Falken Tires

[MOAK]

Ok folks; I’ve been using BFG tires since the beginning of time. However 50,000 miles ago I decided to give the General ATX Grabber (285/75/16s) a try. I’m very pleased with them. However, I’ve been wanting to go with tall & skinny for years. 255/85/16s are available from BFG and Falken. $355 versus $277. The Falken tread looks more like an AT tread, which I prefer. However, my trust lies with BFG. So Falken owners speak up. What is your “long term” experience with the Falken tires? Thanks in advance for passing along your experience.

 

[Alloy]

FORD's Superduty steering is known to wander. I tried a set of Wildpeaks on my F350 and the truck was all over the road. I suspect it's was the lighter (2ply vs. 3) sidewall. A steering stabilizer might have solved the problem but it was in the spring so I swapped to the summer tires on instead.

There's been no issue with the BGF (winter) KO2 or the factory (summer) Michelins.

I like the KO2 better than the Flakens for towing in 4" + and compact snow. The problem is KO2s are really good for the first 2 years. The 3rd year is OK but by the 4th year compound is hard so the KO2s don't grip.

 

[DRAX]

I looooved my Falken Wildpeak A/T3Ws and miss them horribly right now. I got a good deal on a used set of wheels that had some near-new Duratacs mounted, I'd heard mixed reviews of the Duratrac (some people love them, some hate them. There didn't seem to be an in-between) but thought this would be a cheap way to try them out. Well, I'm gravitating towards "really dislike" due to strange wear and excessive noise. The Wildpeaks were quiet, rode and handled well, and did great in all conditions I threw at them (dry, rain, snow, ice, rocks, mud) and I'll likely go back to them again once these Duratracs kill themselves.

I'd also been thinking about the General Grabber A/TX and the BFG KO2s, but it's hard to want to give another tire a shot after having such a good experience with the Wildpeaks.

@Alloy I'd be surprised if your issue was due to sidewall, I had a similar experience with a Ram 2500 and some relatively aggressive A/Ts that made the truck feel "squirmy" in corners, especially while towing. It was unnerving and took some getting used to, but the problem wasn't sidewall (they were LR E and the sidewall was plenty stiff), rather it had to do with the tread blocks and the voids between them. The tread was deep and the blocks were able to move/flex too easily which caused the truck to feel unstable and numb. It's possible that's what you were experiencing as well since the Wildpeaks are a bit more aggressive than the KO2s. I also warned my neighbor about going to an aggressive tire with their 3/4-ton since they have a large travel trailer they tow because the tires won't be as stable and it'll feel like the truck is being pushed around a lot. Sure enough, first tow with the new tires was unpleasant and the truck handled like crap. I want to say they went with Nitto Ridge Grapplers which are an aggressive A/T but I'd have to ask.

@MOAK, I'd say you can't go wrong with any of them and I Alloy's post above is honestly the first negative experience I've heard someone have with the Wildpeaks, all of the other experiences I've read have been people loving them which is why I gave them a try the first time around and learned first-hand why people love them.

 

[Alloy]

@Alloy I'd be surprised if your issue was due to sidewall, I had a similar experience with a Ram 2500 and some relatively aggressive A/Ts that made the truck feel "squirmy" in corners, especially while towing. It was unnerving and took some getting used to, but the problem wasn't sidewall (they were LR E and the sidewall was plenty stiff), rather it had to do with the tread blocks and the voids between them. The tread was deep and the blocks were able to move/flex too easily which caused the truck to feel unstable and numb. It's possible that's what you were experiencing as well since the Wildpeaks are a bit more aggressive than the KO2s. I also warned my neighbor about going to an aggressive tire with their 3/4-ton since they have a large travel trailer they tow because the tires won't be as stable and it'll feel like the truck is being pushed around a lot. Sure enough, first tow with the new tires was unpleasant and the truck handled like crap. I want to say they went with Nitto Ridge Grapplers which are an aggressive A/T but I'd have to ask.

I thought about tread depth. The difference is 3/32. When I took the Wildpeak off (still wandering) the tires were 14-15/32 which is where the KO2 start.

How are you comparing aggressive? What makes the Wildpeak more aggressive?

Another interesting factor is side by side at 70psi the K02 stand 3/4" higher.

I went with the sidewalls being the reason because tire pressure made a big difference. Both the Michelins and KO2 can be at 60psi and it doesn't make much difference. If I dropped the Wildpeaks below 70psi towing or not the wandering got worse. One time while being serviced the shop drop the Michelins to 55psi on the front then I towed a trailer for 3 hours. The truck was wandering like the Wildpeaks did.

I'll run either Wildpeaks AT, the new Wildpeak R/T or KO2 (or3) on my Tacoma but the choice will be soley based on price.

 

[MOAK]

FORD's Superduty steering is known to wander. I tried a set of Wildpeaks on my F350 and the truck was all over the road. I suspect it's was the lighter (2ply vs. 3) sidewall. A steering stabilizer might have solved the problem but it was in the spring so I swapped to the summer tires on instead.

There's been no issue with the BGF (winter) KO2 or the factory (summer) Michelins.

I like the KO2 better than the Flakens for towing in 4" + and compact snow. The problem is KO2s are really good for the first 2 years. The 3rd year is OK but by the 4th year compound is hard so the KO2s don't grip.

