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Head-to-head Updated September 2026

Cooper CS5 Grand Touring vs General AltiMAX RT43 — Compared (September 2026)

Our Relative Score blends 60% objective test data with 40% owner-review signal — so any two tires can be compared even if they were never tested on the same day.

Tire A Cooper

Cooper CS5 Grand Touring

All Season Touring tires

Cooper CS5 Grand Touring tread pattern
Objective (60%)
/100
No test data yet
User signal (40%)
94/100
558 owner reviews
Dry
97
Wet
93
Snow
Comfort
94
Noise
92
Treadwear
88
Handling
94

Prices change daily — check the retailer for your size.

VS
Tire B General

General AltiMAX RT43

All Season Premium Touring tires

General AltiMAX RT43 tread pattern
Objective (60%)
/100
No test data yet
User signal (40%)
92/100
817 owner reviews
Dry
95
Wet
91
Snow
65
Comfort
92
Noise
90
Treadwear
89
Handling
93

Prices change daily — check the retailer for your size.

VerdictWinner: Cooper CS5 Grand Touring. It leads or ties in every category we score.
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Category breakdown

7 categories, side by side

Each bar is the Relative Score for that category. Expand a tile to see the test results and owner ratings behind it.

Dry

Weight: Neutral
Score (0–100) CS5 Grand Touring leads by 2
A — Cooper CS5 Grand Touring
97
B — General AltiMAX RT43
95
Why this score
SourceCS5 Grand TouringAltiMAX RT43
Tyre Reviews owners 70 75
America's Tire owners 97 96

Wet

Weight: Important
Score (0–100) CS5 Grand Touring leads by 2
A — Cooper CS5 Grand Touring
93
B — General AltiMAX RT43
91
Why this score
SourceCS5 Grand TouringAltiMAX RT43
Tyre Reviews owners 65 73
America's Tire owners 93 92

Snow

Weight: Neutral
Score (0–100)
A — Cooper CS5 Grand Touring
B — General AltiMAX RT43
65
Why this score
SourceCS5 Grand TouringAltiMAX RT43
Tyre Reviews owners 65

Comfort

Weight: Neutral
Score (0–100) CS5 Grand Touring leads by 2
A — Cooper CS5 Grand Touring
94
B — General AltiMAX RT43
92
Why this score
SourceCS5 Grand TouringAltiMAX RT43
Tyre Reviews owners 55 67
America's Tire owners 94 92

Noise

Weight: Neutral
Score (0–100) CS5 Grand Touring leads by 2
A — Cooper CS5 Grand Touring
92
B — General AltiMAX RT43
90
Why this score
SourceCS5 Grand TouringAltiMAX RT43
America's Tire owners 92 90

Treadwear

Weight: Important
Score (0–100) AltiMAX RT43 leads by 1
A — Cooper CS5 Grand Touring
88
B — General AltiMAX RT43
89
Why this score
SourceCS5 Grand TouringAltiMAX RT43
Tyre Reviews owners 100 76
America's Tire owners 88 89

Handling

Weight: Neutral
Score (0–100) CS5 Grand Touring leads by 1
A — Cooper CS5 Grand Touring
94
B — General AltiMAX RT43
93
Why this score
SourceCS5 Grand TouringAltiMAX RT43
Tyre Reviews owners 55 67
America's Tire owners 94 93

Scores at a glance

Cooper CS5 Grand Touring vs General AltiMAX RT43: scores by category (0–100)
CategoryCooper CS5 Grand TouringGeneral AltiMAX RT43
Relative Score 93 91
Dry 97 95
Wet 93 91
Snow 65
Comfort 94 92
Noise 92 90
Treadwear 88 89
Handling 94 93

Higher is better. The Relative Score follows your weights below; category scores do not change.

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Wet grip and treadwear start at “Important” — the two things buyers rank highest. Move the sliders and the scores update instantly.

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Recomputed
Headline score

Tire A

Tire B

Only categories both tires have data for count toward the headline score.

From owners

Pros, cons & observations

Themes extracted from owner reviews across retailers and review sites — not the opinion of TireWheelGuide.

Tire A Cooper CS5 Grand Touring

Not enough owner reviews yet to extract themes.

Tire B General AltiMAX RT43

The General Altimax RT43 is widely regarded as a high-value, versatile all-season touring tire that excels in providing a comfortable, quiet ride and reliable traction across varied weather conditions. While the vast majority of users praise its longevity and performance-to-price ratio, a small subset of reviewers report inconsistent manufacturing quality, such as balancing issues or premature sidewall failure.

Pros

  • Exceptional value for the price point compared to premium brands.
  • Strong wet and light-to-moderate snow traction.
  • Quiet and comfortable ride quality.
  • Impressive tread life and durability, even on gravel roads.

Cons

  • Occasional reports of balancing difficulties and vibration issues.
  • Some users noted a decline in snow performance as the tread wears down.
  • Isolated reports of sidewall failures or premature tread separation.
  • Softer sidewalls can lead to a less responsive feel during aggressive cornering.

