2000 Silverado Bad General Tires

number1number1 Member Posts: 71
edited March 2014 in Chevrolet
I ordered my 2000 4 door 2WD 1500 Silverado last
November and recieved it at the end of January. I
went with the highest upgrade ($295) OWL tires and
was dissapointed when it showed up with General
Tires.
After 3000 Miles I noticed that a thread became
exposed in the sidewall. I took it to the local
Discount tire and had it replaced Free.
After 6000 miles I noticed that the tread was
starting to crumble. I could pick off chunks of
tread with my fingernail.

It turns out this is covered under the
bumper-to-bumper warranty. I had Discount tire
replace the Generals with some Michelin LTX tires
and paid the difference in price ($160.00 for all
four).

Between the upgrade price from GM and the price
difference between the Michelins I coughed up $455.
I would have spent less getting the stock tire and
trading in for the Michelin's.
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Comments

  • tiredofwaitingtiredofwaiting Member Posts: 74
    I have had trouble with my 1999 for a year now. They are replacing my Generals in another attempt to get rid of the vibration...I noticed they g=had chunks of rubber missing too. Does yours have vibration problems? Do you think that might have caused the wear? How do the Michelins ride?

    Clay Hodges
    <<A HREF="http://drive.to/agmlemon">http://drive.to/agmlemon&gt;
    (GM Truck Lemon Homepage)
  • obyoneobyone Member Posts: 7,841
    the General's are woth about $25 each wholesale and $35 each retail. Can you believe putting $25 tires on a $30k truck...makes you wonder what else is cheap on the truck. BTW, I was surprised when chunks of my Generals were falling off. Changed sets three times with similar results. I guess General had to dump their rejects somewhere.
  • lariat1lariat1 Member Posts: 461
    It seems to be standard industry practice to put garbage tires on all new trucks all the makes do it.
  • redsilveradoredsilverado Member Posts: 1,000
    isn't it a hoot that you pay good money for
    something that's suppose to be a workhorse, and
    even i had to pay for the upgrade tires because
    that's automatically optioned when you buy the
    optional tow package. i would'nt trust these
    tires on a trycycle much less for towing. my door

    sticker says inflation cold- 35 fr and 35 rear
    hah! all four skins are wearing out in the
    center. dealer told me to lower pressure a couple

    of pounds and monitor wear. if still cupping in
    the center then try lowering pressure a couple
    more. again what a hoot! i'm now going to a
    different dealer who is going to help me get the
    jelly tires replaced. right now though there
    letting the first dealer dig a hole for
    themselves. to tell someone to let air out on a
    30k truck is a joke and probably few other
    things. hopefully i'll be able to get the
    michelins like you guys did.

    ...red
  • smith53smith53 Member Posts: 72
    I have 255 generals($170 dollar option)and sticker inside drivers door states 30 lbs. in the front and 35 lbs. in the rear. Wonder why?
  • mgdvhmanmgdvhman Member Posts: 4,157
    ...I always liked Goodyears..Wrangler TD's...and the current 00 2500 LT I have came with Firestone LT series....they seem to be holding up very well...almost 20K miles and they still look great...a proper rotate pattern often and checking the pressure often goes a long way.

    - Tim
  • obyoneobyone Member Posts: 7,841
    the Generals are a $170 option? and your door says 30/35? Do you have a reg or ext cab? 2wd or 4wd. The weight differences of the trucks may be the reason why. But that doesn't change the fact that they are $25 tires...


    Tim
    Heard anything on Firestone Firehawks? Came on the Denali, tread looks aggressive enough but the ride is bumpy even on smooth roads


    Dean
  • smith53smith53 Member Posts: 72
    I have a 2000 ls 2wd ext cab. it is made in canada. date is 03/00
    the tire option is listed as -- p255/70r16 als bw tires $170.... cold tire pressure is 30 front and 35 rear.
  • obyoneobyone Member Posts: 7,841
    Are your tires the General Ameri660AS? I don't understand why but my cold tire pressure says 35/35 cold tire pressure on 2000 ls 2wd ext cab made in Ft. Wayne, IN on 7/99. Wonder why the 5 lbs difference in cold tire pressure? Unless they just wanted to use up their old stickers on the doors...
  • smith53smith53 Member Posts: 72
    Yes I do have General Ameri660AS tires. I haven't noticed any vibration in the steering, however it is not as smooth riding as my 96 Silverado. I do have the noise in the steering when making a left turn.
  • gmcsierragmcsierra Member Posts: 40
    the ext cabs are a little heavier on the front tires. Don't know exactly how much though. Probably why they recommend 35 in front.

