Pontiac Tires

Initial Review, 45,000 Miles on Tires
April 24, 2013

I've worn out two or three sets of the predecessor of this tire (Turanza Serenity) and after having gone through numerous other tire brands Michelins, Yokohamas, Goodyears, have to say that this tire is the best of those by a significant margin. These tires offer very good cornering grip... amazing actually. Great wet and dry traction and decent traction in snow and ice. Where they really shine is ride quality, comfort and noise level.

Bear in mind that I rate this tire as what it is... a Grand Touring Tire. It won't compete against special purpose tires but neither will they match this tire for this intended use. Unless you can use the last 10% to 15% of the performance that high performance tires offer you will be FAR, FAR happier with a tire such as this. The difference in comfort and combined performance will serve most drivers better the majority of the time. (As a footnote... I own and drive two Trans Ams, two Corvettes, a Grand Prix GXP, and other assorted cars). I have run high / ultra-high performance tires on those cars and unless I'm pushing the edge of the envelope, these tires perform more than adequately.... and they are FAR more comfortable over potholes, expansion joints and they don't drone you to death with tread noise.

One BIG side benefit not usually thought about is that these tires give me 45K miles +/- of wear and I replace them before they get down to the wear bars. So... while I'm wearing out HP and Ultra-HP tires at 20-25K miles I'm only at the halfway point of having to replace these. So... they save a lot of money up front and again over the far greater lifetime.

I love these tires and will be ordering my next set in the next week.

Good luck in your choices... but if I might make one suggestion it would be this. Look very carefully at what you NEED in a tire for the majority of your driving... and don't overestimate your need for that final 10% of performance. Most people never even get close to using that final 10%.

Initial Review, 1,000 Miles on Tires
April 20, 2013

Fantastic tire. I replaced a set of Toyos with these and the difference is incredible. Definitely the best tires I have ever had. Extremely quite, stable and a great ride.

Initial Review, 5,000 Miles on Tires
April 07, 2013

I have always prefered a Michelin tire, and have had great service from them over the years. The prices are high, and I have wondered if part of that is paying for the name? A few years ago, we purchased a new truck with General tires on it, and the tires performed flawlessly. In fact those 11 year-old Generals were are currently on a farm trailer, and show no signs of dry rot, or other problems. After much thought, I decided to give these Generals a try. These tires are very quiet and smooth. They have great resistance to hydroplaning, which is a feature that I like a lot. The tires are not great in the snow, but than a V-8 powered RWD car is not so great in the snow either. I have a designated AWD winter vehicle, so winter traction does not matter to me. We live in the mountains with lots of winding roads, and tires get punished around here. I have the car set up with a stiff aftermarket suspension, so it rides harsh and corners like a sports car. The car no longer handles like a traditional Crown Victoria. Infact this car has seen an AutoCross track more then once... The OE tires where very soft and the car had a tendency to oversteer with them on it. These tires take the curves very well. So far they have passed the test. I plan to purchase three more sets, one for my wife's Crown Vic, and two sets for our two vintage Pontiac Trans AM show cars. For the price, nothing else compares. General seems to have hit the mark!

Initial Review, 20,000 Miles on Tires
March 24, 2013

I bought these tires for their price and decent reviews. It is a great tire in the winter and after 20,000 miles the tread has been great for this past snowy winter in Mpls. I think my mpg has reduced a little compared to the OE Goodyear RS-As, but the winter traction has been impressive as well as the amount of tread still left after 20k miles. For a similar vehicle (hatchback, small SUV, etc.) I would purchase again.

Initial Review, 6,000 Miles on Tires
April 01, 2013

This tire is a on powerful heavy car and it is the best set I have ever owned. The wet traction is astonishing. The mileage not so sure about that but they have 30,000 warranty, so we shall see how close they get to that.

Initial Review, 4,000 Miles on Tires
April 14, 2013

I like the tires, they handle great on dry warm pavement. The one thing I have noticed is that the tires tend to wobble like they are out of balance when they are cold. When they warm up they feel fine. I have the 6.0L LS2 motor with a few light modifications so keeping my tires planted is a challenge at times but these tires do a good job. I rotate the tires reguraly but I will be lucky to get 15,000 out of this set.

Initial Review, 20,000 Miles on Tires
April 12, 2013

These are the absolute best in daily street tires!
Saying I am a “spirited” driver is an understatement.
Handling and cornering response is excellent.
These tires are excellent under dry conditions and leave all other tires in the dust under wet conditions. The wetter the conditions, the more dust!
I am amazed at how well these handle in extremely wet conditions.
I can’t say anything about winter conditions as I use 4 Good Year Ultra Grip Ice snow tires. which are the FINEST snow tires made!
Tire wear has been above average, at a minimum, especially considering the “spirited” driving style.
I have these on 3 of my cars for summer & 4 Good Year Ultra Grip Ice snow tires on the in the winter.
I refuse to settle for anything less!

