Minnesota Classic Glastron Forum
General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: Rosscoe on September 02, 2012, 09:30:56 AM
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Anyone have experience with General tires? I am in deperate need of tires for my Jetta. Original Continentals (made in France) were great and I got 60K trouble free miles out of those, so I bought a second set (made in Mexico) and they were crap. Started getting noisey and choppy at about 25K.
I put some Generals on the trailer under the V175 but I can not compare apples to oranges. I am looking at General G-Max's or maybe some Uniroyals. I had some Tiger Paws on a new 85 Dodge Charger I had and I dont recall anything negative about them. Michelins are highly regarded but I am not sure I can justify the extra 30-40 a piece. Goodyears are over rated IMO. My Montero has Goodyears but once they are toast, I wont be putting those back on.
I have BF Goodrichs on my pickup, but again, totally different usage.
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I have had really good luck with Uniroyal tires Ross. My old 99 Malibu had 2 sets on it. original on the car when I bought it with 23k on the car. Put the second set on at around 70k and they were still on there with good tread when I sold the car with 143k.
Hope it helps
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They seem to be rated pretty well although Tire Rack doesnt handle them so I could not see test results there.
Yes, someones experience with them does help. I am down to Uniroyals or Generals at this point...I think.
If I could just find out where they are manufactured, it would be great.
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Ross I also forgot, Amber's car has a cheaper set on it that has been on there since 65k and the car is just about to roll over to 100k. and they are around 30% tread left and are heavily weather checked and have been on the car for almost 7 years. I am planning on getting them changed come november, since the car is seeing more long range highway driving since it does get around 40mpg (pretty good I think for a 98 olds achieva with a 3100 v6) ;D
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Ross, what size tires are you looking for. General makes some good tires, and some bad ones, just like all the other tire manufactures. It is best to know the tire size and then start looking from there. The Tire Rack is good at testing tires, both from their customers reviews, and from their drivers testing, say, four brands against another, and then rating them.
If you wish, tell me your tire size and I can do some research.
I have Michelin Pilot Exalto all season on the Celica and Goodyear Triple Tread on the Ford.
There is alot to consider - noise, tire life, handling, rolling resistance, grip in rain and snow, etc.
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I've been through a lot of tires.
On my trucks ... Pirelli Scorpion ATX were my favorite ... then I put some big 20" wheels on my 2002 Dodge (back when they came with 17's) and used a Kumho Ecsta STX - great grip, but just ok everywhere else, swapped those for Goodyear just before I sold the truck. My Expedition came with Goodyear, ran about 63,000 on those and replaced them with Michelin tires. The ride quality on the Michelin was great. I traveled a lot with the Expedition and used a size and brand (based on Discount Tire locations and inventory) that was widely available so that I wouldn't be stuck hunting for a replacement if I had a blow out.
I tried Pirelli's on my current Volvo AWD & had noise and vibration problems ... apparently I should have been rotating the tires as often as I changed my oil. I just put a set of Cooper CS4-T tires on the Volvo before going to Red Wing. They're quiet, for sure, and a comfortable ride. Here I was told that I'll have to rotate them often (about every 6,000 or 7,000) to keep them quiet.
I push lots of miles out of my tires. I've never experienced any noticeable change in fuel economy with any brand.
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David, my car has P205-55-16's
I do use Tire Rack for comparison and the thing I like the best is that they state the country of origin. These particular Generals were rated fairly high (in the 7's)
Unfortunately, they dont have any Uniroyals for cars that I saw so I dont know where those are made. I am looking at Tiger Paw AS65.
I think Coopers are ok but I have no personal experience with them. Some Michelins are made in Canada, Germany, France, US.
Its a real grab bag.
40 MPG with a V6? I'd say that is real good!
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Ross, I searched Tire Rack customer feedback, driver testing, and checked prices with shipping for Tire Rack vs. Tires Direct. In your size of 205 x 55 x 16, I narrowed the list down to three tires, the General Altimax HP, the Michelin Hydro Edge, and the Michelin Pilot Exalto A/S.
The Tire Rack prices are $100 ea, $108 (after $70 prepaid card), and $106 (after $70 prepaid card) for the the above tires, respectively.
