BFGoodrich KO2 vs Falken Wildpeak A/T3W

Hey Guys,

I am wondering if anyone has experience having both and looking for some thoughts on your experience with them.

My Goodyear Duratracs are at the end of their life and have been interested in getting the KO2s and the Wildpeak A/T3W. Not exactly sure about the size but most likely going to be sticking with the same size from my stock Duratracs. 275/55/20. Did anyone go up or down from this size and were happy with their experience?

Some key differences I have read so far:

• KO2s have balancing issues (maybe for bigger sizes is what I hear)
• KO2s last longer about ~25,000 more miles compared to the A/T3W
• A/T3W are quieter on the road compared to KO2s
• A/T3W has a 'Performance' feature rating compared to KO2 which does not (via Discount Tire website)
• A/T3W better traction in rain/snow (read a lot of people have slipped in the rain for the KO2s)

I was considering getting the Falken A/T3W because it was cheaper and did not want to deal with the unbalancing issues of the KO2s (if it did happen in my particular size) AND reading nothing but good things with the A/T3W but maybe considering the KO2s now since they have a good track record and a good brand (Michelin) also lasting longer (~25,000 more miles).

*EDIT: Now considering getting the Falken A/T3W now since a lot of people have been saying they have been slipping in the rain with the KO2s. That's a dealbreaker for me.

Any thoughts on their experience between these 2 tires would be appreciated.

Thank you and have a blessed week.

 

Look at the new KO3s...apparently all of the issues the KO2s had forever have been addressed...

 

I can’t speak to the BF Goodrich tire, but I went from a Duratrac to the Falken Wildpeak A/T3W and have been happy with them over 2 winters. They’re wearing well, have stayed balanced, and do well in rain and on snow. No complaints.

 

I have no experience with Falkens, but have used BFG KO's (2 sets) and KO2’s (4 sets) over the years on my personal and work trucks.

I believe they are excellent tires, but I've used them more than just street driving. We drive a lot off road along powerline ROW's through some nasty stuff and the sidewall protection is great. My KO's and KO2's lasted a long time. My KO2's were also pretty quite for an all terrain tire.

As for "unbalancing", I've personally never had that issue. I rotated and balanced the tires every 5,000 miles though. If you don't really need to go offroad, there are better choices.

 

I can say that owning both, I will look at other brands next time. I currently have the KO and the balance issue is real. Not bad but it sucks to have new tires that go out of balance. They do last a long time it seems. I haven’t had them that long/miles but look pretty damn good and chunky. The FW, I had in my previous Tacoma. Didn’t have them for long and they got pretty worn down for the little time I had them. Are you against Nitto or Toyo? I also didn’t know there is a KO3 so maybe they did address some of the short comings. But damn they are also heavy.

 

I just dumped the K02’s (30k miles and 3 years old) for the falkens. The falkens ride a little more firm (I had LT versions of both). It hasn’t rained yet and no snow yet to give you adequate advice but the KO2’s were downright terrifying in the rain. They were great in the snow though. They got loud as they aged even with regular rotations.

 

I was able to pick up some KO2’s for about half price so I jumped on them. Co worker has a 19’ trd sport with some Toyo tires on his he he loves them. Other co workers drive rams and all they’ve ever used is KO2’s.. I haven’t gotten many miles on my set yet but they look great, aren’t that loud on the highway, and have great snow traction. They can have issues with rain, but if your bed is empty, and you’re throwing V8 torque at a wet road/ light rear end, any tire will slip generally. In my experience they’ve been alright in the rain, great in the snow.

 

I was bitching about the KO2’s in the rain to my tire guy the other day. He looks me dead in the eye and he says “uh huh” go look at your tires and tell me what you don’t see. So I strolled outside and looked at the tire.

he says “well, what was missing?”

me: “sigh, rain channels”

he smiled. “Now look at the wildpeaks”

so in short, tires without rain channels are, apparently, not so hot in the rain.

Now in fairness, the wildpeaks aren’t traditional rain channels, they are jagged, but they exist. This is more than I can say for the K02’s

 

57k miles on my set of Falken’s. Plenty of tread left - I’d expect no less than another 10-15k out of them. Never any slipping issues in the rain - but we get steady rain here so you don’t have the sudden release of road oils and shit like you do in places that have long spells between rain. They’ve been incredible for me with wet snow and ice too. I had massive issues with duratracs slipping in wet pavement after about 20k miles (ran two sets on my 2008 - one lasted nearly 80k miles, second set about 60k) and ran a set of KO2’s that were better but didn’t last nearly as long ~45k miles on them and I struggled with balancing them constantly.

