Narrowed down tire selection...BFG KO3 and Falken Wildpeak AT4

Hello. I need some help. I have narrowed down my tire choices to the BF Goodrich KO3 and the Falken Wildpeak A/T4Ws (275/70/17). I've read reviews and have checked out youtube videos on these tires, however, the youtube videos I've found on these tires only "talk" about the tires on paper and what the tire make up is supposed to do. I have found only 1 video (see below) where the youtuber actually did a road test review of the Falken tire performance in the snow, rain and off road, but all others just provide on paper reviews but no real road test reviews. According to the 1 road test I found the Falkens performs well in wet weather, snow and off road but I would like to see more than 1 opinion on this. Perhaps my search algorithm is not capturing the correct videos.

According to my research many reviewers stated the KO2s are not real good in wet weather, so I need to see if the KO3s addressed this issue and was hoping to find actual in field testing (not just on paper reviews) of the tire's wet weather performance, but not finding anything.

1. Does anyone have a link(s) to videos where the KO3 tires are actually field tested on the road and not on paper? I really would like to know how the KO3s do in wet and snowy conditions before making a final decision.

2. Does anyone have a link(s) to videos where the Falkens tires are actually field tested on the road and not on paper?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPbm2XOShXw

 

https://letmegooglethat.com/?q=k03+vs+at4w



Is snow performance your biggest decider?

 

Thanks for the feedback. I've done that and I was hoping to get more actual real world driving tests videos. I guess I am going to have to settle for the more on paper reviews and interpolate the few videos with the paper reviews to get the information I need.

While snow is of concern, wet weather is the top priority. Here in the DMV we get way more rain than snow like up north. Also, I do get out in the woods for my wildlife photography adventures and plan to do more dirt trips with the pickup but nothing extreme. In addition to the KO3s wet performance, I was hoping find out if these tires have issues with tire balancing. I understand from KO2 reviews some owners had issues with tire balance and my current original BFG KO tires (265/70/17) have issues with tire balancing (get high speed wobble); suspension components have been inspected and are ok. I have not read any AT4 reviews where owners had issues with tire balancing. I was hoping to get a more definitive real world drive test answer to the KO3 wet traction performance and some information on the tire balancing performance.

 

Have not had time to try the KO3's yet. My current 3 trucks with KO2 haven't necessitated a change as of yet. Some are 10 years old and still good to go. None of them have had a balance issue, ever. I could not even think BFG would ever put out a tire that would. One of my trucks is running 35x12.50x20 and not an issue at speed. I always run 10ply E-rated between 35-40psi hwy and 15-20 off-road without issue.

 

I’m on month 4 with the Falken AT4s with no complaint. They’ve been fine in the rain. I didn’t have an issue with the 3’s until they had around 50k. Need a couple more months before they can be snow tested

 

I'm patiently waiting...

 

We've the AT4 on the old ladies grand Cherokee very impressed with them so far.

 

We have the AT4’s on the wife’s 4runner and my truck - we’ve driven through some pretty crazy downpours and they performed great.

 

Unless I have a 1-ton, I'm never putting Load E tires on a vehicle again. Put 37" Load C's on my JK (which obviously doesn't translate to the Tundra), but still. Load E's are way to stiff for my comfort level

 

I just purchased my second set of General Grabber AT/X. Previous one did 30k, still some thread left, but not enough for my winter taste. I had KO2 in past, Grabbers are more or less the same, but less noisy and slightly cheaper. On packed snow they are better than KO2. For extreme snow/mud I have a winch + planning to get snow chains. More hassle than MT tires, but winch gets me out of most of troubles. Chains will be for the rare occasions when the path requires moving on a winch.

Old set has a few nails. I'm not going to trade tire reliability for comfort, i.e. no P-rated tire for me.

 

I still could not find any real world data on the wet performance for the BFG KO3s other than paper reviews, so I went with the Falken Wildpeak AT4s.

 

Good call if you look at how the KO2 and AT3 historically performed. New tires, but safe bet.

 

I did factor that into my decision.

 

How are you liking the Falken AT4 after having them for a few months?

 

I really like them. They are aggressive looking tires if you are into that. They have been good in the little rain we've experienced and they don't have the road noise like I hear with some of the big lifted trucks in my area. They are actually pretty quite sounding tires. We have not received any snow yet. I have researched and considering installing these on my 2013 Sequoia (current tires are the Michelin M/S Defenders). I am still undecided if I want to go with stock size or a bit larger tire though. I need to find someone with similar vehicle and can verify whether I can install larger tire without any rubbing issues. That's how much like them.

 

Sweet thanks, just ordered some.

 

Let me (us) know what you think when you get a chance and had time to see them in action.

 

Will do, it'll be a few weeks. Allegedly I got the last four AT4's tire rack had, each one shipping from a different state I guess.

 

I wander if that's a good sign about these tires.

 

Ya it seems like they can't keep up with the demand in certain sizes.

 

What size you order?

 

Discount tire couldn't get the at4 295/65r20 and offered the rt/01 for a discount. Wasn't sure as I wanted a more at orientated tire.

 

35x11.5 R18 c load. They're in stock other places, even Amazon can deliver quicker than tire rack, but I like the free hazard protection and they had $80 coupon.

 

Oh, you getting some big tires. Sounds like a better deal when you can be patient.

 

KO2 not great in rain,
AT3 were great (both Toyota OEM and aftermarket AT3 version with deeper grooves),
AT4 not so good (on par with KO2). The AT4's aren't as forgiving as the AT3 from my experience so far.

 

I tried to grab the last of the discontinued AT3s from Discount Tire a while back and no luck.

I've had four sets of KO2s between a Tacoma and a Tundra. They used to be a great Colorado tire and now they start sucking at low mileage. In the beginning, they're not so bad. This is my last set.

 

i wanted to get a set of Mickey Thompson tires, but we don't stock much of that where I'm at in Canada, so had to opt for AT4s. I hear great reviews on those for NW wet/snow weather.

 

Discount Tire stocks them here. They're at the top of my list. Let us know how the AT4s do this winter. It's too bad Falken went backwards in winter traction.