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How aggresive are the Falken Wildpeaks?

41K views 85 replies 27 participants last post by  jrallen 
#1 ·
I plan on purchasing these tires in a 32x11.50x15 size for moderate trailriding and daily driving. I've done a lot of research on these but am still concerned with the tread depth. All the pictures I see make them look similar to the dueler revos or destinations. Falken's site states that the Wildpeaks are at 17/32's and BFG's site reports the same. So does this mean that the Wildpeaks are as aggressive and deep as the BFG's? I find this hard to believe since the BFG's are known as one of the most aggressive A/T's. Someone please enlighten me!

Thanks
 
#2 ·
I hope someone will chime in about these tires. I have heard nothing but good things about them and I am considering them for my next tire. Here is a link to some good pics to give an idea how aggressive they are because the stock picture from Falken does not make them look aggressive at all. http://www.wranglerforum.com/f27/falken-rocky-mountains-vs-kelly-trail-mark-maxs-94478-3.html (Post #68)
These are of the Falken Rocky Mountains but they are the same as the Wild Peaks just sold exclusively by Discount Tires.
 
#4 ·
Just looking at them I would have to say that they're less aggressive than BFG All terrains. They actually look like a pretty crappy knockoff of the Bridgestone Dueler AT Revo. Which is an excellent on-road tire, but I wouldn't put it anywhere near mud. Those circumferential grooves are great for on-road water dispersion, but suck donkey chode for getting any traction in mud. Falken is notorious for not really ever coming up with an original tread design...they simply tweak what's already been on the market for a decade to avoid legal issues, but their tires are simply cheaper-rubber versions of better performing tires already out there. Two words: Budget Knockoff.

They do look quiet, though.
 
#5 ·
Falken is an up and comer, the winning vehicle in the Every Man Challenge in the last King of the Hammers race/rock crawling race was running Falken tires. They were chosen by John Currie of Currie Enterprises and Gerald Lee of Savvy who even beat the Unlimited Class and between them, they could afford anything they wanted and ran Falkens on what has become known as the "toughest one-day off-road race". Pretty good results for a budget knockoff I'd say.
 
#6 ·
So their win was only because of the tires. Special one-off tires that aren't anywhere close to the factory Wildpeak AT tread design, and I'm willing to bet that their rubber compounds were special as well. Got it. And I guess they chose to put Falken's logo prominently on their vehicle as opposed to some other tire manufacturer's who offered more money?







Yeah. totally the same tire.

I can't even sit here looking at them and find any way of believing that they're the same tire just grooved. The circumferential grooves on Gerald's Jeep are quite a bit more staggered than those found on the factory tires, which have very graceful sweeping lines to them.
 
#7 ·
So their win was only because of the tires. Special one-off tires that aren't anywhere close to the factory Wildpeak AT tread design, and I'm willing to bet that their rubber compounds were special as well. Got it. And I guess they chose to put Falken's logo prominently on their vehicle as opposed to some other tire manufacturer's who offered more money?

Yeah. totally the same tire.

I can't even sit here looking at them and find any way of believing that they're the same tire just grooved. The circumferential grooves on Gerald's Jeep are quite a bit more staggered than those found on the factory tires, which have very graceful sweeping lines to them.
Re read Jerry's statement a few times... Nowhere in it did he say they ran Falken Wildpeak AT's... He just said that they ran Falken brand tires.
 
#9 ·
Ill chime in :wave:

Being that my first job was working for America Tire CO for 3 years I got to put my hands on a bunch of rubbers :shhh: Nevertheless I have ran BFGs and MTR on my last 4 rigs and loved their performance on and off road. Just recently I bought my Jeep and it had the Falken Wildpeaks on it (35x12.50R15). Never recalled Falken making anything other then road tires I was a bit skeptical on how they would hold up. Being they used a similar tread pattern the nittos and Revos I had a rather good feeling they would be fine.

I would esitmate that I have put about 3k on them, most of that has been off road with some city driving to work. So far I have been blown away by the traction they have produced on and off road. Light snow, sand, rocks, pavement, ice & wet surfaces are these tires bread and butter. Air them down and go, simple as that. I have notice they do clean out mud pretty dang well for being a AT tire and do "ok" in deeper snow.

