General G-MAX AS-05 vs BFGoodrich g-Force COMP-2 A/S PLUS: General tires have a long history of making tires in America which dated since 1915. While it has gone through a lot of changes, the last decade most notable being bought by Continental in 1987, it is still one of the most respected tire brands in America. On the other corner we have a similar story with BFGoodrich which has its roots in Ohio and was the first American company which made radial tires. It was bought over by Michelin in 1990 and has a big success in the niche off-road tires segment.
We would like to introduce the latest all season product by these 2 brands starting with General’s G-MAX AS-05 which was launched in 2017 in the ultra high performance all season segment. Its main rival would be BFGoorich’s Force COMP-2 A/S PLUS which was launched in 2020 and covers most of the 17-20″ popular sizes. Without further ado, let’s put them in a head to head battle and see who comes out on top!
Table of Contents
Results
Results below were taken from tire rack’s “Testing Ultra High Performance All-Season Tires 2020” test. A total of 4 tires were tested this time around. The graph below shows the comparison between General G-MAX AS-05 vs BFGoodrich g-Force COMP-2 A/S PLUS based on the relevant performance category. The G-MAX AS-05 was set as a reference hence at the 100% mark.
As both tires are categorized as all season tires, Tire Rack has included snow & ice in its testing portfolio. A detailed testing on snow including acceleration, braking & handling were evaluated. The tire size of interest is a 245/40R18 which is a common tire size for Audi A4 & Mercedes-Benz C 200 Amg Line. You can check out our latest tire size table for more information. The testing vehicle for this tire test is a 2020 BMW F36 430i Gran Coupe.
Wet
The friction of coefficient of the tire/road dramatically decreases in wet roads compared to dry roads. Hence it is more likely to get into a road accident during wet conditions rather than on a sunny day. It was so important that the EU label has wet braking as one of its three criteria. With regards to our comparison, g-Force COMP-2 A/S PLUS has a big edge when it comes to wet braking, as it out performed G-MAX AS-05 by braking 8.4 feet (2.6 m) earlier.
With its wet braking advantage, g-Force COMP-2 A/S PLUS continued its dominance over G-MAX AS-05 in wet handling. g-Force COMP-2 A/S PLUS had a 0.7 second advantage in lap time over G-MAX AS-05. This advantage in lap time was also reflective in subjective rating, as g-Force COMP-2 A/S PLUS had a slightly higher rating of 7.38/10 compared to 6.94/10 of G-MAX AS-05.
g-Force COMP-2 A/S PLUS:
Clear communication with the driver revealed exactly where the limit was and the tire didn’t punish small mistakes. Combined with the high levels of ultimate grip, the result was driver confidence and the highest subjective score.
Test driver feedback on g-Force COMP-2 A/S PLUS
In a nutshell, g-Force COMP-2 A/S PLUS dominated on wet surfaces convincingly over G-MAX AS-05.
g-Force COMP-2 A/S PLUS:
- +8% in wet braking
- +2.2% in wet handling (subj)
- +2.1% in wet handling (lap time)
Dry
As for dry, safety is usually not an issue as the braking distance is much longer than wet. However this is the default daily usage and the tires have to perform at a very consistent level. g-Force COMP-2 A/S PLUS was ahead of G-MAX AS-05 in dry braking by stopping 4.3 feet (1.3 m) earlier.
In dry handling g-Force COMP-2 A/S PLUS continues to have an edge in both subjective & objective(lap time) criteria. g-Force COMP-2 A/S PLUS managed a subjective dry handling score of 7.94/10 while G-MAX AS-05 had a 7.63/10 rating. Lap times were really close with g-Force COMP-2 A/S PLUS only 0.17 seconds faster.
g-Force COMP-2 A/S PLUS:
The precise steering and strong mid-corner grip meant the tire faithfully pointed the vehicle exactly where the driver intended, though it didn’t feel particularly light on its feet or ultra-responsive. Even so, the positives outweighed the negatives, with confident braking feel and deceleration, nice balance with just a hint of understeer, and impressive traction to power away from turns.
