General G-MAXX RS Tires
11-19-2018, 04:01 PM
#1
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
General G-MAXX RS Tires
I wanted to post a thread outlining my experience with these tires, especially because I couldn't get good information about them before I bought. Everyone has talked ad nauseum about the Hankooks and the Kumho's as the go-to cheapies for our cars, but as the G-MAX RS is brand new seemingly no one has any experience with them.
One big draw to the Generals is that General is owned by Continental, and there is some question that these tires might actually be Continentals with a different name. They certainly look exactly the same as Continentals.
Disclaimer and overall:
My first mission was to emphasize good, quiet ride and long-wear over ultimate handling and stick. These work for that mission in spades. I suspect that these tires aimed at a different target on the comfort/wear/performance compromise, and that's exactly what I wanted.
They are very quiet (even on concrete highway) and ride really, really well. Better than Pilot Sports.
They are directional, and their wet grip is really, really good. Seriously. No worries on that front at all.
Although the dry grip and feel is actually better than I was expecting, if you want that, go get something else. They grip better than OLD Pilot Sports, but not better than NEW Pilot Sports. I haven't had them on the track simply because that was never my mission for them, but they *might* work even for that.
Wear is nonexistent of the first 1000 miles (and I hoon all over the place on the street, which these tires make even funner, as they don't grip as well). Pure win for wear so far.
They don't "glass up" as badly as Pilot Sports in colder temps. Ive had them out in 20+ and they are still quite usable. Obviously, snow/slush is a non-starter with any performance tire in this size, but it is nice to be able to dip down that low on sunny fall days.
As for the price. Holy crap. I put an all new set of tires on for less than $800. That's almost half the price of Michelin. I would totally rather have a new set twice as often than old worn Pilot Sports. All of the other cheappo tires seem to have some bias toward some thing or another. Generals seem to just be a really good overall street tire, with no real vices.
A+, would definitely do again.
One big draw to the Generals is that General is owned by Continental, and there is some question that these tires might actually be Continentals with a different name. They certainly look exactly the same as Continentals.
Disclaimer and overall:
My first mission was to emphasize good, quiet ride and long-wear over ultimate handling and stick. These work for that mission in spades. I suspect that these tires aimed at a different target on the comfort/wear/performance compromise, and that's exactly what I wanted.
They are very quiet (even on concrete highway) and ride really, really well. Better than Pilot Sports.
They are directional, and their wet grip is really, really good. Seriously. No worries on that front at all.
Although the dry grip and feel is actually better than I was expecting, if you want that, go get something else. They grip better than OLD Pilot Sports, but not better than NEW Pilot Sports. I haven't had them on the track simply because that was never my mission for them, but they *might* work even for that.
Wear is nonexistent of the first 1000 miles (and I hoon all over the place on the street, which these tires make even funner, as they don't grip as well). Pure win for wear so far.
They don't "glass up" as badly as Pilot Sports in colder temps. Ive had them out in 20+ and they are still quite usable. Obviously, snow/slush is a non-starter with any performance tire in this size, but it is nice to be able to dip down that low on sunny fall days.
As for the price. Holy crap. I put an all new set of tires on for less than $800. That's almost half the price of Michelin. I would totally rather have a new set twice as often than old worn Pilot Sports. All of the other cheappo tires seem to have some bias toward some thing or another. Generals seem to just be a really good overall street tire, with no real vices.
A+, would definitely do again.
11-19-2018, 05:50 PM
#2
Rennlist Member
Thanks for those data points OLA. I will be in the market to replace my Michelin Super Sports. Although only about 15k miles on them with still good tread left I am not comfortable with them in 45 and less degree weather as I am daily driving my C2 more so now (I do not plan to drive this car in snow however if I can help it ). I was thinking Bridgestone RE98OAS (all seasons) for which I have read some decent reviews over on the 991 Forum. Are the Generals considered "all season" and any comparison to the Bridgestones based on your diligence/research?.
11-19-2018, 06:16 PM
#3
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
Thanks for those data points OLA. I will be in the market to replace my Michelin Super Sports. Although only about 15k miles on them with still good tread left I am not comfortable with them in 45 and less degree weather as I am daily driving my C2 more so now (I do not plan to drive this car in snow however if I can help it ). I was thinking Bridgestone RE98OAS (all seasons) for which I have read some decent reviews over on the 991 Forum. Are the Generals considered "all season" and any comparison to the Bridgestones based on your diligence/research?.
All season tires are a non-starter on a 911. If you are going to drive in snow just get snow tires and keep your summers around.
12-23-2018, 01:31 PM
#4
@OnlineAlias Thanks for that input. That was the kind of feedback I was hoping to find. For a non-track car, these appear to be a good option at a very nice price. Also I suspect you are right, they are really Conti's in General's clothing. Nice write up!