Big Chevy pickups have that same kind of problem with BFGs. Coming from the transport world I think it odd that heavy pickup truck manufacturers do not specify “ steer” tires for the front axle. Let me clarify, the size I’m interested in, 255-85-16 does not come in K02s, only KMs. We’re comparing KM2s to what looks like the original KM tread design that the Falkens are using now, which is closer to K0s than KMs. Confused? Me too

 

[TripLeader]

I've had Wildpeaks on my F150 for 2 or so years. My local auto shop recommended them for a good tire at a fair price. I've been happy with them and will probably go with them again.

 

[DRAX]

How are you comparing aggressive? What makes the Wildpeak more aggressive?

The amount of space between tread blocks. Larger voids = more aggressive = more weight on each tread block = more likely to experience tread block movement which will affect steering, etc.

I'm not sure what size(s) you ran, but we can kind of make some assumptions based on tire weight.

LT285/70R17 LR E Wildpeak has a listed weight of 58.9LB. A KO2 in the same size and load rating is 58.2LB. The KO2 is a little lighter, but you would think if it had a much thicker/stiffer sidewall that would result in a noticeably heavier tire. Yeah?

Something else is your alignment. Have you had it checked recently? How many miles were on your summer tires when you took them off and put the Wildpeaks on? The reason I mention this is if you have some miles on the KO2s then they will generally wear to conform to the alignment, if your alignment is off and you put new tires on then the results can be what you experience. This is another annoyance I have with my current Duratrac tires, they are wearing poorly even with a perfect alignment. Might be PSI related, I've bumped up the PSI a little to see if it helps. Getting to my point, I had my shop do a rotation and check my alignment because the tires were developing poor wear patterns (In the 88k miles on my truck this is the first time I've had poor wear and had to rotate my tires). Alignment was good but when I left the shop my truck was pulling hard to the left and the steering wheel was off-center to the right when going straight. Took it back, shop swapped the front tires left to right (They were previously on the rear for about 8k miles) and the truck drove straight and true, no more pulling. Super strange because there's really no alignment to be done on my rear axle and it was well in spec so there was no reason for the rears to wear unevenly but they did.

Maybe you ended up with some non-uniform tires. I'm not questioning your bad experience or suggesting it didn't happen, I'm just trying to think about what the issue could've been considering the high number of positive reviews of the Wildpeaks.

Maybe I just got some crappy Duratracs, too. Who knows.

Whatever the case, I'm not trying to change your opinion of the tires. You had a bad experience with them and good experience with others. Just thinking out loud.

 

[wicked1]

I'm not happy w/ my WildPeaks.. They seem 'bouncy' compared to my previous ko2's. I feel a little jiggle over every bump. And, they flex more in corners. Which I also have been blaming on the thinner sidewall than the ko2's. But maybe the tread is doing it, as Drax mentioned.. But I do know the sidewalls are thinner. And I've got tall skinny tires w/ a lot of sidewall.

 

[Explorerinil]

I had the wild peaks on my power wagon, I was really impressed with them. My buddy runs them on his fleet of super duty trucks for his business and he has been very impressed. I didn’t have them long, maby 20k, they wore well, had deep tread and did great on snowy/icy roads and didn’t get clogged up with mud. When these stock duratracs bite the dust on my tremor, I’ll go with either falken wild peak at or Toyo at3… whatever is available at the time.

 

[tacollie]

I had them on my Tundra and now our F250. We have been happy with them. They are amazing in the snow. The one our Tundra were wearing like iron and still really grippy. We had 30k miles on them when we sold the truck. We would have made it 50k easily. On the heavier F250 I am anticipating 35-40k. I feel that is reasonable. They are great in the snow. We may try something different next time depending on cost but I wouldn't hesitate buying them again either.

 

[Metcalf]

I wish they would release their Wildpeak M/T 38x13.5R17 to the public. Great 'tweener' size tire.

 

[Todd780]

I had the wild peaks on my power wagon, I was really impressed with them. My buddy runs them on his fleet of super duty trucks for his business and he has been very impressed. I didn’t have them long, maby 20k, they wore well, had deep tread and did great on snowy/icy roads and didn’t get clogged up with mud. When these stock duratracs bite the dust on my tremor, I’ll go with either falken wild peak at or Toyo at3… whatever is available at the time.

I'm having Toyo AT3's installed tomorrow. 1st choice was Wildpeaks but they no inventory in the size I needed and no ETA on when new stock would arrive. Hopefully the Toyos are good. Never had them before. I was happy with the Duratracs on my previous truck up until the point they started to wear and get loud.

 

[TheDesertRat]

Love the Wildpeaks on my F150, I would buy them again.

 

[jadmt]

I have had too many tires. I have had the ko2, at3w, at3 among many others and those three are all very similar I liked all 3. currently I am running duratracs (low on my list of favs) and Toyo RT's very high on my list of favs. I live in Montana and we have a lot of winter here.

 

[Explorerinil]

I'm having Toyo AT3's installed tomorrow. 1st choice was Wildpeaks but they no inventory in the size I needed and no ETA on when new stock would arrive. Hopefully the Toyos are good. Never had them before. I was happy with the Duratracs on my previous truck up until the point they started to wear and get loud.

That sucks they are getting hard to get, they are a great tire. I got to be honest, I hate my duratrac tires, unfortunately they will probably last awhile. They are terribly loud.