I am very pleased with mine. M&S tread pattern is what I needed. Handling is
good. I am not experiencing the problems you seem to be having. I am,
however, disappointed with KYB shocks. And when I have a headwind, I wish I
had more HP. :-)

Bill  V.                 "I'd Rather Be Hiking The
'82 CA Westy [FreeBird]       Greater Yellowstone"
"Famous Potatoes"

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com]On Behalf
> Of Bill Knight
> Sent: Wednesday, September 08, 1999 9:05 AM
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: Disappointed with Yokohama Y370 Tires
>
>
> Hi All,
>
> I've driven my 84 Westy about 100 miles now on the new Yokohama
> Y370B tires
> and am still disappointed in the handling.  I was so excited that these
> tires came available again because of all the raving comments I
> had seen on
> the list, but now I wish that they had stayed discontinued.  Just to be
> sure, I double checked the sidewalls and they say Y370B, LT195/75
> R14, load
> range D, max load 1710 lbs at 65 psi.  I ordered part number
> 37047 from Tire
> Rack.  Those are the ones, right?
>
> The tires I  replaced were Pirelli 6000 passenger tires size 205/70 R14.
> They weren't really too badly worn, but I replaced them anyway because of
> all the concerns about wrong load ratings.  I wish I still had them.  They
> served me well, I drove cross-country last year on them with nary
> a problem.
> Handling and stability were great.
>
> The Yokohama tires have ZERO crosswind resistance.  I constantly have to
> keep correcting the steering as I drive, especially at highway
> speed.  When
> there is even the slightest wind, I'm all over the road, and quickly get
> fatigued from constantly having to keep concentrated on staying
> in the lane.
> I first thought it was the tire pressure, so I pumped them up to the list
> recommended 44/52 lbs. and that improved things a bit, but not enough.  I
> had an alignment done when the tires were installed and I started
> questioning the alignment.  I knew it couldn't be the tires!  So this
> morning I dropped the van by the VW dealer and specifically
> requested Jimmy,
> the head mechanic, do an alignment.  I explained my problems to him and he
> proceeded to do the alignment.  He found the alignment to be
> correct, so he
> checked all the rest of the suspension and steering.  Everything, as I
> expected, was in perfect order (I've replaced everything).  He also test
> drove the van and concurred with my complaint.  He looked at the tires and
> said the problem is the tires.  "They are supposed to be sidewall
> reinforced", he said, "but they are safe to continue to use because they
> have the proper load rating".
>
> So now what?  Do I eat the $300 that I spent on these new tires
> and get some
> reinforced ones or live with the terrible handling?  I used to be able to
> get on the road and sit back and cruise in a very relaxed state, but now
> that is not possible and makes the van miserable to drive.
>
> Sorry for the rambling, but I'm disappointed and I'm happy to
> have this list
> to vent my frustrations!
>
> Bill
> '84 Westfalia Wolfsburg (new name "Sloppy"?)
>