Overland Journal AT Tire Test

[Jeep or Tacoma]

falkens

well i finally ended up replacing my flakiness they were just about down to the wear bars. total mileage I got out of them and this is driving a jeep wrangler was 84,000 miles I could have pushed it and got an easy 5 k more. Now as I recall in the original write up the thought the flakiness would wear quickly and honestly I thought maybe 40 k out of them would be good because they were pretty inexpensive. I Was really surprised. the were a 285 70 17 tire. so it just goes to show its very difficult to predict what the mileage you will get out of the tire will be.

 

[Dazrin]

The new BFGoodrich AT KO2:
The most common feedback we are getting on the article is regarding the new BFGoodrich KO2. The test was conducted in fall of 2013, prior to the announcement of the KO2. We even sourced the KOs from Michelin and were not advised of the new tires. Given that, the results with the KO in the test are definitive and reflected the age of the product and associated design.

However, the new AT KO2 is now on the market and our team has already conducted some preliminary testing. Most encouraging is the shoulder lug integrity, which is vastly improved over the outgoing KO. Chris Collard drove the KO2 hard in Baja and experienced minimal tearing, cutting and chipping. We have not tested the KO2 sufficiently to judge its performance against the other models in the comprehensive test, but the results so far look promising. We promise to provide a comprehensive report over the next few months.

I saw Chris Collard's impressions from Baja but I haven't seen a comprehensive report on the KO2 yet, is this still going to happen?

Based on most of the reports I have seen it is a huge improvement but it would still be nice to have an apples to apples comparison with these other tires.

 

[WyoCherokee]

I ran the AT3's on my Ram 2500 Diesel in 265/70/17. I absolutely loved those tires and would reccomend them to anyone. i got 67,000 miles out of them and could have pushed 70,000 miles. That was about 50k being highway and 17,000 being gravel and off road. Excellent snow and ice traction even at low tread. They held great when towing heavy and did good on rocky trails. My only Gripe was the lack of shoulder lugs for true off road needs. I replaced them with the Cooper MAXX simply for a better mud and deep snow tire. I will be putting the At3 on my XJ when these new STT PRO's wear out. I have also ran the TOYO ATII. Great tire, lacked a bit in the gravel, but was great on pavement and snow. Never understood the hype over the BFG KO. They look ugly, perform terribly and cannot handle weight. crappy sidewalls and they are loud.

 

[jeep-N-montero]

I ran the AT3's on my Ram 2500 Diesel in 265/70/17. I absolutely loved those tires and would reccomend them to anyone. i got 67,000 miles out of them and could have pushed 70,000 miles. That was about 50k being highway and 17,000 being gravel and off road. Excellent snow and ice traction even at low tread. They held great when towing heavy and did good on rocky trails. My only Gripe was the lack of shoulder lugs for true off road needs. I replaced them with the Cooper MAXX simply for a better mud and deep snow tire. I will be putting the At3 on my XJ when these new STT PRO's wear out. I have also ran the TOYO ATII. Great tire, lacked a bit in the gravel, but was great on pavement and snow. Never understood the hype over the BFG KO. They look ugly, perform terribly and cannot handle weight. crappy sidewalls and they are loud.

That's great, dude!

 

[FreedomTraveler]

Real world review. 245/75/16 E

Before Overland Journal, Consumer Reports had this tire at the top of there AT list. Here is my re post about this tire;

I put a set on my 03 Chevy Silverado 1500 4x4 loaded with a camper body. ( 6500-7000lbs.) 245/75/16 E. I drove from N. California down thru Mexico, Central and around South America and back thru Florida to California (25,000mi.) and these tires did not get any flats. In addition the ride quality and tire noise was normal, traction was great in rain, mud, dirt, and gravel. I have not driven them in snow or on ice. In Argentina I cracked one of the rims causing one of the tires to go flat, when I had it remounted on to one of the spare rims it was undamaged. These are tough tires, a great value, and made in USA. The tires look like they still have another 15-20k left on them. I plan on buying these exact tires for my w250 / Sunrader project when completed. Make sure you check online, there are great deals on this tire with free delivery.

Safe travels,

 

[FLnative]

I'm resurrecting this old thread rather than starting a new one. I'm trying to figure out my next tire and am torn between the new Cooper Discoverer AT3 LT and BFG KO2, both in Load Range C. I wanted to see if everyone still thinks this test is applicable since the tread patterns haven't changed too drastically for either tire.

I used to run the original KO on my Tacoma and was pretty happy with them. They lasted forever which was great, but I was surprised by the results in the test and how well the AT3 performed. This test has me reconsidering just continuing on with the KO2.

Now that it's 4 years later it would be great to see an updated test with the BFG KO2, new Cooper AT3 LT, Falken Wildpeak AT3W and some of the other newer all terrain offerings out there.

 

[Jeep or Tacoma]

Having had the cooper atp which is just discount tire version of the at3 new bfg ko2 on my jeep jlu the falken at not made any more and the older bfg here are my thoughts

the falken was an amazing tire 88000 mile still was not down to the wear bars had excellent traction the compound was extrordinary changed them for a larger tire size and found out they didnt make them any more they were far supieror to the older bfg despite the testvresults here that i take exception with. Kinda like warn winning the winch shootout when their winch didnot finish the test. Theolder bfg couldnt hold a candle to the falken the cooper atp is an excellent tire it worked exceedingly well for me the new bfg is also realliy really good amnd hsts off to bfg forbimproving what a lot of folks said was the best at out there the old one was not! Ireally like the cooper and i dont think you could go wrong either way i really like my bfg ko2 now so i think it comes down to 2 things cost and looks because so far idont see a clear winner between those 2 i dont know enough to comment on the newer falken but if is 1/2 as good as the older one then yiu really have a dilemma on your hands

 

[TernOverland]

One of the reasons we support the Expedition Portal and Overland Journal, is the quality of content. I urge people to search the editorial sections, because there is a gold mine of high quality information there! Sometimes it takes a bit of searching, but that is where I spend a good deal of my time. Many "magazine" articles are heavy on pulp and light on substance. That is NOT the case with this platform.