Here is a Tire Rack's professional driver test report on the General Altimax HP:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=152 (http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=152)
I would be inclined to get the General Altimax HP for general use, and the Michelin Pilot Exalto A/S for more sporty use. I have the Michelin Pilot Exalto A/S on the Toyota Celica, and it is a great tire. However, I switch to winter tires for snow and ice each year.
Discount Tires also sells the General Altimax HP, and their price with shipping is $414 for the four.
My son has these tires on his Celica, and likes them.
Let me know if you need any more information.
David
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I am leaning towards the Generals. My only issue with the Michelins is that they could potentially come from Mexico and I'm not willing to risk that again, just yet and they dont allow you to choose.
Thanks for doing the research David.
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Some years back, I partnered up with Bobby Ore, the stunt driver, and we leased a big portion of an old airforse base 10 miles from Ardmore Ok. we set in a business there teaching counter terrorism driving tactic's to police agencies, we bought 7 old police cars for the training, Bobby giving demonstrations daily destroying several sets of tires a day. Because of Bobby's background, we were able to get several tire companies to donate us tires to run and document their performance, Uniroyal plant there in Ardmore was our first, then General, Michilin, Dayton and Good Year let us have some of their Eagle tires to try, I learned alot about the difference in composition of the tires, some would hold up good to that kind of driving but didn't have the traction performance, and the one's that had traction performance wore out really fast, the Eagle GT's wore out faster than any of the rest I think, but traction was not important for the kind of driving we did, especially for demonstrations.
One day I bought a Ford LTD that had a new set of Bridgestone tires on it, narrow, common street tires, believe it or not, those Bridgestone's ran longer that any other tires we tested before the steel belts began showing, just common street tires, they didn't have a lot of slip traction, but the composition was really tough. What a surprize I got to find out the price of those tires today, like $177 each .. how time changes, they were one of the cheapest tires you could back then, mid 80's
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Yup, the softer the compound, the better grip and handling but the faster they wear out. The trick is finding the right balance. I consider my driving style "spirited" for lack of a better term. I like taking ramps and corners faster then intended. Might be part of the reason my tires are all cupped on the edges.
177.00 for Bridgestones? They must be their higher end tires by todays standards. You used to be able to get a tire for 40.00 when I started driving.
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Each tire has a wear rating, a traction rating, and a temperature rating. The wear rating is determined by the manufacturer on the honor system.
A step to determining the right tire is the type of driving you do. From conservative to extreme, the labels are standard, touring, grand touring, performance, high performance, ultra high performance, max performance, and extreme performance. The speed ratings are S, T, H, U, V, etc.
A middle of the road tire would be high performance with an H speed rating, such as the Michelin Pilot Exalto A/S with a rating of 400 A A.
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/surveyresults/surveydisplay.jsp?type=HPAS&sortValue=0&filter=y&width=205%2F&ratio=55&diameter=16&showwp=N&showdp=N&showws=N&showcm=N (http://www.tirerack.com/tires/surveyresults/surveydisplay.jsp?type=HPAS&sortValue=0&filter=y&width=205%2F&ratio=55&diameter=16&showwp=N&showdp=N&showws=N&showcm=N)
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/surveyresults/surveydisplay.jsp?type=GTAS&sortValue=0&filter=y&width=205%2F&ratio=55&diameter=16&showwp=N&showdp=N&showws=N&showcm=N (http://www.tirerack.com/tires/surveyresults/surveydisplay.jsp?type=GTAS&sortValue=0&filter=y&width=205%2F&ratio=55&diameter=16&showwp=N&showdp=N&showws=N&showcm=N)
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177.00 for Bridgestones? They must be their higher end tires by todays standards. You used to be able to get a tire for 40.00 when I started driving
And gas was $.59 per gallon when I started driving. LOL We're showing our wiser more experienced side.
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177.00 for Bridgestones? They must be their higher end tires by todays standards. You used to be able to get a tire for 40.00 when I started driving
And gas was $.59 per gallon when I started driving. LOL We're showing our wiser more experienced side.
Yea no kidding. Lets stop that. ;D
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That's called the good old days. I was skinny and had big hair. LOL
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Hey ... I feel like one of the young guys in the group ... but even I remember putting gas in my 92 Ford Ranger at $0.78/gallon ... graduated high school when gas was anywhere between $0.94 and $1.01 ... cursed my first $118.00 fill up in my Expedition ...
