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General Tire test: Winter vs All-season vs AT vs Mud

Uncle-A

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It is an interesting video and I am thinking about two M&S or full snow tires for my GMC. Although I am not a fan of General Tire due to my past history with them it is nice to see some real life testing.
 

bbbradley

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It is an interesting video and I am thinking about two M&S or full snow tires for my GMC. Although I am not a fan of General Tire due to my past history with them it is nice to see some real life testing.
Running only 2 snow tires is a terrible idea unless you only want to only go straight or only turn. :)

I've run General snow tires on multiple cars for 10+ years and been very happy with them, they are made from Hakkapeliitta molds that were sold off.
 

Uncle-A

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Running only 2 snow tires is a terrible idea unless you only want to only go straight or only turn. :)

I've run General snow tires on multiple cars for 10+ years and been very happy with them, they are made from Hakkapeliitta molds that were sold off.
My GMC is rear wheel drive when not in 4 wheel drive and I have 2 all season tires on the front that only have 12K miles on them. The rear tires are near end of life but not there yet. The climate in NJ is not as severe as much of ski country. So it is not a nessary item to have all 4 snow tires. When I travel to go skiing I always keep an eye on the weather report and let discretion rule my travel plans. This is the first I have heard the story about the tire molds, I would like to know more about it, do you have a reference for that story. Everything I have ever read about tire manufacturers is that they are a bit cautious about their molds and want to keep them proprietary.
 

Ogg

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These tests are good but I would also like to see tests where they’re driving though changing winter conditions with wet, slushy, snowy and icy conditions like I usually encounter. Snow tires are pretty bad in the wet and all seasons are terrible in slush in my experience.
 
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snwbrdr

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Running only 2 snow tires is a terrible idea unless you only want to only go straight or only turn. :)

I've run General snow tires on multiple cars for 10+ years and been very happy with them, they are made from Hakkapeliitta molds that were sold off.

Nokian and General has no relationship.

Continental owns General tire.

Nokian has their Nordman line, which produces old Nokians for sale.
 
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snwbrdr

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My GMC is rear wheel drive when not in 4 wheel drive and I have 2 all season tires on the front that only have 12K miles on them. The rear tires are near end of life but not there yet. The climate in NJ is not as severe as much of ski country. So it is not a nessary item to have all 4 snow tires. When I travel to go skiing I always keep an eye on the weather report and let discretion rule my travel plans. This is the first I have heard the story about the tire molds, I would like to know more about it, do you have a reference for that story. Everything I have ever read about tire manufacturers is that they are a bit cautious about their molds and want to keep them proprietary.
I used to live in NJ, northern to be exact. And you need 4 snow tires when it snows up there.
 

ADKmel

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I have driven Subarus forever- I used 4 season for years until a bad ice storm I had to park my car and walk home- it was deadly ice- now I have studded tires for winter.. we get over 100" of snow sometime over 200" good tires (and car) mandatory here.
 

François Pugh

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My GMC is rear wheel drive when not in 4 wheel drive and I have 2 all season tires on the front that only have 12K miles on them. The rear tires are near end of life but not there yet. The climate in NJ is not as severe as much of ski country. So it is not a nessary item to have all 4 snow tires. When I travel to go skiing I always keep an eye on the weather report and let discretion rule my travel plans. This is the first I have heard the story about the tire molds, I would like to know more about it, do you have a reference for that story. Everything I have ever read about tire manufacturers is that they are a bit cautious about their molds and want to keep them proprietary.
You don't need snow tires, but you may want them. You may want them on the rear if don't want to be stuck, unable to make it up a hill, or holding up traffic in a snow storm. You may want them on the front if you don't want to be unable to make the turn or stop when you have to.

Sometimes all it takes to stay out of trouble is to slow down with your all seasons, but not all the time. Sometimes driving slow enough to make the turn means too slow to make it up the next hill.

Were I you, I would get 4 snows this fall, and in the spring, just put the all season tires with the most tread on the rear and when the front tires wear out completely, buy two new all-season tires, put them on the rear and put the half worn ones on the front.
 

Uncle-A

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I used to live in NJ, northern to be exact. And you need 4 snow tires when it snows up there.
Not in recent years, maybe years ago but not in the past 5 years.
 

martyg

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Well done video.

If you are going to keep your vehicle for some time, and are a skier, snows make perfect sense. You will essentially extend the life of both sets of tires by swapping with the seasons. Might as well have the safest tool for the job. It is much less expensive than a tow, emergency room visit, rehab, injuring another driver, etc.
 

Andy Mink

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I learned that even non-mud AT tires can suck in snow. I put a set of the highly touted BFG KO2 tires on my 06 Megacab a few years back. They were NOT good on the roads with snow, slush, or ice. Big chunky blocks<siping.
 

ScotsSkier

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.........

I've run General snow tires on multiple cars for 10+ years and been very happy with them, they are made from Hakkapeliitta molds that were sold off.

