General Altimax Arctic 12 Review

An impressive winter tire at a great price, the General Altimax Arctic 12 is an ideal option to give you confidence and safety in your car or crossover when the temperature drops and the snow begins to fall.

PROS

  • Great handling and stability on snow
  • Solid cold weather grip
  • Great price
  • Studdable

CONS

  • Can be a touch loud

   

Made of a unique winter tread compound that resists freezing in brutal temperatures, the General Altimax Arctic 12 offers versatile grip. The silica-infused tread gives it traction on cold wet roads and icy ones too.

The tire’s directional tread pattern has numerous benefits with a large mesh of tread blocks in the center to deliver excellent highway stability on clear roads and surprisingly good stability and responsiveness on snow-covered ones. The directional design has also been custom designed to help improve wear performance over time – always a key concern with winter tires.

It also helps with water and slush evacuation, to help keep the rubber gripping the road, when you want it to. And the generous amount of siping helps snow stick to the tire, so it can use it as friction surface to grip snow-covered roads. Those sipes even extend onto the tire’s shoulders for use in deeper snow or when cornering.

The unique shape of the sipes also means that while they’re open to grip the snow, under the demands or cornering, acceleration and braking on clear roads, they lock together to give the tread more stability and maintain better handling.

On top of all this, if you do require even more grip, the Altimax Arctic 12 is studdable too.

Are General Altimax Arctic 12 tires good?

While there are some winter tires that do offer more extreme capability than the Altmax Arctic 12, it’s an impressive overall package delivering impressive grip and handling on packed snow, responsiveness and great braking performance on cold, clear roads and even decent slush evacuation. Priced as one of the more affordable winter tires out there, the Altimax Arctic 12 offers a lot for your money.

General Altimax Arctic 12 Price

Pricing for the General Altimax Arctic 12 starts at roughly $80 per tire for a 14-inch size and goes up to around $180 per a tire for a 19-inch version.

   

General Altimax Arctic 12 Warranty

As a winter tire, the Altimax Arctic 12 is not covered by a specific tread wear warranty. It does come with a 45-day satisfaction guarantee and is covered by the brand’s standard limited warranty. As a result, General Tire will replace defective tires for free within the first 2/32-inch of tread wear or first 12 months since the date of purchase, whichever comes first. After that point and until the 72-month period, General Tire will replace defective tires on a pro-rated basis.

General Altimax Arctic 12 Sizes

14-inch sizes
185/70/R14
175/70/R14
175/65/R14
185/65/R14

15-inch sizes
205/70/R15
175/65/R15
215/70/R15
185/60/R15
195/60/R15
185/65/R15
195/65/R15
205/65/R15

16-inch sizes
205/60/R16
205/65/R16
215/70/R16
225/65/R16
215/65/R16
225/60/R16
215/60/R16
205/55/R16
225/70/R16
215/55/R16
235/60/R16
225/55/R16

17-inch sizes
215/65/R17
215/55/R17
205/50/R17
225/65/R17
225/60/R17
225/55/R17
215/50/R17
235/55/R17
235/65/R17
215/60/R17
215/45/R17
235/60/R17
225/50/R17
225/45/R17
235/45/R17

18-inch sizes
225/60/R18
225/50/R18
235/45/R18
235/55/R18
225/45/R18
225/55/R18
235/60/R18

19-inch sizes
225/55/R19

Who sells General Altimax Arctic 12 tires?

General tires are widely available through most local tire shops as well as major online retailers like TireRack and Discount Tire.

Are General Altimax Arctic 12 tires noisy?

While far from being exceedingly loud, as a winter tire there’s slightly more road noise generated by the tread pattern of this tire. It could be quieter, but we definitely wouldn’t hold back from buying these tires based on road noise.

How long do General Altimax Arctic 12 tires last?

As a winter tire, General doesn’t offer any mileage warranty on these tires. That said, for most winter tires you should expect to get three to four seasons out of a set, depending on how long you run them each year.

Is the General Altimax Arctic 12 a directional tire?

To help deliver optimal grip on snow covered roads, the Altimax Arctic 12 makes use of a directional tread pattern. This design also helps clear away water and slush from the contact patch to optimize traction. Of note, directional tread pattern tires can only be rotated front to rear and not side-to-side, which can limit your ability to prolong their life.