    Jay
  • obyoneobyone Member Posts: 7,841
    I had upgraded to Michelin LTX M/S and ride and handling improvement was dramatic. The Generals sidewalls were a little soft allowing the truck to wander at different speeds.

    If I'm not mistaken, the noise in the steering was caused by a defective metering valve in the p/s unit.

    gmcsierra
    we have the same truck specs. And one says 30 the other 35....same tires, same truck style, different plant and manufacture date.
  • gmcsierragmcsierra Member Posts: 40
    I thought you had an ext cab sb 35psi front and rear? Mine is a std cab sb. 28psi front and 35 psi rear. I was thinking that the different cab setups would be the difference, but who knows.

    More than likely just a bored assembly line worker playing with the numbers on the sticker stamper! :)

    Mine was ft wayne 10/99.

    jay
  • tiredofwaitingtiredofwaiting Member Posts: 74
    I have set up a link that will email both GMC and Chevrolet from my home page. If we all email them from this link I think it would make "help" understand we would like our vibration related defects cured by whatever means necessary. Take a look at all the new frame bracing added for 2001. Then ask yourself, would adding the frame braces and transmission crossmember be more difficult than the steering TSB? I don't think so!
    If you agree than...Please click the EMAIL GM link you see in the center of my home page and tell GM your story and how you think they can best resolve the problems with your truck.

    Thanks <<A HREF="http://drive.to/agmlemon">http://drive.to/agmlemon&gt; or
    <<A HREF="http://agmlemon.freeservers.com">http://agmlemon.freeservers.com&gt;
  • obyoneobyone Member Posts: 7,841
    they should but they won't unless there is a class action lawsuit which they would fight to the death. Cause GM don't give nothin for free.
  • rrichfrrichf Member Posts: 211
    Guys,
    I've said this before. Also let me warn you, I'm anal too!

    You can get your tires to wear very evenly for $10 and a tire pressure gauge. First fill your fuel tanks. Then put everything in the truck that you normally carry, including yourself. Then go to your friendly public scales and get the truck weighed.

    (If asked, just say that you're putting a camper in the bed and need to know your weights. There's something about the legal use for the weight ticket that I don't understand.)

    You should get a sheet with three weights on it, front axle, rear axle and gross. Divide the axle weights in half and save these weights. (In pounds.) Now the hard part. Go to the brand of tire dealer that matches the tires on your truck. Ask to see the tire loading charts for your particular tire model and size. Ninety percent of the time you'll get a blank stare from the kid behind the counter. (You USAF types will also recognize the 'WTF? Over.' that follows.) What you're looking for is a chart for your particular tire type that has load carrying pounds and the required PSI inflation pressure. Write all the load vs PSI down as you'll need them when you change the normal load. Inflate your tires, cold, as specified by the chart.

    A few words of caution. If you add more weight to the truck, adjust the tire inflation pressures accordingly. The tire inflation pressures on the door sticker are assuming the MAXIMUM loading possible and not exceding the truck's GVWR. Also do NOT inflate the tires outside the range specified by the tire manufacturer. (I tend to avoid the lowest PSI inflation in the range, regardless of the axle weight.)

    For another couple of bucks you could invest in a tread depth guage. (Remember I said I'm anal.) Measure the tread depth regularly (Oil change time.) and record for each tire. (Three readings for each tire, inside, outside and center should be sufficient.)

    Rich
  • obyoneobyone Member Posts: 7,841
    just a question...you mentioned being anal. So if you were to go bowling one night, would you adjust the tire pressure to adjust for the bowling ball, then adjust again at the end of the night when removing the ball to return it to the garage? just curious as to the degree of anal. ;)

    Dean
  • number1number1 Member Posts: 71
    Since my first post on this page...the ride seems to be much better and noticeably less road noise. I can now here a flapping noise in the outside front Cab passenger-side at about 70mph. The road noise from the Generals may have subdued it.

    BTW: The new trade-in value for the 255/70R16 OWL General tires was $64.00 per tire. The Michelins were about $40.00 per tire more and well worth it to me. Lifetime balance on the tires was an additional $11 per tire and was not covered under the bumper-to-bumper warranty.
  • obyoneobyone Member Posts: 7,841
    who installed the Michelins? My tires came with the lifetime balance at no charge. Just wondering. The Michelin's stiffer sidewalls give better support when making turns and chunks of rubber are no longer missing from the tires like when I had my Generals...
  • number1number1 Member Posts: 71
    Discount tire charges $9/tire for balancing. They charge $11/tire for "Lifetime" balance.
  • rrichfrrichf Member Posts: 211
    Dean,
    The last time I went bowling in a league it was 13 degrees below zero. I was so irritated with the game that evening that I walked the mile and a half home. I havent touched a bowling ball in 25 years. So I guess that I don't have to worry about adjusting the tire pressures to carry a bowling ball :)


    Rich
  • obyoneobyone Member Posts: 7,841
    that all straightened out...LOL

    Dean
  • oldharryoldharry Member Posts: 413
    Michelins have - stiffer - sidewalls? Could have fooled me, and I change a lot of them.

