/bubble within ~2 months... I do not normally drive it, so not certain what happened to it (curb/pothole/defect)... replaced w/ same tire and no issues
Regarding my tire selection research:
  • My primary A/S tire selection criteria are:
    • Snow performance: I try to find the best All Season(A/S) tires that will also perform adequately in ~1" of snow
    • Price
  • I primarily use TireRack's pictures and specs to start the research, since their website's search filter features are top notch
  • I narrow the set down to ~3
  • I go to the manufacturer's site for additional info
Regarding TireRack:
  • Tire shipping costs:
    • If you're near one of these TireRack distribution warehouses, you can pickup the tires yourself and save the shipping cost:
      • South Bend, IN
      • Denver, CO
      • Windsor, CT
      • New Castle, DE
      • Doraville, GA
      • Midway, GA
      • Shreveport, LA
      • Roseville, MN
      • McCarran, NV
      • Burien, WA
    • I went to the TireRack's New Castle, Delaware warehouse... they had a sales counter, they looked up my order & I was loaded up in 15 minutes (your mileage will vary)
 
#7 ·
Lee, Thanks a bunch.

How is the road noise? Would I need to talk louder or crank up the radio? A/S tires can be funny. Super quiet on one make of vehicle and noisy as a hen house with others.

On a few of the Tire review sites, folks do use this tire on both the 3rd & 4th gen Caravans. Nobody comments on road noise.

Love the fact these do well in the snow. Reviewers also say these are great in wet conditions too. I'm seeing this for 6 months of driving out here in the past year as the mid-west has been getting soaked.

The tires I got now are for down south driving. Thus, sort of useless up north all year.
 
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#8 ·
Noise levels change as time goes on: new tire - half worn tire - worn tire, new pavement - half worn pavement - old pavement and then there's concrete pavement.

I don't think the vehicle, the tires are on, makes a difference, other than for the air pressure used and the sound deadening used in the vehicle. I have had supposedly noisy winter tires riding very quiet compared to worn all season tires. It all depends on the circumstances.

The reviews on Tire Rack cover over 8M miles for the General Altimax RT43. That's a meaningful number covering lots of driving conditions. I would consider over 2M million miles as starting to get meaningful.
 
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#9 ·
How true.

The tires I have now are very quiet from full new tread till now just past the replacement indicators, BUT these did alright in wet traction till half worn down. Snow was just slide anywhere and spin the wheels. They were not even rated A/S.

Plus, the noise question is open ended as folks have different thoughts of what noise bothers them.

I had Kelly Metric tires before. Great performance in all applications but noise. Over 50mph, the radio had to be mid-level or louder. It was a rolling droning hum of a roar. If you ever heard a lifted truck coming down the road a mile away, that's how these tires sounded. These were the BEST tires I ever owned. Never ever got stuck in the snow. Even drove in 6-inches of snow without slowing. The small car did very well.

As for a family van, those roaring tires would not be acceptable. :whistle:

There are a few reports of the RT43 with noise, but it must seem tolerable as those people still rated them high and would buy again.
 
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#10 ·
I put RT43's on our 2011 fwd Toyota Sienna - used ones in the rear, brand new in the front. Some people must be picky about noise, complaining about rocks getting stuck in the tread making everyone look at them. Actually had that happen to us last week while on a vacation to the U.P. of Michigan. I only heard it because the windows were down and we were in town going slowly. Simply pulled over and pulled the stone out of the tread. I'll trade the occasional rock in the tread for the semi-open tread pattern that gives these tires such excellent grip. Other than that, I noticed no loud noises. We now have had the full set of tires on the van for almost 5,000 miles. I decided on them because of reviews on here and on Tire Rack, where you can search for your particular vehicle for reviews.

I like that they are good in snow, in case I'm late getting the winter wheels swapped onto the van (with Blizzaks on them). When we only had the two used ones on the front earlier this summer, we had to drive through a couple of torrential rainstorms. Heavy rain didn't make any problems; only hitting standing, pooling water on the freeway made the van start to hydroplane. Any tire would have, though. Those tires are worn down at least a third of the way, and still kept us in control. Figure I'll replace them with another pair of brand new ones later.

I bought our new pair at DT, they got them in the next day and mounted/balanced/new TPMS and warranty for around $325 (I brought them a pair of clean, bare rims). I had them balanced with sticky weights, to avoid rim corrosion since I had just sanded and polished the lips. I didn't know they would replace the TPMS, or else I would have saved the perfectly good ones I had mounted for some spare rims/winter wheels. Other than that, great service and a competitive price on some good tires.
 
#11 ·
OK, got an order in for the RT43's. It'd rained heavy all weekend, 3-inches overnight alone. Not ideal with the near slicks on the van currently.

