I’ve had my Falken A/T3W tires in size LT275/65/18 E on my 4th Gen 4Runner for over a year now (New Tires and Suspension Thread) and I feel as though I’ve driven on them enough to give a proper review and account of my experience. Though I am a Discount Tire affiliate, I still buy all of my own tires, and I am NOT compensated or incentivised by any tire manufacturer. My review is purely based on my personal experience.
Now to the good stuff:
Overall, they have been a fantastic tire for me. For the price, it seems to me like it’s one of the better (if not best) values you can get in an A/T tire. In the approximate 20k miles that I’ve driven on them, I have been both on and off road. They’ve endured my 30 mile commute as well as at least a handful of longer road trips.
On The Road
Most of my time is (sadly) spent driving to and from work. I have a 60 mile round trip commute five days a week that consists of about 20 miles of country back roads and 40 miles of major traffic infested highway. Typically, I will be running these at 38 psi front and rear.
Road Noise:
While cruising, these tires are very quiet considering their aggressive tread pattern for an A/T. They are not silent, but have a very mellow hum. When in a turn, you may hear them a little more, but again, very quiet overall.
Traction
I am not a fast driver, but I’m not a slow driver either…sometimes I like to have a little fun…These tires give me a good stable feeling in both dry and wet conditions. I have had a few emergency braking situations with these tires and I’ve always stopped in time with what feels like more than adequate brake force applied before abs kicks in. Additionally, I’ve out-braked a Subaru Outback, which unfortunately ended up rear-ending me. Fortunately, no one was injured and it was a relatively low speed impact. These 4Runners are tanks, though, and I was left with no damage. I’m sure the Subaru wished they could say the same.
Through the winter time, we had only a little bit of snow. Nothing too deep but in dustings and up to 6-8 inches of snow, these tires have performed very well. They inspire confidence in being able to control the truck on slick surfaces both in handling and braking. Of course, I still drive with caution and not as if there is no snow on the ground!
Wear
So far, I haven’t realized any significant wear on these tires. I’ve put about 20k on them and rotated 3 times, and they look great still. I haven’t measured the exact dept, but there is really no perceivable difference from when they were new. At this rate, they will far surpass the 55k mileage guarantee.
Fuel Economy
For as many good things there are about this tire, traffic is where I notice the biggest “issue”. WEIGHT. These tires are heavy. They weigh in at a little more than 60 pounds each. For comparison, the equivalent BF Goodrich KO2 weighs 55 pounds each. With my mixed driving, I average about 17-17.5 mpg. When I was on my stock tires, I was getting closer to 18-19 mpg. To be fair, I am positive that not all of this mpg loss is from the weight from the tires. I also have taller tires, steel skids and sliders.
For pure highway mileage, where the weight plays less of a factor (at least on flatter road surfaces), I can average about 21mpg. To me, this is a great figure considering my lift and roof rack.
Off-Road
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| Click the picture to zoom in on the sidewall flex |
On the rocks they have pretty solid traction, even in damp conditions. In aired down conditions, they ride very comfortably and seem to mold to the terrain well. I haven’t had any chunking on the lugs even after plenty of tire spinning moments.
Mud, was a very slippery adventure, but they got me where I needed to go. Is there better mud tires out there? Absolutely. Is there a better AT tire for the mud? Maybe, but the Falkens did pretty good, considering.
Sand was no issue at all when aired down. I drove the entire length of Corolla Beach in the Outer Banks of North Carolina with not a single hiccup. In the times I’ve been on the sand without airing down, I have definitely dug in a little more than would make you comfortable, but I relaxed and let A-TRAC do it’s thing. It’s pretty awesome for a “non-locker” solution.
In summary, the Falken A/T3W is an excellent tire for the price. If you are looking for a good A/T tire with a three peak snow rating, this tire is hard to beat. In my opinion, it’s a direct competitor to the BF Goodrich K/O2. I’ve also had a set of those, and I believe that they are every bit as good of a tire for a fraction of the price. As a matter of fact, after running them on my 4th Gen 4Runner, I bought a set of A/T3Ws for my wife to replace her KO2s.
If given the chance to recommend them, I do.
