Goodyear vs. General Tires (In-Depth Comparison)

There are many different tire brands, all of which have their advantages and disadvantages.

Because of this, buyers always compare them with each other, such as Goodyear vs. General tires, trying to find which is better for them.

The main difference between Goodyear and General tires is that Goodyear’s products are developed for top performance, while General’s offers the best bang for your buck, trying to balance affordability and performance.

But, which is a better brand? Do they deliver on their promises, and what are the exact differences between these two tire brands?

Well, let’s find out.

Contents show

Goodyear Tires vs. General Comparison

Before we get into the details, and if you are impatient, we have compiled a quick comparison table between Goodyear and General.

There are several factors by which you can compare different tire brands, such as:

price
performance
quality
size of the product range
warranty

So, here is a quick overview of how these two brands compare to each other, and afterward, we’ll get onto what all this means.

	Goodyear	General
Price	Above average	Average
Performance	Top	Above average
Durability	Top	Above average
Variety	Top	Average
Warranty	0K-80K miles	40K-75K miles

Price

Price is an important factor for many buyers when getting a new set of tires, and it is, after all, what is asked to be given in exchange for some product.

And the quality of some products gives the answer to the question of are they worth it, the price.

Goodyear has a tire practically for any need and any buyer.

From very affordable nippy little tires to very expensive extreme performance tires. Price tags usually range between $75 and $866, with some variance depending on the exact retailer.

But, the average price of their tires is around $250, which makes their overall products range above-average priced.

General tires are promising to provide the best balance between the price and performance of their products.

And their price range starts at around $90 and reaches the neighborhood of $525 at some retailers.

The average price of General tires is around $200.

But the difference in the average price can be misleading a bit. When comparable tires, per their purpose and dimensions, are pit against each other, General usually has a $30-$50 lower price.

Performance

How a tire performs depends on many different and uncontrollable factors. That’s why it is always best to stick to some standardized factors.

One such is the Uniform Tire Quality Grading, a system of standards for rating tires’ performance in three categories:

grip
thermal resistance
treadwear rate

The grip is simply measured by dragging a locked tire over both wet asphalt and dry concrete as the force of friction.

Some of the Goodyear winter tires do not have this rating, which is fine.

But when it comes to summer and all-weather tires, they are graded either A or AA, the highest grade. In contrast, General has a mixture of A and B ratings.

The thermal resistance of a tire is temperature caused by sustained speed at which it starts to lose performance.

While beyond this rating, a tire is safe to drive, it doesn’t perform to its best.

Winter tires of both of these brands all have a B rating, as expected, due to the specialized compounds used for winter tires.

But, the rest of their lineup shows differences. Goodyear tires all have a rating A, meaning that performance deterioration can happen at some speed above 115mph.

While many General tires have a B rating, meaning that driving at speeds of 100-115mph will produce heat buildup that leads to deteriorating performance.

Durability

The third grade of the UTQG can describe the durability of a tire. It is measured treadwear compared with a standardized reference tire, both driven at the same time, on the same vehicle, and same roads.

The reference tire has a rating of 100, and the rated tire has a multiple of that depending on how longer-lasting its tread is.

Goodyear is a brand known for engineering its tires to outlast the competitors’ products. Their tires are usually rated between 550 and 650, with some long-lasting models even rated 800.

Some ultra-high performance (UHP) tires are rated as low as 100, but that is expected for very soft compound tires that sacrifice longevity for performance.

General tires have a similar rating range, but few of their non-UHP models fall in the 400s rating range, while the maximum rated tire is 700.

These ratings are above the average tire on the market but still lower than Goodyear’s ratings.

When it comes to durability, another rating sets apart these two brands, Treadwell testing. It is a battery of track tests that determines how long-lasting is the performance of tires in relation to treadwear.

Loss of performance over tread life is expected for any tire, but General tires’ degrade much quicker than Goodyear’s products.

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Variety

When comparing the number of different products each brand has, the comparison is lopsided. Goodyear has around 72 different models currently on the market.

These models cover practically all weather conditions and road types and also all vehicle types, which is one of the reasons why Goodyear captures around 11% of the NA tire market.

General has more tire models on the market than many other tire-makers, but their 32 products are much smaller variety than Goodyear.

Their product range does cover all of the market’s segments, but Goodyear beats them with a greater variety of specific purpose tires or specific benefits, such as long life or increased fuel economy.

Warranty

The warranted miles a tire maker puts on their tires can tell you a lot about the expected longevity of their products.

Goodyear has a wide range of products, and warranty policies range similarly. Tires that fall into the UHP category, as expected, mostly have 0 warranted miles.

But tires that are made to be used and not abused usually have 60 to 70 thousand miles.

At the same time, General tires are mostly warranted for 40 to 60 thousand miles, though a couple of models are rated for 75 thousand miles.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Goodyear Tires

Goodyear is a brand with decades of a reputation for producing outstanding tires that have top performance and last longer than competitors’ products.

When both the original equipment and replacement tire sales are calculated, roughly one out of 10 tires to get on American roads is made by them.

But the quality comes with a price, in the literal sense of that word. Goodyear tires are far from the cheapest, though among the top brands have arguably the best cost/performance ratio.

And their tires often are very affordable when the cost per mile is calculated.

Advantages and Disadvantages of General Tires

General branded tires are something of mid-tier products. Their pricing and quality are in the middle of the pack.

This makes them much more affordable when it comes to the initial purchase cost.

But, their quality is below the Goodyear, especially when you take into account that the performance of their tires fades with miles much quicker.

Comparing performance per dollar gets General tires much closer to Goodyear, but no cigar.

Final Thoughts

Comparing two tire brands that fall into different categories is a thankless job, especially when one is mid and the other is top.

Everything about General tires is mid, and their products offer a balanced performance and affordability.

But there are many reasons why Goodyear is the most favored tire brand in America.

General tires are good, but Goodyear’s are better.

Sources

https://wholesaletirescompany.com/general-reviews/
https://wholesaletirescompany.com/goodyear-reviews/
https://www.automoblog.net/goodyear-tires/
https://www.discounttiredirect.com/search?q=general%3Aprice-asc&sort=price-asc&text=general&page=0
https://www.discounttiredirect.com/search?q=goodyear%3Aprice-asc%3A&text=goodyear&sort=price-asc&page=2