Battle of the LT A/T (1 Viewer)

[Madtiger]

Not to stir things up specially not with teck but AT3W being more aggressive than A/T 3 is a figment of the imagination.

My next tire will be either a ridge grappler or KO3 BTW if anyone was wondering. Im going upstream and up in size when we have our second daily EV as the LX has no business being a daily for 1/2 people in my household.

And now you know how full of it Teckis300 is….

KO3 is many years away is my guess.

Look at how it stacks up against “newer” “more technologically advance” tires. It hangs with the best of them on-road, literally one of the best on snow and ice (despite the noise from a few members here), and class-leader in off-road toughness and traction (yet have low road noise).

KO2 is literally the perfect AT tire.

 

[TeCKis300]

Not to stir things up specially not with teck but AT3W being more aggressive than A/T 3 is a figment of the imagination.

My next tire will be either a ridge grappler or KO3 BTW if anyone was wondering. Im going upstream and up in size when we have our second daily EV as the LX has no business being a daily for 1/2 people in my household.

So we're not talking past each other, are you saying Toyo AT3s are more aggressive than Falken AT3Ws?

 

[TCM]

Dare I wade into the swap . I have run BFG KO2s on multiple vehicles and they are just okay on snow, considerably better in powder than on hard pack. On ice they are no better than mud terrains. But anything short of a studded tired is nearly useless on true ice. If snow performance is a priority dedicated snow tires are the only solution and studded snows if you need ice traction. Choose AT tires based on their warm weather pavement and trail performance not how they perform in winter.

 

[sadovnik]

just my $.02 but this poll would have ended up very differently had it included the words "snow capable" in the title, i.e. "What's your favorite (snow capable) A/T tire?" I know someone is going to jump on this and say, "but, but, but my BFGs were great that one time we got hit with a massive 6" of snow in (insert state with no snowplow fleet). Which makes me think that maybe we should have a new thread/poll that only includes tires with the 3PMSF symbol (yay, another tire poll!). I know that the BFGs are 3PMSF rated (at least some variations are) but I don't know anybody that lives through 6 months of winter that actually uses them year round. On the other hand, I know quite a few people that use the AT3 and AT3W as year-round-tires, especially up in the mountains.

 

[AnyMal]

So we're not talking past each other, are you saying Toyo AT3s are more aggressive than Falken AT3Ws?

No, more that they are in the exact same segment and direct competitors. I wouldnt claim on is better than the other is all. I think in the longer term the A/T 3 will have just as much positive feedback.

 

[AnyMal]

And now you know how full of it Teckis300 is….

KO3 is many years away is my guess.

Look at how it stacks up against “newer” “more technologically advance” tires. It hangs with the best of them on-road, literally one of the best on snow and ice (despite the noise from a few members here), and class-leader in off-road toughness and traction (yet have low road noise).

KO2 is literally the perfect AT tire.

Im more and more into that idea. If i spent more carelessly id buy them just to ease my mind at this point. I just really like their look. Otherwise im very curious to try the RGs as well.

What makes you say KO3 is far out though? Do we know anything about that? I understand they still sell like hotcakes so im sure BFG is not in a rush to replace them.

 

[AnyMal]

Whatever anyone thinks though, and a bunch of this is subjective for sure, nothing is as outrageous as 26 PSI.

Go ahead and run that if you have a death wish though.

 

[Madtiger]

Im more and more into that idea. If i spent more carelessly id buy them just to ease my mind at this point. I just really like their look. Otherwise im very curious to try the RGs as well.

What makes you say KO3 is far out though? Do we know anything about that? I understand they still sell like hotcakes so im sure BFG is not in a rush to replace them.

Why would they rush? Look at BFG HISTORY of updating their AT?

Is KO2 behind anyone? Nope. KO2 remains the gold standard. TireRack confirms what I have been saying for a long time.

 

[TeCKis300]

No, more that they are in the exact same segment and direct competitors. I wouldnt claim on is better than the other is all. I think in the longer term the A/T 3 will have just as much positive feedback.

Gotcha and that point is certainly arguable.

I'm about 7k miles into my Toyo's AT3s. 40k miles on Falken's. My opinion at this point performance wise is that Falken's had a small edge in aggressiveness, while keeping most all the road manners. That said, for the amount of commuting and long distance driving on-road, Toyos may still be the better tire for me.