With these tires I was able to run John Bull in the snow in ice with a open front and LSD rear a few months back. They do have there limits like most AT but I look forward to many miles that I should get out of these tires. I gripe with BFG AT is that the outside thread tends to cup rather easily and wear faster then what I have seen. Only thing I would change about these tires would be to run a bit more aggressive side wall.

If I had to buy them again I would :2thumbsup:
 
#11 ·
This is one tire that I find very interesting.. As it is suited for everything but mud. It has a strong 3 ply sidewall that can take a hell of a beating and has proven itself to be very good a griping to rocks as well as being very kind on the road and handling hard packed snow pretty well. Deep snow it's isn't to bad either but I've seen better.

In the end if your offroading includes muddy trails this tire would not be for you but if you need something that rides nice and is quite on the road and can take one hell of a beating off road then I have no problem telling anyone to buy the wild peak at.. What I want to find out now is about there wild peak high country at.. that tire looks like a more agressive at but I wonder about it's sidewall
 
#12 ·
The sidewalls are THICK. This adds security and strength, BUT it also adds a lot of weight. Most Falkens are going to weigh several to as much as fifteen pounds more per tire than their direct competition in the same load rating. Ouch. That kills power, acceleration, fuel economy, braking, stock tire carriers :), and other things. But...if strong sidewalls is what you're after, the Falken has it.

They are almost silent on the road. I've owned dozens of tire brands and models and these are some of the most quiet I've ever had. They do tend to have a lot of squirm on the highway. They track to the left or right sometimes and feel a little "flighty". Otherwise they do pretty well in dry and wet road conditions. They pick up a lot of small rocks which get discharged on the road and go "DING" when they hit your rock rails. The tread smelled like cow poop when the tires were new...especially on a hot day. It stunk really bad.

The tread is DEEEEEP on these things in the center (a full 17/32nds) but when I measured the outer lugs, I found them to only be 9/32nds when brand new. Hmm.. so eventually the outer lugs are going to become a solid bar of rubber around the tire before the center tread wears down. Why would they do that?

Offroad they are miserable. Damp soil and grass covered soil they just sit and spin instantly. Mud...forget it. I suppose on the rocks they'd be great. Probably not bad on dry dirt. But here in the eastern U.S. they aren't a good all-around trail tire if you spend much time offroad. That's my opinion. I think this tire would be excellent out west in drier and rockier conditions. But here in the wet soil, creek beds, tree roots, vegetation-covered grounds, etc. they don't inspire confidence.

I'd give them 7/10 on the road because they are quiet and smooth, but squirmy and heavy. I'd give them 5/10 on the trail because they are just average for an all terrain tire. If you run rocks a lot I'd give them a higher than 5/10 rating due to the sidewalls. It is also the most inexpensive tire of it's type on the market currently, so for value I'd give them a 7/10. If they weren't so damned heavy I'd rate them higher for value...but gasoline is expensive.
 
#13 ·
The sidewalls are THICK. This adds security and strength, BUT it also adds a lot of weight. Most Falkens are going to weigh several to as much as fifteen pounds more per tire than their direct competition in the same load rating. Ouch. That kills power, acceleration, fuel economy, braking, stock tire carriers :), and other things. But...if strong sidewalls is what you're after, the Falken has it.

They are almost silent on the road. I've owned dozens of tire brands and models and these are some of the most quiet I've ever had. They do tend to have a lot of squirm on the highway. They track to the left or right sometimes and feel a little "flighty". Otherwise they do pretty well in dry and wet road conditions. They pick up a lot of small rocks which get discharged on the road and go "DING" when they hit your rock rails. The tread smelled like cow poop when the tires were new...especially on a hot day. It stunk really bad.

The tread is DEEEEEP on these things in the center (a full 17/32nds) but when I measured the outer lugs, I found them to only be 9/32nds when brand new. Hmm.. so eventually the outer lugs are going to become a solid bar of rubber around the tire before the center tread wears down. Why would they do that?

Offroad they are miserable. Damp soil and grass covered soil they just sit and spin instantly. Mud...forget it. I suppose on the rocks they'd be great. Probably not bad on dry dirt. But here in the eastern U.S. they aren't a good all-around trail tire if you spend much time offroad. That's my opinion. I think this tire would be excellent out west in drier and rockier conditions. But here in the wet soil, creek beds, tree roots, vegetation-covered grounds, etc. they don't inspire confidence.

