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Head-to-head Updated September 2026

Firestone Winterforce 2 UV vs General Altimax Arctic 12 — 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 Firestone

Firestone Winterforce 2 UV

Firestone Winterforce 2 UV tread pattern
Objective (60%)
–/100
No test data yet
User signal (40%)
89/100
Owner ratings
Dry
87
Wet
89
Snow
91
Comfort
84
Noise
80
Treadwear
86
Handling
86
Check price on Amazon

Prices change daily — check the retailer for your size.

VS
Tire B General

General Altimax Arctic 12

Premium Touring Winter tire

General Altimax Arctic 12 tread pattern
Objective (60%)
60/100
1 professional test
User signal (40%)
87/100
56 owner reviews
Dry
45
Wet
61
Snow
74
Comfort
86
Noise
83
Treadwear
86
Handling
80
Check price on Amazon

Prices change daily — check the retailer for your size.

VerdictWinner: Firestone Winterforce 2 UV — better dry, wet and snow. Pick the General Altimax Arctic 12 if noise matters most to you.
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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) Winterforce 2 UV leads by 42
A
87
B
45
Why this score
SourceWinterforce 2 UVAltimax Arctic 12
Professional tests (TWG score) – 17
Tire Rack owners 89 86
Tyre Reviews owners – 70
SimpleTire owners 93 87

Wet

Weight: Important
Score (0–100) Winterforce 2 UV leads by 28
A
89
B
61
Why this score
SourceWinterforce 2 UVAltimax Arctic 12
Professional tests (TWG score) – 43
Tire Rack owners 89 88
Tyre Reviews owners – 85
SimpleTire owners 91 91

Snow

Weight: Neutral
Score (0–100) Winterforce 2 UV leads by 17
A
91
B
74
Why this score
SourceWinterforce 2 UVAltimax Arctic 12
Professional tests (TWG score) – 59
Tire Rack owners 89 91
Tyre Reviews owners – 95
SimpleTire owners 94 96

Comfort

Weight: Neutral
Score (0–100) Altimax Arctic 12 leads by 2
A
84
B
86
Why this score
SourceWinterforce 2 UVAltimax Arctic 12
Professional tests (TWG score) – 86
Tire Rack owners 83 82
Tyre Reviews owners – 70
SimpleTire owners 88 91

Noise

Weight: Neutral
Score (0–100) Altimax Arctic 12 leads by 3
A
80
B
83
Why this score
SourceWinterforce 2 UVAltimax Arctic 12
SimpleTire owners 80 85

Treadwear

Weight: Important
Score (0–100)
A
86
B
86
Why this score
SourceWinterforce 2 UVAltimax Arctic 12
Tire Rack owners 85 87
Tyre Reviews owners – 100
SimpleTire owners 83 90

Handling

Weight: Neutral
Score (0–100) Winterforce 2 UV leads by 6
A
86
B
80
Why this score
SourceWinterforce 2 UVAltimax Arctic 12
Tyre Reviews owners – 65

Scores at a glance

CategoryFirestone Winterforce 2 UVGeneral Altimax Arctic 12
Relative Score 86 74
Dry 87 45
Wet 89 61
Snow 91 74
Comfort 84 86
Noise 80 83
Treadwear 86 86
Handling 86 80

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

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Weight the categories that matter to you

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

From owners

Pros, cons & observations

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

Tire A Firestone Winterforce 2 UV

Not enough owner reviews yet to extract themes.

Tire B General Altimax Arctic 12

The General Altimax Arctic 12 is widely regarded as a high-value, top-tier winter tire that excels in deep snow, slush, and icy conditions. While users note some expected trade-offs in dry pavement handling and increased road noise, the consensus highlights its exceptional longevity and performance-to-price ratio compared to premium competitors.

Pros

  • Outstanding traction and confidence in deep snow, slush, and ice
  • Exceptional tread life and durability for a winter-specific tire
  • High value-for-money proposition compared to premium brands like Nokian or Bridgestone
  • Reliable performance across a diverse range of vehicles, from small sedans to heavy trucks

Cons

  • Noticeable increase in road noise, particularly as the tire wears
  • Softer sidewalls leading to 'squishy' or less precise handling on dry pavement
  • Slightly higher rolling resistance resulting in a minor decrease in fuel economy
  • Reduced grip on dry and wet pavement compared to dedicated all-season or summer tires

Observations

  • Drivers of RWD vehicles, such as the BMW Z4, reported high satisfaction with the tire's ability to maintain control in harsh winter conditions.
  • Users with light-weight vehicles (e.g., Chevy HHR) and heavy-duty trucks (e.g., Ram, F-150) both report consistent, reliable traction in deep snow.
  • The XL-rated versions provide a robust, beefy sidewall that some users appreciate for sport-tuned suspensions.
Specifications

Specs side by side

Attribute A · Firestone Winterforce 2 UV B · General Altimax Arctic 12
Category—Premium Touring Winter tire
Vehicle type—Passenger Car / Crossover
Sizes available3038
Rim diameters15″ – 18″15″ – 19″
Tread depth12/32″12/32″
SidewallBlackwallBlackwall
Max pressure44 psi51 psi
Final verdict

Which one should you actually buy?

Firestone

General

Winner: Firestone Winterforce 2 UV — better dry, wet and snow. Pick the General Altimax Arctic 12 if noise matters most to you.

Pick tire A You want the most grip on dry roads

Firestone Winterforce 2 UV scores 87 vs 45 on dry.

Pick tire A Your priority is wet-weather safety

Firestone Winterforce 2 UV scores 89 vs 61 on wet.

Pick tire A You drive through snowy winters

Firestone Winterforce 2 UV scores 91 vs 74 on snow.

Pick tire A You enjoy sharp, responsive handling

Firestone Winterforce 2 UV scores 86 vs 80 on handling.

Tire A · Firestone Winterforce 2 UV
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Tire B · General Altimax Arctic 12
Check price on Amazon

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.