1st snow with Falken Rubitrek tires

I replaced my OE Michelin LTX AT2's a few weeks ago at 48,500 with Falken Rubitreks. I wanted something a tad bit better suited for low maintenance gravel and rock roads, logging roads and pastures that I drive better than half the time. The LTX's performed admirably, but were starting to get pretty cut up and I was at the wear bars on the fronts and a 32nd away on the rears, They were getting louder on road seams, etc. too.

I considered Wildpeaks and its the equivalent from other brands like Cooper, etc. but they were just a little too aggressive for what I felt I needed and I wanted to keep them as quiet as possible. I had it narrowed down to Michelin LTX M/S2's or these, but at $220 ea for the Falken's, I'd thought I try them. So far I hear a little more noise than the OE's, but not much. The LTX M/S2's would have been quieter for sure, but they were about $70 more per tire. I'd still put these in the quiet category; we'll see how that goes the more they wear.

We finally got some much needed snow here (about 5-7 inches). Nothing terrible, but I was very happy with their performance. Didn't need 4 HI at all, even on the hardpacked mixed with ice. I suspected it would probably be an easy task for them since they have less than a 500 miles on them. However, I took my wife's recently acquired 4Runner out for a comparison with the OE Nitto Terragraplers out in it. They have a little over 5,000 miles on them, but I was less than impressed in comparison. Even though they are two very different vehicles with weight, weight distribution, tire size, etc, there was a snow performance gap that shouldn't have been that noticeable IMO. Worth noting: the Nittos are M/S rated; the Falkens are 3 peak rated. If the performance stays good with the Falkens, I will consider them for replacements of the Nittos when the time comes if the price is still right.