DaveW68

I had been seriously considering the Toyo Extensa HPII tires, but I changed my mind and decided to go with an ultra high performance all-season tire. So I ordered these General's in the staggered 20" set up (245/40R20 & 275/35R20). Got them shipped including tax for $723 + $40 for the road hazard policy. Then they also have a $70 rebate through the end of April. These had the exact same over all score as the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+ and were the highest rated UHP all-season in my sizes on Consumer Reports, although they rate as quieter than the Michelins.

I'll update once I've had a couple of months to give them a whirl. Anything has to be better than the Goodyear RFT's.

Phillyfinest

I have the same on my car. Have them for about 3 months/1k miles so far and no complaints.........

DaveW68

A few questions:

1. What size wheels do you have them on?
2. What were your original tires?
3. How is the ride and noise level, especially compared to the original tires?

Phillyfinest

Same size you have now. OEM had 18inch Bridgestone.

Ride not as soft as with the 18’s but not too far off. Noise level around same. No change there.

like I said, no issues so far. Will just have to see how well the tread holds up. They have pretty aggressive tread and I do not drive it everyday.

2012 merc amg

IMO those tires are too stiff for a Mercedes S class. I had those tires on my Sport Pickup truck, a 2009 chevy colorado with the lowered sport suspension. I only had them about a year but were too stiff for me and I ended up with Pirelli P7 tires on that truck for quite a while which ride very well. Getting near replacing time and I'll probably go with the Uniroyal Tiger Paw GTZ which I will also put on my S560 and my E450 Wagon when the time comes for tire replacement. Had those tires on my 2017 S550 and the car rode beautifully and handled well and they tires were only 1/3 worn after 13K miles on them and I drive hard. For $150 or so a piece cant go wrong IMO.

OnlyGerman

Not sure why anyone would want to put general tires on a S. Spend the extra $200 and get a decent set and you won't have to question it.

DaveW68

Oh really? And what "all-season" set of tires would you put on my staggered 20" stock wheels? I'm looking for a set that rides fairly quiet and with long treadwear. BTW, Generals are made by the German company Continental Tires, and like I mentioned earlier, they were the top rated UHP all-seasons in my staggered sizes in Consumer Reports.

TEAsE550

I had a set of the same Generals put on my Mom's Lexus last November when I was out in Arizona visiting for the holidays. She's 83 and drives maybe 5000 miles a year and the Michelins on her car were about 1/2 used and starting to dry rot. She was very happy about how quiet they were and how they handled the rain when it pours in Arizona. I just went back out to Arizona and spent 3 weeks there taking care of my mom after back surgery. I drove her Lexus the whole 3 weeks, including some long highway trips to see friends in Tuscon. She had put about 1700 miles on them since November and I took her car in for an oil change and tire rotation. For a front drive Japanese sedan I was amazed how quiet was. Road noise drives my mother insane and we could have a normal conversation @ 60 mph without having to raise our voices. 2 thumbs up from me !!!
I put a set of Milestar MS932 XP + on my E550 coupe with a staggered set-up. Without being able to rotate tires on a staggered set-up it just didn't seem very smart to spend over $1000 for tire that will last 25,000 miles at best. I've got about 3000 miles on them now and no complaints !!

DaveW68

Thank you for your review. That gives me some more confidence in my decision to get these, especially in the quietness department. The tires I got are XL's, so I know they will ride a bit firm. But XL's are the only option in the stock 20" wheel size, so it's not like I have any choice in the matter. And for the weight of the S-class, I wouldn't go with a standard load tire any way.

Milestar doesn't make 20" tires, so that was a no-go for me. I don't blame you for not wanting to overspend on a wear item that will likely perform every bit as well as other tires that cost 50% or more higher than what you paid and will wear out in a couple of years anyway. The General's have a 50k treadwear warranty, but I'm realistic in knowing that I'll likely not get more than 30k miles at best out of them on a heavy S-class where tire rotation is not an option other than side to side. I'm hoping that the 4matic helps them wear fairly evenly, but time will tell.

SW20S

Yeah not a ton of options for the 20" wheels on the S Class...

Streamliner

Talking about $200.00 to $500.00 difference on a set of tires for an S Class, is like Bill Gates ordering off the “Bargain Menu” at McDonald’s or Warren Buffett shopping at the 99 Cent Store. We are talking about PENNIES a day here, with what are probably “THE” most performance critical items on any vehicle. Trying to squeeze an extra few thousand miles out of a set of tires, or going with the Pep Boys brand might be important for folks struggling to make ends meet and driving 20 year old Nissan Sentra’s, but if someone can afford a recent S Class model, they can certainly afford to replace their tires with the best brand/model available, way before they are showing much wear. I realize that different folks have different priorities, but $700.00 vs $1200.00 on something as important as a set of tires on an S Class? Come on guys, let’s get real.