Many of the tires mentioned have been reviewed since that original article in 2014, including the new KM3. Search them up. Here is a long term report on the Falken Wildpeak: https://expeditionportal.com/long-term-review-falken-wildpeak-mt/

 

[JduRunner]

I have been surprised that there has not even been a mention of the new Cooper Discoverer AT3 Lineup on the front page. Maybe they are waiting to get some miles on them, but even a "Cooper's updated lineup" article hasn't even shown up. For how big of Cooper fans the Journal and Portal team are it kind of shocks me. I ran the ST MAXX and absolutely loved that tire with the exception of the incurable pull to the right that my 4Runner experiences with them. Currently running the Toyo AT2 in the same 255/80/r17 (I wish Copper made the AT3 in this size). The Toyos suffer from the same issue as the AT3 did. Too tame looking for some unless your size is one of the Xtreme sizes. Yet I have been very impressed with them. My wife and I went to the XO party in SLC and there was a serious winter storm that weekend. Chain laws on I-80 and about a foot of snow on the way out there. Handled it like a champ. On the way home that snow pack had turned to ice, we all were driving on the shoulder to be on pack rather than ice. Counted 12 jackknifed semis in a 3 mile span. If Cooper offers the AT3 line in a 255/80 ever I will run them. For now its between the Nitto Ridge Grappler and the Falken AT3W in the upcoming 255/80 they confirmed they will offer by the end of the year.

 

[TernOverland]

https://expeditionportal.com/cooper-discoverer-a-t3/

 

[JduRunner]

https://expeditionportal.com/cooper-discoverer-a-t3/

That is for the original AT3, and not the entirely new lineup that came out in July. There are now 3 new versions of the AT3 ranging from a model for Crossovers to a model for heavy trucks and off roaders. Each is different. Other than a bit of chatter in the forum there has been no announcement or mention of them on the Expedition Portal Hompage. Which has surprised me. A "Cooper has launched a series of new tires look for an upcoming full review in the future" type article for an update on what many believe to be a best buy for an AT could be expected but has yet to show up.
http://us.coopertire.com/tires/discoverer-at3-4s.aspx
http://us.coopertire.com/tires/discoverer-at3-lt.aspx
http://us.coopertire.com/tires/discoverer-at3-xlt.aspx

 

[MOguy]

I'm resurrecting this old thread rather than starting a new one. I'm trying to figure out my next tire and am torn between the new Cooper Discoverer AT3 LT and BFG KO2, both in Load Range C. I wanted to see if everyone still thinks this test is applicable since the tread patterns haven't changed too drastically for either tire.

I used to run the original KO on my Tacoma and was pretty happy with them. They lasted forever which was great, but I was surprised by the results in the test and how well the AT3 performed. This test has me reconsidering just continuing on with the KO2.

Now that it's 4 years later it would be great to see an updated test with the BFG KO2, new Cooper AT3 LT, Falken Wildpeak AT3W and some of the other newer all terrain offerings out there.

I have been running the Falkens ATs for about 12k miles, they aren't really showing any wear. I was wheeling on some muddy trials and a mud hole over the weekend. They do pretty well in mud and clean out instantly. Others I was with were running various mud terrains and my Flaken ATs cleaned out much faster then all of them. My previous tires were Super Swampers and before that TruXus MTs so I am used having good MTs, but I have never run any other ATs. I have had them on various other types of terrains and I am very happy with these tires.

 

[GoinBoardin]

I have been running the Falkens ATs for about 12k miles, they aren't really showing any wear. I was wheeling on some muddy trials and a mud hole over the weekend. They do pretty well in mud and clean out instantly. Others I was with were running various mud terrains and my Flaken ATs cleaned out much faster then all of them. My previous tires were Super Swampers and before that TruXus MTs so I am used having good MTs, but I have never run any other ATs. I have had them on various other types of terrains and I am very happy with these tires.

That's interesting. What size are you running? My 235/85r16 Falken AT3W load up quick, and don't clean well (around here). My roommate has the same tire but in a 265/75/R17, and the tread spacing is notably larger, so I suspect some sizes perform better in mud just based on that.

 

[MOguy]

That's interesting. What size are you running? My 235/85r16 Falken AT3W load up quick, and don't clean well (around here). My roommate has the same tire but in a 265/75/R17, and the tread spacing is notably larger, so I suspect some sizes perform better in mud just based on that.

I am running 33X12.5 R15.

 

[ultraclyde]

I bought the old AT3s just before the new release, apparently. I've been very happy with them on road and off, but I' m not too far past the first rotation. I was on trail ride with a guy running the new AT3 XLTs on a prepped 4Runner (bumpers, RTT, full kit) and he said he was very happy with them. Hopefully by the time I wear out the ones I have they'll make the XLT in a C range size I can use. They look a lot better than mine, but it's just a looks thing.