New Falken AT tire (A/T3W)

Now that these tires have been out a few years - how do they compare in winter to a dedicated winter tire? This will be my first year with the 4Runner and with previous cars I always did a dedicated high performance summer and then a set of snow tires on steelies.

With the option to run these I'm now wondering if it makes sense to just keep them on all year round (in AB, Canada FWIW). Otherwise I'll likely pick up a set of FJC steelies and some Hakkapeliittas. Not really planning any offroading in the winter, just drives to the ski hill probably.
 
Now that these tires have been out a few years - how do they compare in winter to a dedicated winter tire? This will be my first year with the 4Runner and with previous cars I always did a dedicated high performance summer and then a set of snow tires on steelies.

With the option to run these I'm now wondering if it makes sense to just keep them on all year round (in AB, Canada FWIW). Otherwise I'll likely pick up a set of FJC steelies and some Hakkapeliittas. Not really planning any offroading in the winter, just drives to the ski hill probably.



I’ve ran three of the most popular AT tires (Nitto RG, BFG KO2 and these) and these AT3Ws are hands down the best. Nothing compares to a dedicated snow tire so you will see less performance out of these in the snow. That being said, I would absolutely run these for a winter if I lived out west (Rockies or the like) to see if they can hang. As best I can tell in my relative flatland bland Illinois terrain, I’d have zero qualms about giving these a run. They have been phenomenal and have far exceeded my winter expectations. If you’re getting tires anyways, give these a try and buy snows if you think you need them. I’m willing to bet you’ll be happy with their performance but it’s all subjective.


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Anyone running the P rated size? I've been running them for a month and was curious on what tire pressure you guys run on-road. I'm doing 35psi on road and it seems like it may be too low. Thoughts? I need to chalk test them eventually
 
Anyone running the P rated size? I've been running them for a month and was curious on what tire pressure you guys run on-road. I'm doing 35psi on road and it seems like it may be too low. Thoughts? I need to chalk test them eventually

Well, yeah, plenty of us :)

I run 33 normally. I run 36 on long trips (out of state). I run 30 on and offroad if I am in a place like Moab. I do NOT air down offroad, unless it is deep sand, like on an Oregon beach.

I have very even wear, no issues at all. Inside/center/outside are all within 1/32 on each tire.
 
Well, yeah, plenty of us :)

I run 33 normally. I run 36 on long trips (out of state). I run 30 on and offroad if I am in a place like Moab. I do NOT air down offroad, unless it is deep sand, like on an Oregon beach.

I have very even wear, no issues at all. Inside/center/outside are all within 1/32 on each tire.

Ah, 33 seems low to me, with 35 the front sidewall sags quite a bit on my stock truck. Maybe I'll give it a shot

I generally drop down to 20psi if I'm going offroad into fun stuff. Seems to work pretty well
 
Ah, 33 seems low to me, with 35 the front sidewall sags quite a bit on my stock truck. Maybe I'll give it a shot

I generally drop down to 20psi if I'm going offroad into fun stuff. Seems to work pretty well

I agree, at 33 psi the tires conform quite nicely to rock but that pressure has worked great for me on and offroad and wear is very even.

Once the tread ages, under 9/32, then punctures in the desert become a concern, but that's really AZ/NV/CA issue.
 
I’ve ran three of the most popular AT tires (Nitto RG, BFG KO2 and these) and these AT3Ws are hands down the best. Nothing compares to a dedicated snow tire so you will see less performance out of these in the snow. That being said, I would absolutely run these for a winter if I lived out west (Rockies or the like) to see if they can hang. As best I can tell in my relative flatland bland Illinois terrain, I’d have zero qualms about giving these a run. They have been phenomenal and have far exceeded my winter expectations. If you’re getting tires anyways, give these a try and buy snows if you think you need them. I’m willing to bet you’ll be happy with their performance but it’s all subjective.


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Thats great to hear! I'm Chicago burbs and tried 2 different sets of KO2s thinking maybe the 1st set was bad but man, they sucked on wet/cold roads. found myself running michelins for 2 winters in a row, got old buying tires! Glad I went with A/T3ws
 
Thats great to hear! I'm Chicago burbs and tried 2 different sets of KO2s thinking maybe the 1st set was bad but man, they sucked on wet/cold roads. found myself running michelins for 2 winters in a row, got old buying tires! Glad I went with A/T3ws

My P-metric Wildpeaks did great in July in Montana (lots of rain) even though the two I had on the rear axle were at 7/32nds. At this point they have developed chunking with all the offroad use but no obvious loss of traction.

So that's very impressive, in my opinion.
 
Like many, I run the P metrics (285/70-17) simply because the Load Range C were not yet available. I’m so happy I went with the P metrics. They’re light on the road and they’ve held up well off road. I put them through their most intense paces yesterday at an off road park running them through sand, packed dirt, gravel, river rock, and of course mud. The only place they struggled was in clay mud, but that was to be expected and even then they did better than expected.

I run 35 on road, “aired down” yesterday to 32 and have no complaints! Tires look perfect with no chipping or issues to report, and I beat on them hard yesterday.
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Like many, I run the P metrics (285/70-17) simply because the Load Range C were not yet available. I’m so happy I went with the P metrics. They’re light on the road and they’ve held up well off road. I put them through their most intense paces yesterday at an off road park running them through sand, packed dirt, gravel, river rock, and of course mud. The only place they struggled was in clay mud, but that was to be expected and even then they did better than expected.

I run 35 on road, “aired down” yesterday to 32 and have no complaints! Tires look perfect with no chipping or issues to report, and I beat on them hard yesterday.

