I'm reading the reviews and tire data about these two tires on TireRack site and figure there must be some Mini owners that have tried either or both of these.

Thanks for whatever info you might have.

 

What about these? Are they dogs? Anyone used them?

For more comfort for daily street use and low price then
General Exclaim UHP $72 each 380 treadwear 18 lbs.

 

the SPT is marketed as a true street tire, while the MX is more of a dual duty track/street tire. If your car never sees autocross or the track, I'd go with the SPT's, instead of the MX's. If getting 15k miles out of a set of tires doesn't sound preposterous to you, the MX's might be mroe what you're looking for, as they do grip better.

 

just read your second post, the generals are comparable to the SPT's, maybe a little less performance oriented and better wear if anything.

 

I've a friend who drives with SPTs daily but who also tracks them 2-3 times a summer and is on his third year with them.

 

not saying that you CAN'T track SPT's, its just that MX's are more appropriate for that sort of duty.

 

This is a good description for both. I've had the MX's on both of my last 2 cars (WRX, G35) and have really liked them. I plan on putting Kumhos on the MINI once I decide on wheels, but I'm leaning towards the ASX's. I've been pleased with there products.

 

I stole the "General" tire quote from another thread, it wasn't my sentiment.
BUT - it seems as though the Generals really are the best value and better tire considering the surveys on Tirerack web site.

 

I've had both. The MX is AWESOME for warm weather dry road/track, whereas the SPT is better for 3-season road use. The MX is definitely a level up in sheer grip, but also a level up in road noise and wear. I'd say the MX is for people that use their MINI as a summer fun toy and/or have all-season or snows for winter, and the SPT's are for those that aren't trying to squeeze every last bit of performance.

HTH,
Ryan

 

I agree with Ryephile's comments.

You have 2002 MCS JCW with Kosei 17" wheels.

What are you going to use the tires for? Street only? Some track, some autocross? Some driving school events? Dragon?

If only street and you want decent treadwear then Kumho SPT would be good place to start. Check the sizes in 17".

If you want a much more smooth ride but are willing to give up a little handling then General Exclaim UHP is possible. They do offer good value.

Kumho MX (Extreme performance) is street legal but more of a street tire used for track and autocross (street touring classes), not really good for daily use.

What size tire where you looking at? You are lowered with H-sport springs so 215/45-17 and 225/45-17 are going to rub in the back.
215/40-17 and 205/45-17 should be OK. 205/40-17 is possible if load rating is 84 or higher.

 

Thanks Minihune and Ryephile, your insights help.

Mostly street driving with probably 2 track events per year.

I think I'll try the Generals - do you really think the 215/45/17 will rub?

Hope not.

Paul

 

Rubbing with 215/45-17 will be limited to the rear wheel inner plastic. Just get a dremmel tool and trim away the parts that hit. You can let the tires rub for a bit and that will show where to trim after it hits a few times.

I had rubbing with that size and H-sport springs over bumps and with people in the rear seat. I never bothered to trim the plastic and it wore down enough so that it's not a problem. Both the tire wore down and the plastic wore off. So now I have more clearance and I can use 215/45-17 with more ease.

You aren't damaging the rear plastic wheel arches- it's on the inner side facing the tires and you can't see the trimmed areas.

Generals are good for daily use and are not the best choice for the track. But if track is secondary and you don't push them that hard then it's fine.

So best for track (for the three tires)
1 Kumho MX
2 Kumho Ecsta SPT
3 General Exclaim UHP

And best for street
1 General Exclaim UHP
2 Kumho Ecsta SPT
3 Kumho MX

see any pattern with these lists?

The SPT is the logical choice for a compromise tire IF street and track use were equal or at least close. Since your track use is rare at 2 times per year then the Generals would be fine.

 

I've had my SPTs for about 7k and have been really happy with them for street use. Pretty quiet and good wear so far. I've had about 3 sets of Kumhos on different cars and have never been disappointed. They are usually priced right too.

