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WILDPEAK A/T4W Tires Review

Written by Phil Howell

During my years as Editor-in-Chief of 4Wheel Drive & Sport Utility Magazine and Off-Road Magazine, I was able to test and use a lot of tires. A few of them became my favorites. One of those was the Falken Wildpeak A/T3W all-terrain. Their on-highway performance was on par with the other top all-terrains available and their off-road performance was excellent, placing the A/T3W at or near the top of the pack. When Falken announced that they were introducing the Wildpeak A/T4W all-terrain, I was anxious to try them out and hoped they worked even better than the A/T3W.

My own completely stock daily driver Jeep WK2 Grand Cherokee is still one of the very best SUVs available, better than most of the new SUVs and crossovers, including Jeep’s. As the Grand Cherokee is daily driven, I wanted good on-pavement, inclement weather (rain and snow) performance, as well as off-road capability. So, a set of 265/60R18 Falken Wildpeak A/T4W tires were ordered.

265/60R18!!!? That tire is small, compared to what we’re usually putting on our 4x4 projects. Yes, it is. It’s the OEM size that came on my Grand Cherokee WK2 Limited and I wanted the speedometer/odometer to still be correct after changing my tires without having to reprogram anything. Tanner at Rocky’s Tire Pros in Spanish Fork, Utah, mounted the A/T4Ws on the Grand Cherokee’s OEM wheels. One of the tires took no weight at all and another only .75 ounces! The third took 2.0 ounces and the fourth took more, requiring 4.75 ounces of weight. None of the tires exhibited any radial or lateral runout – they were all truly round.

While this Grand Cherokee isn’t going to be doing any hard-core trails, I will be using it to generate travel and adventure stories on dirt roads and tracks. The Wildpeak A/T4W 265/60R18 is an XL tire that doesn’t feature Falken’s proprietary 3-ply Duraspec sidewall technology that the larger sizes have, but still has strong polyester and steel construction. The sidewalls, while being 2-ply, are thick and will fend off abrasions and cuts well, especially when factoring in the staggered shoulder blocks that wrap down the sidewall toward the beefy raised black lettering. Wildpeak A/T4W tires carry a 65,000-mile limited tread life warranty (60,000-mile for LT sizes) and is backed by road hazard protection and a 30-day ride guarantee, too, so we know that Falken has confidence in these tires.

Each 265/60R18 A/T4W weighs 42.8 pounds, about ten pounds more than the OEM all-season tires that were on the Grand Cherokee. It ‘s reasonable to assume that adding 40 pounds of unsprung weight will decrease the WK2’s fuel economy. Imagine my surprise when on-highway gas mileage improved an average of 2 mpg! Not only that, but the Falkens rode smoother and cornered better than the OE tires. They were just as quiet, too, although most all-terrains are quiet when new, so we’ll see how noise level increases when they start to wear. Off-road, I’ve only been able to take the tires on dry rock, dirt, and sand so far, but their performance meets or exceeds the A/T3W so the engineers did improve the A/T4W and didn’t ruin an already good thing. In soft sugar sand they’re better, on the other surfaces they perform the same.

Let’s go back to the A/T4W’s on-highway performance. This is where there’s a major improvement over the A/T3W’s and other brand’s all-terrains. The changes in the A/T4W’s tread design, (increased tread rigidity, siping, kerfs, tread blocks, etc.) along with the high silicone tread compound have really upped the game in the all-terrain world. It’s hard to believe that an all-terrain tire performs better than a quality all-season (street) tire on the pavement. The A/T4W’s ride, handling, and the improved fuel economy are a stunning surprise.

The Wildpeak A/T4W looks like it will be performing just as well in inclement weather. They earned USTMA’s Three Peak Mountain Snowflake symbol after meeting the industry’s snow traction requirements in severe snow conditions. This means they work over 20% better than other all-season or snow tires that haven’t earned the symbol.

As I mentioned before, I’ve tested and used many tire brands and designs during my career. Seldom (if ever) have I found a tire that’s so much improved from past designs of any manufacturer. The Falken Wildpeak A/T4W raises the bar in the all-terrain tire world. I’m glad I own them.