Date:         Mon, 18 Mar 1996 21:31:32 +0000
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         sw@smus.bc.ca
Subject:      Tires for '88

Just got back from Vancouver - got 2 new Yokohama Y370 tires for the 
front of Kyra to replace the cheapo car tires.

What a difference!!! (Thanks Harry for the tip...)

The bus no longer feels like it's standing on its nose when 
cornering, and even the nose dive is reduced under braking. Much more 
stable in wind also. They are slightly noisy at 80 km/h, but at 
90-100 km/h the wind noise takes over.

Local content - After calling most of the major tire shops in 
Vancouver, it came down to Michelin LTX or Conti TS750 for $105 at 
Cdn Cash & Carry Tire, or the Yoko 370 for $108 at Big-O (Maple 
Ridge). Since the guy at BigO drove a '65 bus, and the other guys had 
to lookup the right fit, the choice was easy...
I got 2 tires for $80 ea w/trade in of the cheapos, which became an 
even better deal after watching these guys remove the right side wheel bolts:
After two impact wrenches did nothing, they tried a 24" bar & snap-on 
socket. A big guy leaning on it broke the socket in half..! On to the 
30" cross bar... Two guys working this - no go. Then a 5 ft long 
steel pipe over the cross bar & a guy my size (150lb) putting most if 
his weight on the end, finally snapped the bolts free! Same thing on 
all 5 bolts. So, let's see maybe only 100lbs on the end of the pipe, 
at 5 ft long = 500 lb/ft of torque !??

I'm just glad the bolts didn't break. (and yes, they did torque 'em 
back on right...)

==============================
Shawn Wright, sw@smus.bc.ca
'85 Jetta TD, 341k (Jenni)
'88 Westy, 322k (Kyra)
==============================