I've happily used UHP 235/45R17 tires on my Passat and Beetle 18T convertible with nothing but smooth cruising. I tried 38 psi but backed off, the slightly tauter steering wasn't worth the harshness on SoCal's crumbling surface streets. Mine were all German origin.
I just moved back to the northeast and purchased a set of General Altimax Artic. Apparently they are Gislaved NF3's which is a Scandinavian tire rebranded by their parent company (Continental) and sold as Generals in the US. So far they have been good but no major snow storms but some ice and slush. I got them studded. Once the warm up they are fairly quite. Not to mention they are pretty inexpensive ($99 each). I got wheels, tires with studs, mounted/balanced and shipped for under $1K from Tire Rack. Pretty good if you ask me. -Ron
From what I have read these are great tires.
If you're looking for cheap performance summer tires I'd recomment the General Exclaim UHP or the Sumitomo HTRZ III, you'd be VERY surprised they handle and grip about 90% as well as a tire double it's cost, VERY well worth the money at about $80-$100/tire. I bought a set of the Exclaims and was very surprised, and 3 of my friends are running the HTRZ's and both tires are amazing for that pricepoint.
Well, the 235-45 tires arrived from Tire Rack mounted on forged rim aftermarket 17 inch wheels, these were installed yesterday. Steering feel and feed back are really good, little or no compromise of comfort. The Z-rated General tires, German-made, are actually a bit lighter than the 225-45 Goodyear R-SA's they replaced. No clearance problems, the three tenths of an inch increase in overall tire diameter isn't all that noticeable. The design of the wheel and the tire sidewall as well as the wider tire section width all give a lot more rim protection. The original VW wheels and OE tires left the outer rim and spokes protruding beyond the sidewall, very vulnerable to damage. Any change from OEM is invariably a compromise, no buyer's remorse on this one.
Recently upgraded a W8 wagon to 17 inch wheels and General Exclaim UHP Z-rated tires from Tire Rack. So far delighted. General is a Continental subsidiary, tires are mfg in Germany. Amazing level of comfort for a Z-rated tire.
The Generals are great, i had a set of falkens on the car and my new wheels i put the generals on and the handling in the rain was way better, dry they might be a little sticker but i really don't push my car that hard so i really cant say.
I have these tires and i like them a lot. You should print out tireracks price, take it in to where your going to buy them and they should match the price. thats what i did and i got my 17's for 70$ something a peice.
Had em on my last 3 cars and the new one...Great tire but that's WAY too much for em..Tirerack.com should be more like $80 per tire.. Good in the rain and great around turns... It's NOT a snow tire though, it's a high performance summer tire. Overall I LOVE them...
I just got them mounted on Tuesday night, so haven't driven them far. They ride far nicer than my Nokian Hakka winters . Only downfall to the Generals is max pressure is 44 psi, so it's pretty marginal. But they are a 100H tire, so that's good. Plus they were not pricy.
Write your review
Help others - share your experience with this part.
Voted AGAINST engine oil RAVENOL on the rating page
The brake pads NIPPARTS got the first review!
The brake discs Hella got the first review!
The brake discs OEM Suzuki got the first review!
For tires OEM Toyota already 25 reviews.
For tires IRONMAN already 25 reviews.
For starter motor OEM Volkswagen already 25 reviews.
In the rating best ignition coil already 13 brands participate!
In the rating best fuel pump already 5 brands participate!
In the rating best turbocharger already 4 brands participate!
In the auto rating headlights for Volkswagen Golf already 5 brands participate!
In the auto rating brake pads for Mazda 5 already 10 brands participate!
In the auto rating brake pads for BMW M2 already 5 brands participate!
Voted AGAINST engine oil RED LINE on the rating page
Voted AGAINST engine oil PENNZOIL on the rating page
