General Tires is a brand known for its durable, multi-terrain stability and uniform quality tires. This brand knows how to create the most solid reliability, whether it’s all-season, all-terrain, or snow tires.
Despite being outstanding with various features, does this tire brand have any weaknesses? In the General Tires review, I will help you discover the pros and cons of this brand and suggest its popular tires.
General Tires Overview
General Tires is a tire brand from the manufacturer of the same name based in Hanover, Germany. Most General tires are in the mid-range segment. These products stand out for their stable quality and affordable prices.
Despite being inferior to high-end tires, General Tires gives me a great feeling when using. General’s performance far exceeds the cost you need to spend.
Yet, for me, this brand product still has some disadvantages. Most striking is the lack of sizes. It shouldn’t be a big deal if you’re driving a base wheel-size model.
In contrast, vehicle owners whose wheels are unpopular will have to search more challengingly to get the right tire size.
Why Choose General Tires?
I find that each General Tires model has its characteristics. But there are still common advantages that all products possess.
Quality design
Throughout its history, General Tires has repeatedly revised and improved its tire designs. Thanks to that, the safety, performance, and driving feel are increasing yearly. But no matter how it changes, fixed characteristics still characterize the company.
What interests me most is the balance between the general design and the uniqueness of each. Both of these factors combine harmoniously in many ways to maximize product performance.
Modern technology
General Tires is one of the pioneers in the application of modern technology.
There are new features that I have not seen on high-end products. Although I can’t take advantage of innovation, I still appreciate the efforts of this brand.
Among the features available on General tires, I am incredibly impressed with the StabiliTread. This wide contact patch dramatically improves the tread and the ground grip. So, my high-speed travel was no longer hindered.
Impressive durability
Most General products are highly durable. These models offer impressive impact resistance with their sturdy construction and quality wear-resistant compounds. The rigid side walls also contribute significantly to the increase in durability.
If you use it properly, the tire will undoubtedly last a long time. The stability of quality has since been maintained at a reasonable level.
Who Makes General Tires?
Previously General Tires was an independent brand, and they managed the tire production independently. In 1980, Continental bought this manufacturer and took control of the tire line.
After many ups and downs, General Tire is still part of Continental AG, a division of Continental. We can consider this corporation as the unit responsible for designing and producing General products.
Where Are General Tires Made?
General Tires is headquartered in Germany, but the production line of this brand is not located here. Instead, most General models come from multiple factories in Mexico and Portugal.
The Best General Tires
There are many models of General tires circulating on the market today. But for me, the 12 names below are the most prominent. Each comes with unique features to suit different conditions.
All-season tires
General AltiMAX RT43
The General AltiMAX RT43 is one of the most responsive tires I’ve ever used. The product quickly passed my tests. I didn’t even notice the eccentricity when I had to make a sharp turn. Stability and safety have also improved significantly.
Its snow performance is more impressive than many all-season tires. Along a light snowy road, this tire has an excellent grip and less loss of control.
General AltiMAX RT43 has only moderate durability. The tire warranty is also not as long as I imagined. So, you should prepare alternatives if any damage occurs.
General G-MAX AS-05
Tires retain excellent steering response at high speeds. I have tried moving at all three gaits, low, medium, and high, to get the most accurate judgments. Fortunately, the final result did not differ too much from expectations.
General G-MAX AS-05 operates quite well in much different weather. I had no difficulty moving on the highway or in the rain with absolute safety.
The snow performance of this all-season model is not too stable. Just a little more, and I had to ask for help when the tires lost their ability in cold weather. I do not recommend using AS-05 on snow to avoid problems like the above.
General Grabber HTS
According to my data, this tire model moves extremely stable in snow conditions. Controls and friction on thin snow areas are always good.
Its performance in basic terrains is also not inferior. Some tests have taught me complete information about slip, grip, and traction. The results show that the General Grabber HTS moves equally well on dry and wet roads.
Sadly, the General brand does not provide warranty support for this tire model.
General Grabber UHP
This product moves exceptionally smoothly and quietly. I am pretty sensitive to noise and shocks caused by jet lag. But thanks to its unique designs, I have more beautiful trips than I expected.
Its moving performance is always stable. Although not too high, I believe it still meets many of your basic needs. During the test, I also learned that the tires are perfect on challenging roads.
General has yet to fix the snow performance issues on their tires. Even a new generation product like General Grabber UHP can not operate stably in this condition.
General Grabber HTS60
For me, the General Grabber HTS60 does not excel in any terrain. Yet, the tire moves quite stably in dry, wet, and snowy areas. Its construction helps you to proceed with peace of mind no matter how the weather outside changes.
Its comfort is much higher than the other General models I have tested. Not many options can give me such a smooth feeling after many hours of operation.
