General Exclaim UHP review
 

Hi all, just thought I'd let you all know about this tire. I know what a lot or you are thinking "General tire? what a cheap, no-name POS!!" When I first saw it, (on tirerack.com) It was rated excellent in dry/wet performance, z-rated, and a best in category summer tire. But, it was only $91 a tire, which I thought was odd. After reading how some orgers have these tires, I thought that I'd give them a try.

I found p225/45/zr17's for $74 a piece on tiresavings.com, and have had them on for the last 1k miles.

Let me first off say, I am coming from craptenza's, which are very, very dangerous on wet roads IMO. My ride was bumpy (the tires were 50's) and the traction sucked. So, when I got the new tires, I was extatic, although I was still expecting a bumpy ride because I had gone from 50's to 45's. This was not the case. At highway speeds, the car floats, and has great cornering stability. When you make a quick lane change, the car is on rails, even with a stock SE suspension. People say the tires are loud, but I honestly dont hear it. The other day I was in triple digits for a period of time, and the car was as smooth as a baby's ***.

The tires themselves have a nice, aggressive tread design, and are easy to keep black, unlike some other rubber compounds. You can launch pretty aggresivly from a stop without too much spin, but they are still street tires.

In the rain, it feels like you are driving on dry pavement. Through deep puddles, very little pull to the side, the tires cuts right through it. Even though I am sure there are better tires out there, I don't think you can beat $74 a tire for a well-rounded summer tire in 45's. I would not recommend them for winter driving, there are warnings against sub-zero temperatures all over the place, on the packing slip, rating page, etc; so I'll think I'll take them at their word. I'm going to get some blizzaks for the winter time.

Just cause people havent heard of the mor they are cheap doesnt make them a bad tire. When I had my z28 I had pep boys tires on there and they were one of the better tires Ive had. I pulled a 1.9 60' at the track. i also have some nakang on my max right now and they have been great.

Just out of curiousity what tire pressure are you running?

I just got my set installed. 235/45/17s about 400 miles on them. I havent really pushed them yet. My previous set was Yokohama ES100. The main difference I have noticed betwen the 2 are the sidewalls. I can actually feel the sidewalls flexing and the steering response is not as great. I find myself moving the steering wheel more in the turns then I used to. They are definately quite. I havent driven in the rain yet so I have no comment but Ive only heard great reviews and cant wait till I do.

I recently got 235/45-17 Exclaims, and I love them. Going from generic "Futuras" that were almost bald, they are a nice change. Did notice the soft sidewalls, but am definitely satisified. Can't speak of severe wet traction, but the dry is amazing. Would recommend these to anyone who wants to go Summers and Winters on a budget. Have Blizzaks waiting for the winter. Running 37 psi on OEM 17s, probably until end of October. I paid about $400 shipped from tirerack w/ road hazard.

I'm running at 37 psi too. I used to own a lancer for a short period of time (the base ES, not an evo), and the tires were 16's. The absolute best tires I could possibly buy were sumimotos at $75 a piece. They were the ****, but I can't afford them for the max at $200 a piece +mounting and balancing. But, you can't really complain about a tire that costs $75 vs an only marginally better tire for $150 IMHO

I just bought a set of 245/35/19 General Exclaim UHP's from Tirerack, after reading & hearing all the good reviews. They were only $125US each, which is a steal compared to their $230CAD each sticker price in Canada. I'll post a review once I have them on.

please do so. I am also really inclined to buy the same tires, they seems to be the best value in the lower price range.


:cool:

I have had them in 235/40/18 for a few months now, I love them!

Great traction wet or dry, I went from 17'x7'-->18'x8' so I can't comment too much on sidewall difference but they feel great to me, nice and stable.

Also, I will agree on keeping them black :) , I did not bother using anything on the sidewalls till this weekend (two months later).

Does anybody else have these tires or have a friend, etc. who has them? Thinking of going with 'em once Tire Rack actually gets them in stock... Otherwise it looks like the ContiExtremeContacts, but they're soo ugly :(

^ I just had them mounted and love them! Very quiet, better grip and a smoother ride than my Pilot Sports A/S (they were 225/45/18, these are 235/40/18). Since it's been raining here in TN all week, they handle fairly well in the wet, but I haven't had a chance to try them on the interstate.

Check out www.treadepot.com, they were about $40 cheaper for a set of 4 over TR for 235/40/18.

