Yokohama Y742S review

ashooter

Adventurer
This is not much of a "review" yet, just initial impressions after about 400 miles. I'll add info as I get more miles on the tires...

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I do land surveying work 5 days a week and sell land out in the boonies on weekends. The surveying truck gets 500+ highway miles for every 50 off-pavement miles. The land-sales FJ80 probably runs about 200 highway miles for every 100 off-pavement miles, and does it in a lot rougher country. All of that is to give some background and give you guys some idea of how these tires will be used.

These 742's replaced a set of Yokohama Geolanders in 285/75R16, which were really too large for this truck, but wore extremely well and lived through almost 50,000 miles without a single flat. The only tires we've had on these surveying trucks that have done that well are Toyo M-55's that a coworker has put about 40,000mi on. I'm with Redline in not liking the shallow center treads on the M-55's though. My buddy's center tread looks like a solid zigzag now, rather than two rows of individual lugs. When I saw a photo of these 742's on the net, I was thinking: "M-55ish aggressive AT tread, no shallow center lugs, Yokohama quality, almost $100 per tire lower price than M-55's, and it sucks that the largest size is 235/85R16."

I've been thinking about replacing the 255/85R16 Toyo M/T's on my FJ80 with a set of these Yokohamas, so when the boss decided to "overhaul" the surveying truck instead of buying a new one, I figured I could use that truck as guinea pig... with the boss' money. :smiley_drive:

My initial impressions/observations: The tires ride nice on the highway, but have a noticeable howl that seems to start as a growl at about 30 mph and rise in pitch (but not volume) until it becomes almost un-noticed at 70+ mph. Similar sound to the M-55's on my coworker's truck.

Sucks that 235/85R16 are the largest size. Did I say that already? I'd LOVE to have a set of these tires in 255/85R16 for my Cruiser, but it took Discount Tire a week to round up a set of 742's, so I doubt there's any plans on the horizon for Yokohama to market these and start making more sizes. I really like the tread design, though. Seems a good no b.s. aggressive AT style that would be hard to beat for the actual use that most of us put tires to. I guess mud-terrains sell better, though.

P5070656.jpg


Sucks that 235/85R16 is the largest size though.

FJ80 shown below for size comparison between the 255 M/T's and these 235's.

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ashooter

Adventurer
After about 9000 miles, I'd say these are solid tires. However, they are pretty noisy on the highway - on a par with the old bias ply "jeep" tires my dad used to run on his 1972 Scout. Definitely louder than the Toyo M/T's on my Land Cruiser.

I've driven them in shallow/greasy/slimy mud, gravel, and steep, rough/rocky roads and they have gripped plenty well in all conditions, and seem to be pretty resistant to flats from sidewall cuts or sharp rocks (I've consciously driven hard and fast on rough roads, trying to hurt them). There's no siping, so performance on snow/ice probably sucks, and compared to a modern "mud terrain" like the Toyo M/T, I can't really see how these offer any advantage other than possibly longer tread life due to the slightly less aggressive tread.

Bottom line, this tire is a good no-nonsense "all terrain" tire at a good price, if you don't need siping and want long wear. When I get new tires with my own money, they will be Toyo M-55's or M/T's.
 

Redline

Likes to Drive and Ride
I missed your initial review but I'm glad I found this thread (doing some tire research again myself :sombrero:).

These tires look like an old, traditional commercial traction tire, more void than A/T, less than an M/T. As 'cool old school' as they are (I like them) I'm in agreement, I'm not sure how much/what advantage a tire like this offers over a more modern design.
 

ashooter

Adventurer
Exactly!

Re the "cool old school" thing: I think these would be pretty awesome on a 40, 45 or 55 Cruiser. In a case like that, they would kinda-sorta give the classic look of those old bias tires, but not feel like driving on wooden blocks. And those old trucks probably make enough noise going down the road that you wouldn't even notice these tires howling.
:smiley_drive:
 

JackW

Explorer
That looks like a great tire for my old Series Land Rovers - very reminiscent of one of my favorite tires of all time - the BFG Trac-Edge that was discontinued a few years ago.

Plus the 235-85R16 is a great size tire for old (and newer) Land Rovers - its what I use on my D-90, my old 109 and I'll probably try a set of these tires on my 1967 Series IIA 88" when I get it back together. I'll keep watching for further reviews. - how much do they cost?
 

ashooter

Adventurer
JackW, I didn't think about it before, but this weekend I was hanging out with some friends who have a 109 and two 88's between them. These tires would look perfect on those trucks!

The price is not bad... I think they were around $160 each, mounted and balanced, from Discount Tire.
 

4Rescue

Expedition Leader
Wow, those look like a great tread patern, too bad about the lack of a 255/85, but they still look great eh. I've also never heard of them so thanks for the info. Oh and I LOVE your Tan 80-Series SO MUCH mate, it's just awesome.

Cheers

Dave
 

ashooter

Adventurer
Update:

I just got home from a 700 mile round-trip... These tires are noisy as hell. I would definitely not recommend them unless you're looking for a vintage look on an old Cruiser or Rover, or maybe if they're going on a diesel that might drown out the whine.

... just annoying.

Toyo M-55, here I come!
 

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