General Tire AltiMAX RT45 Launch Event
General Tire AltiMAX RT45 equipped on a Mazda 3 | ©Adrien Dominguez
Off to Quebec
It was mid-April, and I was teaching my routine of science classes when I got an email from Continental Tire Canada. Save The Date ICAR Event was the title. Subsidiary General Tire was launching the new AltiMAX RT45 and invited many individuals to ICAR.
ICAR (The International Center of Advanced Racing) is a multi-track facility located on the former runways at Montréal–Mirabel International Airport. I booked my personal days and substitute teacher, planned my lessons, and booked my flights. Continental Tire covered all flights and accommodation. Next thing you know it is May, and I am on an Air Canada flight from northern Alberta to Montreal via Calgary.
Air Canada Flight 318 Calgary to Montreal, Airbus A220 | ©Adrien Dominguez
I arrived at the Grand Times Hotel Blainville-Mirabel, checked in, and received my credentials right before cocktails and dinner. A gentleman during the cocktail reception approached me and asked, “Hello! What store are you from?” I was confused and kindly replied, “Store? I flew in from Alberta and am part of the media and influencers group.” The group I joined was the Canadian Tire store owners, managers, and staff invited to test the new tire. Each day of that week, there was another group such as dealerships, wholesalers and independent shop owners. Over dinner, I connected and chatted with the few automotive journalists Piero Facchin, Dave Daneault from 4x4setupmagazine, YouTuber Mark Freeman #408, fellow friends, and Continental influencer @kdmbecca Becca and Pelman from Alberta.
From left to right: Mark Freeman, Piero Facchin, and me in a Ford Police Interceptor | ©Adrien Dominguez
ICAR Itinerary
The next day was the big one. After breakfast, they loaded us onto a coach bus and off to Mirabel Airport. Once we arrived, instructors split everyone into smaller groups, with myself being part of the media group. After the product presentation of the General Tire AltiMAX RT45, the media itinerary for the day was as follows:
Drag Racing
Exotic Track Time
Tire Technical School
AltiMAX RT45 Autocross
Grabber Off-Road Course
Go Carts
Drag Racing with Police Interceptors
Ford Police Interceptor ready at the drag strip | ©Adrien Dominguez
9.724s was the best time of the day for the entire group achieved by yours indeed in the Ford Police Interceptor. I was surprised, considering I have never drag raced before. And my other runs were consistent in the 9.8s. The General G-MAX Justice repeatedly performed as designed run after run, but the brakes, on the other hand, were working overtime.
Lamborghini or Ferrari?
Which would you choose: the Lamborghini Gallardo or the Ferrari 430? I decided on the Ferrari 430 to go around the track with my encouraging ICAR instructor. It was quite the experience to go full throttle in a Ferrari and hear that iconic Ferrari V8 sound.
Tire Technical School
The technical school differed from hurtling down a track full throttle in a Ferrari. We learned all manner of what a tire can experience throughout its life along with all the different types of abuse a tire undergoes while looking at engineering aspects of tires. These consisted of compound, tread patterns, manufacturing process, customer service and technical support. Our facilitator was very passionate and engaging about all manner of tires and had real-life case studies present.
Continental Tire SportContact deconstructed | ©Adrien Dominguez
AltiMAX RT45 Autocross Tire Testing
The tire testing began and consisted of two courses. The first was a regular autocross track where you follow the cones and slaloms. The two vehicles for this were brand new rental Mazda 3 sedans, both grey. Instructors equipped one with the AltiMAX RT45 and the other with a competitor tire consisting of a Uniroyal all-season.
The second course consisted of a wet evasive maneuver where a fire hose sprayed water on the first turn, followed by a long curved right turn and slalom to evacuate the water. The vehicles for this were brand new rental Toyota RAV4 crossovers, both black. Instructors equipped one with the AltiMAX RT45 and the other with a competitor tire consisting of a Goodyear all-season.
General Tire AltiMAX RT45 equipped on a Toyota RAV4 | ©Adrien Dominguez
Instructors did not tell us what to say regarding our experience. Instructors told us to do two laps for the General Tire and two laps for the competitor tires in whichever order we like and repeat for each course but maintain a set speed to be scientific. They only wanted to hear our honest feedback. Being a science teacher, I embraced my inner scientist and followed scientific protocol. From my experience with the Mazda 3’s, I noticed the AltiMAX RT45 slightly improved handling than the competitor tire, especially during dry braking and cornering. The difference was more significant with the RAV4s as the wet handling, braking, and water evacuation were significantly better in handling the AltiMAX RT45 than the competitor tire. Different testers had different nuances but most found noticeable improvements and better overall performance than their competitor tires.
Grabber Off-Road Course
Behind the drag strip lies the General Tire off-road course consisting of 30-degree inclines, suspension articulation tests, rocks, mud, and other challenging obstacles. Our test vehicles were two Jeep Wranglers equipped with Grabber A/T tires and no competitor tires on other test vehicles. I rode as a passenger as automotive journalist Piero took the wheel and guided us through the course, following our instructor in a Ram 2500. Piero did an excellent job following our instructor through this bumpy and challenging course.
General Tire Off Road Course ICAR | ©Adrien Dominguez
Go Carts!
Its go-carts! Everyone had a blast. However, there were instances where things almost heated during the competition but were resolved quickly.
Au Revoir Quebec!
My first trip to Quebec was excellent! Thank you, Continental and General Tire Canada, for having me at the AltiMAX RT45 Launch Event. It was a wonderful experience. More to come in the future!
Canadian Tire Group, Media attendees, and General Tire Staff | ©Continental Tire Canada
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