06-12-2019, 07:18 AM
#5
Instructor
Any updates to the performance of the General Tires. I am going to buy tires this month and have been looking for options. These tire reviewed nicely in Tire Rack comments. The price is certainly appealing.
06-12-2019, 10:00 AM
#6
Burning Brakes
I have a tire observation after almost spinning off a mountainside in Utah during a snowstorm.....
Even with AWD, it only takes about 2" of snow to defeat a set of relatively new P-Zeros.
Even with AWD, it only takes about 2" of snow to defeat a set of relatively new P-Zeros.
Last edited by MexicoBlueTurboS; 07-12-2019 at 10:54 AM.
06-12-2019, 07:27 PM
#7
Three Wheelin'
I actually got these. The price wound up being too good to ignore. I figured I could spend $700 on a Hail Mary - and the reviews seemed reassuring. I’m actually pretty happy with them on the turbo. A bit more road noise but my exhaust is plenty louder. I haven’t had any issues in rain and they have plenty of grip when warm. For a daily driver these are a great cost effective tire.
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06-12-2019, 10:35 PM
#8
Last December I bought a pair of these for my rears, 295 30 19". Front Tires (Hankook) had plenty of tread (but are old), rears were done.
So far, extremely happy. Less than 1000 miles, but treadwear isn't noticeable. They're quiet, and though I only really use the car to commute, they seem to perform/stick well, in temps from the 30's up. Haven't driven in rain as yet. I plan to use them when I replace the fronts next spring.
Sometimes a really off the wall tire ends up being a surprise good value. In my WRX STI days, I found that the Federal RS-R tires had better performance and wear than the factory Bridgestone RE's for less than half the price. Bought some 14" versions for the MX-5 I had at the time and they were just as good in that application. If they made 19's I'd have probably gone for them with the 997.
Can't speak to quality control consistency for General or Federal, but having owned "UHP" tires from the well known name brands...I think we're paying for the name recognition in a lot of cases. At least for most use cases. If I planned to take the car up to 180, or put in serious track time, maybe I'd be less willing to try lesser known options.
So far, extremely happy. Less than 1000 miles, but treadwear isn't noticeable. They're quiet, and though I only really use the car to commute, they seem to perform/stick well, in temps from the 30's up. Haven't driven in rain as yet. I plan to use them when I replace the fronts next spring.
Sometimes a really off the wall tire ends up being a surprise good value. In my WRX STI days, I found that the Federal RS-R tires had better performance and wear than the factory Bridgestone RE's for less than half the price. Bought some 14" versions for the MX-5 I had at the time and they were just as good in that application. If they made 19's I'd have probably gone for them with the 997.
Can't speak to quality control consistency for General or Federal, but having owned "UHP" tires from the well known name brands...I think we're paying for the name recognition in a lot of cases. At least for most use cases. If I planned to take the car up to 180, or put in serious track time, maybe I'd be less willing to try lesser known options.
07-12-2019, 10:32 AM
#9
Put a full set of these on my C2S replacing old Pilots and noticed an immediate difference in ride. Smooth, quiet, and great grip as well. Did not want to comment right away as I thought more experience would be better to comment on.
Well yesterday driving up from the Boston area I had two situations that put them to the test. First was at somewhere between 75-80 I ran into a stretch of tire carcass across all 4 lanes and had to do some quick maneuvering to avoid hitting any of it. Felt in full control and that the tires performed admirably. Dry hot roads and had been traveling for some time at a speed of 50+ so the tires were plenty warm.
About a half hour later it started raining and then pouring so I decided to 'test' the performance of the tires in these conditions. Brought it up to 90+ and they felt really good with some slight steering input. Made some quick lane changes, did some hard braking, pulled off an exit to re-enter and accelerate hard through the on-ramp and onto the highway. Through all of this these tires did not disappoint and I am very happy with my purchase at about 1/2 what the Pilots would have cost.
Am I a track driver or do I push the car and tires to the limit? No. So for routine driving, touring and dry/wet performance I feel they do the job very well and would recommend them to anyone looking for the same in a new set of tires.
Of course time will tell and if anything develops I will update with a post here but so far I'm liking them a lot!
Well yesterday driving up from the Boston area I had two situations that put them to the test. First was at somewhere between 75-80 I ran into a stretch of tire carcass across all 4 lanes and had to do some quick maneuvering to avoid hitting any of it. Felt in full control and that the tires performed admirably. Dry hot roads and had been traveling for some time at a speed of 50+ so the tires were plenty warm.
