are really good at what they can do, considering they are all-terrain tires. These tires show that the overall market has made some serious progression over the years. Though which one is a better pick for you? Let’s find out!
As a tire engineer, from my perspective, the overall off-road performance is seen better on Falken Wildpeak AT3w, though on-roads, it stays unbeatable when things are wet. Whereas on dry roads, the Hankook Dynapro AT2 is the king. It also gives you a very fuel efficient ride and better tread life. And despite having a stiffer compound its pretty great on snowy terrains as well, though both tires here have 3PMSFR.
Table of Contents
Must Know Facts
The Falken Wildpeak AT3w has 15 to 22 inches rim sizes with following specs.
- All sizes have speed ratings: Q, R, S, T, and H.
- Tread depth range: 12 to 19/32″.
- Load Range: SL, XL, C, D, E, and F.
- Weight Range: 35 lbs to 79.4 lbs.
- Warranty: 55k miles on all.
Starting with Hankook Dynapro AT2, this tire has following specs.
- Sizes: 15 to 22 inches
- Speed rating: S and T.
- Load Rating: SL, XL, C, D, E, and F.
- Weight: 29 to 80 lbs
- Tread depth: 12 to 16.4/32″
- Warranty: 60k miles for all
Tread Design
The Falken Wildpeak AT3w’s tread design is a perfect balance of on and off-road traction.
If you take a closer look at the middle lugs, you’ll see that they are closely arranged and have ridges on the sides to act as support pillars.
These features ensure on-road stability. While other features such as stepped edges and notches facing everywhere ensure the tire offers grip off-road in all types of rugged terrains, as well.
If I move towards sides, you get to see a similar case.
The stepped edges and notches combined with serrated outer margins provide off-road traction, whereas with ample footprint provided by bigger elongated structure, and stability, which is given by reinforced foundations, they tire get to provide amazing lateral grip on pavements as well.
Moreover, although it;s barely visible here, the U shaped sidewall lugs offer amazing grabbing abilities on all kinds of rugged terrains when you run the tire with lowered air pressure.
Check out it’s tread design in detail here.
On the other side, the the Hankook Dynapro AT2 tire yields a cutting-edge 5-rib design, with the innermost rib being slightly wider and featuring sideways-facing notches.
This middle most column is reinforced with a secondary continuous layer, to which all the lugs are attached, resulting in the lateral grooves (that these lugs make) not being full depth, so this gives you enhanced traction on pavements.
The other ribs surrounding have slightly open design having lugs running in pairs, though they lack in notches like seen in the middle, but have similar siping pattern.
Moving towards the shoulder, blocks are smaller there, and siping pattern is less aggressive as well, but these lugs are also connected with each other with ridges offering amazing lateral traction.
Though the tire lacks in providing ample off road bite (especially with lowered air pressure), as the edges are not staggered and there are no sidewall lugs.
Tire Toughness
Off-road tires, as they need to withstand harsh terrains and “sharp “puncturing” objects, they are made tough.
They all have chip resistant rubber on top, with deep tread voids giving them a great deal of toughness. Though still majority of the tire’s durability comes from internal construction, and both tires are very different here.
Hankook Dynapro AT2 may not as deeper of a tread but internally it comes with 3 ply polyester casing, along with 2 steel belts (reinforced further with 2 ply nylon).
Whereas the Falken Wildpeak AT3w although gives you 2 ply polyester cover, with 2 belts and 2 cap nylon plies, it also has 2 extra layers of polyamide running around the rim.
And combined with thicker sidewall lugs on top, this tire definitely gives you more protection on all types of rugged terrains.
For Your Info: Out of all A/T tires, BF Goodrich KO2 (review) is the most durable.
Winter Traction
Have you ever thought why winter tires do great here? Well, because they have some unique features like having a thermal adaptive rubber (which can bear extreme winter temperatures), and a lot of sipes and notches which trap the snow in.
(The trapped snow basically meets up with the ground snow and results in better friction, as snowflakes have an interlocking design, and they like to stick to each other).
The new A/T tires coming try to mimic these features, and this helps them in earning 3 Peak Mountain Snowflake (3PMSF) rating allowing them take on even extreme winter challenges. And both the Dynapro and Wildpeak AT3w are in that list.
