Falken Wildpeak AT Tires off-road test

[Phimosis]

The grades don’t show in the pics but they were as much as 30degress.

That’s pretty impressive. I have an awd FX4 with 255/65R17 Wild peak AT4W’s. Without a running start to carry a lot of momentum, according to the inclinometer on the dash, I can’t get it to go up dirt hills that are more than 24% grade, which is a little less than 14 degrees.

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[Lovejoy]

I was probably over estimating the incline … felt super steep … didn’t know there was an incline meter on the truck.

 

[colinl]

I have an awd FX4 with 255/65R17 Wild peak AT4W

that's a pretty large tire, do you have a lift?

I thought most folks without a lift stick to 245/65-17 at most.

 

[Lovejoy]

I checked the Tirerack website for 255/65/17 and the overall diameter for this size is 30.1”. Width of the tread and fit on a 7” wheel depends upon the tire selection… my thought is most tires would fit without a lift. My 245/60/18’s are 29.8” in diameter and around 8” tread width and they fit fine with no rubbing. (But I still plan to lift the front 1” to square up the stance and eliminate the 1” factory back to front rake).

 

[Phimosis]

that's a pretty large tire, do you have a lift?

I thought most folks without a lift stick to 245/65-17 at most.

It may be that most folks do stick with 245, but when I joined the forum, what I searched for is “how large of tire can I install, at stock height, without rubbing?” The answers I saw said that 255/65R17 is the largest you can go without any issues. So that is what I purchased, and sure enough, the forum members were right.

After a couple thousand miles, I did put a 2 inch spacer lift on it, which yielded 1.5” of additional ground clearance, but not because it was rubbing.

 

[Xatorius]

I put Wildpeak ATs on my '23 Hybrid XL Maverick and have noticed that I average about 36-41mpg depending on the time of year (worse in the winter, better in summer), versus around 39-43mpg on the original stock tires for my driving habits. The mpg hit is noticeable, but the tires are pretty nice to drive on and lock up well in less than favorable driving conditions. I don't do anything truly gnarly, but for gravel, light forest roads, wet pavement and a little snow they are perfectly fine.

This is my experience as well. I have the 235 wildpeak trails on my 22 lariat hybrid and seemed to have dropped from the 39 to 36 mpg average. But otherwise they are great tires and look great on the Mav.

 

[Decayed]

Unfortunately given I put the Wildpeaks on the day after I bought the car I have no baseline. But not sure I really care too much as I am coming out of a 2010 Tundra 5.7 liter which got 13 mpg on premium! So whatever I get with the Wildpeaks is step-change improvement.
My son now has the Tundra and loves it!

Overall, i am really surprised how much I have grown to like the Mav’s size, road manners, and overall functionality. Plus I don’t have to haul my nearly 70 yr old carcass in out of the Tundra!

It's a practical vehicle if you have frequent use for a truck bed. My first impression was how well it handled - I came out of a mazda 3 which was a very nice handling car and the mav compared favorably. Those wildpeaks were on my short list for tires and it's nice to hear they impress.

 

[Hot Runr Guy]

I was probably over estimating the incline … felt super steep … didn’t know there was an incline meter on the truck.

Only if you have a FX4 or Tremor. None on Hybrid.

HRG

 

[Phimosis]

I was probably over estimating the incline … felt super steep … didn’t know there was an incline meter on the truck.

Ok, I went and did some more research on this. Apparently the maverick’s inclinometer is in degrees, not in % grade. It is in the off-road menu accesed by the thumb switch on the right of the steering wheel. So 24 degrees is where everything turned into wheel spin and got very sketchy. 22 degrees was climable with quite a bit of wheel spin (from a dead stop, on SoCal dirt trails that are bone dry and have quite a bit of rock in the soil). A 22 degree angle is a 40% grade. I know for sure this feature is in the tremor and FX4. Not sure if it is in base awd or hybrid models.

 

[Bob The Builder]

In to hear how they perform in the MPG loss category
.

Cannot speak for the Maverick as I am still running the Pirelli tires, but on my wife's Cherokee traded in the stock Conti tires for the A/T Trails, stock size and realized a 2 mpg hit on a trip. A drop from 33mpg to 31 mpg. This is with the 2.0T engine, not the V6.

I would expect about the same stats with my Maverick especially if I decide to upsize to 235.

Hope this helps.

 

[jasonojordan]

Sounds about like I expected as well.

Cannot speak for the Maverick as I am still running the Pirelli tires, but on my wife's Cherokee traded in the stock Conti tires for the A/T Trails, stock size and realized a 2 mpg hit on a trip. A drop from 33mpg to 31 mpg. This is with the 2.0T engine, not the V6.

I would expect about the same stats with my Maverick especially if I decide to upsize to 235.

Hope this helps.

 

[Cocobean]

They are Wildpeak A/T Trail. Hope the pic helps.

They look awesome! Just bought these as well (stock size) having them put on this week!
can’t wait!
So happy that you’re pleased with them

 

[Lump lump]

Went with the AT’s same size as stock Conti’s

 

[surfstar]

The A/T trails are a good, solid tire, with lots of great reviews. I think I'll go with a competitor for lighter weight (higher hybrid MPG), though, or the best price, which would help offset mpg loss...

Stock 225/65r17 sizes:
Falken Wildpeak A/T trail -- 30 lbs
Nokian Outpost APT -- 29.8 lbs
Firestone Dest. AT2 -- 25.6 lbs
Continental CrossContact ATR -- 25-26 lbs*

*currently running these as they came with the BS Big Bend wheels I got to upgrade my steelies. Only reason I wouldn't get them again - not 3peak snow rated. All the other options are.

An interesting "lift" option - AT2 come in 235/70r17 at 32.4 lbs
30" dia. vs 28.5" OEM

 

[Pogeegitz]

I have the Wildpeak A/T Trails on my FX4 as well, and they've been great tires (while they last - more on that later). I've got 3 winters on them and they've had no issues with grip (unlike the Pirelli garbage that the truck came with), low road noise and a comfortable ride. I've been averaging 27 MPG for 2.5 years of mixed city/hwy driving and towing. The downside is that I've got just over 30k miles on them, and they're already at 3/32 and in need of replacement before the snow flies. I'll get about $60/tire back on the 65k mile tire warranty, but I'd say the tread life on these really sucks. I might switch to the new A/T4W, or try a Goodrich KO3, even though i hear they're not as good in the snow.

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