General GMax AS 03- Mini Review

Turkeybaster115 · 09-15-2011, 09:30 AM

Got these tires to replace my General Exclaim UHP's (235/35-19, 275/30-19. I use all season tires for spring/summer/fall/Track Days, and put on dedicated winter tires for winter. For me all season tires have to have good dry and wet performance because of where I live. The Exclaims were simply amazing! The rears lasted for 20,000 miles+ 6 Full Track Days. The fronts had a bit more thread left than the rear. The tires handled Great at the track, and good in the wet. The great experience with the exclaims made me buy the GMax's. Other choices were: Good Year eagle F1, Kumho ecsta spt, and Sumitomo HTZ III.

GMAx initial impressions: Got these put on yesterday, and I must say the grip in corners is simply amazing. Big improvement from the exclaims. Tires are comfortable with very little/no noise. My first HPDE with them will come in mid october, and I will update the thread then.

bavarianx · 09-15-2011, 05:13 PM

The new G-Max tires are 2 steps up from the UHP. We've done about 5 sets in the last week and ran some on our shop car. Great tire for the price and should give a long life.

IllLojik · 09-15-2011, 06:09 PM

How do they stack up against Hankook Ventus V12's?

Turkeybaster115 · 09-15-2011, 07:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IllLojik

How do they stack up against Hankook Ventus V12's?

Two different categories of tire. Hankook Ventus Evo's are Max performance summer tires, while Generals are Ultra High performance all season tires. This means that the generals should Kill the evos in the wet and light snow, but can probably only come close to matching the evos in the dry. Generals are high thread wear tires and are warrantied for 5yrs/60K miles. Ventus, like most pure summer tires wear quickly and don't even come with a thread life warranty. It depends on what you want.

IllLojik · 09-15-2011, 07:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Turkeybaster115

Two different categories of tire. Hankook Ventus Evo's are Max performance summer tires, while Generals are Ultra High performance all season tires. This means that the generals should Kill the evos in the wet and light snow, but can probably only come close to matching the evos in the dry. Generals are high thread wear tires and are warrantied for 5yrs/60K miles. Ventus, like most pure summer tires wear quickly and don't even come with a thread life warranty. It depends on what you want.

I see. Thanks for clarifying.

Blue Streak · 09-15-2011, 09:06 PM

The video is very informative and makes it seem like a pretty high-tech tire. The pictures of the tires look good too. I was interested in a tire like this and recently bought the Conti DWS. So far so good... I like them a lot, but they run quite narrow and have very soft sidewalls. I had to increase the psi in each tire by about 3-5 psi just to make it feel firm again. Maybe next time I will consider these, but the DWS have a 540 tread wear rating, so hopefully it will be a while before I'm thinking about tires again. I'm curious to see how they fit your wheels (if they're stock wheels)... if they run narrow, wide, or just block even. How is the lateral flexing in quick transitions at high speed? Good video and great looking tire!

bmw325i · 09-15-2011, 11:34 PM

Have these tires and I love them haven't tried them in the snow yet. Will definitely buy again. Also it was asked whether they run wide or narrow I'd say they are a tad on the narrow side since they are ever so slightly stretched on my wheels I have 235/35-19 on a 8.5" wheel up front and 265/30-19 on a 9.5" wheel

Turkeybaster115 · 09-16-2011, 10:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bmw325i

Have these tires and I love them haven't tried them in the snow yet. Will definitely buy again. Also it was asked whether they run wide or narrow I'd say they are a tad on the narrow side since they are ever so slightly stretched on my wheels I have 235/35-19 on a 8.5" wheel up front and 265/30-19 on a 9.5" wheel

I won't even try these in anything but light snow. Its a much better idea to get dedicated winter wheels and tires.

Gary@TireRack · 09-16-2011, 11:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Turkeybaster115

Two different categories of tire. Hankook Ventus Evo's are Max performance summer tires, while Generals are Ultra High performance all season tires. This means that the generals should Kill the evos in the wet and light snow, but can probably only come close to matching the evos in the dry. Generals are high thread wear tires and are warrantied for 5yrs/60K miles. Ventus, like most pure summer tires wear quickly and don't even come with a thread life warranty. It depends on what you want.

