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Last updated 6/13/2024 - Originally published 6/13/2024
Written by SimpleTire
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You already know that many (really, really a lot) light trucks, SUVs, and crossovers are on the market, and many of those trucks are equipped with 4WD. If you’ve got a 4WD truck and like to go off-road occasionally, you’d be better off with a competent set of all-terrain tires for situations where highway or all-season tires won’t be capable of getting the job done. Unsurprisingly, the market is flooded with all-terrain tires for light trucks at every price point and suite of features you can imagine. Today, we will examine the Falken Wildpeak A/T3W and Toyo Open Country A/T III. Here at SimpleTire, we’ve been pretty impressed with products from Toyo and Falken for a long time, and the Wildpeak A/T3W and Open Country A/T III live up to our expectations for both brands.
Are you familiar with SimpleTire’s SimpleScore system? It’s the rating method we developed to give you a quick, at-a-glance idea of a tire’s capabilities, strengths, and weaknesses. We look at a tire’s specs, reviews, and other data points, then distill that information to a numerical score of 1-10 for the categories of traction, handling, and longevity, as well as an overall average SimpleScore for each tire.
For the Falken Wildpeak A/T3W and Toyo Open Country A/T III, the SimpleScore ratings shake out as follows:
Those are some pretty solid SimpleScore numbers for any tire, but of course, SimpleScore is a 30,000 foot overview that doesn’t give you the full picture and all the details on what to expect with a tire. That’s why we’re here today—let’s take a closer look at what the Falken Wildpeak A/T3W and Toyo Open Country A/T III are all about.
According to the folks at Falken, the 3W stands for Wet, Winter, and Wear. That’s a pretty fair assessment since the Wildpeak A/T3W does have the tire industry’s Three Peak Mountain Snowflake designation for severe winter service. The grip isn’t a problem, with an aggressive all-terrain lug tread with a tread depth that’s a full 19/32”, along with lugs that wrap around from the shoulder onto the sidewall, enhancing lateral traction for cornering or clawing out of ruts. That’s enough for us to give the Wildpeak A/T3W a SimpleScore of 9.9 for traction. The Wear part of the 3W designation is also a real plus – the Wildpeak A/T3W has a tough silica-infused tread formulation, step-down features, support ramps for off-road durability, a reinforced sidewall, and heat dispersal technology to protect the tire’s internal construction. That’s enough for Falken to cover the Wildpeak A/T3W with a 55,000 mile limited manufacturer tread life warranty and enough for SimpleTire to award a SimpleScore of 8.9 for longevity. The Wildpeak A/T3W is a tough all-terrain tire that doesn’t mean you have to compromise much in the way of road manners and civilized behavior on the pavement for a SimpleScore of 9.6 for handling.
Any 4WD-equipped truck should be home on the pavement and off-road, so here’s one of our best all-terrain tire choices. The Toyo Open Country A/T III is the tire you can depend on to get the job done for off-road treks in sand, snow, mud, or rocks. That doesn’t mean, however, that you have to give up anything on the low noise, responsive handling, good road manners, and ride comfort that you’d expect from some of the best all-season tires. That might all sound like a fairly tall set of bullet points to live up to, but the Toyo Open Country A/T III is just that kind of all-terrain tire. Toyo puts durability at the top of the priority list with the Open Country A/T III; it’s designed with a tough, damage-resistant tread compound, polyester casing, two steel belts, and a spiral wrap polyamide cap layer. The Open Country A/T III gets a super-solid SimpleScore of 9.6 for longevity; Toyo backs this tire with a 65,000 mile manufacturer tread life warranty. The symmetric all-terrain tread features include a high void ratio and stone ejectors to easily rid the tire of mud and debris, ensuring there’s always a clear section of the tread to dig in as the wheel turns. That extra-deep tread depth helps deliver traction along with long, even wear. The Toyo Open Country A/T III has the Three Peak Mountain Snowflake rating for severe winter service (SimpleScore of 9.7 for traction). Cornering, braking, and steering response are also focused and quick without being overly touchy, thanks to the shoulder design, sipe pattern, and stable internal construction of the Open Country A/T III. SimpleScore for handling: 9.3. The Toyo Open Country A/T III is a tire you can’t go wrong with for light trucks, Jeeps, and SUVs, with equally capable performance on or off paved surfaces.
It’s a tough call in the traction category since the Falken brings home a SimpleScore of 9.8 vs 9.7 for the Toyo. Both tires have the 3PMSF certification for severe winter service, and both tires are equipped with a well-designed all-terrain tread with broad grooves and a void ratio designed for good self-cleaning of mud and debris. The Falken edges ahead a bit with its wraparound lugs for lateral traction, extending down onto the sidewall from the shoulder, and the step-down feature of its tread blocks that give it an added measure of traction and security in loose dirt or mud. It’s not an easy decision to come to, but our call is:
ADVANTAGE: Falken Wildpeak A/T3W
With a SimpleScore of 9.4 for the Falken and 9.3 for the Toyo in the handling category, this one’s another close decision. Both tires exhibit composed road manners at highway speed, with stable straight-line handling, and both tires deliver cornering and steering responses that are predictable and neutral. Both tires are capable and comfortable in their element on pavement as well as off. Still, it comes down to subjective review input that suggests the Falken is a bit more refined in its cornering and overall handling properties. Our decision:
ADVANTAGE: Falken Wildpeak A/T3W
The contrast is a lot sharper for the longevity category, with the Falken coming in with a SimpleScore of 8.6 vs 9.6 for the Toyo. While both tires are designed with advanced tread compounds and durable, robust internal construction for off-road use, it comes down to warranty coverage. The Wildpeak A/T3W weighs in with a limited manufacturer’s treadwear warranty of 55,000 miles vs 65,000 miles for the Toyo. This is a judgment call where our job is a lot easier our decision:
ADVANTAGE: Toyo Open Country A/T III
What are your needs for your 4WD-equipped truck or SUV? If you go off-road regularly or live in a part of the country where you have to deal with rough winter weather and snow that lingers on the roads for days or weeks, a premium set of all-terrain tires is a good choice. The Falken and the Toyo are both 3PMSF certified for terrible winter conditions and are capable of getting you around when all-season tires are going to fall short. They’re also durable and dependable enough to do very well in rough off-road conditions but are civilized enough to not drive you nuts with road noise, vibration, and squirrely handling on a long road trip. Both tires offer good warranty coverage and are capable and predictable for everyday driving. So, if that sounds like your situation with your truck, we’d recommend either the Falken or the Toyo without reservation.
Now we’re down to where the rubber meets the road (yes, pun intended). In our opinion here at the SimpleTire team, the Toyo Open Country A/T III and Falken Wildpeak A/T3W are both strong performers and offer excellent value in an all-terrain tire. As you can see from SimpleScore ratings, they’re neck-and-neck regarding performance, traction, and handling, and both are tires that have way more in the Plus column than in the Minus. What it comes down to, though, is that the Toyo has 10,000 miles more of limited factory treadwear warranty than the Falken, and that’s enough to tip the scales. If it were one of us looking for a set of tires for our truck, we’d be compelled to go with the Toyo Open Country A/T III over the Falken Wildpeak A/T3W.
Still unsure which tire to buy? Fortunately, SimpleTire is here to help. Our helpful agents are more than happy to assist you in selecting the right tire for your ride and budget.
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