Replaced worn out Falkens with Toyo Open Country A/T III

[Mark S.]

After discovering uneven wear on my OE Falken tires I went on the hunt for replacements. At first, I thought I might go with a road-oriented rather than another A/T tire. My reasoning was I expected to get better fuel economy with a road tire. Then, as I was contemplating my options, we had a massive snow/ice storm here locally. That changed my mind.

I checked with my local Discount Tire store to see what they had--plenty of options, of course. In the meantime, I got an email from Sam's Club that I had $400 "Sam's dollars," which may be used to purchase anything in the store or online. Based on reports from other users here on the site I opted for the Toyos in size 235/65R17. Here are my observations after a couple of weeks.

Handling
I didn't notice any appreciable difference in handling qualities between these and the Falkens...until I tried a full-throttle acceleration. The car tracked much straighter--no pull to either side--than it ever has. Since the Falkens wore prematurely I also had the car aligned. Toe on the front left and right was off by a couple of tenths each. I don't know if the improvement in straight-line acceleration was the tires or the alignment, but if your car pulls under hard acceleration you might have the alignment checked.

Comfort
The Toyos have a more aggressive tread design than the Falkens, and that results in a noticeable increase in road noise. It's sort of a low-frequency hum at slower speeds, but it doesn't get appreciably louder as the frequency increases with speed. Like the Falkens, ride quality is exceptional; these are very smooth rolling tires! They outshine the Falkens, however, in much lower impact noise (think expansion joints, etc.).

Fuel Economy
I'm still evaluating fuel economy. These cars do not get their best fuel economy in cold conditions. So far, I haven't noticed a significant decrease in economy. Online retailers that offer user reviews suggest these tires will negatively impact fuel economy. If that's the case I'll report back.

Snow/Slippery Conditions
The Toyos are 3-Peak rated like the Falkens, and they didn't disappoint in snow/slippery conditions. Also like the Falkens, I could not get the Badlands to slide around a corner with the G.O.A.T. mode set to NORMAL. I also drove through a decent rain storm, with the tires exhibiting no notable negative quirks.

Off-road
I have not taken these off road yet, but if the slippery handling is any indication they should do very well. I will report back after I do some off-road driving.

Bottom Line
There are other tires out there that offer similar performance at a similar price point, but if you're looking for a tire that offers a decent tradeoff between road manners, handling, comfort, and poor-weather performance, you likely won't be disappointed with the Toyo Open Country A/T III.

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[Jmuns]

Im assuming since your initial thoughts were fuel economy in the beginning of your search that you went with 235's?

 

[Mark S.]

Im assuming since your initial thoughts were fuel economy in the beginning of your search that you went with 235's?

Yup, forgot to mention that. I'll edit the original post.

 

[Dude]

Doesn’t seem like your alignment was off very much to be the cause of the Falken uneven wear? Or was it ?

 

[Mark S.]

Doesn’t seem like your alignment was off very much to be the cause of the Falken uneven wear? Or was it ?

It's the only thing I can think of. All four tires had some 5-6/13 tread left on the outside, but were down to the wear indicators on the inside. We'll see if the same pattern emerges with the new tires.

 

[Slingy]

It's the only thing I can think of. All four tires had some 5-6/13 tread left on the outside, but were down to the wear indicators on the inside. We'll see if the same pattern emerges with the new tires.

How many miles were on the Falkens, Mark? I had the same issue with inside wear that started around 15k miles. Despite rotating I had the same inside wear. I replaced them with the same Falkens at 20k and after another 11k (I'm at 31k now) there doesn't appear to be any uneven wear. My alignment results were similar where they were all out a little bit but still enough to force me into premature replacement.

 

[Mark S.]

Doesn’t seem like your alignment was off very much to be the cause of the Falken uneven wear? Or was it ?

The front wheels were both set a negative toe (outward), which can cause wear on the inner tread. All the tires were worn with the same pattern, so I guess my rotation schedule is good.

 

[Mark S.]

How many miles were on the Falkens, Mark?

Just over 31K. Given the amount of tread on the outside of the tires I believe I could've gotten another 15k if the wear had been even. The weird thing is it wasn't until my most recent tire rotation that I noticed the uneven wear, and it happened fast. I will likely go to annual alignments with this vehicle because of the rapid tread loss due to misalignment.

 

[CLR]

I had the Toyo AT3 on my Jeep GC Trailhawk and my results are the same as you described. Louder on the highway and comfortable overall ride. Never had an issue with them off road, though they did cost me a few mpg on the highway.

 

[Slingy]

I will likely go to annual alignments with this vehicle because of the rapid tread loss due to misalignment.

I think I'll join you on that.

 

[davidg4781]

Who did your alignment? Sam's?

And I appreciate the write up. I'll probably need to replace my OE tires in the next 6 months so I'm starting to do some research. These and BFG Trail Terrains are on the list. Maybe Firestone Destination AT2, mostly because there's a Firestone 5 minutes from me and the nearest Discount Tire is 35 minutes and several towns over.

 

[Mark S.]

Who did your alignment?

My local Sam's Club does not offer alignments. Interestingly, neither does my local Discount Tire. I took it to Plaza Tire, mainly because they had an immediate opening. I was in and out in less than 30 minutes.

 

[wireman]

Mark, what's the weight difference the 2 brands?

 

[Mark S.]

Mark, what's the weight difference the 2 brands?

Falkens are just over 31 lbs; Toyos are 33 lbs.

 

[Robink]

I put the Toyo's on my BB. They are great. I've had two sets on my Exterra as well. Great tires. Thought about going w falken but I think I will stay with the Toyo's next time.

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