+1

mookie45 · 09-16-2011, 11:13 AM

Looking forward to these tires! Just ordered a set from BavarianX.

rdub315 · 09-16-2011, 03:34 PM

also purchased a set recently - figured i'd give them a shot. i chose these because i want to drive my 335 further into the winter season. they won't see deep snow - that's what my beater Subaru is for. will post pics once mounted - may be a couple weeks though, since i'm considering powdercoating my wheels.

IllLojik · 09-16-2011, 05:23 PM

Ok, another question before I start a thread. IMO the Hankook V12's run narrow compared to something like Michelin. How do the GMax's run?

Going with a 255 on a 18x9.5 tire. Didn't want an overly stretched look, No, Don't think 265 is an option (spacers, not rolling fender, etc etc)

bavarianx · 09-16-2011, 08:00 PM

255 is OK, 265 will sit flush with the face of the wheel.

bmw325i · 09-17-2011, 02:24 AM

265 is very slightly stretched on a 9.5" wheel you'll probably be alright. What offsets are you running?

IllLojik · 09-17-2011, 07:21 AM

et20 all around with spacers
pre PCI e90
et35, 40 without.

Sport suspension

Turkeybaster115 · 09-19-2011, 11:06 PM

Here are pics of mine installed. Pics won't be up for too long.

Front

Rear

Turkeybaster115 · 10-18-2011, 02:58 PM

just did a track day with these tires at road america, and they held up pretty good. Loads of grip, and they didn't squeal like the Exclaims. You can definitely feel the 3D sipes lock in as you corner. They did suck in the very cold weather. The day started out with a temp of 39 degrees. Once the sun came out and the track warmed up to about 50 degrees, they were perfect.

Tire rack just completed its first round of comparison with these tires:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....el=G-Max+AS-03

