I Have a set of Exclaims UHP's myself - what was attrative to me was

Their light weight compaired to compeditors.

Their excelent ride quality for the speed rating.

They are "sport like" tires in my opinion, lacking max grip but are fairly quiet for directionals. A good choice for mildly agressive drivers.

Alex

 

Any updates snypr? Did you change those tires?

 

Update:

They are slowly improving. They are no where near as dangerous as they were when i first bought them, and its not me getting used to it either. I can still feel a slight tread buckling, but its very much tolerable. So I will be keeping these and expect them to be even better within a couple weeks. Also, After being told by the NTB manager to "scuff them up" a little bit, I took a trip to Tennessee,(pigeon forge/gatlinburg area) this past weekend and made a few passes on the Dragon while I was in the area. They handled/performed great. After a fairly intense run, smoke was coming from the front...im pretty sure it was from the brakes, lol.

im still baffled how something can be made to handle that poorly(whether it was some sort of coating or just the sheer height of the tread) out of the box, but oh well...maybe its a MINI thing.

 

ridgid chasis that lack flex, like an Elise,or a Mini point out sidewall stiffness and tread block flex

The correction your feeling is real life heat cycling, reduicing the tread block flex.

Alex

 

I just had a set of Exclaim UHP's put on yesterday, and after about 75 miles, I can only say that they are more comfortable, quiet and handle better than the Dunlop rf's. i put on 205/55-16's, and I like the look of them also.

I am glad that I have not had the "marshmallow" response a couple of others have had.

 

Let's face it, part of the reason for the MINI's "go kart" handling is the stiff side wall of the much hated runflat tires.

 

What was the original size tire you were replacing? If it was a 205/45/17 the difference in sidewall thickness will explain your mushy feeling. The Falken 205 shows a re-enforced sidewall, the Falken 215 does not. I know you don't have Falkens, but don't know if the Generals are like that. Constant raising of tire pressures is not a good thing as you will have wear on just the center of the tire and have a smaller contact patch. I think you should do more research and get another brand tire while you have that generous offer from your dealer. Just my thought. Bill

 

the generals sidewalls are like butter. They actually even feel soft to the touch. This is an old thread, but it should be obvious after looking it over, don't get them if you bought the MINI for handling. Certainly don't get them if you plan to do any autox or track days. My dad has these on his car and even with high pressures they deflect nearly to the rim on hard cornering during autox.

 

For me tires are one of the hardest things to purchase.

a) Tire ratings vary from manufacturer to manufacturer.
b) noise, ride quality and wear are subjective to each person.
c) price is no indication of anything.
d) there is no vendor that carries every brand.
e) roads and weather variances.
f) suspension and rims influence tires.

I think Alex and the Tire Rack website do an excellent job narrowing down what one is looking for but that ultimate choice for me is grueling. Perhaps I overly place importance on tire choice but the truth is thats what meets the road.

I recently had to replace my tires and drove Alex and others crazy w/ questions. I forgot how many PM's I sent Alex !!

After too much research and reading too many reviews, I went w/ one of Alex's recommendations - Goodyear gds-3. I'm running 17" rims and went one size smaller than stock sidewall height.

FOR ME, an excellent choice for the Mini.