    Harry
  • obyoneobyone Member Posts: 7,841
    compared to General 660AS. Did you ever observe chunks of rubber missing from those tires?

    Dean
  • number1number1 Member Posts: 71
    I did not notice the problem with the chunking tires until the weather was hot. Since there are extreme heat conditions in Phoenix, I suppose the degradation of the tires was accelerated during the summer. I noticed a lot of hairline cracks in the tread where future degradation (Chunking) was to occur. I never had a problem with vibration except briefly when I lost a tire balance weight, so this was not a factor.
  • oldharryoldharry Member Posts: 413
    given to radial tires when they first came out was attributed to very flexible sidewalls and stiff tread. The flex of the sidewalls allowed greater contact of the tread with the road when cornering, and under high stress conditions. Michelin has always been a leader in radial tire technology, and if you handle their tires off the wheel, the sidewall fell more flexible than most. There is an eception for steel sidewalls in heavy duty truck tires. Modern passenger radials have sidewalls slightly stiffened near the bead to improve handling predictability and low speed ride. Michelins seem to have less of this, as they found other ways to accomplish ride improvements. Uniroyal/Goodrich, now owned by Michelin has seen much umprovement in their tires in recent years.
    My personal opinion on tire rankings at this time is:

    1. Michelin, Uniroyal/Goodrich
    2. Goodyear, Kellyspringfield
    3. Bridgestone/Firestone (With reservations)
    4. Continental/General

    Harry
  • obyoneobyone Member Posts: 7,841
    I'm surprised that you would even consider General Tire, though I've read good things about Continental. Also what happened to Cooper's?

    Dean
  • oldharryoldharry Member Posts: 413
    has a good police car tire, but their "Ameri-Tech" left much to be desired. Cooper isn't big around here, and I was primarily ranking the big four. There are over 200 brands called "private label" tires available in most localities if you look, and many more across the country. Most are made by the big four. Cooper is still one of the few not bought up by them. Continental owns General, each ranking was 1 company.

    Harry
  • stobarstobar Member Posts: 110
    I own a '97 Ext. Cab Silverado, but my question is about the tires on my wife's '97 Chevy Venture Ext. Minivan. This is the only discussion group that I could find on tires, so hope someone can help me out.

    I was wondering if anyone has had problems
    with the stock General tires or Gen Seal tires? I bought a '97 Venture Ext. new in August of 1997, and the tires that came with it were the General XP 200 GT Gen Seal Self-Sealant tires. Come to find out, that "goop" that they put inside the tire, will settle into one spot on a really hot day. Also, if you pick up a nail, the self-sealant doesn't always work, and tire repair shops do not like to mess with these tires because of the "goop"! With the "goop" settling into one spot, it makes for a someone bumpy or uneven ride. I was wondering if anyone else has had that problem, or has seen something like this posted in the various sites. This was a $210 option when I bought it new (Safety & Security System w/ Anti Theft and Self-Sealant feature). The darn tires are rated for 80,000 miles, but I don't know if I can take it that long, since I've only got 36,600 in three years of ownership!

    Thanks,

    Barry
  • obyoneobyone Member Posts: 7,841
    ever taken the tires back to a General dealer and ask about the goop settling traits of the tire. Perhaps General has made inroads or discontinued the tires and the General dealer may be able to offer some type of trade in for your original set based on mileage. If the General dealer in your area is a multibrand dealer you may be in luck to upgrade to another brand...I would check out your options rather than stick to what seems to be a good idea gone bad... my $.02 good luck

    Dean
  • obyoneobyone Member Posts: 7,841
    much discussion on this one now...best check with your Firestone dealer to be sure...
  • rskrsk Member Posts: 38
    is for the ATX, ATX II and Wilderness AT made at the tire in size P235/75 R 15 only. The recall only aplies to the P235/75 R 15 tire size no other Wilderness AT or ATX tire is being recalled. Firestone will inspect your Firestone tires if you are concerned. If you go to the Firestone web site you can view the recall press conference they (Firestone and Ford)held yesterday

    Randy
  • meredithmeredith Member Posts: 575
    Please use your SEARCH function....

    and join a Dakota topic already in progress. Thanks!

    Front Porch Philosopher
    SUV, Pickups, & Aftermarket and Accessories Host
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