Initial Review, 60,000 Miles on Tires
April 05, 2013

Excellent tire all the way around and I will continue to buy these tires as long as I can.

Initial Review, 2,500 Miles on Tires
March 24, 2013

Fantastic tires so far. So much quiter than the goodyears that came on the car. Traction is great in all conditions. Just got 6in of snow drove around with no problems. Haven't had them that long but I am very happy with these tires.

Initial Review, 17,000 Miles on Tires
March 26, 2013

After 17,000 miles the tires and not wearing good and starting to cup. They ride ok, but are noisy. All around traction is pretty good. I will be lucky if I get 40,000 miles out of these. Air pressure is checked once a week, newer suspension, and good aliment. Wont buy again.

Initial Review, 2,000 Miles on Tires
June 15, 2011

Great set of tires. Don't have that many miles but they have been great so far. Wet traction is outstanding. They are much better than my old dunlop's, much softer ride with a lot less road noise. Very happy with these tires hopefully they last close to the 100,000 miles they are rated to go.

Initial Review, 18,000 Miles on Tires
March 04, 2013

After having really good luck with a set of General's Altimax HP on my Pontiac Grand Prix, I decided to try their GMAX AS3's on my Pontiac G8 GT. I cant tell you how disappointed I am with this tire. NOISE! I have full exhaust from the manifolds back and while crusing down the highway at 70-75 the tires were as loud as the exhaust note. Treadware was disgusting.(Now in the interest of full disclosure I only rotated the tires twice in 18k miles) I think the warranty on the tire was 40k? and all I got was a shade over 18k. I just replaced them with a set of Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus' and when I looked the tires over after they have been dismounted, you can see the belts had shifted which explained the noise and the pulling to one side. I will say however that the tires had excellent wet traction/handling and better than average dry traction/handling. Overall im very disappointed in my experience with these tires and I guess the cliche "you get what you pay for" rings true here.

Initial Review, 10,000 Miles on Tires
March 09, 2013

These tires have been wonderful. I have excellent traction. Was really impressed with how well they did in the snow. I have a smooth ride with wonderful handling. Would buy these tires again.

Initial Review, 25,000 Miles on Tires
February 16, 2013

Good tire for all season driving. Not really good for deeper snow on GTO but lighter snow they do great. Rain handling is better than I had expected. Handling on dirt roads is very good too. Very well rounded tire. NOT sticky enough for incredibly sprited driving (the back end breaks loose too easily with full-throttle take offs and high speed cornering. RIde is very comfortable and quiet and the tires handle very well at high speeds on dry roads. (100 mph and over).

Initial Review, 100 Miles on Tires
January 31, 2013

This tire is definitely an improvement upon the already amazing Z1's. It is an especially good performer for the price. If you are looking a tire that is really grippy--one track or off--then this is a tire you will be impressed with. If you are looking for a tire with ride and noise comfort then look else where. This is a high performance tire and it has very stiff sidewalls.

I have gone through many sets of Z1's on and off track. I have yet to take these to the track, but from what I can see on the street I cannot wait.

Initial Review, 5,000 Miles on Tires
February 15, 2013

This is more about the tire's performance characteristics than long-term durability or wear, as they're still pretty new.

I wanted a sporty tire that didn't break the bank--For that I think this tire nailed it.

It has a very positive, firm ride (you may not like this if you're used to touring tires) with incredibly stiff tread blocks and sidewalls--No sidewall or tread squish when cornering or steering--Extremely positive response.

Drawback to this is that my car, perhaps it is because it is so light, can get pretty busy on highways with parallel grooves in the road surface--Car sometimes sharply "wiggles" from side to side as if the tires are following these grooves precisely due to the stiff tires. A little weird at first but it has already decreased significantly since I first put them on.

Tire is phenomenal in the wet, and does pretty well in slushy snow. It certainly isn't in its element when the temperature drops below 28 or 30. My Vibe has never been good in the snow, so I just know what its limits are when the mercury drops, so perhaps I'm not as hard on them as others may be for their cold-weather performance.

Initial Review, 45,000 Miles on Tires
February 12, 2013

These tires are great, rotate them every 5,000 miles and keep everything in alignment. Treadwear is even and excellent. Very comfortable and quiet. I mainly stay in the city and my job in as well in the city and it does real well in wet and dry conditions. handles excellent in highway speeds.

Initial Review, 2,000 Miles on Tires
February 03, 2013

I was looking for all weather performance at premium levels and best in class performance in light snow. I not only found everything that I was looking for but also feel that the PureContanct is the best tire that I have ever experienced. They are as quite and comfortable riding as the Michelin Primacy MXV4s on my Avalon.