Observations

  • Owners of minivans and SUVs (e.g., Sienna, Odyssey, RAV4) frequently report significant improvements in ride comfort and noise reduction over OEM tires.
  • Subaru owners noted the tire handles well in varied terrain, though some performance-oriented drivers find the sidewalls too soft for spirited driving.
  • Users with high-mileage commutes appreciate the tire's longevity, though some noted a slight decrease in fuel efficiency compared to dedicated low-rolling-resistance tires.
Community buzz

What real owners are saying

From Reddit, forums and review threads. Not part of our score

Tire A

Cooper CS5 Grand Touring

Positive

Community members frequently inquire about the compatibility and longevity of the Cooper CS5 Grand Touring tires across various vehicles like the Toyota Highlander, Corolla, Subaru, and Honda Odyssey. Users who own them report high satisfaction, highlighting quiet rides, smooth handling, and favorable comparisons to competitors like Michelin Defenders.

Top themes
#Treadwear and Longevity#Ride Comfort and Quietness#Wet and Winter Traction#Price and Value#Vehicle Compatibility

Based on 5 community posts

Tire B

General AltiMAX RT43

Positive

The General Altimax RT43 is widely praised by the community as an exceptional value-for-money all-season touring tire, often compared favorably to more expensive premium brands like Michelin. Users frequently highlight its strong wet-weather performance, solid tread life, and affordability, though some note it can become slightly noisier as it wears down.

r/TeslaModel3 ·6 upvotes ·2020-01-02

“Replacement tires I have about 25k miles on my original tires (LR AWD, 18” Aeros) and evening though I have rotated then every 6-7000, I am not going to make it past 30k. So, anyone have any recommendations for replacements? Should I go for the standard Michelin’s? Anyone used anything else? For the record, Ian not concerned with the foam and road noise is fine. I’d like something less expensive, longer wearing, or both, without sacrificing much in the way of performance. For my usage, wet weather handling is more important than high performance. I drive it hard occasionally, but I am most concerned with how it performs on day-to-day commute and driving. (70 mile commute, round trip, 3-days/week). Thanks. Edit: thanks for the info everyone. I talked to my local tire guy and he recommended General Altimax RT43s. He also said the sound dampening foam is mostly a gimmick (which is what I suspected). He quoted me $198 (his prices include EVERYTHING). I could get them from Tire Rack for $152 and local install for $30 + 3 (disposal) which would save me a mere $13 per tire. But based on past experience with this tire shop, it is easily worth the extra $13 for convenience and peace of mind if I need flat repair or warranty claims. Related to that, he said the RT43 is a 60k tire but I should only expect 40-50 on my Model 3 and at best a $15 credit per tire. Frankly, I’d be happy with 40k. Probably going to keep the current rubber for another month, then get the Generals.”

r/CX5 ·2 upvotes ·2026-03-18

“Anyone running General RT45? Looking to replace the shitastic Toyo A36 on my 2023 PP that I just picked up. Was going to try to make them last until fall, but having picked a screw in one, im probably going to bite the bullet and change them now. I ran the RT43 on both my NA Miata as well as my 5-GT and was happy with them. Tire Rack is running a $140 rebate on a set of 4 right now. Just curious as to people's thoughts. Or, should I just bite the bullet and go with Continental Cross Contacts? Read more”

r/tires ·1 upvote ·2026-08-25

“I have general grabbers on my vanagon and they just don’t wear. I had rt43s on a Tiguan before and they had 4/32nds left at around 60k miles”

r/tires ·1 upvote ·2026-08-25

“I had great luck with 2 sets of the RT43s years back. The only my comment was they were a little less grippy than other tires for high G lateral forces. IE taking curves WAY above intelligent speeds. Otherwise, they were sure footed in any other situation. Including incliment weather.”

Top themes
#value for money#wet weather performance#tread life durability#comparison with michelin#winter and snow traction#road noise and comfort#successor rt45 transition

Based on 38 community posts

Specifications

Specs side by side

Attribute A · Cooper CS5 Grand Touring B · General AltiMAX RT43
CategoryAll Season Touring tiresAll Season Premium Touring tires
Vehicle typePassenger Car / Crossover
Tread depth11 - 12/32″10 - 12/32″
UTQG780 A A600 - 700 A A - B
Treadwear warranty80,000 mi
SidewallBlack Side WallBlack Side Wall - Raised Outline White Lettering
Max pressure44 psi44 - 51 psi
Final verdict

Which one should you actually buy?

Cooper

General

Winner: Cooper CS5 Grand Touring. It leads or ties in every category we score.

Tire A · Cooper CS5 Grand Touring
Tire B · General AltiMAX RT43

How do we compare tires?

Every category score blends two independent signals. 60% comes from professional tire tests (braking distances, lap times, noise measurements) normalized against the best tire in each test and weighted toward recent tests. 40% comes from thousands of owner reviews collected from retailers and review sites. When a tire has only one of the two, we use what exists and say so.

Community buzz from Reddit and forums is shown for context only — it never changes the score.