09-15-2011, 09:30 AM	#1
Turkeybaster115 Banned 74 Rep 1,543 Posts Drives: 335I Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Illinois iTrader: (2)	General GMax AS 03- Mini Review Got these tires to replace my General Exclaim UHP's (235/35-19, 275/30-19. I use all season tires for spring/summer/fall/Track Days, and put on dedicated winter tires for winter. For me all season tires have to have good dry and wet performance because of where I live. The Exclaims were simply amazing! The rears lasted for 20,000 miles+ 6 Full Track Days. The fronts had a bit more thread left than the rear. The tires handled Great at the track, and good in the wet. The great experience with the exclaims made me buy the GMax's. Other choices were: Good Year eagle F1, Kumho ecsta spt, and Sumitomo HTZ III. GMAx initial impressions: Got these put on yesterday, and I must say the grip in corners is simply amazing. Big improvement from the exclaims. Tires are comfortable with very little/no noise. My first HPDE with them will come in mid october, and I will update the thread then. Last edited by Turkeybaster115; 09-15-2011 at 01:31 PM..
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09-15-2011, 05:13 PM	#2
bavarianx Colonel 224 Rep 2,103 Posts Drives: 2006 X5 4.4i Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Orange County, CA iTrader: (18)	The new G-Max tires are 2 steps up from the UHP. We've done about 5 sets in the last week and ran some on our shop car. Great tire for the price and should give a long life. Last edited by bavarianx; 09-15-2011 at 05:21 PM..
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09-15-2011, 06:09 PM	#3
IllLojik Lieutenant 51 Rep 473 Posts Drives: //'12 F30 328i\\ Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Long Island, NY iTrader: (2)	How do they stack up against Hankook Ventus V12's?
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09-15-2011, 09:06 PM	#6
Blue Streak Gunny 30 Rep 623 Posts Drives: '07 E90 335i 6MT, 2016 F10 535 Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: San Diego, CA iTrader: (0) Garage List 2007 E90 335i [9.00]	The video is very informative and makes it seem like a pretty high-tech tire. The pictures of the tires look good too. I was interested in a tire like this and recently bought the Conti DWS. So far so good... I like them a lot, but they run quite narrow and have very soft sidewalls. I had to increase the psi in each tire by about 3-5 psi just to make it feel firm again. Maybe next time I will consider these, but the DWS have a 540 tread wear rating, so hopefully it will be a while before I'm thinking about tires again. I'm curious to see how they fit your wheels (if they're stock wheels)... if they run narrow, wide, or just block even. How is the lateral flexing in quick transitions at high speed? Good video and great looking tire! __________________ 2007 E90 335i 6MT, ZSP, Nav, PDC, CA, Montego Blue, Terra Dakota leather, CDV, clutch-stop, E46 M Shift Knob, Logic HVI, JB4 PnP, MS 3" downpipes, Koni Yellow adjustable sport shocks, RE 12mm(f)/BMS 15mm(r) spacers, Blacklines, LUX 5.0 LED halo ring lights, DAEOS (Vista) harness, GP Thunder 7500k fogs, 35% sides-20% rear tint, matt black kidney grill, matt black 335i trunk badge
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09-15-2011, 11:34 PM	#7
bmw325i Major General 223 Rep 5,120 Posts Drives: 2006 BMW 325i Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: United States iTrader: (8)	Have these tires and I love them haven't tried them in the snow yet. Will definitely buy again. Also it was asked whether they run wide or narrow I'd say they are a tad on the narrow side since they are ever so slightly stretched on my wheels I have 235/35-19 on a 8.5" wheel up front and 265/30-19 on a 9.5" wheel
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09-16-2011, 11:13 AM	#10
mookie45 Major 770 Rep 1,270 Posts Drives: 2017 AW 340i M-Sport Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Brickell iTrader: (4)	Looking forward to these tires! Just ordered a set from BavarianX.
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09-16-2011, 03:34 PM	#11
rdub315 Captain 75 Rep 650 Posts Drives: '07 E90 335i Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Traverse City, MI iTrader: (8) Garage List 2007 E90 335i [10.00]	also purchased a set recently - figured i'd give them a shot. i chose these because i want to drive my 335 further into the winter season. they won't see deep snow - that's what my beater Subaru is for. will post pics once mounted - may be a couple weeks though, since i'm considering powdercoating my wheels. __________________ - VTT Stage 2 turbos, VTT inlets, Cobb Pro Tune (E30 and 93 octane tunes), MFactory LSD, 335is clutch, CSF radiator, slim fans, Walbro 255, AE exhaust, AA downpipes, ETS FMIC, Vishnu DCI, ETS charge pipe, Tial BOV, BMS OCC - H&R Touring Cup Kit, Apex Arc8, M3 style front bumper, MTech style rear bumper and diffuser
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09-16-2011, 05:23 PM	#12
IllLojik Lieutenant 51 Rep 473 Posts Drives: //'12 F30 328i\\ Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Long Island, NY iTrader: (2)	Ok, another question before I start a thread. IMO the Hankook V12's run narrow compared to something like Michelin. How do the GMax's run? Going with a 255 on a 18x9.5 tire. Didn't want an overly stretched look, No, Don't think 265 is an option (spacers, not rolling fender, etc etc)
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09-16-2011, 08:00 PM	#13
bavarianx Colonel 224 Rep 2,103 Posts Drives: 2006 X5 4.4i Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Orange County, CA iTrader: (18)	255 is OK, 265 will sit flush with the face of the wheel.
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09-17-2011, 02:24 AM	#14
bmw325i Major General 223 Rep 5,120 Posts Drives: 2006 BMW 325i Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: United States iTrader: (8)	265 is very slightly stretched on a 9.5" wheel you'll probably be alright. What offsets are you running?
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09-17-2011, 07:21 AM	#15
IllLojik Lieutenant 51 Rep 473 Posts Drives: //'12 F30 328i\\ Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Long Island, NY iTrader: (2)	et20 all around with spacers pre PCI e90 et35, 40 without. Sport suspension
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09-19-2011, 11:06 PM	#16
Turkeybaster115 Banned 74 Rep 1,543 Posts Drives: 335I Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Illinois iTrader: (2)	Here are pics of mine installed. Pics won't be up for too long. Front Rear Rear
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10-18-2011, 02:58 PM	#17
Turkeybaster115 Banned 74 Rep 1,543 Posts Drives: 335I Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Illinois iTrader: (2)	just did a track day with these tires at road america, and they held up pretty good. Loads of grip, and they didn't squeal like the Exclaims. You can definitely feel the 3D sipes lock in as you corner. They did suck in the very cold weather. The day started out with a temp of 39 degrees. Once the sun came out and the track warmed up to about 50 degrees, they were perfect. Tire rack just completed its first round of comparison with these tires: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....el=G-Max+AS-03
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