General Tire was founded in 1915 with four other tire manufacturers in Akron (Ohio). In the late 1980’s, Continental purchased General Tire.

General Tire was founded in 1915 with four other major tire producers in Akron Ohio. In the late 1980’s, General Tire was acquired by the German tire brand Continental. I compared the tread-mile warranties, prices, and options available for the most common sizes of tires for cars, trucks, and SUVs. General Tire was rated as an average brand despite its rather bland name. The 45-day road testing period is superior to the 30-day periods offered by most competitors. Continental, the parent company of Continental, gives new tires a 60-day test period.

General Tire’s sedan-sized tires average $95 per tire. This tire is $6 less than the average market price for the same size tire. Average SUV tire sizes are $151 per tire. The SUV tires are more expensive than Cooper or Hankook. General Tire’s average price for a tire on a common size truck was $173. This is the lowest price average for truck tires. There are not many options for truck tires that fit most sizes. However, there are some brands that offer more options.

General Tire covers 19 tire models under its tread-life warranty. This warranty does not cover winter tires and is generally average. The AltiMAX has the longest tread-life warranty with a mileage of 75,000. Average warranty coverage is approximately 57,000 miles. Comparatively, the average tire brand’s best tread-life mileage is approximately 83,500 miles, with an overall average of 56,000 mile.

General Tire’s performance options are not impressive. Each rim size had below-average options. On average, the 15-inch rim had two options. The 16-inch rim had four options. The 17-inch size had three options. Most brands have at least four, seven, and five options. General Tire usually has both an all-season and winter tire that will fit your vehicle, but there are not many other options.

There are only three truck tire options, which is below the average. Seven performance options were available for the 245/70R17 truck. General Tire offered the most options for all the tires I looked at. Comparatively, the top brands have twice as many options for this size tire. Other sizes of truck tires were only two to three. The only size that was available, 215/85R16 had no alternatives.

Summary
General Tire is in many ways a middle-of-the-road tire brand. Although the tires aren’t very expensive, they aren’t the most affordable. Although the tread-life warranties indicate that tires will last for a long time, they don’t offer any extraordinary warranties. The main problem is the absence of performance options. The search tool will only show you one or two options for a specific size tire. This makes it less likely that you’ll find the right tire for you.