Help Choosing New Tires - Falken vs Toyo + Wildcards

@pgfitzgerald thanks for the shout out. It was our pleasure assisting you in making your truck look very nice! It does make the truck look more rugged. Good choice of tire. Next stop aftermarket wheels?

 

@BPfishing we are glad to hear you have our Goodyears on your truck. Thank you for your business as well. Thank you for your service!

 

Our local DT currently lists a set of four Falken Wildpeak A/T3W for $872 (plus mount, balance, etc.) How would I go about getting that kind of deal?

 

Mine was a flash sale plus veteran discount just for the tires. I still had to pay to get them installed at a local shop since there are no DTs in NJ.

 

@hanlan75 we are growing responsibly and should have stores near you soon. Then you can take advantage of all the free services we offer. Thank you for your business! Thank you for your service!

 

Good to know. Thank you sir and more importantly, thank you very much for your service.

DT reached out to me, which was quite nice, so I’ll see how things go.

Thanks again!

 

Anyone noticing oddly uneven wear on their Falkens? Literally got mine yesterday and it’s already clear some tires are wearing differently based on rash on the treads

 

Put Falken Wildpeak A/T3Ws on a couple of days ago (more here) but only put about 20 miles on them since so probably impossible to tell. I ran my hand across the tread on all four and they have some uneven patterns, highs and lows but I suspect that's completely normal since they're not a basic "car tire". So overall they look and feel normal. Tire pressure is good.

My Tacoma pulled to the right slightly from the day I bought it a couple of months ago. I wanted to put the new tires on before getting it aligned (hoping maybe one of the tires that was on it had some runout or something). It still pulls right slightly, just like before, so I made an appointment to get it taken care of.

Can you describe what you're seeing in more detail, which tire(s), etc.? Maybe post comparison photos?

Whatever the case, if you feel like there's a problem, I'd certainly go back to the tire store, show them what you're seeing and get their opinion.

We bought ours from Discount Tire. They'll basically replace any or all of the tires in the first week or so no questions asked. Had them do that for some tires on a Lexus I had once.

So far I'm very happy with the Falkens.

Keep us posted!

 

Thanks dude - I’ll give it a little before I let my OCD get the better of me. I think I have 30 days to swap them if they’re having issues. Also got from discount tire. And, I too have a pulling to the right issue that started before I swapped the tires and it persists. I’m taking it to the dealership for my 10K service and will ask for a fresh alignment. I’ll report back!

So far the tires are pretty good. No road vibrations. Good control. Grippy. But dang they are hard for an SL. I’m running 31 PSI cold, and they are stiff. This is probably because these tires have got quite a bit more rubber and tough sidewalls. Also, the looks are killer. I think they are the best looking ATs on the market.

I see you got the 265/70/16s - do they seem to be the same size as the wranglers?

 

Check out Toyo R/T Trails... cross between the A/T and M/T
https://www.toyotires.com/product/open-country-rt-trail/

 

I detail a little more in my other post, but the dealer had installed a brand new set of Mastercraft Stratus HTs, basically car tires. They were fine, nice, quiet and road really smooth... good as long as it wasn't raining, snowing or icy... all of which it was/is here at the moment. So they were not cutting it. Didn't look like a truck either IMHO. Agreed, the Falkens bring a little gravitas. So they're a big improvement on a couple of levels. According to their site they start with 14/32" of rubber, a lot more than most and the sidewalls are tougher for sure. They make a tad more noise, but they ride fine overall and handle the wet roads really well so far. Running 30 psi all around, no load in the bed.

I'm not inclined to take it to the dealer for the alignment. They charge about 50% more than a local JDM specialty shop that I trust. I'll be interested to hear how it goes!

 

Toyo for me.

 

I hear Toyos are superior quality

 

Was considering both Toyo and Falken as well. Both are good options. There's a good side-by-side Falken/Toyo/Mickey Thompson comparison video on Tire Rack... wet track, dry track, skid pad, etc. The test results for my driving needs is what sold me on the Falkens.

$284+ Falken WildPeak A/T3W A Tires

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Falken&tireModel=WildPeak+A/T3W&partnum=475TR6WPAT3WXL&vehicleSearch=true&fromCompare1=yes&autoMake=Toyota&autoYear=2020&autoModel=Tacoma 4WD&autoModClar=Double Cab

Test results:

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=293

I like charts

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/chartDisplay.jsp?ttid=293

I don't think you'd go very wrong either way though.

Jordan (@Discount Tire) really helped me out with some price matching, scheduling and such. Made the deal one day, had them on and I was on my way the next.

 

Yup. I went deep in the rabbit hole on tire rack and these forums. What scared me away from the Toyos was the poor wet traction. They also have a much less aggressive looking sidewall in the SL. The Falkens are just much stiffer than I was expecting and I’m hoping they aren’t wearing weird. Toyos I think are, strictly from a quality of construction, a tier up.

what I wish existed is the Falkens made under the quality standards of toyo lol..going to keep a close eye on the tires and will let Discount T know if there are any issues

 

I can just say mine have been excellent. Tires are pretty subjective.

 

Me too. It rains here... a lot. Some snow, some ice. Falkens excelled in all of the nasty stuff we deal with. Again though, I'm sure I would have been happy with the Toyos too. But for now, we'll see how these guys do!

 

I’ve noted all four of my Falkens were made in Japan. I wonder if these are usually higher in quality control since it’s their original plant.

One thing I’ve noted with these is they are less “smooth” than the crappy stock wranglers - I feel every bump ripple through the truck and I’m only at 31 PSI cold - is this crappy tire construction or just the fact it’s way more rubber / stiffer side walls? Wondering how Toyos ride

 

FWIW - Falken told me to air down my tires to the door placard - which says 30 psi (and it used to say 29 which was a mistake and I assume it was swapped during my 5K maintenance!)…

She said, in reality, I could go down to 27PSI because my new tires are 116T versus the stock 112T and 116 can take more weight at lower PSI levels.. and I think with E loads you need MORE pressure .. so confusing but bottom line is check manufacturer inflation charts !

long story short I’m airing down to 29 or 30

@TRDRed - I believe you’re at 265/70/16 in your new Falkens which is 112T just like the stock tires so you’re sitting perfectly at 30 or so

 

Adding to some other reports of difficult/impossible balancing of the Wildpeaks. I've had them for nearly 4 years now, so I can't complain too much, but they have never been perfectly balanced. It was "OK" at first, because they look so cool and actually perform great in the wet and snow. But recently they have started vibrating and throbbing on the road pretty bad. Even after balancing, they just don't ride smoothly. Seems to be getting worse with age...

In my opinion, they are the absolute best looking tire out there for a Tacoma, but I will be looking for alternatives soon, because the vibrations aren't worth it.