From an aesthetic POV, treads, lugs, and side lugs, the Falken AT3Ws were easily more aggressive than the Toyo. KO2s are right up there with the most aggressive looking for an AT. None of that takes anything away from the Toyo's as I think they still look great.

It's not completely apples to apples as I ran a Falken in LT size. Toyo in Floatation. Floatation is supposedly the most aggressive flavor in each lineup.

 

[Itsky]

Why would they rush? Look at BFG HISTORY of updating their AT?

Is KO2 behind anyone? Nope. KO2 remains the gold standard. TireRack confirms what I have been saying for a long time.

Are you trolling? In the test you linked BFG got third.

 

[grinchy]

The k02 was third out of four in the first category (general) and one out of four (snow).
A small test with k02 and G015 and a couple tires no one runs.
Obviously k02 sells a lot, they aren’t crap. But I’m not convinced they are the pinnacle of AT technology at this point either. And since they placed a third against some pretty bland competition in the 80% test I think that is shown.
I’ve tried several options and have what I want based on my experience for my needs. Others will get something different for their needs.

 

[Madtiger]

Are you trolling? In the test you linked BFG got third.

Did you actually read the article? BFG KO2 is the only true AT vs. the others which are more highway-AT. KO2 is also the only true LT tire…vs. highway biased P-metric. And this test is purely on-road only.

 

[grinchy]

Did you actually read the article? BFG KO2 is the only true AT vs. the others which are more highway-AT. KO2 is also the only true LT tire…vs. P-metric. And this test is purely on-road only.

So, like, not an apple to apple comparison? Confirmation bias is a seductive mistress.

 

[Madtiger]

So, like, not an apple to apple comparison? Confirmation bias is a seductive mistress.

Huh? Yeah, KO2 was the odd man out…a tire that should not have even come close to those highway tires…and yet it did pretty well, even in wet and snow and ice…the areas where some of you assume that KO2 would fail so badly.

Confirmation bias works both ways too…ya know….

It’s odd that you guys need me to point that out……..just saying….

 

[grinchy]

We all love what we love.

Personally I prefer a more aggressive tread and find the minor trade off between a standard AT and an RT like a Duratrac or Ridge grappler or Kenda RT totally worth it.

Since the k02 is as the only top tier Lt in the test it really isn’t possible to determine how other Lt would fair against the same meh competition. Perhaps the Toyo or falken would do better. Perhaps worse.

 

[Madtiger]

We all love what we love.

Personally I prefer a more aggressive tread and find the minor trade off between a standard AT and an RT like a Duratrac or Ridge grappler or Kenda RT totally worth it.

Since the k02 is as the only top tier Lt in the test it really isn’t possible to determine how other Lt would fair against the same meh competition. Perhaps the Toyo or falken would do better. Perhaps worse.

Well, Yoko G015 is top tier. G015 is a great tire in itself.

BTW, the Firestone and Hankook were NEW tires in 2019 i believe.

In another TireRack comparo, the all new Toyo AT-3 did NOT do well against its peers. And that was LT vs. LT.

This KO2 comparo was LT vs. P-metric…clearly a test that favors P-metric highway-bias tires. Thus, KO2 was already behind even before the test started! Remember, this is LT KO2 with its aggressive tread and heavy as hell tire weight vs. feather weight P-metric that have much milder treads in road conditions that are not KO2’s forte….yet…KO2 did pretty good…heck did not even land last place in fuel economy!

Personally i am befuddled by some of you not understanding this….

 

[grinchy]

We can’t say what would be superior LT vs P because like much of tire racks reporting the tests are ads for their product.
They aren’t going about science.
If they wanted to discover the best LT tire in a real unbiased blind test over many surfaces and vehicles, they could. But then who would buy the tires that lost?
So they don’t run that kind of test.

Personally I trust my experience, then the anecdotes enthusiasts share on my truck, from direct experience, then tests which at least attempt to be balanced. Then winnow the rest for what is valuable and take it for what it is.

 

[Idaho Savage]

The fact that you guys are arguing over "data" from a retailer is amazing. Take it from someone who works in online retail...retailer reviews are not a credible source to waste your time arguing over.

 

[grinchy]

Agreed!

 

[TeCKis300]

KO2 is literally the perfect AT tire.

This is why I am looking real hard at the Michelin Defender XL next time around.

Maybe, but maybe not?