YMMV. I had heard good things about General snow tires and, just like skis, I like to keep trying new tire options so I putrefy a new set of Arctic max (or whatever it is called) on my truck a couple of years ago. Worst snow tire I have ever used I'm afraid. Took the hit and got rid of them quickly and went back to the Yokohamas (IG51), still the best snow tire I have founcrap d. It may be that the General works ok on passenger cars/lighter vehicles but not on a truck. In fact good reminder, i have a new set of IG75s (replacement for the IG51) sitting for this winter that I need to get mounted
 

Dave Marshak

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I used to live in NJ, northern to be exact. And you need 4 snow tires when it snows up there.
Not in recent years, maybe years ago but not in the past 5 years.
I live in Upstate NY and 30 years ago everyone needed snow tires. Now the weather has definitely changed and the snow cover almost always melts out in a few days. I still use winter tires only because the when the skiing is best the roads can be treacherous, but that happens at most one or two days a year, sometimes not at all. If all I had to do was drive to work in town, I wouldn't bother, I'd just get stuck in traffic and be late for work like everyone else with their crappy all season tires.

dm
 
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snwbrdr

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Not in recent years, maybe years ago but not in the past 5 years.
Definitely in the past 5 years. Northern NJ has some pretty steep hills. If you take route 515 to Mountain Creek, there's a steep hill that goes by Breakneck Rd and the old Hidden Valley ski area... just many of the roads around vernon have steep hills.

Then over in the Mount Olive area, you got some steep hills... Route 206 North as you head to the ITC is somewhat of a steep hill, that gives a lot of vehicles problems trying to climb it, but there are steeper back road hills near by. Even in the past 5 years... I have seen people have trouble climbing that hill on all seasons.

That's climbing... going down is even more dangerous... since you need to use the brakes to keep the speeds slow, and some of the hills going down are steep enough that with the ABS cranking away, you're accelerating in speed.
 

sparty

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Sometimes all it takes to stay out of trouble is to slow down with your all seasons, but not all the time. Sometimes driving slow enough to make the turn means too slow to make it up the next hill

...and most of the time, in snow country, it's damned inconsiderate to expect those of us who have vehicles properly equipped for the conditions and who have learned to drive in those conditions to drive around you because you can't be bothered to do those two things.

I have sympathy for tourists who get caught in summer blizzards in high mountain passes, or even for mountain locals who get caught out when October is unusually snowy, but a lot less so for people who choose to drive into a place known to have winter weather conditions with a vehicle not equipped for them. Yes, probably 5-6 days out of the average 7, you can get away with it without being a huge traffic hazard; but if you're not willing and able to leave the car parked the other days, suck it up and put snow tires on it.
 

bbbradley

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Nokian and General has no relationship.

Continental owns General tire.

Nokian has their Nordman line, which produces old Nokians for sale.

I only said that General tires are made using an old Nokian mold. So, in a sense they have some relationship, but are not the same company.

YMMV. I had heard good things about General snow tires and, just like skis, I like to keep trying new tire options so I putrefy a new set of Arctic max (or whatever it is called) on my truck a couple of years ago. Worst snow tire I have ever used I'm afraid. Took the hit and got rid of them quickly and went back to the Yokohamas (IG51), still the best snow tire I have founcrap d. It may be that the General works ok on passenger cars/lighter vehicles but not on a truck. In fact good reminder, i have a new set of IG75s (replacement for the IG51) sitting for this winter that I need to get mounted
I ran General tires most recently on an A4 and a CRV, definitely a different application than a truck. For my tests they performed very well, though add a few thousand lbs and YMMV. :)
 

François Pugh

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...and most of the time, in snow country, it's damned inconsiderate to expect those of us who have vehicles properly equipped for the conditions and who have learned to drive in those conditions to drive around you because you can't be bothered to do those two things.

I have sympathy for tourists who get caught in summer blizzards in high mountain passes, or even for mountain locals who get caught out when October is unusually snowy, but a lot less so for people who choose to drive into a place known to have winter weather conditions with a vehicle not equipped for them. Yes, probably 5-6 days out of the average 7, you can get away with it without being a huge traffic hazard; but if you're not willing and able to leave the car parked the other days, suck it up and put snow tires on it.
True. I've also seen the opposite side of that coin.
I got a new '86 Chevette delivered in December (ordered the lost leader with no options) and decided to use the brand spanking new all-seasons with their sharp edges and deep tread to get me through the first winter. I really wanted to keep my momentum going on the downhill to make it up the next climb, but the lifted 4x4 pick'em-up truck in front of me was having none of that. He had to crawl along at 5 mph. :nono: I had to back up and take another run at it, and then annoy the folks who eventually piled up behind me by leaving him enough room so that I would only catch up to him at the top of the next climb and not be forced to a crawl at the bottom of the next climb. It happened on Roger's Pass in British Columbia during a snow storm, about 15 minutes before they closed the road. I eventually got by him, but with poor visibility it was a long time before I found a (relatively) safe place to pass.
 

tromano

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...and most of the time, in snow country, it's damned inconsiderate to expect those of us who have vehicles properly equipped for the conditions and who have learned to drive in those conditions to drive around you because you can't be bothered to do those two things.

I have sympathy for tourists who get caught in summer blizzards in high mountain passes, or even for mountain locals who get caught out when October is unusually snowy, but a lot less so for people who choose to drive into a place known to have winter weather conditions with a vehicle not equipped for them. Yes, probably 5-6 days out of the average 7, you can get away with it without being a huge traffic hazard; but if you're not willing and able to leave the car parked the other days, suck it up and put snow tires on it.

On public roads, you never know who you will run into. Hope they follow posted regs for tires and 4x4 but some people just won't. But for me, having good tires, working ABS and AWD system enables me to pass them safely.
 

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