General Exclaim UHP tire...

[DSTI]

Hey guys,

I just signed up and for the past 2-3 years have been over at IWSTI but then found this site. I LOVE IT!!! I own a 2005 CGM STI and am such a Subie addict. I'll get some pics up in the new member section soon. I have always loved the rally looking subies instead of all the "street-queens," if that makes sense.

Anyway, here is my question: I've been through the stock RE070's when it was new, then put on Pirelli P-Zero Nero's, and then to the current worn out summer tires, Yokohama ES 100's (I know... These are cheapies!). I don't and am not going to get a dedicated winter/ wheel combo since I don't see the need. But my current Yoko's are about as slick as can be and I am considering an all season (I know... All season's SUCK in ALL- Seasons). Here's the deal: I live in St. Louis, Mo. and we may only get a possible 1-2 snow storms a year and last year we may have gotten a little more than that. BUT, I kept putting off the purchase of all-seasons last year and all of a sudden ran into some snow. Now I can work from home but I would still like to be able to drive if need be through these times. Like I said, I had on my ES100's that are WAY too worn and I only drove in a controlled area with these and MAN that's not something I'll do again. BUT I did make it just fine. I don't live in a rural area so the streets are usually cleared within the same day or so. But the rubber compound on these, like all summer tires, turned into to hockey-pucks.

That being said, (and thanks for reading all this) I have read TONS of reviews on the General Exclaim UHP tires. I know they are ranked as a UHP tire on Tire-Rack but if you look at Generals web-site, it states "The one ultra-high performance tire you need for all roads and ALL weather conditions." Now, I know that if you read a lot of the reviews, and some may say that they SUCK in snow, but our cars are probably the best AWD vehicles out there. And most of the bad reviews were on vehicles that weren't AWD.

Just by looking at the tread on these (not to mention the tread wear etc) they HAVE to be better than my slick worn out old ES100's that I have currently.

I have been considering these tires:

General Exclaim UHP
Kuhmo Ecsta ASX
Continental Conti Extreme Contacts

(I know there are others but after reading, I'd rather just stick with these three)

Do you think considering what I have told you here, that I should be fine with the General's?

I origionally wanted the Conti Extremes but think that the Generals would be stickier in the dry and of course in summer. I would MUCH rather just be able to get through the snow if there is any but then have a better dry performance tire.

Any of you guys with the Generals have any insight? Or anyone else for that matter. I've seen a few on here that run these for rally X tires. What are your thoughts.

Thanks in advance...

DSTI

[DSTI]

No one has any insight on this?

I may just say the heck with it and go with the ever popular Conti-Extremes since I need to just have something that can go through everything without worry.

I don't race and this is my daily driver except for the occassional on/ off ramp twistie.

[sebhockey]

Relax, don't expect a reply after only 2 hours on here. We're a small community, so expect a normal reply to take much longer say a day or two.

As far as the tires I can't say anything about them as I've never used any of them.

[DSTI]

Sebhockey,

You're right, man... I didn't mean to sound all cranky and in a rush.

I just saw that people had viewed the thread but had nothing to say I guess.

What tires are you using?

[sebhockey]

I'm still on my stock tires, the re92s.

[409industries]

DSTI,

I dont know how i missed your thread! sorry about that. First off, thanks for posting up. I might be able to help you as i have had both the Kumho ASX's and the Exclaim UHPs ( i unfortunately can't comment on the Conti Extremes, as i've never used them)

First off, heres the lowdown on the ASX
http://a121.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/15/l_7be9807f6c80bf57d1aa8b6deccfdd00.jpg

They are good tires in the wet. definitely rock on the rain. I have driven them in the snow where they work pretty good as well. However, they can be downright dangerous in the dry! If you have a car that has some decent power, you can break these guys loose pretty easily. They do last quite a long time though since they have thick treads. I tired to rallycross on these things long after they were too worn down, and getting traction in the mud was not easy. Good value for the money, but far from a performance tire IMO.