The average cost for one instance is not so great. But some sizes require you to pay more than double the usual rate.
General Grabber AT2
I drove it through a lot of unstable areas. If it is other products, wear and damage will inevitably occur. Surprisingly, the surface of General Grabber AT2 does not have too many scratches. Even the grip spikes didn’t wear out as much as I expected.
With my senses, I find that the tire’s travel performance is always at a high level.
Even moving through snowy areas, this factor remains stable instead of decreasing like other in-class models.
I thought the tires didn’t make too much noise until accelerating on a dry road. In this terrain, it made a large number of unpleasant sounds.
General Grabber A/TX
Good stability, high durability, and efficient off-roading are the advantages I found during my experience with the General Grabber A/TX.
It operates pretty well on flat areas without much difficulty. The data I also measured shows that loss of control rarely occurs.
I have also rechecked its surface after rigorous tests. There are some scratches, but it’s not worn out as much as I expected.
Yet, Grabber A/TX proved much weaker if moving in too complicated terrain.
Comfort and comfort are also things I feel pretty clearly in this model. An effective impact-resistant surface minimizes vibrations transmitted into the cabin on gravel roads. So, it maintains a smooth state over the entire multi-mile range without much difficulty.
General Grabber APT
I am incredibly impressed with the General Grabber APT’s wet performance. Accordingly, its braking distance is also much shorter than other competitors. Thanks to its high-damp grip, I feel much more secure when traveling long distances.
In my experience, the product easily overcomes average wet terrain. Yet, it is utterly powerless in complex liquid mud terrain.
Although not as outstanding as wet performance, its dry performance is still enough to meet your needs. During my long testing, I never had a problem with the tire on dry roads.
Mud terrain tires
General Grabber X3
The General Grabber X3 has both impressive mud performance and strong off-road capability. These surface types often appear together.
If your tires are not performing well, you must find a replacement or attach accessories. But with Grabber X3, all these complex concerns are eliminated.
This model also brings the durability characteristic of a pure mud version. But I feel that what the Grabber X3 does is far superior to most others.
Winter tires
General Altimax Arctic 12 Studdable
General Altimax Arctic 12 Studdable moves quite steadily on snow and ice. This snow model has a surface that digs into the thick snow and dramatically improves grip and stability.
This studdable tire gives me great comfort even in heavy snow. Even the gauges show that my vehicle is operating at extremely low vibrations. It’s a pity that its stability is not too high and significantly reduces my driving experience.
General Grabber Arctic LT Studdable
Good traction allows the General Grabber Arctic LT Studdable to operate at high speeds. I once questioned whether a snow tire could move fast. But by experience and measurements, I believe this General product has excellent stability at high speeds.
I also did not have much difficulty driving a vehicle equipped with ARCTIC LT. Both the driving feel and the response time are in the appropriate range. These factors have helped me a lot when traveling at high speed.
General GMAX RS
The summer tire’s characteristics appear very clearly on the General G-MAX RS.
The most typical is the consistently high dry performance of this tire model. The product generates quite a large amount of friction at the same time.
It also cornered very well despite its burning surface. I have installed many sensors to record these results with the highest accuracy.
This tire model has extremely impressive heat resistance. Although the thermometer I attached to the tire passed the mark, I still did not receive any strange phenomena. I think there are very few products that genuinely withstand high temperatures, like the GMAX RS.
FAQs
Are General tires made in the USA?
Some General tire models originate from the United States. Industrial complexes in Texas, Georgia, Michigan, and Illinois are responsible for operating tire assembly lines.
Does Continental make General tires?
Looking closely, you will see that General Tires and Continental tires have many similarities. It is not a coincidence as both brands share the same manufacturer, Continental.
Are general tires noisy?
General Tires products do not make too much noise when moving. Yet, off-road tire models are lame when they produce many unpleasant operating sounds.
How long do general tires last?
According to many studies, the average operating time of General products is between 60,000 and 75,000 miles. This number is equivalent to 5 to 6 years of continuous operation. The above assumptions are only accurate to a certain extent. I cannot give exact numbers. Tire life can be longer or shorter depending on how you use and maintain the product.
How much do general tires cost?
With sedan-size tires, it will cost you about $ 95 for a product. This figure for SUV tires is $150 and $175 for truck products. It is the suggested price from the company and has not received any discount or discount program. You can find General models at a lower price through significant sales. Also, I save up to 30% of the cost.
Conclusion
Through the General tires review above, I have clarified some of the outstanding advantages of this long-standing tire brand.
Although there are some limitations, with many quality integrations available, General tires are still worth a try this year.
Of course, the final choice is still yours. I hope you have found the perfect tire for you. Thank you for reading!