Yokohama Geolandar AT+II steering stability

I just bought some 235/70/16 for my 2001 Classic XJ. We went down to Colo Springs yesterday and I'm a little alarmed with how spongy the steering is. Mild cornering and steering response seems to have a lot of sidewall roll to it.

Mind you, I used these tires to replace Firestone Wilderness ATs 255/70/16 (came with the vehicle when I bought it). The steering was way more solid with the oversized Firestones probably because there is more tread connecting with the pavement (1 inch wider than the Yokos) and the rubber compound is a little harder. I had some of those fantastic Dunlop Rover RVs 30x9.5x15 on my old 88 XJ, another soft compound AT tire, but I never had that soft steering response the Yokos have.

Maybe I'm just a little hypersenstive from going to a stiffer/larger tires to a softer/smaller one. Has anyone had this kind of experience with this tire? I wanted something fairly aggressive for looks as well as getting me around forest service roads. However, I do a lot of HWY driving and the handling has me a little nervous.

check air pressure?

XJ_ranger said:

check air pressure?

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35 psi on all 4, prolly 5 psi higher than it needs. I'll take it down 30 and see what happens but I imagine it'll make it worse.

Funny... I ran the Geolander AT's on my jeep for three years, and never had any issues... I was running 32x11.5, 15's I actually liked the on road manners. You may not be used the the softer sidewall charateristic of the Yokohama over the Firestone... and yes the widder contact patch makes a difference too...

I really like the ride, it's very soft and comfy but the steering just seems weird. Yeah, maybe it's just that I'm not used to it.

I would look toward the size as any issue. Tall and skinney may be the root. I ran these for awhile (235 LT), better than goodyears and bridgestones. Low noise, very good grip and razor-sharp turn-in. Put another set on the liberty. Given my experience with the turn-in, I would be looking at either size or your suspension setup as the culprit. You better have a reasonably stiff frontend or these will go one way while your frontend goes the other. Now the downside, they don't last for crap. Only got 21000 mi on the liberty and not much more on the XJ. Unfortunately I won't be buying another set with that kinda milage and no warranty.

The BFGs seem to be fine thus far...

Shogun said:

I would look toward the size as any issue. Tall and skinney may be the root. I ran these for awhile (235 LT), better than goodyears and bridgestones. Low noise, very good grip and razor-sharp turn-in. Put another set on the liberty. Given my experience with the turn-in, I would be looking at either size or your suspension setup as the culprit. You better have a reasonably stiff frontend or these will go one way while your frontend goes the other. Now the downside, they don't last for crap. Only got 21000 mi on the liberty and not much more on the XJ. Unfortunately I won't be buying another set with that kinda milage and no warranty.

The BFGs seem to be fine thus far...

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My suspension is stock and in good shape. It's not really that tall and skinney of a tire either. I have no idea what is wrong but I had this happen on a Mustang once when I got some cheap snow tires. Switched out the tires and the handling was normal again.

I might consider the BFG but they are so damn expensive.

I've been running these on my 94 for over 3 years and have been very happy with them. Give them a chance. For what you say you use your Jeep for they should be good for you.

Me thinks I'll be keeping them. I was on vacation all week and didn't drive the thing. Before I left, I dropped the pressure down from 35 to 30 and today it seems to handle fine now. I noticed the max on the tire said 35psi and since the jeep isn't a heavy vehicle, I'm thinking 28 to 30 psi might be better. Perhaps the foot print contact wasn't as complete as it should be with the higher pressure, making it a bit squirrely.

It's still a little soft but it doesn't bother me like before. Not sure if it's the pressure or the fact I haven't had a chance to drive it for a while. Maybe I just needed to recalibrate my driving