Both the Pro Comp AT Sport and the Falken Wildpeak AT3w carry a new generation symmetric tread compound which provide above average traction off-road and comfort on-road. But which is a better fit for you? Let’s find out.
In my professional opinion as a tire engineer, the Pro Comp AT Sport provides you with a better dry grip with it’s continuous running central Z shaped ribs. It’s also great in fuel economy, tread life and winter traction as well. On the other side, the Falken AT3w provides better off-road performance, and on-road its great in wet and comfort departments.
Table of Contents
Durability Comparison
Durability is a must for off-road tires as they have to encounter rough terrains including a lot of different sharp objects. That’s why these tires have cut-resistant rubber and deep tread voids.
Though still the overall tire’s toughness is decided by the sidewalls and how it is constructed internally.
Having said that, the Pro Comp AT Sport comes with 3 ply polyester (with 2 steel belts and single cap ply of nylon), giving sidewalls a great amount of toughness.
Falken Wildpeak AT3w on the other side, has 2 ply casing with 2 steel belts and 2 layers of nylon, and it’s sidewalls also have 2 more layers (polyamide) on them as well.
So this makes both tires pretty durable enough.
Dry Traction
When it comes to evaluating the dry performance of an all-terrain tire, factors such as traction, steering, and cornering ability play a significant role. Let’s delve into these critical elements in more detail.
Directional Grip
The traction of a tire on a straight road is known as dry grip or directional grip (to be more precise).
That’s why it gets calculated by stopping distances (for the most part).
And since the central part of the tread gets to meet up with the road the most (as it carries maximum weight while rolling straight), you get to see a good enough performance on both tires.
Pro Comp AT Sport with it’s wider central Z shaped lugs joined up with each other provide consistent connection with the road.
And similarly, the Falken Wildpeak AT3w with it’s closed up lugs arrangement and biters (on C shaped lugs) facing everywhere, provide a similar directional grip.
Lateral Traction
The transfer of weight to the shoulders during cornering emphasizes the importance of their connection with the ground. That’s why both tires have a good enough values (handling times) here.
Though still the Pro Comp AT Sport lacks a hair in comparison. This is because its outer lugs are not as big as it’s competitors.
Falken Wildpeak AT3w on the other hand, has elongated shoulder lugs designed in a way to provide maximum lateral traction without compromising off-road abilities.
Wet Traction
The key to a tire’s wet performance lies in its efficiency in removing water from the contact patch, providing strong wet grip and preventing hydroplaning.
These are the two main factors here, so I discussed them both one by one below.
Wet Grip
When it comes to gripping abilities on wet roads, a tire’s tread must feature both siping and flexibility. These two aspects work together to efficiently evacuate water from the tire tread, leading to improved driving safety. Let me explain how.
Sipes basically are just slits and these slits make a suction when a tire meets the road, sucking water in them, and that’s how water gets cleared off. And so the flexible the compound/sipes are, the more suction they’d create.
That’s why with a more malleable compound, the Falken Wildpeak AT3w provides you with much better results. Moreover, unlike it’s competitor, it also carries dual siping design as well.
Pro Comp AT Sport on the other hand, although has a lot of sipes, they are only rectilinear, and these sipes are not as flexible. Moreover, with more closed up outer lugs, the tire is not so great with aquaplaning, and that further explains why it lacks in overall wet traction.
Hydroplaning
Hydroplaning simply put is another name given to tire’s “floating” on water. If a tire is not able to remove water off the tread in time, it would float on it.
That’s why with tightly packed up outer blocks on Pro Comp AT, the water is not escaped in time, and less water leaving out would have a larger burden on sipes.
The Falken Wildpeak AT3w on the other hand, has deeper tread voids, and it’s tread makes a much more efficient web of grooves, clearing water off quicker.
Fuel Consumption
The heavier the tire gets, the harder it is to roll, that’s basic science, but what if both tires have almost similar weight (on average). Well, then you would have to consider other factors, such as tread structure, and composition.
And looking at both, it can be explained why Falken AT3w gets to consume more fuel in comparison. This is because the tire has a softer tread compound, and with much greater tread depth, the lugs get to flex more, yielding a sticky effect with the ground (where they don’t want to leave off the surface too easily).