Just bought a set from treadepot.com in 245 45 18 for $508 shipped to FL. Coming from the Avon M550A/S which were pretty good and grippy, but the sidewalls were really thin and the tires got LOUD at around 20,000 (my car sounds like a school bus between 30 and 65). Should be interesting to see how they compare:)

I have had a set on in 235/45/17 for about 15K(?) or so miles and absolutely love them. They are definitely the best set of tires I have had on my Maxima in 200K+ miles of driving it. I paid $500 walk out at Discount Tire including tax/mount/balance/road hazard/ etc. They really are great in dry and wet cornering. Excellent traction and ride quality. I have not noticed them to be noisy at all. They've actually worn pretty well so far and I would definitely recommend them for the price. Having had them, I'd choose them over a number of higher priced competitors even if price were not a factor.

Just received mine, will mount this weekend. Turns out that they're made in the Czech republic by Continental AG.

I recently recieved a set of 245/35/19's from Tirerack but haven't installed them yet. The great thing about Generals is that they are made by a very reputable company & seem to offer a great warranty according to their owners manual. I'll report how they are once installed.

Hey just mounted my set. Mounted easily enough and balanced easily. Definitely have better grip (new) in the dry than the Avon M550A/S they replace. They are also fairly quiet so far, but you can hear them. They are probably about the same as the Avons in noise when both sets were new. Turn-in is a little less responsive than some other same-sized tires, but the 'softer sidewall' makes road surface irregularities much less noticeable, which I like. The tires will bark when reaching their limit, but I haven't totally spun them...yet... plus, they are still brand new.

Thumbs up so far!

This is interesting - I wonder what the danger is? Does it warn against freezing temperatures, or actual sub-zero temperature (in degrees Farenheit). Down south we don't get much snow, and it really never gets below 20 degrees. I'm wondering whether I would be okay with UHPs year-round.

They say dont use them in temperatures below 55 degrees. I am currently on a set right now and am using them right now and it only been 50s for the highs past few days and low 30s at night. I do not see a problem. Both set of tires I have had were summer tires I used them in the winter. I even drove in some light snow with my other set and will be using this set this all year around.

I dont see why maybe they dont hook up as good when they are extremely cold would be my guess. They arent going to blow out on you because of the cold.

They are horrifically bad in the snow. :nervous: But great otherwise.

Ive been looking at new tires. The one thing holding me back is the softer sidewalls, that was my biggest complaints with the hankook es v4 105's.

Anyone here had any experience with the Hankook Z212 RS2's how do they compare to the general exclaim uhp? I have dedicated snows, so i dont need an all season anymore lol. It's either the Z212 RS2, General exclaim uhp, or bfg gforce sport. the biggest thing about the exlclaims is i can get them for 118.57 a tire including tire levy and tax!!! (235/45/17)

Every summer tire will come with those warnings, or at least "should". The tread design and compounds used for summer tires are not designed to work in snow. Some can get away with it, but when you compare it to dedicated snow tires or even All-Season's the difference in grip is quite noticeable.

I live in TX myself, so far so good down to 50 degrees.

The one thing i noticed with the UHP's is you have to increase the tire pressure a bit. I originally ran the OEM spec but it just felt sloppy. Bumping it up to 34+ makes for a much better ride and provides better handling overall.

I'm just about to do my first rotation at 6.5k miles, i'll provide more comments at that time.

You bump it to 34 for the winter, or all the time?

I don't think it'll be snowing here any time soon, so the tires have been ordered along with some sport edition kv4s! Thanks for the info fellas

I hav had 3 diffrent sets on 3 diffrent cars... FREAKING Awesome Tires!!!

I had:
245/40/18's on my 350z
235/45/17's on my 4th gen
Currently have 245/40/18's on my 02 Max

I live in FL. Lots of rain, extreme hydroplane resistance...
Killer tread life. I have about 30k on them now(with no only 1 rotation and i drive hard) and they will need to be replaced in another 5k or so.

I have them on my 240 and I love em'. The handle wonderfully on wet pavement. I have a hard time trying to make them spin on a launch. I'd say best bang for the buck and worth every penny.

Whoops, sorry, just saw your post. I have them at the same pressure year-long. We don't get much "winter" down South :)

I have general exclaim uhp's on the back. On the front I have very worn out pirellis. Should I get goodyear eagle f1 all seasons for the front? I am in nyc and if it snows, I flat out will NOT drive the maxima. (got 2nd car). Are the eagles worth an extra $80 or so per tire?

Match the fronts with the rears.

I know that it will make the whole rotation thing not work, but other then that, why?

Rear traction is just as important to be equal with the front, on any drive car. Especially in winter, you could induce oversteer with more worn tires in the rear.