General HT
What do you think are the requirements for tires for long-haul trucks that plow the roads day after day and transport multi-ton loads over a distance of thousands of kilometers? Most likely, the tires must be strong so that they do not burst under enormous pressure from premature wear. In addition, tires must be all-season so that they do not have to be changed regularly for the season. Finally, these tires shouldn't be too expensive so that the carrier doesn't go broke buying tires.
Are there tires that meet the listed requirements? Yes, and this is GENERAL HT. We will talk about these tires and their characteristics further.
The Manufacturer
GENERAL HT is one of the many models in the assortment of the American company General Tire. And it should be noted that General Tire has been producing tires since 1915, that is, there is sufficient experience in this matter. They also have dozens of patented technologies that are used to make tires. By the way, at the end of the 80s of the twentieth century, General Tire merged with Continental AG, which positively affected the quality of products and the variety of the assortment.
So, after getting acquainted with the manufacturer, it's time to find out what the tires, which this review is devoted to, are.
About General HT - general information
These tires are manufactured for commercial vehicles, mainly for long-haul tractors carrying heavy vans, tanks, and other types of trailers and semi-trailers. The tires are specially designed for heavy loads and are designed to be mounted on the wheels of the driving (rear) axles. The tires are all-weather, like most of the commercial tires in the General Tire range.
For the manufacture of all-weather tires, General Tire conducts tests during which the tires cover tens of thousands of kilometers in different weather and climatic conditions. Until recently, tires from this manufacturer were tested on the roads of Alaska and at a special testing ground in the state of Nevada. With a significant temperature difference, the tires proved to be all-season.
About protector
All-season qualities of GENERAL HT are largely ensured by a special tread pattern. The tires are asymmetric, that is, the left ones are installed on the left, and the right ones are installed on the right. The corresponding mark is on the tire. The transverse grooves of the tread are designed to drain water out when driving on a wet road. This provides better traction in difficult climates.
The centrally located 2 radial grooves help the car to maintain directional stability on dry and wet surfaces and even on loose snow. By the way, technologies are used in this tread, thanks to which dirt and stones stuck in radial grooves are formed by centrifugal force when driving at a speed of more than 30 m/hr.
About tire construction
GENERAL HT is a tubeless truck tire. With this in mind, the manufacturer has done everything possible to ensure that the tires are strong and reliable enough. To do this, a transverse wire reinforcing weave runs along the entire perimeter of the tire. In addition, metal belts run along the perimeter of the central rib. This is the standard technology used by General Tire in truck and SUV tires. As a result, thanks to the transverse wire reinforcement, the tires withstand air pressure while maintaining a stable shape. Radial belts prevent mechanical deformation of the tire when hitting curbs and other obstacles. In order to keep the huge tire on the disk and not fly off, metal rigid cords are used in tire construction.
In order to provide numerous performance benefits, the tire composition is multi-layer. The inner surface of the tire is made of low-density rubber. This material absorbs and dissipates vibrations. The interlayers are high-density rubber which, together with the wire reinforcement, contains air pressure. The working layer, namely the tread, is made using a special compound, which, regardless of the season, is elastic, but at the same time does not wear off as quickly as low-density rubber.
Benefits of GENERAL HT
We would like to draw your attention to the fact that the benefits of using GENERAL HT tires are only possible if these tires are used correctly. That is if they are installed on a suitable vehicle, on suitable truck axles, if the required pressure has been pumped into them, etc. If all these conditions are met, GENERAL HT tires have the following qualities:
- Durability - to make it clear what this is about, General Tire provides 65 thousand miles or more than 100 thousand kilometers guarantee! We think this is an excellent result in comparison with tires from other manufacturers.
- Resistance to mechanical deformation - tires wear off slowly due to the special material in the tread composition. In addition, due to the fused metal belts, the tires are resistant to damage when hitting various obstacles.
- Effective acceleration - GENERAL HT tires, thanks to the tread compound, provide optimal friction at the point of contact with the road surface. Given the effectiveness of the tread pattern, it is not surprising that the car starts faster with these tires than with other tires.
- Effective braking - with braking, the situation is similar to acceleration. The tire has a good grip, and therefore brakes well on different surfaces, even on loose snow. However, the tread is not effective enough to brake quickly on the ice. Therefore, for driving on ice, you need a studded tire or chains as an enhancing gear.
- Fuel economy - GENERAL HT tires, due to their optimal balance and special tread pattern, have practically no resistance to wheel rolling. Consequently, the engine has less load and less fuel.
- Self-cleaning function - like all tires, the GENERAL HT gets dirty. That is, dirt and stones are packed into the tread gaps, which reduces the efficiency of engagement with the road surface. But the GENERAL HT tires have a self-cleaning function. The tread shape is such that when the tires rub against the road, the dirt is literally squeezed out. This is an important advantage when using the vehicle in the off-season.
Do you think that the advantages of these tires are over? Nothing of the kind, there is another particularly important advantage - an affordable price. Perhaps this advantage is one of the most important, considering that the resource of tires for trucks is not great in comparison with tires for other vehicles. As a result, changing tires for freight carriers turn into considerable expenses. And the tires GENERAL HT, due to affordable prices and long service life, can reduce these costs by about one and a half times!
Reasons to buy
At the end of this short review, let's try to decide whether to buy or not buy these tires. Do they have any disadvantages? As such, there are no shortcomings, well, in any case, for several years of operation, only these tires have not been found. But there are really many advantages. And we are talking about those advantages that save the carrier's money. Therefore, the conclusion is that the tires are excellent and if you are looking for high-quality, but practical components for the main tractor, this is your choice.