And comparing both, you can’t just put one over the other, as they both have different sets of performance values. The Falken AT3w gets to have a superior lateral traction, whereas the Dynapro AT2 does better when it comes to braking and acceleration.
On-Road Performance
A technical analysis of traction, steering, and cornering ability is essential when evaluating the dry performance of an all-terrain tire. Let’s examine each of these critical elements in more depth.
Dry Grip
The performance metric of dry grip or directional grip is determined by evaluating a tire’s rolling traction on straight roads under dry conditions, so yes, you can say highways.
And while moving straight, the middle area of the tire’s gets to meet up with the road’s surface the most (exerting maximum weight distribution of the tire/vehicle), making firm connection there.
That’s why the larger the rubber to road contact there the better the braking distance (direct measure of directional grip).
Having said that, as I explained in the tread section above, the Hankook Dynapro AT2 features a wider central most rib with lugs placed very closed up together on a continuous running rubber channel underneath, you get to have a solid connection with the surface.
In comparison, the Falken Wildpeak AT3w has lugs slightly spaced apart, so not enough surface-tread meet-up is made. Moreover, this tire also has a lot of tread depth to it (reaching up to 19/32″), so even with supporting ridges, the lugs get to bend a lot reducing overall performance efficacy.
Dry Handling
The handling and lateral traction of the tire during cornering are greatly impacted by the amount of contact the outer shoulder lugs have with the ground.
This is because these lugs get to bear the most weight/pressure of the tire/vehicle on them.
That’s why both tires have a very small difference here.
Both have lugs with reinforced foundations underneath, and with smaller lateral grooves, they get to make a good enough connection with the road as well.
Steering Response
Steering response gets negatively affected by the weight and tread depth, let me explain how.
With more weight the lugs get to have more pressure on them, and if the lugs have deep tread voids, they would be prone to bending while steering. And this causes both the under and over steering.
Hankook Dynapro AT2 with smaller tread depth and solid foundational supports underneath the lugs provide you with slightly better traction abilities.
Moreover, the tire outer margins are also very smooth, as the shoulder lugs are not staggered, so you get a very smooth transition of weight from the shoulders to the middle area of the tread, and vice versa.
Falken Wildpeak AT3w on the other side, has slightly larger tread voids between shoulder lugs and with tread depth going up to 19/32″, these lugs get to move/bend a lot.
Though keep in mind that the difference is very low, as both tires have similar weight range and the heaviest size on both goes up to 80 lbs.
Wet Road Performance
Optimal wet performance is achieved through effective water removal, leading to improved grip and decreased risk of hydroplaning.
The wet grip depends on sipes, and here with more effective design, Falken Wildpeak AT3w gets to have an upper hand. The tire basically has 2 different types of sipes, where most of the lateral traction comes form the wave-like interlocking sipes on the shoulder lugs which keep the lugs flexible.
The Dynapro AT2 on the other hand, only features rectilinear design, and with such structure, sipes get stiffer upon heavy turns (and so they are not able to wipe water away by sucking it in their slits).
Moreover, with much more closed up lugs arrangement and shallower tread depth, you get to see less water evacuation (especially sideways). So less resistance to hydroplaning.
Falken AT3w on the other hand, has a lot of tread depth allowing more volume of water to leave out in multiple directions (with its interconnected grooves).
For Your Info: I’ve ranked Falken AT3w on top, in my list of best performing A/T tires.
Fuel Usage
When it comes to fuel usage, weight is a very significant factors, but since both tires have similar values here (compared across all sizes), let’s see the secondary ones, which include tread composition and structure.
And considering those factors its understandable, why Hankook Dynapro provides you with better fuel efficiency. The tire has a firmer compound composition and with continuous running central rib and the connected blocks on outer, the lugs stay on their place and don’t get to flex as much.
Whereas on Falken Wildpeak AT3w with tread depth going up to 19/32″, flex want to flex more, and this wastes energy that would have otherwise consumed in to moving the tire as a whole (and not just bending the lugs).
