Goodrich KO2 vs Falken AT3W

tractor123

tractor123

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Seabrook, TX
I'd love to get your comments on tire preference between these two tires for our 2005 TJ with 2.5 inch lift. We are currently running 33x12.5 15r Cooper Discoverer STT Pros and planning on keeping the same size.

With the 15 inch wheel and current supply chain problems we are limited to few choices and the KO2 and Falken AT3W seem to be the top choices at our discount tire. Primary use is son's daily driver with mostly local in town driving, and secondly as our off-road fun car with mostly trips to the beach/dunes and occasional off-road parks.
 
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My experience with both of these tires was on a sprinter 4x4, so ymmv. The KO2s were not great in the snow (snow would pack them and effectively turn them into slicks), and I only got about 25k miles on them. The Falkens I bought because they had a tread wear warranty. Way better in snow, and wore like iron.
 
I sell a ton of tires...

AT tires....meh...

They aren't much better than All season tires. Nope...they really aren't.

You will never hear Bobby got stuck over there with his all seasons but wait until Jimmy gets here with his all terrains...he'll get right through. 🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄

AT tires are just as allergic to mud as all seasons...
Both suck in deep snow...
All seasons have more inherent siping.....

If you want a look (that's all they're really good for) then go for it and only you that matters if you like it or not.

Performance....meh....splitting hairs.
Is it sunny outside or really bright?
 
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pagrey said:
At discount tire I'd do the grabber ATX, it looks like they have stock. It'll save a bunch of money and for your use it will make no difference on the road or trail.
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I just picked up 4 yesterday. They balance so much better than other A/T tires I've used.
 
my discount tire is honoring $100 discount offer from Baja ATZP3 on the KO2's since the Baja's are on backorder and no telling when they'll get here, so thinking $100 of the KO2's makes them top choice for now

and mostly daily driver for now with occasional beach/dune and infrequent off road parks and trails - no snow for us in the gulf coast lol
 
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I am on my second set of ko2s and I have been very happy with them. They are quieter on the highway than the Dunlops on my Mazda 3 and in my experience are some of the best non-snow tires in the snow. I’ve made the trip from Sacramento to SLC dozens of times and at least 4 of those trips were in very snowy conditions with no slippage whatsoever.
 
The ATZP3 are great too, much more aggressive than the other tires in my opinion and allot more weight too. They'll work great and look good too but are much more tire if that makes sense. For a daily it's allot of tire even though they call it an AT.
 
Most in California don't take their 4x4 off-road and among those that do most don't air down. By that metric I agree it is the most useless tire installed on most Jeeps. Having run high void mud terrain tires at low pressures I feel all the tires mentioned here perform very close on the trail. Skill and tire pressure make way more of a difference in my opinion. That's why I suggest staying with a tire on the mild end of the spectrum. You tend to enjoy the Jeep more day to day and you don't take a meaningful hit on the trail.
 
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pagrey said:
Most in California don't take their 4x4 off-road and among those that do most don't air down. By that metric I agree it is the most useless tire installed on most Jeeps. Having run high void mud terrain tires at low pressures I feel all the tires mentioned here perform very close on the trail. Skill and tire pressure make way more of a difference in my opinion. That's why I suggest staying with a tire on the mild end of the spectrum. You tend to enjoy the Jeep more day to day and you don't take a meaningful hit on the trail.
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This is spot on...

The tire industry is a copy cat world.
You don't see a difference in performance until you hit mud tires.
Then yes there is a big difference between mud tires and All terrain/season...

And yes...there is a difference between mud tires as well.

On the fence between Falken and BFG AT's....🙄

Get a General Grabber AT

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All the same damn performance.
 
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I went with the falkens on my truck and when the bfg’s wear out on the TJ, it’s getting a set of falkens too.

I feel like saying there’s little difference between all season and AT is a bit of a disservice.

While it may not be as noticeable as a mud tire, the AT’s are still better than all seasons. And they have better on road manners than a mud tire if that’s where you spend most of your time and aren’t buying for looks alone.

For the falkens in particular, they are three peak snow rated and perform very well in snow and icy conditions. I can’t speak to their abilities far off the beaten path as I’ve only done easy to moderate trails, however all of the reviews on YouTube speak favorably of the falkens.
 
I just put a set of General Grabber ATX on my TJ. Plenty of positive feedback here and many other sites. The kicker for me was multiple guys at Discount Tire praising them, then walking me out to their personal rigs to show they ran the ATX themselves.

I've had them for a month or so and have about 250 miles on them, including a moderate trail run and probably 125 highway miles. Very happy with them. Quieter and better ride than the Kelly Edge AT they replaced.

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Bluovalguy said:
I went with the falkens on my truck and when the bfg’s wear out on the TJ, it’s getting a set of falkens too.

I feel like saying there’s little difference between all season and AT is a bit of a disservice.

While it may not be as noticeable as a mud tire, the AT’s are still better than all seasons. And they have better on road manners than a mud tire if that’s where you spend most of your time and aren’t buying for looks alone.

