b13990
Reader
3/23/19 8:20 p.m.
Any experience with them? General was never really a premium brand, that I remember at least, and they kind of disappeared for a while.
The brand is back, though, and they offer some really inexpensive high-performance tires. I've been considering getting a set of G-MAX AS-O5s to replace my worn-out Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric All-Seasons.
Alternatives would be another set of Goodyears (which I liked a lot) or the more expensive Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+.
The Goodyears did a good job making my car (base model Impreza) feel less Buick-like. That's what I'm looking for. And of course, I want something that won't fall apart. I was honestly a bit hesitant on that front with the Goodyears, but they've given me 5 "good years."
(And I suspect that people here probably don't like all-season tires, but I live is a studio apartment, so summer / winter tires don't work for me.)
Color me interested as I loved the general tire challenge at the challenge. And I would definitely buy some generals because of it.
SkinnyG
UltraDork
3/23/19 11:40 p.m.
I just put a set of General - G-MAX RS's on the wife's Infiniti. I am very pleased with them so far, and they were pretty affordable. Not the AS, which I think is a 200 tread wear, but I do get the warm fuzzys from these.
General also makes the Arctic Altimax which I ran on the Infiniti over winter. Another good tire.
Tire Rack’s latest reviews say the G-Max AS-05 is one of the best all seasons on the market, better than the beloved BFG Comp2 A/S. I intend to pick a set up as the “three season” tires for my DD GTI.
https://m.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=238
_
Reader
3/24/19 12:30 p.m.
I have the G-MAX AS-O5s on our subie. Well performing tire for year round performance. It handles well. Hardly any sidewall rollover. And this winter dumped 3ft of snow on us, plenty of traction. Plenty of awd drifting. I like the dual tread design. Pedestrian in the inside, racer’s edge when in the edge.
Timely, I was just debating putting a set of either these or another set of BFG Sport Comp-2s on the MS3.
I only got 20k it of the BFGs which expected.
SkinnyG
UltraDork
3/24/19 1:57 p.m.
Oh wait, I just looked them up. The AS has a tread wear rating of 500. I had to go back and look at the tires I bought.
Looks like the RS was cheaper than the AS, which is probably why I bought them, and probably scared off by a treadwear of 500.
I have AS-05s on my sedan DD and bought them because they came so close to Michelins in terms of performance. One downside is they are really noisy and have a distinctive growl at low speeds. I actually checked the brakes thinking they had started grinding. They are way better than the Goodyea GS-As they replaced though.
I am looking at these same model Generals as a sporty tire for my 17" wheels for my minivan (that is a weird sentence). They seem to be fairly highly rated and competitive in the ultra high performance all season category. The price is right too. I'm looking at 235/45ZR17s to put on a 17x7.5 wheel. They should fit the wheels pretty well.
For just a bit more, the G-Max RSs also seem like good tires. Those are summer tires though. The TireRack has the treadwear listed at 500 for the AS-05s and 360 for the RSs. The AS-05s also have a 50k mile treadwear warranty. I'm in Florida so all season performance is not important to me. Hydroplane resistance and wet weather performance matter the most in my case followed by tread life, dry handling and noise. I have seen a few reviews on the AS-05s that state that they are kinda loud, which gives me pause because these are going on a cargo version of a Transit Connect with zero soundproofing in the cargo area. So basically an empty metal box.That I will be driving on a 55 mile daily commute. On a concrete freeway. Will I hate life with the tire noise?
I have found the AS-05s as low as $90 per tire (Walmart). That seems like a steal for a good all season tire for that size. I might be willing to live with the compromises for that price.
I'm stuck in analysis paralysis
SkinnyG
UltraDork
3/25/19 10:35 p.m.
The RS's are pretty quiet on the Infiniti. They also appear deeply grooved for good wet traction.
Surprisingly, the RS's were $10 cheaper here in Canada, whilst they are $10 more than the AS in the US.
I put generals on my truck as they are one of the few mfg’rs that made an H rated 275/55/20. They have so much more grip than the tires Dodge soec’d for the Ram.... way more. They grip better dry or wet both. I really like them for a DD.