DaveW68

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DaveW68

Yeah...ok. So the Consumer Reports top rated UHP all-season in my tire sizes that are also the quietest in the category are a bad idea because I only paid a little over $700 (including tax) for them? To be fair, I did get them for 10% off because my teenage daughter works at Walmart and I was able to use her employee discount. Not sure where the comment about squeezing extra miles out of a set of tires or the Bill Gates (Satan) and Warren Buffet comments were coming from.

I'm sure you're disappointed I didn't pick up some Honda clone 18" wheels and throw some expensive Michelin summer tires on them, but I'll leave that to guys like you who enjoy a wallowy ride.

Streamliner

Well, Dave, some of us don’t base all of our decisions on Consumer Reports.

DaveW68

Yeah....I know. Some people base their decisions on raw emotions, impulse, or....if it costs more, it has to be better. I just try to be sensible. Nobody has yet presented any better all-season options in my sizes that have a quiet ride, handle well in all conditions, or have an acceptable ride, no matter the price. Consumer Reports runs tons of tests and surveys thousands of owners to draw their conclusions. I'm not sure how to find a more unbiased way at drawing conclusions on what's good and what isn't.

Streamliner

Just to clarify, my comments were in general. I was not singling out you or your tire choice, or how you went about making it. I was merely saying that some folks seem to always have a need to get the last miles out of their tires and to replace them with the cheapest ones possible. I hope you are very happy with your choice and I wish you nothing but many thousands of safe, enjoyable miles on them.

SW20S

Personally, I want the best tires. If the smoothest, quietest tire is this General, then I say go for it.

TEAsE550

YW !! Something people don't understand about staggered tire set-ups and mileage warranties. The warranty is cut by 50% due to not being able to rotate. I have been thru this staggered tire set-up since 2002 with the CLK430 I owned for 250,000 + miles. Been thru Bridgestone...Pirelli...Michelin....GoodYear.....F irestone and Conti's.....NONE lasted more than 20,000 miles....most were lighting my traction control on wet pavement by 15,000. I don't understand this tires are better just because of price......LOL. I spent around $500 for the Milestars.....if I don't like them I'll buy a different tire.

Wolfman

No need to get defensive and aggressive on every thread where people disagree with you. Same happened on the Tokyo thread. People make their choices on other criteria than you...

I can’t speak to the quality of Consumer Report ratings on tires but on high-end cars they are doing a comically poor job. I also made a mistake once of selecting a lawn tractor based on their recommendation. Bad move...

I am glad you found a set of tires and hope they will work well for you. As for other selecting different brands, please do likewise.

SilverArrow44

Ohhh! This tire has been at the top of my list for a year now. It's a favorite for the W222 on Tire Rack and Discount Tire, has high marks, and rave reviews. I had been looking forward to replacing my Bridgestones for the General G-Max, but then I discovered that the new Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4 would be available for my car this summer. If I had to buy a new set of tires today, I would also purchase the General G-Max. However since I still have time, I'm going to wait and see if the Pilot Sport All Season 4 is released in my size.

Lanzz

Had two sets of the General GMax on a different vehicle in the past few years. Excellent performance, quiet, wear evenly and solid in wet weather. They may trade at a discount, but they punch above their weight in real-world use.

as.thompson

Silver Arrow, I don't know what size your car needs but I recently put Michelin Pilot Sport 4s on both my S550 coupe(245/40X20 & 275/30X20) and my SL500 (255/40X18 & 285/35X18). Very happy with them on both cars.

SilverArrow44

I have the staggered 19" wheels, so I need 245/45R19 and 275/40R19. The front is currently available, but not the rear. I reached out to Michelin via DM on twitter and I was originally told that my rear size would not be made available. A little while later, the person got back to me and reported that the rear would be available around summer 2021.

as.thompson

Michelin was very helpful for me also. Let's hope they're correct about the summer availability and your size shows up at your tire dealer with minimal delays in the supply chain.

DaveW68

The new tires are on the 20" staggered wheels. Wheels get installed next week by the detailer who is doing my paint correction and ceramic coating. Wheels are being coated too.

Interestingly, these tires have a slightly wider footprint than the Goodyear RFT's and look very aggressive. Also, the rubber at the bead juts out a little, helping to protect the rims from curb rash. What a great feature!