Cooper AT3 vs. Falken Wildpeak vs. BFG AT KO

xjoverland99

New member
This is my first post after lurking around for a bit. I apologize if it is like a few other posts, I just couldn't find one with this specific information.

I have a 1999 xj that I am building into an expedition vehicle. I am looking for a 33 inch tire for 15s and I am curious what tires you guys have experience with. This vehicle will see a good amount of highway driving and also long trails of good off road driving so I have decided I need a good AT tire.

I have narrowed my likes down to a few tires:
Cooper AT 3
Falken Wildpeak
BFG AT KO (hesitantly)

I currently have had Duratracs for almost 50k. I hate these tires and have been unimpressed with every Goodyear tire I've owned. These started howling at 20k and wore unevenly. I had to get them balanced every oil change and they loved slipping the rim.

The XJ is a relatively light vehicle compared to others so I am not sure how that factors in with these tires, but I am assuming a C load rating will be just fine.

Thanks!
 

Dazrin

Adventurer
The BFG AT KO2 is looking like an excellent tire, unfortunately I don't see 15" sizes yet. I would not get the old KOs at this point unless you get an awesome deal. Especially since you are already hesitant on them.

Both the AT3 and the Wildpeaks (which I think is rebranded as the Rocky Mountain ATS at Discount Tire) get excellent reviews for light duty off-roading. Depending on what terrain you will be doing off road you may want more aggressive like the Cooper ST/Maxx. If you are mostly in dry areas or not too deep snow these may be fine though.
 

xjoverland99

New member
Darzin, thank you for some more insight. I have seen a set of 33 12.50 15s KOS for 670 shipped. I just don't want a tire that is being phased out.

I live in New Mexico so I see a lot of sand and dirt packed trails with a good amount of rocks. I am planning on taking trips all over NM, Colorado, Utah, Arizona so the terrain is a bit smorgasbord. Snow is something I will see in the winter. I was impressed with the Duratracs in snow.

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bjp

Rez roamer, dog wrangler
The Cooper AT3 is great in the snow. I didn't like mine as much as I should have, but that's most likely because I went up a size when I shouldn't have. The extra weight and diameter adversely affected just about every aspect of driving. My fault entirely.

I didn't drive much more than highway (a lot of highway) and forest roads on the set I had. I had no issues that were the tire's fault early on. But, mine wore pretty fast, and started showing it after about 18k miles. Noise went up, started wearing unevenly, dry highway traction started acting odd (not sure how to best explain it, but one example is the tires slipped and chirped under pretty mild stresses, like making a right turn onto a busy road and having to accelerate quickly). I rotated mine every oil change, which is usually around 5k-7k miles. Maybe I had a bad set, but I didn't like them at all after the 15-20k mile point. I got a set of boring Dynapro ATMs, and sold the AT3s for 300 bucks.

If you drive a lot of highway with this Jeep, I would avoid them. If this is your weekend exploring vehicle, then they'll be good tires for you, since you won't be putting a lot of miles on them.


edit/addendum: I don't think the Falkens are siped to any extent, are they? The ones I look at while out walking my dogs (I've always been fascinated with the tires on every truck I pass) look pretty much like they'd suck *** in the snow. Maybe I'm only looking at other models?

Also, I referred to the Hankooks as "boring" above. That's only because I see them on about every other truck and SUV I see here in Durango. They're great tires. Great in the snow, great on the mild forest roads and trails I drive, wear like iron, and are relatively inexpensive.
 
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kayadog

Adventurer
I have both Hankook ATM's and Cooper AT3's on my Jeeps now. The AT3's are fine but I definitely like the Hankooks better. The Coopers have gotten pretty loud for a mild AT tread while the Hankooks are very quiet. Otherwise they are pretty similar tires.
 

xjoverland99

New member
I have both Hankook ATM's and Cooper AT3's on my Jeeps now. The AT3's are fine but I definitely like the Hankooks better. The Coopers have gotten pretty loud for a mild AT tread while the Hankooks are very quiet. Otherwise they are pretty similar tires.
I have heard this off and on about the at3. What is loud? I can barely talk to my wife at freeway speeds on my current duratracs.

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kayadog

Adventurer
Nothing like that. It's not terrible but it's there. You can have a normal conversation. The Hankooks are quieter.
 

OCD Overland

Explorer
The only time I notice the noise of my AT3s is around town, and almost exclusively when braking. On the highway, any sound they make is masked by wind noise imo - though I only have about 4000 miles on them so far.
 

RubiconGeoff

Adventurer
The Falkens are a heavy-duty street tire - their grooves/sipes only go about half way down the tread blocks so by the time they're half worn, they're a slick with 4 lateral grooves.

The Cooper AT3 and BFG A/T KO2 are both fantastic tires with full-depth grooves/sipes. The Cooper has a deeper tread in most sizes and should be less expensive. There haven't been any direct comparison tests between the new KO2 and other competing tires, but most people who've run them have favorable initial impressions.

Another couple of tires worth considering are the Toyo Open Country AT2 and the Cooper Discoverer S/T MAXX.
 

xjoverland99

New member
I love the Toyo AT2 but they don't make a 33 inch size for a 15 inch rim. They were my first choice but I don't want to run a bigger rim. The ST Maxx have been on my radar but they are a heavy tire and while they offer some good protection, I would prefer gas mileage and careful driving. The Falken never impressed me but for price reasons there were on here.

I hate to admit it but I find the Handkooks fugly. I have heard of their performance but vanity wins with me on them.

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Bikemobile

Adventurer
Any consideration for the General Grabber AT2? Mine have been exceptional in all conditions. 33/12.5-15 for $670 shipped on trirebuyer's ebay store.
Otherwise I would suggest the dynapro's. They are the Glock of all terrain tires. They just work.
 

kayadog

Adventurer
I ran both the Hankook ATM's and General Grabber AT2. The Grabbers were better off road and looked meaner. The Hankooks were smoother and quieter on road. Both were great in the snow and wore well. I would buy either again.
 

xjoverland99

New member
I ran both the Hankook ATM's and General Grabber AT2. The Grabbers were better off road and looked meaner. The Hankooks were smoother and quieter on road. Both were great in the snow and wore well. I would buy either again.
I've heard that the General Grabber AT2 were kind of stiff and not very grippy. I haven't ever had good luck with Generals.

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