Falken's Wildpeak A/T4W apparently suck in snow

[Squibbles]

I disagree with their opinion on the at4w. I have had the baja boss, the ko3, and at4w on my wranglers and my 4runner. I just drove through last week’s Colorado blizzard. The ko3s struggled but the at4ws didn’t. Both are JLU’s and both have the same setup. Our 4runner also has the at4ws. Since, I live and drive in bad weather consistently in Colorado, I am confident in saying which tires do well and don’t do well. I think the ko3s are better than the ko2s but not nearly as good as the at4ws. I have also previously had the at3ws and I don’t notice a difference. The baja bosses were also exceptional on snow. I would say the falken at4w are better than the baja bosses and the baja bosses are better than the ko3s for snow. The ko3 and baja boss look better though. I drove from Colorado Springs to Parker in the blizzard last week where there was as much as 8 inches of snow. I didn’t slide one time with the at4w.

This is just my own opinion from someone who is driven in snow weather for 20 years. I have no loyalty to any brand.

It’s very hard to argue with objective data though, stopping distance and time to climb a snowy hill were significantly better with the other tires. It’s not to say the falken is bad but to say it’s better is hard to believe when you see their results.

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[DubaiMarauder]

The Falkens do weigh considerably more. The C rated versions that come on the Gladiators weigh nearly as much as any other E rated tire from other brands. I’d hate to know what the E rated Falken weighed on their rig.

I doubt this will be helpful, but maybe consider another brand?

Reason: I put 35/12.5/R17 Load Range E2 Nitto Ridge Grapplers on my JLURD and ended up driving almost 400mi thru snow between Cortez, CO, down to Albuquerque, NM over toward the TX line 2 weeks ago and they did amazing. I never had a slippage issue, zero traction loss and I was doing 70-75mph on I-40 in the snow. Zero issues. No tread hum at all either on dry pavement.

I'd definitely buy these again. Maybe they're worth a look in your case.

 

[Vinman]

I just installed a set of the Firestone Destinations XT’s on my DD/work truck Tacoma. I wanted 275/70R17’s and I think every brand I was considering was only available in load range “E”.
I chose the XT’s primarily on the fact while “E“ rated they were on average over 10 lbs lighter than any other tire (even the KO3’s) and they had great Winter performance reviews.

This truck will see no offroad so sidewall strength wasn’t too much of a concern.

I am surprised how smooth they ride at 32 psi, was definitely expecting a stiffer ride given the “E“ rating.

Having owned at least 15 sets of KO and KO2’s over the last 25 years if they were available in “C” rating or at least as light as the XT’s I doubt I would have even considered anything else.

Today was the first real test in the 10” of snow we had last night so far I’m thoroughly impressed with them

 

[JesseT]

Good points! What exactly do you mean by 200-400 lbs of performance impact?

Unsprung weight vs sprung weight. Some estimates are that a pound of unsprung weight can make as much of a performance difference as 10 pounds of sprung weight. Of course they're not exactly equivalent as the two kinds of weight affect performance very differently.

 

[Fast-n-Furious]

Unsprung weight vs sprung weight. Some estimates are that a pound of unsprung weight can make as much of a performance difference as 10 pounds of sprung weight. Of course they're not exactly equivalent as the two kinds of weight affect performance very differently.

Thank you for the insights! I’ve never heard these terms before, Will learn more about them.

 

[ObiMatt87]

Agreed. I’m hoping the KO3’s will be out by the time I need a new set. Hang in there @Ratbert!!!

The KO3s are available, at least through my local Discount Tire. I bought a set of 33s a few months ago to replace some Mickey Thompsons on my 2018 JL that I'd burned up the miles on. Obviously not dealing with snow here in south Texas, but they've been great so far and are definitely quieter than the Mickey Thompsons, which were E-rated. Ironically, the brand new 2024 Rubicon XR I just got still comes with the KO2s, though they are obviously 35s.

 

[Dusty Dude]

The KO3s are available, at least through my local Discount Tire. I bought a set of 33s a few months ago to replace some Mickey Thompsons on my 2018 JL that I'd burned up the miles on. Obviously not dealing with snow here in south Texas, but they've been great so far and are definitely quieter than the Mickey Thompsons, which were E-rated. Ironically, the brand new 2024 Rubicon XR I just got still comes with the KO2s, though they are obviously 35s.

The 37 inch KO3’s aren’t available until 2026… I don’t know if the 35’s are available yet either.

 

[Squibbles]

The 37 inch KO3’s aren’t available until 2026… I don’t know if the 35’s are available yet either.

They’re available but only in load range F according to discount tire. I didn’t even see a date for the other load ranges, 35x11.5r17 in C are due May of 2026. I imagine 35s are still a big portion of their sales I can’t imagine why it’s taking so long.

 

[CarbonSteel]

I have well over 40k on my 37" KO2s and they're still doing well. The set of 33" KO2s on my last JLUR, however, were pretty much toast at 18k.

Lucky, my 37" KO2's were toast at 25K on anything other than dry roads. On wet streets (snow and rain), they were downright dangerous. Needless to say, I'll never own another set of them.

