Tire Test Results

Tires Tested

Fuzion Touring (H- or V-Speed Rated) (Grand Touring All-Season, 215/60R16 95H)

• What We Liked: Responsive handling around town
• What We’d Improve: Quiet the noisy tread pattern and make a big improvement in wet traction along with a gain in snow traction
• Conclusion: Feels like an unfinished design overall

General AltiMAX RT43 (Grand Touring All-Season, 215/60R16 95H)

• What We Liked: Smooth on the road with excellent grip in the wet and snow
• What We’d Improve: Reduce the slight tread growl and increase handling response as long as it doesn’t take away from other attributes
• Conclusion: A very well-rounded tire that excels in every category

Kumho Solus TA71 (Grand Touring All-Season, 215/60R16 95V)

• What We Liked: Impressive wet traction, a quiet highway cruiser
• What We’d Improve: Could be a little more civilized over impacts of all kinds and have better snow traction
• Conclusion: A strong competitor that should be seriously considered if winter traction is not a high priority

Sumitomo HTR Enhance L/X (H-, V-, or W-Speed Rated) (Grand Touring All-Season, 215/60R16 95H)

• What We Liked: Light, easy steering feel on the road
• What We’d Improve: Needs more grip in the wet to be considered acceptable, and would benefit from more snow traction
• Conclusion: An adequate tire if rain is not in the forecast

What We Learned on the Road

Our 6.0-mile loop of expressway, state highway and county roads provides a great variety of road conditions that include city and highway speeds, smooth and coarse concrete, as well as new and patched asphalt. This route allows our team to experience noise comfort, ride quality and everyday handling, just as you would during your drive to school or work.

Throughout our Real World Road Ride loop, the General AltiMAX RT43 proved to be the most well rounded. Though it had a distinct hum from the tread pattern, it was far from overbearing or distracting, and it absorbed road imperfections better than its three classmates. Where road noise is concerned, the Kumho was the head of the class. Tread growl was unobtrusive, with no noticeable tones or offensive sounds. Its weak subject was harshness over impacts, however. The tire’s serene ride made the contrast of the bumps that much more jarring and noticeable. The Sumitomo HTR Enhance L/X felt like it had study group with the General, but didn’t retain quite as much of the subject matter on the morning of the test. It, too, had some tread growl that melded into white noise, but with the volume turned up a notch or two. The way it composed itself over cracks, expansion joints, and potholes was admirable, only making the driver slightly more aware of impacts than the General did. Rounding out the group, but at a noticeable step back, was the Fuzion Touring. Tread noise from the Fuzion was intrusive at all speeds, with a volume and intensity that was distracting.

Steering feel was another highlight of the Kumho Solus TA71. Its athletic nature drew praise for having taut, on-center feel, a controlled ride, and responsive handling. The General tracked in a straight line with minimal correction and offered solid steering feel, but wasn’t as precise or involving as the Kumho. Once again, the Sumitomo seemed to use the same cheat sheet as the General, obediently traveling straight ahead with minimal corrections and providing light, easy handling. The steering revealed one more weak point for the Fuzion, with a vagueness on-center and a dissatisfying tendency to wander. The Kumho impressed with its on-road steering and handling prowess, and we were eager to find out if that built-in athletic ability would equal a spot on the varsity (test) track team.

What We Learned on the Test Track

Our 1/3-mile per lap test track course includes 90-degree street corners, a five-cone slalom and simulated expressway ramps. Run in both dry and wet conditions, the test track allows our team to experience the traction, responsiveness, handling and drivability normally only encountered during abrupt emergency avoidance maneuvers or competition events.

The Fuzion Touring proved to be fastest on the dry track, but the gap in lap times between the first place Fuzion and fourth place Sumitomo was barely over a tenth of a second - hardly enough to consider any tire a "winner" or "loser" in the dry. The General AltiMAX RT43 impressed drivers with its steady-state cornering traction and longitudinal grip, and it established itself as the favorite of the group. Dry-weather testing on our track exposed some natural athleticism in the Kumho. It had the fastest time through our slalom and the sharpest steering response throughout the course, receiving praise from many of our testers. The Sumitomo’s light and uncommunicative steering made it the least-preferred tire in the test for our drivers.

Once we turned the tires loose on our wet track, a divide between the contestants appeared that even grading on a curve wouldn’t reconcile. The Kumho and General fought for every point in their GPA. They both demonstrated impressive wet traction under acceleration, braking, transitions, and steady-state cornering, with the Kumho taking the valedictorian’s spot by a small margin. The Fuzion and Sumitomo must have been sitting in the back row on the day they learned about wet traction, because they came to a stop 27.6 and 31.3 feet longer, respectively, from 50 mph than the head-of-the-class Kumho. Correspondingly the wet track times for the Fuzion and Sumitomo lagged behind the leaders as well, with both tires exhibiting a noticeable deficiency in straight line and cornering traction.