Tread Wear
Rolling resistance is just one of the three factors influencing the tread life, the other being tread depth, and composition.
Tread depth is important because the deeper the grooves, the more time they would take to burn down to 2/32″, which is the legal limit, and similarly, if the compound is not soft, it would not face that much wearing in the first place.
Hankook Dynapro AT2 has a stiffer composition off the two, and it’s lugs are much more stable, so you get a a good 60k miles warranty with it (on all sizes).
Whereas, the Falken Wildpeak AT3w gets to burn faster, though it’s still not too far off, as it get to have a tread depth of 19/32″, so it only lacks a little, that’s why it comes with 55k miles warranty (only 5k less in comparison).
Off Road Grip
While some off-road terrains like mud are demanding, others like gravel and dirt roads are more suitable for on-road oriented tires.
Let’s take a closer look at all terrains and how each tire performed on them.
On Dirt-Filled Roads
Despite the tough rubber in off-road tires, stones and dirt can still get trapped, leading to damage and decreased traction if stone ejectors are not present.
That’s why a better tire here would the one with self cleaning grooves. That’s why it makes sense why Falken Wildpeak AT3w provides you with shorter handling times and braking distances on almost all types of dirt filled roads.
Hankook Dynapro AT2 on the other hand, with stiffer compound provides you with a jittery ride, and it’s tread is also prone to stones/debris getting lodged, as it does not have any stone ejectors.
On Mud
Mud is A/T tires biggest enemy, but why is that?
Well because the limited mud evacuation capabilities of (most) all-terrain tires in muddy conditions can be attributed to their narrower grooves. A tire with self-cleaning grooves and a bolder tread design would evacuate mud out in time and would avoid getting packed.
Though that’s not the case with Hankook Dynapro AT2, as this tire has continuous running ribs which don’t allow the mud to evacuate out laterally.
Whereas the Falken Wildpeak AT3w not only gives you a web of grooves (allowing mud to leave at multiple angles), but you also get to have a lot of tread depth and staggered outer shoulder and sidewall lugs, providing the tire with mud scoops.
On Rocks
The ideal tire for driving on rocky terrain must have a flexible tread that enables bendable blocks/lugs to provide traction, a secure grip in all directions to prevent slipping, and robust sidewalls to protect against sharp punctures.
That’s why Falken AT3w being a flexible tire provides you with better traction.
The Hankook Dynapro AT2 has a stiffer compound and its lugs aren’t able to flex that much, moreover, its also missing the sidewall lugs which provide extra support while climbing on rocks (especially with lowered air pressure).
Desert Performance
To drive effectively on sand, it’s important to consider the tire’s air pressure, weight, and tread composition.
That’s because lighter tires with softer treads and reduced air pressure provide the best results.
And out of these two even though the Falken Wildpeak AT3w has the same weight (in comparison, across all sizes, on average), it still generates better traction mainly due to it’s sidewall lugs and it’s malleable tread compound.
With a softer tread it gets to provide enchained contact patch with the sand, whereas with thick sidewall lugs the overall section width of the tire gets further increases.
Hankook Dynapro AT2 on the other side has a stiffer build and it does not features any proper sidewall lugs which can provide extra footprint.
Summary
Out of both tires, although you are going to see a superior performance on rugged terrains, with Falken Wildpeak AT3w, the tire still shines on wet roads as well. Though on dry the Hankook Dynapro AT2 is taking the lead. It’s also much better with fuel economy as well, though onpar (almost, if not better), in terms of tread wear.
Moreover, both tires have a thermal adaptive rubber so you get a good enough performance when it comes to winter traction as well.
Great article thank you for the in-depth analysis. How big of a fuel economy difference would you expect to see? Also, could you comment on road noise between the two? Lastly, what made you compare these two tires specifically? Are they the top two in the business?
Thanks. Well, fuel efficiency difference is low between these tires. And for the noise, the Wildpeak AT3w is a little bit louder. And as for your last question, no there are many other options as well, go to the site’s main all-terrain tires section to find them all.
How do each compare when pulling a load…i.e..trailer or camper? Based on your comparisons the Hankook has the edge on highway travels.
Well Dynapro does better in that area, providing superior longevity.