TheSamba.com :: View topic - Tires: Falken Wildpeak Trail or Nitto Nomad Grappler

Mon Aug 12, 2024 1:26 pm

It's time to replace my BFG KO2s, and I'm looking for something a little quieter/less aggressive on the road, but keeping some off-road capability. I'm also planning to swap to 17" wheels, and think I have it narrowed down to two options:

1. Falken Wildpeak A/T Trail, 235/55R17 103V
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=...p;i1_Qty=4

2. Nitto Nomad Grappler, 225/60R17 103H
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=...p;i1_Qty=4

Both categorized as "On-Road All Terrain", essentially the same price. With the sizing above, the Falkens would be 0.4" shorter and 0.4' wider than the Nittos, with both just slightly taller and wider than my current 215/65R16 BFGs. I just noticed the Nittos also come in 235/55 with the proper load rating, though the Falkens are rated too low in the 225/60 size.

Anybody with real-world experience to share on these tires?

Mon Aug 12, 2024 7:26 pm

I'm very happy with the Falkens in the same size as your BFGs. Quiet (far quieter than BFGs), load-rated, aggressive enough for my needs. Have them on our LT as well and they outperform the Rotiivas and BFGs we had before. Why the change to 17s?

Tue Aug 13, 2024 8:36 am

Thanks, good to hear they're quieter than the BFGs!

I'm not totally set on the 17" swap - my stock wheels are a bit curbed/scraped so it seemed like a good time for an aesthetic upgrade, and there are more options available in 17" wheels & tires. But as you noted, the Falkens also come in 215/65R16 with the proper rating, and they're about $150 cheaper in that size - definitely an option as well.

Tue Aug 13, 2024 4:17 pm

As a data point, we run 225/55/17 Goodyear Territory AT's on 17x7 alloys. Very close to stock in diameter and some road noise, but great stopping power in wet.

I see you asked this on the 17" thread here about these tires AND I also used that 17" post as a data point many months ago to make our decisions. This is why I chose to chime in here....our concern was the "wet" rating review. Granted, those tires are "reviewed" on the tire sites (and reviewed well), we have a Consumer Reports membership. Those tires were not great in wet with Consumer Report testing. For our use profile, we needed to prioritize wet as a need as my wife gets behind the wheel often here. We'll do fire roads and I aspire to overnight in Tahoe, but stopping on wet surfaces is "the ring to rule them all".

That said, that size (or sizes) in AT tires are evaporating. I think I grabbed the last Goodyear AT's in the country (at that size) when I bought them. The marketplace is clearly heading to larger diameter rims so us legacy folks will be stranded IMHO on tire selection on specialty tires above 15" 16" and now maybe 17". I'm confident the LT (for value) & SUV (for performance) 17" market categories will save us, but the niche stuff for AT look to be fading at 17".

We chose 17" simply because there are more tires available now at all price points. The 15' & 16" folks can "hope" that tire manufactures have their needs in mind, but 17" is a sound choice for the future. You just might not get the exact tire you want though.

Fri Aug 16, 2024 3:36 am

I'll chime in regarding the Nitto Nomad Grapplers. I've had these on my 02 Weekender for about a year and a half now. They are still really quiet on the road and have performed flawlessly in both wet conditions and off-road use. We've had some very heavy rainfall at times in Northern New England this summer to "test" the wet handling/braking, etc. Also, our camping explorations have taken us on dirt roads of various conditions throughout New England (including the wilds of Northeastern Maine) and again, the tires have been excellent. My tires are 225/55/17 101H and I have not missed or noticed the slightly "shorter" tires compared with the stock size even on rougher dirt roads. In fact, they probably handle better on the road over the stock size wheels/tires.

Thu Sep 05, 2024 11:05 am

Figured I'd follow up on this one in case it's helpful for anyone else: I ended up going with the Falkens in 235/55R17, along with some 17x7.5 ET38 wheels (originally from a mid-2000s Passat).

Very happy with the tires so far - soooooo much quieter than the BFGs. They were fine in the limited rain we've had recently; haven't had them off-road yet, but I expect they'll be plenty aggressive for my purposes.