Anthony

 

I just got rid of my General Exclaim UHP in 215-45-17 for the MX in 215-45-17. The lateral grip of the UHP and side wall strength were very disappointing for spirited driving. I have driven a friends Stage 3+ Audi A4 with the SPTs on the track. While they are a great tire, they still had a soft sidewall. the SPTs way outperform the UHPs, hands down, from real world experience.

My new MXs are great, only been on the car for about 200 miles so far, but as I get more comfortable with them, I am impressed. They have a bit harsher ride, and a tad bit noiser, but they are way quieter than the Parada spec 2s I was running on my s-lytes before. I thought that was a good spirited tire, but the MX makes the Parada seem like an all season, IMHO.

If you can run 2 sets of rims, I would look at the MX, if you only have one set of rims, look at the SPT...the UHP, although rated very high on tirerack.com, was a not worthy of that rating from my experience.

 

To be realistic you can't expect the General Exclaim UHP to keep up with the Kumho MX (Extreme performance summer tire) for performance driving.

For comfort it's the opposite. No one tire will do everything that well and last a long time and cost less. Everything is a compromise.

The tirerack customer ratings are bias by the people that buy the tire based on their perceived needs. Those who buy the UHP are looking for street comfort and those that buy the MX are looking for performance.

You can cross reference check the results of the tirerack.com track tests which usually show how tires compare with others of the same class for road and track use (wet and dry).

The Kumho MX is a much better tire than the nice looking Yokohama Parada Spec 2.

 

I never said I expected the UHP to match up with the MX, not even close. I was just disappointed in the tire in the class it was placed in. According to the tirerack reviews, I honestly expected more performance out of the tire. It is quiet, and makes for a softer ride, but it also lacks the performance you would expect out of the class it was placed in.

After I ran the UHP for a while, I decided my preference was more for extreme performance over ride comfort. That was the reason for my change.

In comparing the SPT to the UHP, I think the SPT is more suited for the class than the UHP. For an ultra high performance summer tire, the UHP was more like a performance all season in the cornering feel of it. The SPT feels like it belongs in the ultra high performance summer category. I have also had the ContiExtremeContacts in a 215-45-17 on the MINI, ran them at the track, and they outperformed the UHPs...and the Contis were in the ultra high performance all season category, not summer. I just feel the UHP is in the wrong class.

and FYI, I am VERY familiar with the tirerack rating system, and reviews I would say I have run over 30 sets of tires in the past 5 years on 4 different cars

 

That's valid. Not sure how to convince General of that.

 

It seems sales help support certain claims with General. My local General dealer had never heard of the UHPs and said it would take almost a week to deliver the tires, though he was willing to match Tirerack's prices.

So, in that time and with this good discussion I feel it's a better decision to try out the MXs and consider it an investment in good times. If I only get 15K out of them I'll probably go to the SPTs or perhaps the Goodyear F1s next time.

 

We could look at tires a different way.

What is the highest priority for the tire you want?

If we get the list of the 44 UHP tires at tirerack for example. (there could be more not rated)
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/survey...ll&sortValue=5

Now lets resort them-

Based on
Dry Cornering stability
General UHP gets 24th

Dry Steering response
General UHP gets 22nd

and so forth so yes if you are looking for a top performance tire then this might not be the best option.

However note that with 44 tires in UHP class the General UHP was middle for those and very high on many other categories. To say that the General UHP is a representative example of a UHP tire isn't far off. Overall it's a good example, just not as good on performance for our MINIs. I bet if it went on a sporty 4 door sedan it would be OK.

So what else is available in UHP tires?
Sort the list yourself with whatever you have as a priority.
BF Goodrich g-Force KDW2 comes up high on dry performance but lower on comfort. $137 300 treadwear
Similarly in 215/45-17
Bridgestone Potenza RE750 $146 340 treadwear
Firestone Firehawk Wide Oval $125 320 treadwear
BFGoodrich g-Force Sport $197 340 treadwear

Vs extreme performance summer tires in the same size
Kumho Ecsta MX $109 220 treadwear
Bridgestone potenza RE-01R $164 180 treadwear (very good dry performance but soft rubber)

Max Performance tires are in between these on handling and wear.

 

Thanks so much Minihune, I appreciate your help.

Paul