Thank you for the info\review! Just curious how gas mileage was impacted with those and what mpg are you getting now with 285?
I am planning to purchase those tires in the fall (will be going with P metric) and can’t decide if I should stay with stock size or go with 285. 4Runner is my DD, so mpg is important to me.
 
Sorry to hear this. My duratracs (315's) on the JK were very disappointing after 20k. Hope you have better results. The Falkens are far superior traction wise even after 30k but I too suffer from balance issues at times.

I think it's cooper next time around for me on the T4R. Their newest AT looks promising.

Thanks. I know some fullsize GM truck guys who swear by Duratracs, and since I'd barked up the BFG tree a number of times in the past, I wanted to try something different. So far so good.

I do miss the wet traction of the Wildpeaks already. Still like the Duratracs, but that's primarily due to the fact I haven't had to return the full set yet after 2k mi. Haven't done anything tougher than a dirt boat launch / forest service road in them yet, however.
 
Wow. That’s awful and, quite frankly, I’m shocked given the piles of great reviews here. Sorry you went through all that. I wish you luck with the Goodyear’s. I almost went the Duratrac route but the complaints about noise (especially with wear) and the notoriously weak sidewalls kept me away. I hope you have a better experience. You’ve been through it.


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Thanks. Yeah I'd gone with the Wildpeaks because of the positive reviews here (and price, and I'd had OK luck in the past with Falken's Ziex line on some of my cars). They're really impressive in the wet and on soft sand. But I lost faith in them after having to exchange so many. Not sure if it was just the batch(es) I got from Discount Tire or what but I was just over having to leave the car at the tire place for multiple days in a row every 5k miles.

Fingers crossed we don't end up in the same situation with the Goodyears! I appreciate the well wishes. Thanks again.
 
Thanks. I know some fullsize GM truck guys who swear by Duratracs, and since I'd barked up the BFG tree a number of times in the past, I wanted to try something different. So far so good.

I do miss the wet traction of the Wildpeaks already. Still like the Duratracs, but that's primarily due to the fact I haven't had to return the full set yet after 2k mi. Haven't done anything tougher than a dirt boat launch / forest service road in them yet, however.

Which Duratracs did you get (size and load)?

I would love to hear your tread wear report in terms of miles per 1/32 of wear.
 
Which Duratracs did you get (size and load)?

I would love to hear your tread wear report in terms of miles per 1/32 of wear.



Obsession with 1/32 wear! [emoji23] I love it!

I avoided the Duratracs but came super close to trying them. My biggest issue was the notoriously weak sidewalls and countless reports of them blowing out. Plus the noise. Plus the rapid performance degradation. But it’s all subjective. Except for the blowouts. Those do happen.


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Thank you for the info\review! Just curious how gas mileage was impacted with those and what mpg are you getting now with 285?

I am planning to purchase those tires in the fall (will be going with P metric) and can’t decide if I should stay with stock size or go with 285. 4Runner is my DD, so mpg is important to me.



My mileage is around 16.5-17 or so combined but I’m also running the massive roof waffle, I mean basket, that absolutely zapped my mileage more than anything. That aside, I’ve seen maybe a 1 mpg difference between my now 285s and the 265s when I had them. The SL P series is what’s saving substantial weight over higher load indexes.


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Most reviews mentioned the AT3W being quieter than the KO2 - opposite experience for you?

I'll be picking up something in 285/70/17 soon and was leaning toward AT3W P rated for 90% normal commuting.

Which load rating were you running?

I think it had something to do w/the defects in manufacturing with the Falkens. With my BFG A/T's I get a howl that increases w/speed. With the Falkens I got the howl (quieter but still present) and a loud thump that would get louder/increase in frequency up to about 65 then it would get drowned out by the howl of the tire. This was present on all of the tires.

On the BFG's I run Load Range E, on the Falkens it was a P-metric in the stock size.

Sorry for the delay in response. Hope whatever you picked up works well for you! I've read a ton of great reviews on these Wildpeaks. I think my experience is an outlier for sure.
 
Which Duratracs did you get (size and load)?

I would love to hear your tread wear report in terms of miles per 1/32 of wear.

Haven't yet hit the first rotation on the Duratracs, won't know wear until then.

We're running p metric, 265/70/17.

For the Falkens, the longest a single tire made it on the car was 10k mi, and in that 10k, we were down to 9/32. That doesn't seem unreasonable for the type of driving we do.
 
Like many, I run the P metrics (285/70-17) simply because the Load Range C were not yet available. I’m so happy I went with the P metrics. They’re light on the road and they’ve held up well off road. I put them through their most intense paces yesterday at an off road park running them through sand, packed dirt, gravel, river rock, and of course mud. The only place they struggled was in clay mud, but that was to be expected and even then they did better than expected.

I run 35 on road, “aired down” yesterday to 32 and have no complaints! Tires look perfect with no chipping or issues to report, and I beat on them hard yesterday.
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Dig those wheels, what are they?
 
I had 265/70R17 Falken Wildpeak A/T3W tires put on my truck day 1.
I've been tracking my mileage since putting on the Eibach Lift (July 25th, 2019). This includes the 200lbs of winch, winch bumper, and skid plate.

Past 4 fill ups - hand calculated MPG:
17.98 mpg
20 mpg
18.3 mpg
18.73 mpg

Average MPG = 18.75

I live in the Ozarks of Southern Missouri so 2 lane roads, with lots of hills and curves, but little traffic. Nearest stoplight is 30 miles from my house.
 

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