I've been running Ziex 912's since February, and I love those tires, but I already need new ones! I've been looking for an all-season tire that will last at least 30K miles, is quiet and comfortable, and still will let me take the off-ramp at speed (the posted speed, of course. I drive a mix of city and highway; somewhat spirited, but generally just commuting daily. I'm looking at the General Altimax HP's. The have very good reviews on Tire Rack, but none from MINI drivers. Has anyone used them?

Also, my current tires are stock 205/45/17's - is there any advantage or disadvantage to going with 215/45/17's?

Thanks, Y'all.

 

rigidjunkie, of Mid-Ohio Club, just put a set on his Cooper. You might ask him his thoughts....

For snow, you might want something skinnier [like a 185], as they cut thru it better than fatter tires.

 

Snow is really not a big issue aroud DFW - we get snow a couple times a year, usually very little, rarely sticks around long.

 

I just ordered some. I hope they are good. They had good reviews and a good warranty, but I too noticed none of the reviews I saw were from Mini drivers. I won't get them for a couple of weeks though. I spent almost a week picking out the tires and then when I place the order, the wheels aren't in stock and the nearby distribution center.

 

Since I'm between MINIs, I can't answer the exact question you're asking.

I can say that on my Mazda 3, these tires are excellent. I've had them a few months and have been very pleased. Dry traction is outstanding. I've pushed them very hard and they just won't break loose. The Toyos that came on the car would slide all over the road under the same conditions.

In the wet, they are very good. As you would expect, you give up some traction, but once again, the grip and handling are much better than the Toyo stockers.

 

Well, after almost a month of research, I ordered them this morning - General Altimax HP's in 215/45/17. I'll post my impression of them after I've put a few miles on them.

 

I got mine installed last week and it is a much quieter smoother ride than my old Pirelli run flats. But I haven't driven much. No freeways or wet conditions yet.

 

I've driven about 300 miles on my new Altimax HP's, and I must say, I am impressed. They grip (in dry weather) at least as well as the Falken ziex 912's they replaced, but are a bit mushier in hard turn-in. I increased the pressure to 42 psi (from 34), and they handle much better. They are also incredibly quiet! I thought the 912's were good, but these are almost silent.
In the wet, they are MUCH better than the 912's - just have a solid, planted feel that I didn't have before.
Last week we had a lovely ice storm in DFW and, while I can't say any tire would have been great, the altimax HP's did pretty well - I drove 30-50 miles per day without incident - just a little sliding around.
Overall, I am very, very pleased with these tires - and they have a 50K mile tread warranty! Oh yeah, the tread pattern looks pretty cool also, IMO.

 

Any update in these tires I'm thinking about ordering some very soon?

 

Ranked second only to the Michelin in its category. Good enough for you?

Go here:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/survey....jsp?type=GTAS

 

I was looking at them too but after reading TireRack reviews I decided to stay away. Go read what people didn't like about them, that's what I always do when I shop for tires. To me big factor is steering response and apparently these tires don't have any

 

I was thinking about the Sumitomo HTR Z III. What about Toyo Proxes 4?

 

I've had mine for a while, but still only driven on the freeway a few times and haven't had any issues that would really test handling. But haven't noticed any problems. I did switch from 17" to 16" wheels so now have more sidewall which means they should feel a bit mushier, but I haven't noticed.

 

To be fair, I've not read the Tire Rack reviews since I bought the tires, but your moniker suggests to me that you are looking for a more high performance or ultra-high performance tire. I'll tell anyone up front: These are not real high-performance tires. As I don't know what was said about steering response, all I can say is that they are more than acceptable to me.
I was looking for a long-lasting all-season tire that was comfortable, but would still let me push my daily driver through the few twistys I can find in this area. I was, and still am, very pleased with my choice.
After about 3000 miles, I've noticed no discernible tread wear, and only a very small increase in road noise. As they were virtually silent at the start, I can only detect the change with the windows down and the stereo off. It is extremely minor. The only time I've unintentionally broken traction was in heavy rain when I happened to be stopped with the front wheels on the painted stop line. I can certainly live with that.
I have no stake in pushing anyone toward the Altimax HP's - I've only written my opinion for others to do with as they may. That said, I have become a big fan of these tires, and foresee buying another set. In about 50000 miles!

 

I just ordered as set of 195/60/15 today for my '03 Cooper. Will have them on next week. Hope to have good luck with them.

 

I have a bit more than 5k miles on my 205x50x16 Altimax tires. They are much more quiet than the Goodyear Excellence Run Flats that came on the car. They handle fairly well, although I do not track the car, but I can sucker tailgaters into corners that they cannot negotiate! I have a set of Bridgestone Blizzaks WS-60's for my winter tires. They are the most quiet! They grip in wet, snow and ice very well. I could not walk up my driveway do to the ice but I could drive up it! They are NOT for the twisties!!! They are a nice, comfortable ride. I use the Altimax HP's for the summer and they work just fine.