Driving in Winter Conditions

Winter weather is often unpredictable, and snow-covered roads change with every passing vehicle as they churn snow into slush or pack it down to polished ice. A constantly changing test surface makes side-by-side comparisons difficult, so we use a dedicated winter testing facility in Northern Sweden with acres of groomed snow that provides the consistency we need to get reliable acceleration and braking comparisons. This facility also has a prepared snow-handling course where we evaluate the stability and control of each tire during abrupt maneuvers. To simulate the icy conditions found at intersections or the black ice experienced out on the highway, we use ice at a local hockey rink and measure acceleration and braking traction.

In the snow General’s AltiMAX RT43 delivered very good traction for an all-season tire, and better than the other three tires in the test. The Fuzion Touring and Sumitomo HTR Enhance L/X delivered similar overall traction, a noticeable step below the AltiMAX RT43. Further down was the Kumho Solus TA71, which took 19’ longer to stop in the snow than the leading General tire.

Fuel Consumption Results

Our Real World Road Ride features a relatively flat 6.0-mile loop of 65 mph expressway, 55 mph state highway and 40 mph county roads along with two stop signs and one traffic light every lap. Our team drove each tire approximately 500 miles over the course of several days. Since we wanted to compare fuel consumption results that typical drivers would experience, our drivers were instructed to maintain the flow of traffic by running at the posted speed limits and sustain the vehicle’s speed using cruise control whenever possible. They did not use hypermiling techniques to influence vehicle fuel economy.

Tire	Test MPG*	Gallons/Year @ 15,000 Miles	% vs. Most Efficient
Fuzion Touring	32.8	457.3	-0.9%
General AltiMAX RT43	33.1	453.2	--
Kumho Solus TA71	32.4	463.0	-2.2%
Sumitomo HTR Enhance L/X	31.9	470.2	-3.8%
*Our evaluation used Race Technology DL1 data loggers to record true distance travelled.

While none of the tires in this test were designed with low rolling resistance as a high priority, we did find a difference in observed vehicle fuel economy across the group. Based on our results the 1.2 mile per gallon difference between our lowest and highest observed fuel economy would result in an annual difference of around 17 gallons of premium gasoline. At the current cost of $3.00/gallon, it would amount to an annual difference of $51.00 for drivers driving 15,000 miles per year.

It’s important to note our test’s fuel consumption measurements follow consistent procedures designed to minimize variables that could influence the results, however they do not represent an exhaustive long-range fuel consumption study. While our procedures require the test vehicles in each convoy to run under the same prevailing conditions, the week-to-week differences in ambient temperatures, barometric pressures and wind speeds that we experience over a season of testing can influence vehicle fuel consumption and prevent the absolute mpg values of this test from being compared directly against those of others.

Larger differences in consumption between tires may indicate a difference that might be experienced on the road, while smaller differences should be considered equivalent. As they say, your mileage may vary.

Summary

After a hard-fought battle, the General AltiMAX RT43 earned its prom king crown. The General and the Kumho placed first or second in every aspect of testing, making it a tight race that resulted in a difficult decision. In the end, the choice came down to the on-road manners of the two tires. The Kumho made less tread noise, but suffered from some harshness when encountering bumps and road imperfections. The General was more composed and refined over all types of impacts, but had a slightly more noticeable growl when driving. On our winter-ravaged roads in the Midwest, the small increase in tread noise from the General was the preferable compromise. If you live in a part of the country where potholes and frost heaves are less prevalent, then the Kumho Solus TA71 may be the tire for you. In third place was the Sumitomo HTR Enhance L/X, which was commendable on the road, but fell behind once the going got wet. The fourth place finisher was the Fuzion Touring. With the combination of a loud tread pattern, vague steering feel, and poor wet traction, the Fuzion may need to repeat senior year before advancing to college.

Product Details

Fuzion Touring (H- or V-Speed Rated) (Grand Touring All-Season): Fuzion Touring tires featuring H- and V-speed ratings are the Fuzion brand’s Grand Touring All-Season tire developed for the drivers of coupes, sedans, family minivans and small crossover vehicles looking for year-round capability and comfort. The affordably priced Fuzion Touring tires are designed to blend good treadwear, a quiet ride and all-season traction on dry and wet roads, as well as in light snow. Read more.

General AltiMAX RT43 (Grand Touring All-Season): AltiMAX RT43 (Road Touring) tires featuring H- or V-speed ratings are General’s Grand Touring All-Season tire members of their AltiMAX family of flagship tires. Designed to deliver impressive consumer value through even treadwear and long treadlife, the AltiMAX RT43 combines a quiet, comfortable ride with year-round, all-season traction, even in light snow. Read more.

Kumho Solus TA71 (Grand Touring All-Season): The Solus TA71 is Kumho’s Grand Touring All-Season tire developed for sporty coupes and luxury performance sedans and the people who love to drive them. Designed to combine responsive handling with quiet comfort, Solus TA71 tires deliver all-weather traction, even in light snow. Read more.

Sumitomo HTR Enhance L/X (H-, V-, or W-Speed Rated) (Grand Touring All-Season): HTR Enhance L/X tires featuring H-, V- or W-speed rated sizes are Sumitomo’s Grand Touring All-Season tires developed for the drivers of coupes and sedans. Designed to combine long treadwear with good ride comfort, HTR Enhance L/X tires provide all-season traction in dry, wet and wintry conditions, even in occasional light snow. Read more.