Hi Volks,

Just an update on the tire situation.  I had chosen to get the Yokohama 370
LT tires recommended by several on this list, but found them
unavailable---as previously posted, either back-ordered wth a delay of 6-8
wks; or superseded by Model Y356 LT, supposedly the same as Y370 except for
a change in tread pattern; or, to be replaced sometime soon by a completely
new tire.

Well, as mentioned before, the tires I had were so inadequate that it seemed
to me too risky to wait, so I decided to take the Y356s.  America's Tire Co.
in Sacramento had to order them but had them in in 48hrs, and charged $69.95
each plus stems, balancing, etc, which includes lifetime rotations and
balancing.  They gave me some trade-in for the one tire I had that was new,
so the total, with warranty, came out to about $358.

btw, while listees recommend inflations of approx 45 psi front and 53 rear,
the guy at America's Tire insisted that 40 front and rear was best for daily
driving, and recommended going up to 45 & 50, *maybe*, "if you really load
it up for a camping trip."  I mention this because he also pointed out that
the warranty would not apply if the tires werrn't used as recommended, "for
example, if they were overinflated."  I don't know how seriously to take any
of this.  It seemed to me that the specs allowed for higher inflation to
correspond with weight load.  One thing he seemed to be implying was that
running front and rear at different inflations might have some implications
for differences in tire wear, which might then have some significance
related to rotation.

If anyone wants to shed any light on this, I'd appreciate it.  Otherwise, I
thought I'd just share my experience as a kind of update.

Happy vanning,

Gail

__________________________
Gail Fitzpatrick
'87 GL Westi, 117k   [Twiga]
Sacramento, CA         
<redwood@speedlink.com>