 

I just put a set of 295/60/R20 Wildpeaks on my 2019 Crewmax and so far they are pretty fantastic. They replaced a worn set of Nitto M/T's. I had a bad shake in the steering wheel with the Nitto's that is no longer present with the Wildpeaks so I'm happy about that. I also like the fact that they are top tier tires and they cost substantially less money then other brands. I like them better then the Nitto's.

 

I've got experience with both and will never go the KO2 route again.

 

Ok, but why?

 

I looked at both wildpeak and k02 before deciding on k02. I don't deal with much rain so that wasn't an issue for me. K02 was a lighter tire in the size I bought. I liked the look more than wildpeak and it is also a quiet tire on the road. No balancing issues for me. Downside is it was more expensive.

 

Well because I don't drift in my Tundra.

 

I had KO2's on my Tacoma and now have AT3's on my Tundra. Love them both. In my Taco I hit some serious trails on the KO2's and they performed excellently. No problems. Highway driving was great, quiet as well. I feel that I have the same experience with the AT3's. Not much difference really. Here are the AT3 37's:

 

Interesting I didn't know the KO3s are about to be released. Will definitely take a look thx for sharing.

 

Thank you for sharing your experience! Seems like a mixture of people with the KO2s has the unbalancing issue. From what I read they generally happen with the bigger sizes.

 

What KO2 tire size do you have? Been reading that the unbalancing issue happens generally with bigger sizes. Not against Nitto or Toyo actually heard good things for Toyo but aren't they the most expensive?

 

Yea not slipping in the rain is super important for me. Slipped a couple of times with my Goodyear Duratracs and don't want to be running into that issue again. Definitely considering getting the A/T3Ws now.

 

Thx for sharing your experience! Where'd you get the KO2s for 1/2 the price?

 

Thanks for sharing this! Definitely leaning on the Wildpeaks now since they have better traction in the rain. Don't want to be slipping especially with 2WD.

 

Interesting Discount Tire told me the KO2s last about ~25K more miles compared with the A/T3Ws lol. Maybe they were just trying to secure the sale haha. Also def hear the KO2s with the unbalancing issues don't want to deal with that headache. Where do you live at if you don't mind me asking? Curious about the rain.

 

Glad you're not getting the shake anymore! I have a weird vibration in the steering wheel at low RPMs. Think it is due to the Duratrac tires. I agree I like how I consistently hear good things about the A/T3Ws for the price compared to the top brands.

 

What size tires did you get for the KO2s?

 

Beautiful setup! Really liking your truck. If I may ask, what setup do you have for your lift?

 

Thanks. It’s Icon stage 7 with Dobinsons 2” rear springs.

And for those who mention slipping in the rain…I’ve done some pretty hard off-roading with KO2’s and the AT3’s and never had any problems with them. I’ve driven in snow, rain, sand, gravel and both tires performed well. Not trying to be contradictory here but this is just my experience. Both tires have served me well and I put them through hell.

 

I've had my 35" KO2's for about a year now. I haven't had any balancing issues at all, they are so much better than the GT Grabber. I offroad a lot and they have been outstanding. I still have a boat load of tread left yet again, I've only put 10k miles on my truck over the past 4 years...so yeah.

 

35x12.5r17

 

Np! I found a private sale close by actually. Didn’t hear anything for a few days I figured they were sold and buddy got a hold of me. Ad said something about life throwing him a curveball and he lost his truck.. I didn’t ask lol stickers still on the tires and everything

 

I am very opinionated on KO2's. I regret installing them on the Tundra (third or fourth set across multiple trucks). In almost every category except looks, my experience with Cooper, Toyo and Nitto has been better. Poor in the wet, awful in mud, always out of balance and if I don't drive the truck for a week it develops noticeable flat spots.

Cooper STT Maxx remains one of my favorite all around overlanding to commuting to work tire.

KO3's are on the way though so if you can hold off a month or two it may be worth waiting. Looks like the new Ford Ranger Raptor will have the KO3's first. Some opinion in the video below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8YTGEy9R0o