I recently got Kumho 857 tires from Discount Tire.  They can be had from
other dealers though.  I agree that the Michelins are improper for our
vehicles, despite being sold by the best known renovator in the
business.  If a vehicle requires a tire of a given weight rating, that
is because it would not be safe to use a lighter tire.  And yours have
gone bad.  I am very pleased so far with my tires (some 6000 miles).
Ride and drive well, and most important, they meet the rating required.

Dave Mc

On Fri, Aug 28, 2009 at 6:39 PM , Karl wrote:

> MY advice is to run away from those tires as fast as possible. The
> Hydroedge is a single-ply sidewall car tire, and does not meet the
> specs
> for Vanagon use. Anything properly-rated that you replace them with
> will
> be better.
>
> Check out Larry's excellent tire page:
> http://www.roadhaus.com/tires.html
> and
> http://www.roadhaus.com/tires/guideline.html
>
> I feel that the Continental Vanco is an excellent choice, Tire Rack
> carries them. Several of my customers are running them on their
> Westies
> and report very favorably.
>
> Karl
> www.westyventures.com
>
>
> Melissa Mourkas wrote:
>> It turns out that the 15" Michelin HydroEdge tires on my recently
>> purchased '84 Westy have sidewall cracking to the degree that the
>> nice lady at Big O Tires refused to service one of them that is
>> leaking air.  Very conscientious of her.  Or risk-averse.  Or she
>> wants to sell me tires on a Friday afternoon.
>>
>> Anyway, I am going to have to replace them, methinks.  Since I have
>> not followed a recent tire thread, I thought I'd hang myself out to
>> dry (at least it's Fryday!).
>>
>> Wheel Size: 15" GoWesty alloy wheels, currently loaded with Michelin
>> HydroEdge 215 65 R 15.  (Still sold by GoWesty).
>>
>> Suggestions appreciated!
>>
>>
>> Melissa Mourkas
>> 84 Westy "Honey Bee"
>> Sacramento, CA
>>