I'd give them 7/10 on the road because they are quiet and smooth, but squirmy and heavy. I'd give them 5/10 on the trail because they are just average for an all terrain tire. If you run rocks a lot I'd give them a higher than 5/10 rating due to the sidewalls. It is also the most inexpensive tire of it's type on the market currently, so for value I'd give them a 7/10. If they weren't so damned heavy I'd rate them higher for value...but gasoline is expensive.
Perfect Description :cheers2:
 
#17 ·
I love BFG MT's (especially their comp tires) but seeing how well these tires did on the JK Experience (Colorado trails, no mud) and out at Moab on the Slick Rock, I think they are a great all around tire. I have been a passenger in JK's with them and had no complaints.
 
#20 · (Edited)
I just received my 305x70x16 WildPeaks on MB72 wheels.

I ordered some new bump stops for the tire carrier, but do I need to reinforce that any or can I just mount the spare on the current tire carrier and adjust/replace the bump stop so it has pressure against the tires and does not allow it to flex on bumps or opening/shutting the gate?

I'll post some pics as soon as I can take some...
 

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#21 ·
bhoch.. good question. I'm in the same boat... running heavy a$$ Falkens on the stock tire carrier. I've got Daystar extended length tire snubbers for the tailgate on order. I'm looking at the tailgate reinforcement kit quadratec sells for $30 bucks...I might get that too.
 
#22 ·
WXman - Thanks - I have the Daystar extended length tire mounts on their way. Expect them here either today or early next week. The tailgate reinforcement kit for $30 might be worth it, if nothing else $30 is cheap for a piece of mind type of thing! I'll get out there and take a look at that as well.
 
#24 ·
the falkens as they are currently cut already get there love from the rock/dry terrain people but I'll bet if they sold them cut like they have them on curie's rig they get even more love, especially from those of us whose trails are more a mixed bag of tricks
 
#26 ·
I'll will be the first to admit when Gerald told me they were going to test the Falken tires that I was not only openly skeptical, I gave him a fair bit of crap for even trying an unknown tire. He kept me updated throughout the testing and after relating to me that they didn't hamper the rig's ability at all and were in fact a lot tougher than they ever imagined.

I got over it after that and was pleased to see the win, almost as pleased as Falken was/is.
 
#27 ·
well, I have my 305x70x16 WildPeaks on for a few days now. Some views...

Very quiet on the road. I don't really hear any more road noise from the tires then I did with the stock 255x75x17 GoodYears. No rain yet. No off road yet... speeds up to 80 on highway, seems to run just fine.

My WildPeaks measure just a tad over 32" when mounted and with 30 PSI in them. I'm going to run for the week (through Wednesday) with 30 PSI and then lower to 28. Feels just a little firm then I would like over bumps, etc..

They are pretty heavy. This is my first Jeep, and my first really larger then your average tire size. These are heavy. I have MB 72 wheels (4.5 BS) and you also will need new tire snubbers before you mount the spare on the carrier. Everything I read on here says you should be OK on the carrier with the correct pressure on the tires via the snubbers, so I am waiting to mount the tire till they come in.

As for the speedo correction needed - I put these on and followed my wife in her JKU - hers has the stock (255x75x17) tires on and my speedo and hers were the same at 55 and 60 MPH. With that, I really don't think I need to do any speedo correction via the AEV ProCal. But, just to be safe, I did add in that I had 32" tires.

My MPG looks to have gone down on the dash from 19.2 to 17.8 on my commute - not bad for the difference in tires.
 
#29 ·
well, I have my 305x70x16 WildPeaks on for a few days now. Some views...

Very quiet on the road. I don't really hear any more road noise from the tires then I did with the stock 255x75x17 GoodYears. No rain yet. No off road yet... speeds up to 80 on highway, seems to run just fine.

My WildPeaks measure just a tad over 32" when mounted and with 30 PSI in them. I'm going to run for the week (through Wednesday) with 30 PSI and then lower to 28. Feels just a little firm then I would like over bumps, etc..