In comparison with 3 ply polyester construction, you get a stiffer built on Pro Comp AT Sport and helping to that is it’s shallower tread depth, allowing lugs to stay firm during cornering and braking, and hence not wasting energy that much.
Comfort Performance
The quality of a ride is influenced by two main factors: the amount of noise generated by the tire tread and how well the tire absorbs road imperfections through its structure and tread. I’ll discuss these further.
Starting from noise, which is just air moving around the tread, and hitting the walls (to produce unwanted sound-waves). Here both tires are on par.
Pro Comp AT Sport has a lot of variations (in angles) on all it’s tread blocks and they dampen the noise by pitch sequencing, whereas Falken AT3w has interlocking shoulder blocks, so air gets restricted at the source.
Though still in terms of overall comfort, which has to do with bumps absorption, the Wildpeak AT3w does things better with its thicker and softer rubber, allowing vibrations a lot more room to settle in, before they reach the driver’s seat.
Also Read: Are all-terrain tires noisy?
Off Road Capability
Off-road terrains can present a mix of difficulties, with mud being particularly challenging and requiring specialized tires, while gravel and dirt roads can be easily navigated.
Due to such performance variations in different types of terrains, I’ve split this section in to them.
Rocky Terrain
When navigating rocky terrain, a tire with a soft tread compound would enables the blocks to flex more, gripping the surface with more force, and with sidewall lugs, it would provide you with the highly needed lateral traction, whilst also providing the durability.
The Falken Wildpeak AT3w provides you with all these features. You get a softer compound, biters in all directions, and sidewall lugs both with inner plies, and thick lugs outside. So its no wonder why it performs better in comparison.
Pro Comp AT Sport on the other side, lacks slightly with its harder compound, though its directional traction is still on par.
On Mud
To provide improved performance in mud, all-terrain tires need to have self-cleaning capabilities and a more robust tread pattern. This design helps to evacuate mud and maintain traction in these conditions.
And so with wider grooves having a lot of tread depth, the Falken AT3w is able to provide much faster cleaning.
Pro Comp AT Sport on the other hand, lacks especially with it’s packed up shoulders and continuous running central rib, disallowing mud to evacuate laterally.
Moreover, although the tire does offer you with traction scoops on staggered shoulders, it does not offer thick enough sidewall lugs, where on Wildpeak AT3w these lugs actually allow you to get out, even when the tire is aired down deep within.
Desert Performance
To drive on sand effectively, it’s crucial to pay attention to the air pressure, weight, and tread composition of your tire, as these factors determine its ability to handle the soft and unpredictable surface.
And so even though both tires don’t vary too much when it comes to weight, the Pro Comp AT is still lacking.
This is because of its sharper sides, and while rolling they are much more susceptible in cutting through the sand, enforcing the tire to sink more easily.
Falken Wildpeak AT3w, on the other hand, not only has a smoother outer edges, and sidewall lugs, they also cover a larger area on bead, so you get a greater contact patch to meet with the sand upon lowering air pressure.
Winter Performance
The complexity of winter traction arises from the many variables involved, including grip, acceleration, lateral traction, and stability on various snow and ice terrains.
Though in case of these tires there’s one thing making the decision easier and that’s 3 Peak Mountain Snowflake (3PMSF) rating, seen only on Wildpeak (Pro Comp AT only comes with M+S).
Learn more about them here: https://tiredriver.com/3pmsf-and-ms-ratings/
Wildpeak AT3w basically has a lot of C shaped biters and stepped edges, and they both provide ample snow grabbing abilities. Though the most significant feature is it’s thermal adaptive rubber, which is not prone to getting frozen up with extreme temperatures.
That’s why Pro Comp with so many biters still lacks here overall.
To Sum Up
Out of both the Falken Wildpeak AT3w provides you with a superior wet grip, and a comfortable ride on pavements, whereas on rugged terrains, it’s nearly better in almost all of them, as ti features a more open design with a lot of tread depth.
On the other side, the Pro Comp AT Sport is better on dry roads, provides better fuel economy and tread life and it’s durability is almost on part with it’s counterpart providing 3 ply sidewalls, so it’s not too far off on tougher tracks off-road.
