Toyo AT3 vs Falken Wildpeak Winter

Hi everyone,

First time poster, just picked up my new Tacoma 2023 SR5 DCLB last week from the dealership.

Spent many hours on the forums and I'm sure there are many more to come.

I'm going to be switching out the stock tires and going with either the Toyos or Falkens in 265/75/R16. I know the question has been asked but I want to know how these tires performed in the winter and hearing from someone who has experience with both.

Living in BC Canada, doing mostly highway driving, light trail off roading. Looking for feedback on slush/snow/ice specifically.

Thanks!

 

I had Wildpeaks on my Tacoma for 1 year and they were awful to balance (I tried 3xs and never successfully got all the shaking out and finally sold them off and replaced them with Duratracs, and it rides perfectly smooth). I have Toyo AT3s on my 4runner right now and I like them better than the Wildpeaks because they didn’t cause me all the hassle with balancing, although I do think the Wildpeaks did a little bit better in snow than the Toyos. The Duratracs I have on my Tacoma now beat both the Wildpeaks and the Toyos without question in the snow, and they’re nice and smooth on road. The Duratracs win in my opinion in every category… looks, snow, on road, off road.

 

Thank you for the info Brian, I will do some more research on the Duratracs.

 

Look at Cooper AT3 4S or BFG Trail Terrains. They're light and have triple peak snow rating.

 

Thanks 6MT I'll look into both as well.

 

Neither. If you want a tire that is good in the winter, get a winter specific tire. 3 peak mountain snowflake is an arbitrary rating, which is self reported by a manufacturer - no 3rd party verification.

The rubber that All-terrain and winter tires are made of is a different compound. Long treadlife AT tires use rubber with characteristics that actively work against you having grip in the snow. AT tires glassify (the rubber gets extremely hard) at around 40 degrees, and winter tires stay supple until near 0, where ice actually starts getting "sticky" again. Winter tires also have sipes which "suck" snow into the tread while you're driving, because snow itsself is actually the grippiest thing to other snow.

There is a lot of information available on this, but if you truly drive in the winter, a second set of tires is WELL worth the money. They actually hardly cost more, because you get twice the life (time wise) from both sets.

 

Thanks Avockadoo, great info on that. I actually have intentions of of getting a dedicated winter tire living up in Canada I get what you're saying (coming from a Sedan and ran X Ices in winter). I am just looking for something to get me through for the first year or two but appreciate your message.

 

I'm also on SW BC near Vancouver and had wildpeaks on for this past winter. They were pretty good for an all terrain. Obviously a dedicated winter is best but the wildpeaks have performed well in the snow/slush. Not the greatest on compact stuff in the interior but not terrible. Like others have said balancing them is brutal. I still have a wobble after the 3rd attempt. I'm running skinny 33s though so that might be part of my issue (255/85/16).

They perform great offroad and are pretty tough in an e rating. Done lots of forest roads and the whipsaw a couple times.

 

Thanks Tyepel! I'm in the Okanagan. Appreciate the info. From what I've read and for my purposes, I won't need a 10ply E rated tire. I was looking at the SL 4 ply version (not sure if my terminology is correct I'm new to all things trucks/tires!)

Seems like I should have asked a better question to begin with.

If I'm looking at mainly city/highway driving with occasional light offroad trails, what A/T tire in 265/75/R16 will serve me the best in all seasons taking into consideration there is snow/slush/ice several months of the year.

So far I will look more into the Duratracs, BFGs, Cooper's and Falkens.

Thanks again everyone.

 

Personally if I lived in the Okanagan I would get myself a dedicated set of winter tires, maybe even studded. I would get some cheap steel rims and dedicated winter tires in a stock size and have a summer/ 3 season set in my larger size on the stock rims. In the long run it will end up costing less and then you can have nice all terrains and not worry about the winter performance.

I use my falken wildpeaks as a winter and I have toyo mts as my summer tire. But I live on the coast and we get like 2 days of snow a year and when I go to the interior I wish I had a real winter tire.

 

FWIW my experience with Duratracs and Wildpeaks couldn't be more different than this. when i replaced my Duratracs with Wildpeaks i couldn't believe how much smoother, quieter (is that a word?) and better in both snow and rain the Wildpeaks were. The off road capability seemed similar. Mine were the 255/80/17 E-load version Wildpeaks and they balanced fine. i do agree the Duratracs look better.

the Wildpeaks were great for around 25k hard miles until i got to Moab and started tearing them up in the rocks. i replaced the Wildpeaks with ST Maxx (which also balanced fine despite the horror stories) for the durability but for light wheeling and general pavement and gravel use the Wildpeaks seem like a great solution based on my experience.

 

Very nice Red TRD! Good advice. Okay I better start saving for a dedicated winter sooner than later then.

In that case for the other parts of the year again mainly for highway and light off road, what A/T would you suggest to check out? Ideally something not too heavy with decent roll resistance that will last? Not needing a MT and want something a bit more aggressive than the Michelin Defenders even though they might make the most sense.

 

Thanks honkonbobo, probably won't be tearing mine up on rocks, glad to hear you had a positive experience with them.

 

I have had a bunch of different ATs, and have landed on the Yokohama Geolander. I had Cooper AT3s on a 4runner a few years ago, and they were so-so, nothing to write home about. I had wildpeaks once, extremely hard to balance. I've had two sets of Toyo Open Country III's, and I have to say I was extremely dissapointed in their tread life. Got about 25k out of each set, and I drive quite conservatively. I even convinced my dad and two buddies to buy them, and all four of us are having the same experience - super bad tread life.

The geolander has its problems too - not AWESOME in the wet, but its still leagues above the BFG in wet. Rugged enough looks, and long treadlife.

 

For whatever reason, Duratracs and Wildpeaks both seem to be the greatest tire ever made, or junk. I don't think I've seen a mid-level review on either, people either love them or hate them.

 

i actually felt my "review" of the Wildpeaks was mid level. they perform well in snow and rain but in my experience they didnt stand up to heavy off road or look as good as the other ones mentioned.

there are no best tires, just tires best suited to the use case and even then, in my opinion, there is still an element of luck with tires. i ran the Wildpeaks off road with zero issues for 1.5 yrs and then tore up 4 tires in 3 consecutive days.

 

Just got done looking into the geolanders and looks like it fits the bill for what I'm looking to achieve. Can anyone else provide experience with the Yokohamas? Seems like their is far less info on them, thanks for sharing Avo!

 

I also ran the X-Ice on my cars. Great tires. The AT tires aren't even close when it comes to really slippery snow and ice. I highly recommend the X-Ice for the Tacoma if you were happy with them before. There are also some beefier options if you want studs for the extra icy conditions (if local law allows).

That being said, if you want a tire that will be good for 9-10 months of the year then either the Toyo or the Wildpeaks will be fine. Each has a lot of fans. I have the Toyo and have been very happy with them. I have friends who love their Wildpeaks. Get whatever your gut tells you.

 

The Toyo AT3 is a lot harder we find and noisier, with slightly worse winter performance.

The Falken is a better choice as a single set. Then you can simply buy a dedicated set later if you need.

I ran an all weather set for one winter, but the second winter the soft silica tread was gone and it performed like crap. So I run 2 sets again.

 

Awesome. Really appreciate your message Bravo. For a dedicated winter I was thinking of getting the DMV2 down the road, have thoughts on it? Interesting to hear you had X ices on the Tacoma and liked them.