Test driver feedback on g-Force COMP-2 A/S PLUS
Overall, g-Force COMP-2 A/S PLUS has an edge in dry performances over G-MAX AS-05.
g-Force COMP-2 A/S PLUS:
- +5.3% in dry braking
- +1.6% in dry handling (subj)
- +0.6% in dry handling (lap time)
Noise/Comfort/Ride Quality
Normally in an ultra high performance segment, noise & comfort is usually not the main requirement. People who drive fast cars prefer to focus more on traction/braking performances rather than subjective comfort Anyhow the ride comfort was tested and g-Force COMP-2 A/S PLUS was slightly better with an overall rating of 7/10 compared to the 7.42/10 of G-MAX AS-05.
g-Force COMP-2 A/S PLUS:
- +2.1% in average of Noise, Comfort & Ride Quality.
Snow
As both tires have been rated as an all season tire, we were thrilled when Tire Rack included snow on its testing list. From initial checks, both tires do not include the 3 peak mountain label to legally certified the tire as a winter tire. Hence they do not have to pass a certain threshold of snow traction level as determined by the legislation.
When it comes to snow, it is not an exaggeration to say that g-Force COMP-2 A/S PLUS totally destroyed G-MAX AS-05 in all snow performances. It stopped 19 feet (5.8 m) earlier than G-MAX AS-05 from a speed of 25mph (40 km/h) to 0. While it was also quicker in lap time (-9.9 seconds !) and also subjectively better (+1 points) in snow handling. It is also good to know that the levels of snow grip are quite low for both tires as they are rated G-MAX AS-05 (2/10) & g-Force COMP-2 A/S PLUS (3/10) respectively. Nonetheless from the overall scheme of things, g-Force COMP-2 A/S PLUS is without a doubt the better snow tire .
g-Force COMP-2 A/S PLUS:
- +26.2% in snow braking
- +37% in snow acceleration
- +5% in snow handling (subj)
- +11.9% in snow handling (lap time)
Ice
g-Force COMP-2 A/S PLUS continued its winter dominance with a strong ice performance. At a braking speed of 12 mph (20 km/h) to 0, g-Force COMP-2 A/S PLUS was stopping 10.9 feet (3.3 m) shorter than G-MAX AS-05. While in acceleration, it took g-Force COMP-2 A/S PLUS 0.8 seconds faster to reach 60 feet compared to G-MAX AS-05. As with snow, g-Force COMP-2 A/S PLUS is a far better tire in icy conditions.
g-Force COMP-2 A/S PLUS:
- +23.9% in ice braking
- +16.5% in ice acceleration
UTQG rating
We have previously shown that UTQG tread wear rating can be a good indication of your expected mileage. Below are the UTQG values of both of the tirelines.
| Brand | Tireline | Size | Tread Wear | Traction | Temperature |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BFGoodrich | g-Force COMP-2 A/S PLUS | All | 400 | A | A |
| General | G-MAX AS-05 | All | 500 | AA | A |
The mileage warranty for g-Force COMP-2 A/S PLUS is 45,000 miles while G-MAX AS-05 provides 50,000 miles. The extra 5000 miles warranty provided by G-MAX AS-05 was inline with the UTQG tread wear rating with G-MAX AS-05 having a 100 point more advantage against g-Force COMP-2 A/S PLUS. With the UTQG tread wear rating & mileage warranty in mind, we can safely assume that G-MAX AS-05 would end up with a slightly higher expected mileage.
For more in depth information about UTQG, please check out this article here. We even have a free download on the latest UTQG values from the leading tire manufacturers.
Price
Being the undisputed technology leader, we would expect BFGoodrich (Michelin) to command the highest priced tire in the market. This was found to be true as g-Force COMP-2 A/S PLUS will cost 21 dollars more compared to G-MAX AS-05
Tire size: 245/40R18
g-Force COMP-2 A/S PLUS: $194
G-MAX AS-05: $173
Difference: +11% more expensive for g-Force COMP-2 A/S PLUS.
Summary
Overall, g-Force COMP-2 A/S PLUS showed clear dominance in every single testing criteria we have tested. Even though it comes with a slightly higher price, it is absolutely clear from our point of view that g-Force COMP-2 A/S PLUS is the winner in this duel !