They are pretty heavy. This is my first Jeep, and my first really larger then your average tire size. These are heavy. I have MB 72 wheels (4.5 BS) and you also will need new tire snubbers before you mount the spare on the carrier. Everything I read on here says you should be OK on the carrier with the correct pressure on the tires via the snubbers, so I am waiting to mount the tire till they come in.

As for the speedo correction needed - I put these on and followed my wife in her JKU - hers has the stock (255x75x17) tires on and my speedo and hers were the same at 55 and 60 MPH. With that, I really don't think I need to do any speedo correction via the AEV ProCal. But, just to be safe, I did add in that I had 32" tires.

My MPG looks to have gone down on the dash from 19.2 to 17.8 on my commute - not bad for the difference in tires.
Your wife's tires will measure about 31" from ground to top of tire. Your Falkens should go about 32" from ground to top of tire. That's a little over 3% difference. So, somebody's speedometer is telling a lie. :D

Also, I found by using GPS to verify that if I set my computer to 32" using the ProCal tool the speedometer will not be accurate. I had to measure my tires from ground to top of tire (32.1") and then put 31.50" into the ProCal... now my speedo is perfectly in sync with actual GPS readings.

I wonder how much your tire/wheel combo weighs? Close to 90 lbs. I'd guess. Mine go 83 lbs. and the 285s are "D" rated. Yours are "E" I think. But the sidewalls are THICK.

I ran at about 30 psi for a while and found that my center tread wore 1/32nd while my outer tread did not wear down at all. So I am now at 25 psi. I'm going to drop it down until I start getting even wear. Good luck with them.
 
#30 ·
bhoch... How much you pay for your 305's? That's the size I'm looking to go with.
 
#32 ·
WXman - yeah. I think mine are about 90 lbs each for the wheel/tire combo. You are correct, they are "E" rated. Currently, I have my speedo calibrated to 32.2 and will get my GPS up and running and see how close it is at 55 MPH and go from there. I thought it was interesting that my Speedo and hers were the same at 55 MPH.. either that or she does not really know what 55 MPH actually is. :D

Thanks for the info about PSI, I'm going to go down to 28 PSI and see how that goes.
 
#33 ·
Jumping in on this one because I've been impressed with what I've seen the Falken Wild Peaks do on tough Moab trails. I'm currently running 37" KM2s on my JKUL. Not really impressed, horrible on slick stuff and don't hook up like I'd expected on the rocks. My previous rig ran 36" IROK radials and got much better trail & rock grip than these KM2s. So, I'm looking around. We don't get into much deep mud around here, but lots of sharp rocks. How do the Falken's sidewalls hold up in the sharp stuff?
 
#34 ·
Extremely awesomely stupendously well.. It's what has them as popular as they are with rock/dry terain guys who don't want a MT with a strong sidewall.. The only other AT that has a sidewall strong enough to compete with the Falken is the Cooper ST Maxx
 
#37 ·
They don't look aggressive because they're not aggressive. They were obviously designed with desert and rocky geography in mind...a smooth, quiet, efficient running AT tire with 3-ply sidewalls that are tougher than a box of nails. They were never meant to be a MT. There is a very limited choice for tires like the Falken. BFG KO is a 3-ply sidewalled AT but there aren't very many more out there. It's a niche market and Falken has the best entry in that market for the price.

I was in sloppy soupy mud last weekend and like I already said...they were miserable. But if I had been on dry terrain they'd have been the perfect tire to handle those jagged creek bed rocks and roots.
 
#39 ·
Anybody had trouble balancing the Falkens? That's one thing I have noticed...the shops seem to have trouble balancing mine. I've had a couple that needed more than 8 oz. of weight which from what they are telling me is illegal or against policy or something so the shops will not put more than that on my wheels. I even had one of them replaced by DTD who was awesome to work with...but now they are telling me I've got another tire that's possibly out of round. Hmm..
 
#41 ·
No I ended up going to another tire shop who was able (with even more weights added) to balance the tire well enough to smooth it out on the highway to an acceptable level.

So I did only have one single issue with these tires and that was the weight. Now I have two... the thick heavy duty construction of the tire makes them hard to balance.

They are wearing great... lost 1/32nd in 4,000+ miles so far. At this rate I'll get at least 60,000 miles out of them before they're bald.
 
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