Falken Wildpeak AT3W's

[DadJokes]

I’m trying to decide between these and Ridge Grapplers. (275/70/18 E’s) I don’t want a full on mud tire but it seems the RG leans that way where the AT3W leans toward an AT more even though they’re both hybrid tires. I’m concerned about running into mud, around our region especially, and it’s down to these two.

 

[JCWages]

I’m trying to decide between these and Ridge Grapplers. (275/70/18 E’s) I don’t want a full on mud tire but it seems the RG leans that way where the AT3W leans toward an AT more even though they’re both hybrid tires. I’m concerned about running into mud, around our region especially, and it’s down to these two.

The AT3W isn't really classified as a hybrid. It's less aggressive than tires like the Geolandar X-AT, ST Maxx, Kenda Klever R/T, Toyo RT or the Ridge Grappler. If you deal with a lot of mud but don't want a full MT I'd look at one of those other tires or even the Milestar Patagonia. They all have 3ply sidewalls too except the Ridge Grappler I think.

 

[DadJokes]

The AT3W isn't really classified as a hybrid. It's less aggressive than tires like the Geolandar X-AT, ST Maxx, Kenda Klever R/T, Toyo RT or the Ridge Grappler. If you deal with a lot of mud but don't want a full MT I'd look at one of those other tires or even the Milestar Patagonia. They all have 3ply sidewalls too except the Ridge Grappler I think.

What if there is snow and ice occasionally encountered in addition to occasional mud? Would you go with something else or with smart driving, would one of these get a person by?

 

[JCWages]

What if there is snow and ice occasionally encountered in addition to occasional mud? Would you go with something else or with smart driving, would one of these get a person by?

Any of those tires will work ok in snow with smart driving. I drive in all kinds of extreme conditions except deep mud and I'd run any of those tires. The Wildpeak served me well but the lack of a 3ply sidewall and the need for more rock crawling grip moved me to the Patagonia. The X-AT and G003 were at the top of my list but they were twice the price of the Patagonia.

This short clip illustrates my issues with the Wildpeak. They just don't have the tread void to block ratio to effectively grab the edges of rocks and the lateral grip is lacking on dust covered rocks so the truck tends to slip off line more often than I would like. This has led to driveshaft dents recently. As usual, video doesn't clearly show the steepness of this section.

The same section with a variety of vehicles shot only a few weeks from my trip. Skip to time 9:40 or enjoy the whole video.

 

[m_lars]

What if there is snow and ice occasionally encountered in addition to occasional mud? Would you go with something else or with smart driving, would one of these get a person by?

I’ve got the ST Maxx and they are just fine in Utah snow. I’m not sure how they’d be on hard packed snow/ice in a colder state, but they are studdable if ice performance is needed. I found that true snow tires were more advantageous when we lived in Minnesota where the hard packed snow and ice would linger on the roads for days/weeks. Here in UT it melts off pretty quick. As a side note, the ST Maxx is the preferred tire of the King Shop at Park City Mountain Resort. Tires on their trucks live a HARD life of non-stop rocky roads and they continue to use them time after time. I really like them as they are surprisingly quiet for the slightly more aggressive tread pattern, they have worn very well on my LR3 ( the LR3’s are notorious for being hard on tread), the sidewalls are very tough (went through several Duratracs before these) and as previously mentioned they’re decent in snow.

 

[DadJokes]

The feedback is great. I know I’m trying to find a tire that is well rounded. We have some mud here and there and the goal would be to avoid a recovery situation. Minimize lateral sliding in the mud which seems to be when you can take out a taillight. lol

At first I was leaning KO2 seeing reviews and it’s popular...but then I saw a few negative comments about mud and it turning into a slick. Then I thought about Hybrids like the Ridge Grappler. Then, since it is the occasional daily driver, I thought maybe the Wildpeak AT3W. Now I’m wondering about the Patagonia MT and if I don’t like it, it wears quick and I won’t have to deal with it very long. We easily put on over 20k a year at our current rate for each of our vehicles.

I really like the additional, albeit modest,~1.1” in tire height increase the 275/70/18 would give probably getting an additional .5” clearance gain. I’m also lifting our Jeep between 1”-1.5”, the least I could find that wasn’t a spacer and just enough to compensate for the plus size tires. The largest would be a 34” tire, 285/70/18. I may go to a 17 later but I like our 18’s for now.

I found the Pats for 172 and the Ridge Grapplers for 226. Not too bad. Worth trying the Pats or the RG’s for that price? I’ll go research the prices on the others recommended too.

 

[JCWages]

The feedback is great. I know I’m trying to find a tire that is well rounded. We have some mud here and there and the goal would be to avoid a recovery situation. Minimize lateral sliding in the mud which seems to be when you can take out a taillight. lol

At first I was leaning KO2 seeing reviews and it’s popular...but then I saw a few negative comments about mud and it turning into a slick. Then I thought about Hybrids like the Ridge Grappler. Then, since it is the occasional daily driver, I thought maybe the Wildpeak AT3W. Now I’m wondering about the Patagonia MT and if I don’t like it, it wears quick and I won’t have to deal with it very long. We easily put on over 20k a year at our current rate for each of our vehicles.

I really like the additional, albeit modest,~1.1” in tire height increase the 275/70/18 would give probably getting an additional .5” clearance gain. I’m also lifting our Jeep between 1”-1.5”, the least I could find that wasn’t a spacer and just enough to compensate for the plus size tires. The largest would be a 34” tire, 285/70/18. I may go to a 17 later but I like our 18’s for now.

I found the Pats for 172 and the Ridge Grapplers for 226. Not too bad. Worth trying the Pats or the RG’s for that price? I’ll go research the prices on the others recommended too.

I spent the last 2 days snow wheeling and I am amazed at how well the Patagonias performed. As long as I didn't break though and high center I had no traction issues. My buddy has Ridge Grapplers with 50k miles and 10/32nds tread left and there were not so great despite his rig being well built.

 

[DadJokes]

I spent the last 2 days snow wheeling and I am amazed at how well the Patagonias performed. As long as I didn't break though and high center I had no traction issues. My buddy has Ridge Grapplers with 50k miles and 10/32nds tread left and there were not so great despite his rig being well built.

Sounds Promising! How much snow, size of tire, and approximate ground clearance out of curiosity?

 

[JCWages]

Sounds Promising! How much snow, size of tire, and approximate ground clearance out of curiosity?

On the packed part of the trail there was about 1.5' to 2' of snow with another 1.5' on either side. We both run 285/70/17 (33") and have around 9" to 10" of clearance depending on where you measure. I have a approx. 3" of lift on my truck. Snow conditions varied as temps changed from 37F to 20F over the course of 2 days. This was mostly heavy wet snow. The only other rigs out there were on 37" to 40" MTs and one crazy buggy with 53" tires.



If you break through the track there is another 1' or more before you hit dirt so we would high center and require winching. Tugging worked occassionally but would usually cause the tugging truck to sink too.



These guys were kind enough to pack down a campsite for us with their giant tires. :)