SWHouston

I agree, I don't think that Michelin makes a bad tire, but...

A lot of the complaints about a given type/manufacturer can be lent to the user's choice. Driving habits or lack of detail familiarity about a given tread and it's use, can effect satisfaction on several levels.

stringers

OP back again. So I tested my tread depth using a quarter and it passed and I increased the PSI to 36...ride and handling seemed really nice and I was happy the treade depth was good. I had concluded new tires were not necessary. However I have noticed some slight..I guess I called them hair line fractures on the sidewall particularly near the tread and some close to where the tires meet the rim. Is this cause for concern? Tires are 5 yrs old with about 43K miles on them.

SWHouston

Sounds like you have a slight touch of Dry Rot...only slight though.
Just keep an eye on it, and when you see it increasing, that's the time to change.

Marko5657

I’m curious as to what you didn’t like about the Generals.

I got those tires for my ’97 K1500 I’d gotten in 1012 (74,250 miles on her at the time) because of the great reviews I read on the tire site, many of which mentioned that they were Consumer Report’s top light-truck tire for the previous year (2011).

I have to say I’m happy with the ride, they’re quiet, and have given me super traction, especially in really-bad slippery snowy weather, even up-hill pulling a trailer pretty loaded up. I had them balanced on some high-tech equipment, and during the balancing process (some large wheel/barrel device pressing against the tire) the guy looking at the computer screen mentioned that they were quality tires.

I’ve driven as high as 85mph (just passing) and it was smooth as silk.

I just checked some reviews on another site, and many complained that they didn’t get many miles out of them, like ~30/40k miles. Being as I drive only about 1,500 miles per year, I guess it’ll be a while before I can report back on that issue, haha.