General Exclaim UHP

[stefan]

anyone have any goods or bads on General Exclaim UHP tires? I think a few guys have them (Dom?). They seem pretty good for the price, from the stuff I have read at least. It looks like my wheels will be good to go for the spring, so i'll be getting some new rubber for them. I had p-zero nero m&s tires last summer, but would like to go a little cheaper.. and maybe a bit more tread life.

cheers

[Billip]

Re: General Exclaim UHP

I am wondering the same thing... I'll be needing some 19's for my new wheels soon. Bob at CMS highly recommends these. Also, they are rated #1 for Ultra High Performance tires on TireRack.com.

[Kor]

Re: General Exclaim UHP

TireRack almost always ranks the cheapest tires as being the best in performance. I'm sure many of us can remember the rise to popularity of Kumho tires, followed by Fuzion tires, partly through the efforts of TireRack.

Alternately, their unbiased tests always prove that the discount no-name tire does at least as well as some famous brand name tire.

Personally, I was suspicious at first of this, but was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. After all, its possible that an underdog company could break into the market by importing a tire that uses largely the same technology at a lower price, right?

Then I went from BFG tires to Kumhos.

Okay, I tried to tell myself that the Kumhos were just "different" in their characteristics. They were'nt bad tires - they were fairly predictable in their handling, which was nice. However, I can't really fool myself into thinking that they are superior or even just as good when it comes to noise (they squealed) or grip.

Bottom line, I wouldn't listen to the hype about such tires. No way are cheaper budget tires like Fuzions, Generals, Kumhos really in the same league as Michellins, Pirellis, BFGs, Goodyears. Not in the Ultra High Performance category, where these tire companies make names for themselves with millions invested into their racing pedigrees.

If you want a tire that is going to handle better than stock and grip the road so much that you're left surprised at how hard you can take corners and how well you handle on wet roads - buy a brand name, proven tire specific for the season you run it in.

If you want a compromise tire to replace your stock oem all-seasons at a low price and are willing to sacrifice grip and noise for value, then sure.

Edit:

As an added more specific example, my dad drives a Pontiac Grand Prix GXP, which actually has the 5.3L V8 and can pretty much eat through its front tires from a stop. OEM it actually comes with summer Ultra High Perf Bridgestone Potenzas, which is really unique. He replaced them with Generals in the middle of the summer. There is no comparisson, the Potenzas were way better, and even he noticed that there is less grip (he is more of a straight line kind of driver) :P

[stefan]

Re: General Exclaim UHP

the Generals are a harder compound... so i would expect a little less grip, and better longevity. I was really happy with my Pirellis, but for 1000$+, its hard to justify. Especially since they wear so fast.

Toyo Proxes 4 was another thought - perhaps a closer comparison to my old pirellis, but a wee bit less.

[Mefro]

Re: General Exclaim UHP

If your looking for performance not your tire, if your looking for something reasonably priced and decent tread wear you cant go wrong. I had these on my 19's and for the price I was very happy, but on the other hand I wasnt looking for performance, and im pretty sure not many people on this board are looking for perfomance.

[JustALilBit]

Re: General Exclaim UHP

I have them on my 20''s for the summer.
Mefro is right when it comes to performance. They arnt the best but the do a great job. Plus the pattern is unbeatable, it looks really clean.
As for tread wear I had mine on for the whole summer and can barely tell the wear.

[Aleks]

Re: General Exclaim UHP

I have them and I like them....waaaay better than my Kumho Extasa MX's..... got them at CMS

[stefan]

Re: General Exclaim UHP

aleks, whats the noise like? anything out of the ordinary?

[Mefro]

Re: General Exclaim UHP

Its louder then normal, but nothing more then slightly noticeable.

[stefan]

Re: General Exclaim UHP

for the price, i think i'll give them a try.

[Aleks]

Re: General Exclaim UHP

I found them much much quieter actually....Mine are noisy cause they're 19's, not much rubber to absorb noise...

[stefan]

Re: General Exclaim UHP

well, i hope to order some this week. Bob has been sick though... :(

[JustALilBit]

Re: General Exclaim UHP

The noise my produces is a fair it to cause their 20's.
Like you said though, for the price you cant go wrong

[stefan]

Re: General Exclaim UHP

Well, after the mobile wheel repair guy fooled with my wheels, and Bob got some new rubber on them, I got all 4 balanced and ready to go. I was a little worried at the end of last year that the one wheel was beyond help. Turns out Andrzej at the mobile wheel repair did a pretty good job of straitening it, and the wobble that was left was just my tires. So i'm happy

[Disturbo]

Re: General Exclaim UHP

I run these tires and for the price you cant beat them, I push my car all the time. I used so many brands in the passed and I cant say that these tires didnt work as well or even better. You can buy a better brand name tire and if you dont race or track your car you might as well get the cheaper tires cause whats the point if your not going to use them, its a waste of money for a tire that looks good and the reveiw said it was good.