About a half hour later it started raining and then pouring so I decided to 'test' the performance of the tires in these conditions. Brought it up to 90+ and they felt really good with some slight steering input. Made some quick lane changes, did some hard braking, pulled off an exit to re-enter and accelerate hard through the on-ramp and onto the highway. Through all of this these tires did not disappoint and I am very happy with my purchase at about 1/2 what the Pilots would have cost.
Am I a track driver or do I push the car and tires to the limit? No. So for routine driving, touring and dry/wet performance I feel they do the job very well and would recommend them to anyone looking for the same in a new set of tires.
Of course time will tell and if anything develops I will update with a post here but so far I'm liking them a lot!
The following users liked this post:
Nick97 (07-12-2019)
07-12-2019, 11:53 AM
#10
Thanks for the info. It's hard to get reviews on tires on a specific car. I've been looking at these tires as well. The price is hard to beat and I've known for a long time that price has nothing to do with quality/performance in tires.
07-12-2019, 12:36 PM
#11
Tire manufactures tend to use each other plants , molds etc. I worked in the tire industry (pirelli) .We would private brand tires for other companies in different regions were it was permitted .
02-29-2020, 12:32 PM
#12
Rennlist Member
Looking for more recent updates, thanks
02-29-2020, 04:26 PM
#13
09-23-2020, 11:44 PM
#15
Rennlist Member
I wanted to post a thread outlining my experience with these tires, especially because I couldn't get good information about them before I bought. Everyone has talked ad nauseum about the Hankooks and the Kumho's as the go-to cheapies for our cars, but as the G-MAX RS is brand new seemingly no one has any experience with them.
One big draw to the Generals is that General is owned by Continental, and there is some question that these tires might actually be Continentals with a different name. They certainly look exactly the same as Continentals.
Disclaimer and overall:
My first mission was to emphasize good, quiet ride and long-wear over ultimate handling and stick. These work for that mission in spades. I suspect that these tires aimed at a different target on the comfort/wear/performance compromise, and that's exactly what I wanted.
They are very quiet (even on concrete highway) and ride really, really well. Better than Pilot Sports.
They are directional, and their wet grip is really, really good. Seriously. No worries on that front at all.
Although the dry grip and feel is actually better than I was expecting, if you want that, go get something else. They grip better than OLD Pilot Sports, but not better than NEW Pilot Sports. I haven't had them on the track simply because that was never my mission for them, but they *might* work even for that.
Wear is nonexistent of the first 1000 miles (and I hoon all over the place on the street, which these tires make even funner, as they don't grip as well). Pure win for wear so far.
They don't "glass up" as badly as Pilot Sports in colder temps. Ive had them out in 20+ and they are still quite usable. Obviously, snow/slush is a non-starter with any performance tire in this size, but it is nice to be able to dip down that low on sunny fall days.
As for the price. Holy crap. I put an all new set of tires on for less than $800. That's almost half the price of Michelin. I would totally rather have a new set twice as often than old worn Pilot Sports. All of the other cheappo tires seem to have some bias toward some thing or another. Generals seem to just be a really good overall street tire, with no real vices.
A+, would definitely do again.
One big draw to the Generals is that General is owned by Continental, and there is some question that these tires might actually be Continentals with a different name. They certainly look exactly the same as Continentals.
Disclaimer and overall:
My first mission was to emphasize good, quiet ride and long-wear over ultimate handling and stick. These work for that mission in spades. I suspect that these tires aimed at a different target on the comfort/wear/performance compromise, and that's exactly what I wanted.
They are very quiet (even on concrete highway) and ride really, really well. Better than Pilot Sports.
They are directional, and their wet grip is really, really good. Seriously. No worries on that front at all.
Although the dry grip and feel is actually better than I was expecting, if you want that, go get something else. They grip better than OLD Pilot Sports, but not better than NEW Pilot Sports. I haven't had them on the track simply because that was never my mission for them, but they *might* work even for that.
Wear is nonexistent of the first 1000 miles (and I hoon all over the place on the street, which these tires make even funner, as they don't grip as well). Pure win for wear so far.
They don't "glass up" as badly as Pilot Sports in colder temps. Ive had them out in 20+ and they are still quite usable. Obviously, snow/slush is a non-starter with any performance tire in this size, but it is nice to be able to dip down that low on sunny fall days.
As for the price. Holy crap. I put an all new set of tires on for less than $800. That's almost half the price of Michelin. I would totally rather have a new set twice as often than old worn Pilot Sports. All of the other cheappo tires seem to have some bias toward some thing or another. Generals seem to just be a really good overall street tire, with no real vices.
A+, would definitely do again.
Last edited by 8KaboveMSL; 09-23-2020 at 11:45 PM.