General Grabber tires on brand new 22 Expy

[BigOleFordFan]

Well, here has been my experiences over the past 15-20 years:

For Pick-ups/Full-sized SUV: Goodyear or Michelin have been the longest lasting, smoothest riding and best value overall
For small Trucks/mid-sized SUV: Continental/BF Goodrich have been the longest lasting, smoothest riding and best value overall
For Sedans or small & mid-sized family cars: Goodyear and Cooper have been the longest lasting, smoothest riding and best value overall...

This is considering normal, everyday general uses, and NOT including off-roading, heavy cargo or trailer hauling, or high-speed travel.....

But my last 6 SUV's (00 Cherokee, 04 Durango, 11 & 17 Acadia, 14 Explorer, and my 11 Expy) all had Goodyear's on them when I bought them, and I stuck with them except for my 04 Durango, which rode smoother & quieter with Michelins...

But in the midst of these, I tried other brands for various reasons like appearance, shop recommendations, tread patterns, price...and ALL of them (Yoko, ****, Daytoon, Contitental, Bridgestoner) all either wore down too quickly, suffered non-repairable sidewall failures, developed slow leaks, or refused to stay balanced...

So guess what I'll be buying for my Expy when the time comes...(in about 20K miles)

 

[ManUpOrShutUp]

because the vibration was at 75-80, everywhere I went kind of said it was the best they could do and because it was over the speed limit they really couldn’t warranty anything.

I would find a new place to get tires with that BS. They have no legal grounds to deny a warranty based on anything that isn't explicitly stated in writing within said warranty, let alone something that has absolutely nothing to do with anything.

That aside, we've only had 1 set of Generals in recent years and weren't happy with them. The Mrs had General Altimax on her sedan and they were awesome for the first 30k. After that they behaved like racing slicks despite having plenty of tread depth left. We finally ditched them at about 44k even though they were rated for 60k.

 

[ib_jigged]

Just got our Stealth a week and a half ago, came with stock Grabbers. There was a slight vibration on first test drive. Dealer road forced balanced and front right was slightly off. Vibration is less but still there. Have about 700 miles on it so far. Dealer offered to buy them as they will put them on a used vehicle. Looking at Michelin Defender LTX or Pirelli AS3, or even the Weather Actives. Our 19 Stealth with the Hankook's did not have any vibration at all, but those were horrible in the snow and ice of northern Minnesota.

 

[Mr Big]

Just got our Stealth a week and a half ago, came with stock Grabbers. There was a slight vibration on first test drive. Dealer road forced balanced and front right was slightly off. Vibration is less but still there. Have about 700 miles on it so far. Dealer offered to buy them as they will put them on a used vehicle. Looking at Michelin Defender LTX or Pirelli AS3, or even the Weather Actives. Our 19 Stealth with the Hankook's did not have any vibration at all, but those were horrible in the snow and ice of northern Minnesota.

Was run flat treatment put in the tires from the dealer? I've read where that may cause vibration. Also, the tires tread pattern may be the issue, example A/TX.

 

[GlennSullivan]

I love the Michelin Defenders / LTX and have them on both of our Expys (2011 / 2017) in 20" size. They are great in dry, wet, ice and even medium snow, but I'm not sure I'd recommend them for northern Minnesota conditions. Maybe others that have used them in those conditions can advise. I don't know if this will help, but earlier this year I was looking for replacement tires for our Tahoe Z71, which I plow with and wanted tires to handle the worst winter conditions. This is the comparison chart I came up with. Note that these are 265/65/18 tires. If you want the original spreadsheet, DM me you email and I'll send it.

 

[ib_jigged]

Was run flat treatment put in the tires from the dealer? I've read where that may cause vibration. Also, the tires tread pattern may be the issue, example A/TX.

No run flat treatment in the tires. The tires are the General Grabber HTS60 highway tire.

 

[Mr Big]

No run flat treatment in the tires. The tires are the General Grabber HTS60 highway tire.

Then there has to be a bad wheel or tire, if you are still experiencing any vibration. Could be a warped rotor or caliper sticking.

 

[GlennSullivan]

Then there has to be a bad wheel or tire, if you are still experiencing any vibration. Could be a warped rotor or caliper sticking.

Or just the crappy General Tires. We bought a new van for the business a few years back and when we arrived for pick up, 2 of the 4 tires had sidewall bubbles in them.

 

[2018ExpyPlatinum]

I'll say it again, Generals are crap. I would never accept any vehicle with them....never.

I never had any issues with my OEM Hankooks, but I live in AZ. I have replaced them with Michelin Defender LTX M/S2. Very nice tire. Rides nice, quiet. I can't speak for rain or snow.

When we lived on the east coast (NJ, PA, VA), I had multiple vehicles with BFGoodrich T/A's. Excellent tire in rain, mud and snow. Mine were KO2's. Now their up to KO3 or 4 which are supposed to be even better. My son put KO's on his Jeep. He's been all over the country and loves them.

 

[ManUpOrShutUp]

I'll say it again, Generals are crap. I would never accept any vehicle with them....never.

Have to agree. I had the Grabbers and blew the sidewalls out of 2 of them at the same time after ~8k miles. Yes, any tire can blow but 2? Never happened to me before or since. Just seemed like weak sidewalls. We then put a set of AltiMAX on my wife's sedan and they were great - for about 1/3 of their rated tread life. With 2/3 of the tread remaining they became like racing slicks in the wet.