General Altimax Arctic 12 Review

Winter tires provide a secure winter weather performing capability. They offer safer traction on ice and snow compared to all season tires. This makes them necessary in winter weather. Such tires are marked with the three mountain peak and snowflake symbol, which is given to tires with severe winter weather capabilities.

Priority Tire offers excellent winter weather tires for sale. Among out lineup, we have General’s Altimax Arctic 12, which is a touring tire made for passenger vehicles and SUVs. This tire combines first-rate winter traction with excellent controllability, a lengthened tread life and even high driving comfort levels to ensure its superb performance.

Longer-Lasting Tread Life

A longer lasting tread life is a desirable feature of any tire as it makes them more worth the money. In other words, it makes them more cost efficient. Manufacturers use various technologies to increase the models’ usability, which makes them sell better on the tire market.

The tread design of the Altimax Arctic 12 features a directional V-shaped pattern with high-density zigzag sipes. This pattern enables the tire to upgrade the tread life and the tire’s usability. The zigzag siping pattern lowers the tread’s squirm and actively prevents tread flexing from creating unnecessary friction between the tire and the road surface. The optimal tread design improves the even pressure distribution along the tread area by ensuring a closer road contact. In this manner, the tire evenly spreads out the force of acceleration, cornering and braking along the tread area, actively preventing irregular tread wear formations across the tread area. This combination lengthens the tread life and the tire’s usability significantly.

Handling and Controllability

A tire’s controllability is one of its most essential aspects. As tires are the vehicle’s only parts to come into contact with the road surface, their steering responsiveness, driving stability and maneuvering are of the greatest importance.

The Altimax Arctic 12 boosts the driving safety levels in various weather by increasing the vehicle’s handling. The tread’s arrowhead shaped center tread elements form a directional tread pattern that closely follows the road surface at all times. The better road contact increases the steering responsiveness and the driving stability. In other words, the steering becomes faster and more precise in its response to the driver’s commands, while the structure is stabilized against the driving pressure affecting the model. In this manner, the driver has full control over the vehicle in all winter conditions.

The maneuvering and braking capability is also boosted with the tread design. The larger shoulder tread blocks with the siping detail manage to heighten the number of biting edges gripping the road surface during the tire’s cornering and maneuvering, guaranteeing a safer driving experience in various conditions. The tread’s directional pattern and zigzag siping detail work together to upgrade the braking power. They create friction between the tire and the road surface to decrease the braking distance, even when driving on a slippery road surface.

The ideal tire shape is also maintained during the tire’s performance. The polyamide ply reinforced steel belt construction keeps the tire’s optimal shape under the pressure. As they prevent the tire’s deformation under the driving pressure affecting it, the tire is able to securely perform at its maximum capability.

Winter Weather Traction

Winter tires must have better traction as they are intended to perform in severe winter weather conditions. Their detailed tread design and durable compound must work together to boost the winter weather grip and to maintain the rubber flexibility and softness throughout their performance.

The Altimax Arctic 12 was designed with a directional tread design with a high-density siping detail molded from a durable winter-focused compound. The tread elements, with the zigzag serrated sipes and the optimally angled tread block placement increase the tire’s grip, even when driving on ice- and snow-covered road surface conditions. They allow the tire to provide additional biting edges that grip the road surface throughout their performance. The compound, on the other hand, boosts the rubber flexibility and keeps the tire pliable in colder temperatures.

The tread’s intricate groove pattern actively avoids hydroplaning. Hydroplaning is a dangerous road hazard, which happens when water and slush remain on the road surface and they cut off the tire’s surface contact. This causes the vehicle to skid and the driver to lose control over it. The General Altimax Arctic 12 uses its high void, angled lateral grooves to eliminate water and slush from beneath the tire’s footprint, maintaining the tire’s ideal surface contact. In other words, they ensure the tire’s hydroplaning resistance, improving the wet and slippery winter weather performance.

The tread design’s special elements further improve the driving safety in winter weather. The special snow traction ridges located between the tread elements, enhance the tire’s acceleration, braking and cornering when driving through deep snow by improving the driving traction and ensuring a secure forward motion. The tread is also pinned for studs, which can be added to the tire to further increase the ice and snow traction and to boost the driving safety.

High Driving Comfort Levels

Tires that have better driving comfort levels during their performance tend to be more popular on the tire market. As a result, manufacturers strive to achieve lowered road noise and vibration levels even with winter tires.

The Altimax Arctic 12 utilizes its internal construction to decrease the road vibrations felt in the vehicle’s cabin. The structure’s polyester casing allows the tire to closely follow the road surface while it is in motion. In this manner, the model is able to absorb the shock of driving while in motion, which actively prevents the formation of road vibrations. As the road vibrations cannot be felt in the vehicle’s cabin, they cannot dampen the passengers’ driving enjoyment, promoting a comfortable driving experience.

If you’re interested in purchasing General Altimax Arctic 12 tires, you can find our current stock here.