Next, the General Exclaim UHPs.

http://a171.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/2/l_186d759e99e01920a04b45f461f87932.jpg

These are a perfect example of getting best performance you can with a minimal investment. I got theres tires on a whim. (my buddy recommended em and gave me the name of a place i could get them installed for $400 out the door) so i said why not ill give them a shot. They are fantastic in the dirt. I won my very first rallycross on a set of these. They do seem to show quite a bit of sidewall wear even with a lot of pressure in the tires to combat the roll. I can't say anthing about these in the snow as I got them after snow season was over around here, but im sure theyre pretty good as they have very deep treads. The sipes are wide too, Barely legal for Street Modified out here (the limit is 0.26" and they come it at about 0.25") super close!

In the dry they handle decent, better than the kumho ASX's in my opinion, but theres really no such thing as a high performance All Season... rather a BETTER performance M+S tire. They all tend to squeal when they get close to the traction breaking point... the Kumhos do it much earlier than the Generals. This can be annoying when youre driving spiritedly and not trying to draw attention to yourself! Nothing sucks more than going around a corner not that fast and having your tires let out noise like you're hauling ass at the track!

Rock the Generals... for the price / performance, theyre pretty dang good. Keep in mind, this is coming from a guy that lives in California and only goes up to the snow for fun.

[subyspawn]

the first winter tires i had were the blizzak lm-22's. they were excellent in the snow and the rain.

now, i live in so cal. not sure why i bought a full M+S tire, but i started to rally x shortly after and ended up using them for that mostly.

i actually ran these a lot on dry pavement and even did a few canyon runs on them, i had no complaints.

thats as close to 'all-season' tire experience i have. my .02

[DSTI]

Hey thanks guys, for all the help so far.

Must be nice to be in California and not worry about the "extreme" weather swings that we get here in St. Louis. There still is very few snow storms. But that's the thing. They have a saying about our weather here, "If you don't like the weather currently, just wait a few hours and it may change."

Still not sure what to do, but due to the price and performance ability over the other tires I've listed, I may just give the Generals a shot. I mean, if I can run through the winter and a few snow storms, last year, on my WORN yoko ES100's, than these can only be a HUGE step up from that.

Thanks again guys...

DSTI

[BorkedWRX]

I've been running Sumitomo HTR +'s for about 1 1/2 year or so...

So far I've been pleasantly surprised (excellent on wet gravel), though coming from Falken Azenis Sports, they are not super inspiring on the dry tarmac...

Yet another tire that didn't have anything to do with your question :D YWIA!!!

[UP2MTNS]

bump/update?
What did you end up getting? My Pirelli nerozeros are almost done. I want something decent but cheap so I was looking at the Conti's as well.

I have a winter tire so I'm not worried about snow performance, but the tread pattern looks like it will do well in rain/slush.

[DSTI]

Hey guys,

Well I did end up getting the General Exclaim UHP's. So far so good.... I can tell you that I can feel that they are pretty "squishy" for a supposedly UHP tire. I specifically got these though, because I didn't want to sacrafice a lot for only 2 months a year that I need a all-season for. I know that these are rated N/A for snow but the tread design does look promising. Considering that if you read my above posts, that I kept pushing it farther and farther into winter last year on summer only, worn out, slicks and it was scary but I made it. With these I'm sure just even by looking at the tread blocks, that they will do MUCH better in some light snow versus what I drove with last year. I also didn't want to spend a fortune on Michelins or anything and the Conti-Extremes just seemed TOO extreme for my demographic region (I live in St. Louis). We do get some snow but many just freezing temps and I can work from home if it is a blizzard outside.

Anyway, I will write up a further reveiw in a month or so after they wear in a little bit.


DSTI

[UP2MTNS]

cool, thx. I heard the conti's are kind of soft as well, but I think I'll try'm for myself. I want the aggressive tread, and they're cheap.