For the falkens in particular, they are three peak snow rated and perform very well in snow and icy conditions. I can’t speak to their abilities far off the beaten path as I’ve only done easy to moderate trails, however all of the reviews on YouTube speak favorably of the falkens.
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"While it may not be as noticeable as a mud tire, the AT’s are still better than all seasons. And they have better on road manners than a mud tire if that’s where you spend most of your time and aren’t buying for looks alone."

Better at what? Listen I don't care the brand...actually i love the green brand...whichever the customer wants to buy $$$$ 😎
But as far as better between the AT and AS...at what?
Off road they're an absolute wash. Both suck in mud. Suck in deep snow (which is similar to mud)
hard packed snow and ice?
II'll put up AS tires all day long against AT tires in the slick/hard pack...as lomg as i can pick them.

There are tires that suck no matter what.. (looking at you Patagonia MT) but really for performance the AS and AT are equal. They really are.

P.s. The cute little wintry stamp is a joke. Ever really see what is required to get stamp? 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

"Tires are tested for acceleration on an average snow-pack and, basically, must accelerate 10% faster than an all-season tire. The tests do not measure braking or turning in snow, deep snow response or ice traction."
This is from tirebusiness.com but I'm sure you can find it elsewhere.

That's damn funny. The dangers of slick driving are never accelerating 10 percent faster than an All Season...it's stopping #1...#2 cornering.

I live in snow and ice country.
The TJ is light...very. When it gets slick you should be in 4wd regardless. I don't care if you got the cute little stamp...it's still going to suck in the slick. Why? Contact pressure is poor in a Jeep. Just not heavy enough.

I can cruise all over the place 2wd in my Excursion with a 7.3 powerstroke. It's almost 9k with my big ass in there.

Put the same tire on a Jeep and good luck in 2wd.

No contact pressure.


AT's LOOK better...(i guess) than all season tires but off road performance...same same.

Allergic to mud.
Sharp rocks is an enemy to both
Rain traction? Probably give an edge to the AS.
Either way though it's still a Jeep(not an F1 car putting the "wets" on as a rain storm just hit...
and the safest tire in wet/snowy conditions is the one between your ears.

If someone is getting stuck with All seasons...they're getting stuck with AT's.

But hey...if someone thinks they're amazimg I'll sell it. 😎
 
Look into the cooper discoverer s/t max I just got a set I like them a lot. I’ve had the bfg and falken tires I would say the falken are softer than the bfgs. So far I like my coopers better than both.
 
I guess to each their own. They’re far from the first tire I’ve ever bought and they work well. And I’m sorry, if you believe there’s no difference between AS and AT then I’m glad I’m not buying from you.

As far as the “cute little wintery stamp” I can’t claim to know the legal requirements to obtain that. I do however know it is a legal requirement to have in some places (or chains or studs) and I’m not exactly a stranger to snow and ice either as Mt Hood is a close trip. The tire and it’s cute snowflake do very well in deep snow and ice in places an AS would be stuck quickly. It plays out every weekend on the mountain.

Regardless of what the requirements to get the rating, there are different rubber compounds used and they perform much different than a regular AS in the snow. If you doubt that then so be it.

Also, I’d wager it’s not quite as much the light weight as it is the short wheel base and typically higher center of gravity that make TJ’s challenging in the snow. Tj’s tip the scales at 3-4000 lbs depending on how they are equipped. Clearly it’s not a f350 but there are lighter or similar weight vehicles that do extremely well in the snow and ice. Outback, wrx and Audi A4 just to name a few.
 
I got the Falken AT3W,s about 2 months ago and they are really quiet (at the moment), I am pretty happy with them.
I didnt get them so much on forum recommendation but tire shop recommendation, In Australia Falkens are one of the cheapest tires because they are not well known and name sounds cheap but for a Japanese made tire for the same price as a Chinese made tire they were best bang for buck plus reviews give these tires excellent feedback on tread longevity.
When I eventually do a lift and get bigger tires AT3W,s will be going on again.
 
Having run both, I prefer the Falkens. The last KO2’s I had were from a JL and they absolutely sucked in wet weather. The Wildpeaks were great on my old Tacoma, and have been great on my Gladiator and LJ. I even put the AT Trail version on my wife’s Durango and she loves them.
 
There is more to an AT tire then treading.

Can you air down an AS tire, and confidently run it on sharp jagged rocks and sandy whoops in 100 degree weather for 3 days?

Is an AS tire built as tough as an AT?
 
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I’ve said this a couple of times in other threads, but I had a slight wobble in my steering wheel that could only be cured by getting rid of the BFG A/T KO2s. The manager at the local 4 Wheel Parts store says that they are problematic on Jeeps & refuses to sell them in his store. Additionally, I had a set of KO2s on a truck that acted like they had thrown a wheel weight, but they wouldn’t balance. ‘Turns out that one (or more) of them had a belt that had shifted or otherwise failed. Changing tires fixed that problem.
I replaced the KO2s on my TJ with the Falken Wildpeak A/T3s & I love them!

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