New FALKEN ALL TERRAIN TYRE

This could be very interesting..I run Falken Landair AT's and while not very aggressive I have been very impressed with them - especially at their price and they are hard wearing too......

FALKEN’S NEW WILDPEAK TYRE TAMES ON AND OFF ROAD TERRAINS 7 March 2012

A new all terrain tyre that provides high levels of refinement and stability on road has been launched in Europe by Japanese tyre manufacturer FALKEN. Available from spring 2012, the Wildpeak WP/AT01 blends the operational performance of an off-road tyre whilst incorporating the construction and design features typically reserved for high performance road tyres.

The Wildpeak WP/AT01 marks the first time FALKEN has offered a true all terrain tyre in Europe and follows the successful US launch where a derivative of the Wildpeak won the 2011 Pikes Peak mixed surface hillclimb. “The Wildpeak is designed to appeal to off road vehicle owners requiring a single tyre to provide a safe, refined ride on the road yet still provide performance in a range of off road conditions,” says Yukio Yoshida, FALKEN’s European corporate planning director. “This is the first time FALKEN has sold an all terrain tyre in Europe specifically developed to fulfill the stringent requirements for off-road and utility vehicles. It continues our aggressive growth plan in Europe that saw us achieve record sales last year.”

To achieve an optimum on and off road ability, FALKEN’s engineers have used four multi-angled grooves to divert maximum amounts of mud and snow whilst the tread block edges have been formed to maximise traction and reduce clogging that typically occurs with all terrain tyres. The larger circumferential voids aid off camber traverses providing off road performance usually reserved for pure off road tyres. For on road safety, the open shoulder pattern design achieves effective water dispersion, resulting in excellent hydroplaning resistance, whilst phase-shifted tread bars reduce noise even at the higher speeds now achievable with off road vehicles. The Wildpeak’s design also satisfies the demand for a controlled and comfortable ride, with two stiff extra-wide steel belts providing stability on and off-road. Safety is further enhanced via a hard bead apex and a joint-less nylon band to stiffen sidewalls that minimizes the wallowing effect that can lead to great steering input that ultimately upsets the car balance.
To satisfy a large number of vehicle fitments, the Wildpeak is available from 15 to 18 inches with R, S, T and H speed ratings.



I've found a couple of places quoting £103 INC del for 215/70/16, just to give you an idea...

Never found them any good, always found them rubbish off road, on road, and not very durable when compared to other brands similarly priced.

This said, sometimes a specific tyre works well with a specific vehicle, but not most others, and as it is a new tyre I will have to see what write up's it receives when used in anger.

Assassin wrote:

Never found them any good, always found them rubbish off road, on road, and not very durable when compared to other brands similarly priced.

This said, sometimes a specific tyre works well with a specific vehicle, but not most others, and as it is a new tyre I will have to see what write up's it receives when used in anger.

Valid points Assassin..... it may be that they work well with mine 'cos it's a lightweight? The only reason I got them originally was because of price - 5 fitted for £320.00INC. and SIZE AVAILABILITY. That said, they have served me very well in MUD and did amazingly well on the rocky tracks in north Wales. I have no complaints whatsoever with on road - in fact they are far better than the Dunlop Grand Treks which came with the car - they were awful on the road and worse than useless on the lanes!
I have done about 23.000 Miles on mine and they are all on around 5/6mm tread left. But I do not drive aggressively which may help.
With all these new regs regarding tyre noise, AT's and MT's are going to get hard to source (already started) and very expensive, so these were just something "reasonable" to looksee.

Given the choice I would go for BFG AT's, but my bank account won't let me

Perhaps you would like to keep everyone updated on just how good they are on your vehicle, this way everyone with the same vehicle as yours can make a like for like comparison and we can all learn something for future reference.

An interesting review:

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/product-reviews/123230-new-falken-wild-peak-tire-reviews-suggestions.html

I read somewhere they are a copy of the Dunlop Grandtrek AT3, they look very similar. Let us know what they are like if you get any and put up some pics aswell.

TJ

TJ, as Maadmaan has pointed out previously these tyres are new, so they have to comply with the new noise regulations which were introduced this year, this means many tyres will have broadly similar treads as this is the best option for reducing the various noises tyres make.

Unfortunately it will hit many of the pure off road, or predominantly off road based tyres which will not pass the EU regulations for noise, and to date Cooper are the only ones with predominantly off road biased tyres which meet the regulations; and as for BFG!!! their new tyre being launched is basically a copy of the Cooper.

Many have claimed this is a subversive manouvure by the EU to attack 4X4's by the back door, start with the peripherals such as tyres as the majority will not complain or kick up a fuss as a minority of 4X4 users don't matter to the majority, then implement many more of these tactics which penalise 4X4 owners.