You can always find cheap tires. I remember Pep Boys advertising $49 Firestone tires - buy 3 get one free. My dad and I have the same initials, and he always bought tires from Discount Tire under his initials ... when it was time for me to buy tires, I was "in their system" under the same initials and his home address ... made it easy to negotiate and make offers on tires when they could see that between all the family vehicles we were averaging a new set every year to 18 months. I wouldn't try to negotiate a tire price on a first purchase, though. I did discover the local place here prices their tires with everything included - road hazard, valve stems, mounting, balancing, and disposal. Even though I found the same Cooper tires cheaper online, by the time I paid shipping and then the mounting, balancing, etc., I was more expensive by about $19 per tire. Turned out my best deal was to stay local - only since they're local, if I have problems on the road I'm out the price of a tire and dealing with a local shop to honor the road hazard once I got back.
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177.00 for Bridgestones? They must be their higher end tires by todays standards. You used to be able to get a tire for 40.00 when I started driving
And gas was $.59 per gallon when I started driving. LOL We're showing our wiser more experienced side.
I 'member 29 cents a gallon gas in Miami during the late 60s. And that was at a marina!
$40 a tire is way too beaucoup, used to be able to get 'em from Sears or JC Penny for $19.99 ...
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I made the mistake of trying a cheaper "off brand" on our 09 Focus last year, the guy said they were made by a major tire company who shall remain nameless. (Rated 400 AA) They were okay the first 20,000 miles, but have since started making noise and wearing at a much greater rate. I won't make that mistake again!
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Ross
I don't know much about Generals, but these are what I have on my Jetta.
http://www.bridgestonetire.com/tire/potenza-re960as-pole-position (http://www.bridgestonetire.com/tire/potenza-re960as-pole-position)
They're around $100 each but you get a $70 gift card for a set of 4. I don't mean to sound like a salesman, but I'm fixin to get another set. I managed to coax about 80,000 miles out of them.
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Just a heads up. I bought 4 new Michelin Symmetry white walls for my Grand Marquis during a promotion in August. I bought them because I would receive a $70 debit card. The Kelly tires on the car were not totally worn out so the Michelin dealer gave me $40 for the old tires. Now Michelin has denied my $70 debit card because I received a "discount". The fine print says you cannot combine Michelin promotions and offers. I may be wrong but I don't consider trading-in old tires to be a Michelin promotion or offer. I sent them a letter today explaining that I feel I should be eligible for the $70 debit card.
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You didn't get a discount on the new tires, you sold the old ones. That's a scam if I've ever seen one. Thanks for the heads-up.
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80K Tom? Holy smokes. Can't complain about that. I've had Bridgestones before and they were ok but they change all the time and different "models" etc. Some are good and some are not. Like David said. The best way is looking at reviews and talking to people you trust.
Uh yea I would agree, you sold your old tires. That is not a discount. Maybe it was the way it was writtten up.
Shipping and all the extras do add up but one of the main reasons I am considering on line is because they list the country of manufacture. I tried to specify that at Discount Tire with the Continentals I had and they said they cant guarantee what I would get and got Mexican tires. Now nothing personal, heck, my car was assembled there, but these tires were lame compared to the originals which were made in France, like most Michelins.
Just to date myself some more..I remember gas at 22.9 cents. I wasnt driving yet however, I just remember it.
I worked at Monkey Wards during high school and you could get alternators (40.00) mufflers, shocks, ball joints, tie rod ends...all kinds of car parts cheap, even in 70's dollars and there werent 10,000 different alternators to choose from. Ah the good old days....
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And a new Mercury power trim for my 80 HP Merc (purchased without) was $75, a bronze prop about $29, my new 1969 Dodge Charger $3,400, the 1971 Glastron V-153 new was $1,400, a new 1961 Mercury 22 HP for the racing runabout $318, and new houses were advertised for $15,000. My first house, a prefab was $38,000.
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David - move out here to southern Iowa (actually, DON'T) ... houses in the paper are advertised for under $30,000 all the time. If I could pick up my current home and move it to San Antonio where we came from, put it in a neighborhood dated similarly with the same tree growth, etc. (not like a new subdivision where everyone got the same 7' stick in the grass at arms length from the sidewalk), the house would be worth $425,00 + (and we never would have been able to buy it) ...
Given the price variance over 40 years from 1971-2011, you're looking at a ten-fold increase. Do we think that today's $18,000 boats are going to be selling for $180,000 in 40 years?