Yeah, another tire question - Falken vs ?

[OldBlue61]

Yeah, I know.  ANother tire thread.  Ugh.

 

But before you shoot me, I've got a slightly different kinda tire issue...

 

Well, my Goodyear SRA's bit the dust, so after a bunch of research, I decided on a set of Falken Wildpeak A/T3W in 275/65R18.  I have now been back to Discount Tire three times for a constant vibration problem that will just not go away.  DT has been awesome, no issue with them.  I really had high hopes for these tires (they are SOOO much better in the rain than the SRA's), but they're just not working for me.  I'm thinking one of them is out of round, though a couple of them took (what I thought was) a lot of weight to balance out, over 6oz.  This is my 2nd set of Falken tires (had them on a Focus a number of years ago), so I've lost confidence in them.  Anyhow...

 

Discount Tire has offered to take them back and get me into another tire.  I think I have narrowed it down to 2 different ones, trying to stay in my budget.  I don't need a LT tire, to heavy for my needs.  I think the choices that fit me the best are:

 

• Cooper Discoverer AT3
• Nitto Terra Grappler G2

 

I want an AT tire, but the BFG KO2's are out of my price range.  I've ruled out a couple of others for one reason or another, so I'm leaning more towards the Nitto.  Opinions?  Thoughts?

[btj_z71]

I love the Falken Wildpeak AT3W, been great on my truck, but that's not what your asking. In this case I would go for the Cooper.  Cooper has several AT tire options.  The AT3 4S is their newest option in their AT3 family.

 

http://us.coopertire.com/tires/view-tires.aspx

 

http://us.coopertire.com/tires/discoverer-at3-4s.aspx

 

Stay away from the Nitto unless you only care for looks.  Poor performance on those tires.

[TA_Fab]

Out of those two I’d go with the nitto but you might want to check out the Yokohama geolander AT best tire I’ve run but their not talked about much.


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[kstruckcountry]

I would not hesitate to go with the Cooper AT3. However, I have Cooper ATWs, and they are more similar to the Falkens in terms of snow and wet performance. Mine have 44,000 miles on them and will probably exceed the 45,000 mile life expectancy by a ways. Really happy with them.

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[Rukus]

If the KOs are out of your price range Odds are the Good Year Duras will be as well.   

The Coops will be the best option for you that price range.

[midwestdenaliguy]

Just went from a 285/45r22 Nitto Terra Grappler G2 to the Falken Wildpeak in 275/70r18. Overall the Nitto's were good, but I had slipping on wet surfaces with them. I am loving the Falken's right now, grip feels much better. Sucks about your vibration on yours, how bad was it? Slight vibration that annoyed you or pretty obvious? I have no experience with the Cooper's you mentioned, but reviews seem to be good online. I came across them when I was researching the Falken's.

[rkj__]

1 minute ago, midwestdenaliguy said:

Just went from a 285/45r22 Nitto Terra Grappler G2 to the Falken Wildpeak in 275/70r18. Overall the Nitto's were good, but I had slipping on wet surfaces with them. I am loving the Falken's right now, grip feels much better. Sucks about your vibration on yours, how bad was it? Slight vibration that annoyed you or pretty obvious? I have no experience with the Cooper's you mentioned, but reviews seem to be good online. I came across them when I was researching the Falken's.

 

That's not the first I've heard somebody complain about the wet traction of the Nittos.

 

Personally, I have not used either tire in question, but based on my reading, I would choose the Cooper.

 

My actual choice for my last tire purchase was the Yokohama Geolandar A/T G015.  I've been very happy with their performance over the last year. 

[aseibel]

+1 for Cooper. I'm a big fan of their tires. I've had their AT3s on trucks and CS4's on cars with no issues.

[Cupton]

Another vote for the Coopers. I got the A/T3 4S flavor.  I came from the SRA's as well and the new Coopers made a huge difference for me. Especially in the rain. I haven't seen snow yet, but its coming!

[bartonjude]

I'm at 46k and about to replace the Goodyears.   Still flip flopping between the Nitto TG G2 or the Hankook DynaPro ATM.   

 

I had two sets of the Nitto TGs on my 07, they both lasted 50-55k, P metric.  As I understand it, the G2 is an improvement over the original TG.

 

I have a local tire dealer that is quoting me $800 for the Hankook and $900 for the Nittos.    P275/65/18s.

 

I think I just convinced myself.  

[OldBlue61]

Thanks for the feedback everybody.  I'm actually a little disappointed - I REALLY wanted to like the Wildpeaks, but with the vibration issue, I just couldn't take it.  I still think one of them is out of round, though with the amount of weight it took to balance 2 of them maybe better now than later.  I like the looks of them, they were awesome in the rain, but just not good enough overall.

 

Cooper Discoverer AT3 and ATP's are being brought in for me to pick from.  Everyone knows the AT3 - the ATP is a different version, made by Cooper just for Discount tire.  Be a couple of days, but I'll pick between the two and get installed shortly.

[kstruckcountry]

They ATPs were my previous set. They made over 55,000 miles. You will be happy with either tire, IMO.

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[rudyb]

Let us know how the ride and road noise is. I’m planning on pulling the trigger on those coopers as soon as I decide on new wheels. I was a duratrac guy for the longest time. I switched to the cooper st maxxx a few years ago and I’ve loved cooper. Now I’m on pavement a lot so AT3 appears to be the right option. 

Edited November 10, 2018 by rudyb

[OldBlue61]

Well, the Cooper ATPs were installed yesterday.  Same basic tire as the AT3 but with a different tread pattern.  Took a lot less weight to balance than the Falkens too.  I've only got about 200 miles on them since the install, but the ride is SO much better.  Gas mileage seems to have gone up a bit (probably with the lighter weight), and no problems in the rain or light snow we had last night.  I'll update this in a couple of weeks once I get some more miles on them.

 

My experience with the Wildpeaks is unfortunate and probably not typical as my bet is one of them was out of round.  DT is sending them back to the manufacturer so they can take a look at them.  DT was fine to work with, and no issues with them.

Edited November 16, 2018 by OldBlue61
Spelling, d'oh!

[TRKLGND]

I'm having the Continental Terrain Contact A/T's installed tomorrow at my local Discount Tire.