 

[Pismo61]

The AT4W is a completely different tire that's focused more on the massive market of F-150s on the job site. Thinking that they're an upgrade to the AT3W is only valid for that audience, not ours. Sad, but true.

Yep the ATW3s were better for my application.The Firestone XTs are nice but only in a e load.

 

[Midwestjeepguy]

This test looks to be flawed as the Wildpeaks are brand new (paint stripe down the center of tread). The other tires have been driven, not sure how much though. General rule is it takes ~500 miles to break-in new tires to get optimum performance. There are lubricants and other substances on brand new tires from the manufacturing process that need to be worn off through driving. Plus driving it around roughs up the tread/compound to a degree and that’ll help with traction. All that said, the AT4Ws could have still performed the worst in snow but they started at a disadvantage because they weren’t broken in at all.

Also I have no brand loyalty. Over the years and across multiple trucks and Jeeps I have owned 2 sets of BF KO2s, Wildpeak AT3Ws and AT4Ws, Cooper Discoverer AT3Ws, Nitto Ridge Grapplers, and others. I go with which performs well all around for its current design and is at a decent price point. Both sets of KO2s gave me issues despite being rotated and maintained properly - one set started to be awful in wet conditions at around 25k miles and the other wore unevenly prematurely. Got 75k trouble free miles out of the Wildpeak AT3Ws, same with the Cooper Discoverer AT3Ws. Installed the Wildpeak AT4Ws on my JLUR about 10k miles ago and they have been great. If they had issues I would gladly warn people to stay away, again I’m not brand loyal or trying to convince myself I didn’t waste my money.

With winter around the corner and snow coming, I’ll circle back if the AT4Ws have traction issues when it finally snows.

 

[Ratbert]

They’re available but only in load range F according to discount tire. I didn’t even see a date for the other load ranges, 35x11.5r17 in C are due May of 2026. I imagine 35s are still a big portion of their sales I can’t imagine why it’s taking so long.

According to BFG, 37x12.50R17/F won't be out until 2025. C won't be available until 2026. Link to PDF from here: https://www.bfgoodrichtires.com/auto/tires/all-terrain-t-a-ko3?tyreSize=17

https://dgaddcosprod.blob.core.wind...ents/clz74riy502c701kqq5h7lyvi-v5-bfg-ko3.pdf

Of course I'd love for Discount Tire to be right and they're showing up early!

 

[TFL]

I don't know whether the at4w is any good in snow or not, but these are the same guys who believe a CJ5 is more complicated than a new Cherokee Trailhawk. They can't be taken seriously. Of course, that's just my opinion.

My dude you completely missed the point of this video

 

[TFL]

This test looks to be flawed as the Wildpeaks are brand new (paint stripe down the center of tread). The other tires have been driven, not sure how much though. General rule is it takes ~500 miles to break-in new tires to get optimum performance. There are lubricants and other substances on brand new tires from the manufacturing process that need to be worn off through driving. Plus driving it around roughs up the tread/compound to a degree and that’ll help with traction. All that said, the AT4Ws could have still performed the worst in snow but they started at a disadvantage because they weren’t broken in at all.

Also I have no brand loyalty. Over the years and across multiple trucks and Jeeps I have owned 2 sets of BF KO2s, Wildpeak AT3Ws and AT4Ws, Cooper Discoverer AT3Ws, Nitto Ridge Grapplers, and others. I go with which performs well all around for its current design and is at a decent price point. Both sets of KO2s gave me issues despite being rotated and maintained properly - one set started to be awful in wet conditions at around 25k miles and the other wore unevenly prematurely. Got 75k trouble free miles out of the Wildpeak AT3Ws, same with the Cooper Discoverer AT3Ws. Installed the Wildpeak AT4Ws on my JLUR about 10k miles ago and they have been great. If they had issues I would gladly warn people to stay away, again I’m not brand loyal or trying to convince myself I didn’t waste my money.

With winter around the corner and snow coming, I’ll circle back if the AT4Ws have traction issues when it finally snows.

We reached out to falken and the team said there’s no break in procedure that would improve performance

 

[chaseshort]

Not a direct comparison, but I've ran the KO2 and several sets of AT3W on a few different rigs.

We only got 40k out of the ko2s on our JLURD and they were shot. They were pretty sketchy in the rain and snow for the last 10k or so.
I took the AT3W off my JTRD at 40k and put them on the JLURD, they still have 25%-30%. Still feel good in the rain and we'll see about the snow soon.


As to my experience, air pressure is pretty important. Those TFL guys ran the same air pressure in all 3 sets. From my experience, the AT3W run 3-4psi less than the KO2.
Also, from my experience, a fresh set of tires need to be broke in for optimum performance. Since they drove the Jeep there with the KO3???
Fresh snow over hardback snow makes for decent traction. Packed snow not near as much.
Just some food for thought, not saying they didn't come up with the right conclusions, but maybe not. I've had issues with some of their other videos.
Just my 2cents, take it or leave it.

lolol I love how you say it's not a direct comparison, but it's literally them testing the different tires, in the SAME CONDITIONS, on the SAME RIG. It's exactly what a direct comparison is

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