Stephen

 

I've had mine on for about a week now (approx 1000km) As mentioned they are very smooth, they handle water well. I do get some sidewall induced under steer when pushed. However you have a very high margin of inflation pressures to tune with (up to 51psi) Currently I'm using 37psi, but intend on testing 42psi this week. it does help stiffen up the carcass flex.

 

I'm waking up this old thread for posterity and to report that I have an appointment to get a set of HPs (195/60/1) put on my 2003 R5.

Last years tires were Toyo Proxys 4s. Which were heavy and numbed the car quite a lot. Hopefully the HPs won't be a squishy as my General Altimax winter tires.

 

For the $$ not bad...
I have a set on15 rims that i use as my "commuter tires", goodride, decent mpg.
nothing like a UHP, sidewall is a bit more flexible, but NOTHING like my snows!! In the last month or so since i put them on my car, i have been pleasantly surprised. Grip seems to be surprisingly good for a grand touring tire.....still have uhps on a 16' rims,but for the $$, these tires seem (so far) to be a decent alternative to buying uhp's that seem to last 20-25,000 miles! Think you got them before the end of the rebate, so s good $$ savings on a pretty cheap tire to start. Like i said, decent highway commuter tire...pused on the ramps it has done well, and the 185 i am running seems to have decent grip!

 

This is really good to hear from you, Zippy. I know you have done a fair amount of tire/wheel comparisons.

One reason I'm going for these is their weight; in this size they are under 20lbs ea. And although it's not as light as the stock Conti ProContacts which were 17 lbs each in 175/65/15, they are lighter than the UHP and summer-specific tires which, in the sizes I was considering are all north of 20 lbs.

Another concern is that I'm considering changing my job soon and want to be a little more thrifty; which means not spending $100+ for a 20k mi tire.

And this is my daily driver also, so why not a set of grand tourers?

 

Yeah...pretty much my thinking....
Got a set of 15' rims real cheap (actually almost free after i sold the tppms sensors and oem tires) off a '13 cooper....was going to use them for winter rims(my 15 alloys are getting kinda corroded), but i realized BOTH my UHP tires and my snows were so close to being worn out, neither will last a full season....and i suddenly found myself driving 100 miles a day...not wanting to buy 2 $$$ sets of tires a couple months appart, i went to plan B....
So i found thses tires for about $70, no shipping, with a visa gift card rebate...so decided to try it...
Figured they will be the daily driver tires, still having a couple months of use on both the snows and the uhp tires. Like i said, so far pleasantly surprised. Not exactly firm, but not like marshmello snows. Heck they do make stretches of 93 and 495 where stips of the top layer of pavement has disappeared, a bit more livable. I just like the feel of a Mini With light rims/tires.....i'm always amazed when folks put heavy 17' or 18's on a mini and STILL rave about handling...lol....if they could only feel a mini on lightweight 15's!! Heck the OLD mini's came on "mini-lites".......
in trying to find an inexpensive 15 hp or uhp, i fould selection to be pretty limited...so figured a grandtouring tire would work. As a side bonus, i have picked up about 3 mpg vs my slightly wider 195 snows or about 1.5 (guessing from memory) from my 205 uhp's....so a nice little bonus.

 

First impressions with less than 100 miles of mixed driving.

I don't know if I can live with them. They roll super-silky, so when simply moving straight ahead, they're quite dreamy. But when pushed hard into corners such as highway ramps or back road twists, they just might be too squirmy for my satisfaction. (They are inflated to 37 psi currently)

They definitely feel firmer and smoother than the General Altimax winter tires I just took off, but these HPs may just render the 1" rear swaybar i had installed last summer a waste of money.

I got these Altimax HPs at Town Fair Tire (a northeast franchise) and have 30 days to return them and get something else. I'm going to continue to look at other option while giving these more time to win me over.

For context, so far I've run

Conti ProContact (V rated) 175/65/15 (stock size)
Toyo Proxy Four (V rated) 205/50/15
General Altimax Arctic (Q rated) 185/60/15
General Altimax HP (H rated) 195/60/15

All mounted on stock R81 Imola rims (a.k.a. Holies)

 

I am not liking these HPs at all any more. Ever since I started to slide sideways on a dry on-ramp the other day my confidence in them is shot.

This was a pretty gentle 30 MPH on-ramp getting onto Route 2 here in central Mass. These tires started to break away barely at the 50 mph mark (3rd gear). This is a much lower threshold than any other tire I've had on any car.

And the sidewalls are definitely numbingly squishy. The front end kinda squirms, not carves, under turning force.

I'm looking at my other options.

 

Have owned two sets of these and for the money, they cannot be beat. These are a HP tire and do great on dry or wet roads! My Twiggy has never been in the snow, so I can't rate them in this area.

Let us know how you like 'em.

 

I have the G-Max AS-03's on my MCS, 225/50/16 and I love them. Above average winter performance and pretty good so far in the good stuff.