Was in Samsclub this weekend. They too have the RT43's, but sell out of them rather fast. Seems it's the go to tire for many SUVs and minivans. The price was within $2 of DT.

Thank you everyone with positive feedback here and for the poll results.
 
#12 ·
The RT43's have been on the van for 4 hours now. For new tires, they ride smooth and quite.

My pa once told me, when you get a new set of wheels, don't go fast nor take sharp corners fast unit after the first few hundred miles. Keep under 60mph, those belts will find their set groove and tune to the vehicle better that way.

I did that when the RAM got new treads. At first I felt like returning the wheels, but nearing the 600 mile mark, those Komho AT load-E's did settle in.
 
#13 ·
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#14 ·
We have A/S Michelin Defender Tires rated for 80K miles. I love these tires. The are very quite, smooth ride at speeds around 80 mph, long tread life and they wear down very well. Also, great traction in rain and snow. We're on our second set.

IAG, thanks for the info. I've already gone and done the RT43's.

AMAZING thus far. Just last night in cold temps, strong head winds and light rain, the vehicle held great to the road. Other vehicles on the I-90 out of Chicago were swaying (also we stayed away from semis). Hard driving conditions around mid-night, glad it wasn't a rush-hour. I seldom go to Chicago, and I hate the traffic there and the tolls every time you turn around!
 
#16 ·
Summer tires are superior in all conditions except 40°F to 32°F. Below 32°F and on frozen precipitation, you should have winter tires.
I'm a fan of Walmart now. They have better selection and pricing compared to Discount Tire or NTB, where I used to go. Walmart also only charges $25 a tire for all the add-ons, mounting, road hazard warranty, valve stem, lifetime balancing, lifetime rotation. Walmart requires they use a torque wrench on your lugnuts.
NTB and Discount tire, I end up paying almost double the cost of the tires by the time they mount, balance, and put a warranty on the tire.
 
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#17 ·
I'm a fan of Walmart now. They have better selection and pricing compared to Discount Tire or NTB, where I used to go. Walmart also only charges $25 a tire for all the add-ons, mounting, road hazard warranty, valve stem, lifetime balancing, lifetime rotation. Walmart requires they use a torque wrench on your lugnuts.
Edy, I priced DT and Walmart for the RT43's. DT came out ahead. Not just in cost, but having the tires the next day. Walmart had the RT43's, but not in the size for the van readily available. I even cruised Sam's club next door and Costco down the street. Costco tires are very pricey and are the top of the line brands too. It felt like and MC Hammer time of, You Can't Touch This ... moment. ?

I've been comparing trailer tires from TSC, Walmart and Menards. Thus far, Menards is ahead. 4.80-12 and no, they will NOT be the Carlisle brand either. lol Wlamart wants $77 and Menards is $59 for the same brand tire. I'm just waiting till the 11% off days at Menards for a little more savings. :p
 
#21 ·
Another important thing is to make sure that your wheels fit the hubs. I see a large number of vans riding around on steel wheels or non factory wheels. Our vans are hub centric, the weight of the van should be supported by the 71.6mm hub bore and not the wheel studs.
 
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#22 ·
Hub certric versus lug centric - I'm guessing most vehicles are designed with rims that are hub centric. However, aftermarket steel rims (and other rims) for winter tires may be lug centric instead of hub centric.
CENTER BORE: The center bore is the large middle hole machined in the wheel to properly seat the wheels on the vehicle hub. It is important that the center bore of the wheel matches the vehicle hub size. Most aftermarket wheels are machined with a larger bore to fit more vehicles and they use hubcentric rings to adapt to the car they’re installed on. These rings have an outside diameter with the wheel center bore size and an inner diameter matching the vehicle hub size, making sure you have a perfect fitment no matter what vehicle you’re installing the wheels on
LUG CENTRIC: Most aftermarket wheels are made with a larger hub to ensure that they will fit on a wide range of vehicles. This means that when the wheel is installed, there will most likely be a space between the axle and the hub instead of a firm contact. The wheel is therefore lug-centric, as the wheel is centered by the lugs rather than by the hub. In the case of steel rims, we cannot put centering rings! There is no danger with putting on these rims. Most vehicles on the road will have these lug centric rims since they are more popular with garages. They only have to stock a small amount compared to a hub centric wheel.
Those quotes were from: https://onlywheels.com/content/tech-center

More care is required when installing lug centric rims to make sure the wheel is fully off the ground during initial tightening.
 
#26 ·
The only time my Snap-On torque wrench gets used is for head bolts and engine bearing caps...
 
#27 ·
Why are you saving it? :)
 
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