Thread: Tyre talk….Falken AT3W

Hi all
Hoping someone can clear something up, and I freely admit I might be overthinking it but I’ve been advised to go for a light truck rating on the above tyre by a mate who is fairly knowledgeable on these things.
However the couple or three shops I’ve called can’t confirm the options they have are LT rated, with one saying all the AT3s are deemed light truck and have a 10ply side wall, another stated that they fall into that category on the basis of the load carrying number 120 etc and that he thought they may be 6-8ply and finally one had no idea of what a LT was.
Are any of the above correct?
It’s a triton Ute and to be honest it’s probably only ever going to be rutted DOCgravel roads tracks etc at worst, no towing at this stage but maybe a trailer sailer in the future and want safe road handling particularly in wet conditions over off road performance. The 3s seem to fit the bill over the newerAT4s, another store I rang has the XL version in stock, any disadvantages with those other than potential overkill?

Thanks in advance
FP

I recently replaced my 3ply hankook ats with 10ply hankook ats. Wish I stayed with the 3ply. The tyres are substantially heavier and suck the hp out of the truck. They are also very stiff and suffer in traction in the wet.
My 2cents

I run Falken AT3s on my fencers truck (it doesn't do as much off road work as some) - I can't run muds as I tow 2.5 tonne digger and need on road traction too - muds are fatal on wet tar seal! I can't answer your question on ply rating but they have served me well over 1.5 sets.

If doing a LOT of heavy towing and running at full load the LT's are the way to go - but, the consequences are a harsher ride and you will need to be a lot better at adjusting tyre pressures to suit what you are doing.

The stiffer carcass and sidewall can be counteracted a bit by running a lower tyre pressure when you are empty and then upping the pressure when you need to have the stiffer sidewall (like a 3.5ton digger trailer pushing the back of the ute around). If you run light with the tyres at full pressure, likely to be noisier, hit bumps harder and also might be slightly less grippy if it's wet.

For occasional towing of something like a trailer sailer, I would not be looking to run LT's - it's more of a fully loaded service ute going into the forestry type scenario for me. For example of this, I was in construction diving and the gear is f**king heavy but not bulky so I could easily take the ute over max axle weight if not careful... I don't run LT tyres as I'm not running heavy all the time although I am on aftermarket "towing pack" rear suspension with a balancing tweak to the front to level it back out as the trailers I was towing were too heavy for the factory rear leafs and inverted them!

Ive got AT4ws on my older Triton FP. Im a bit like you , no serious off road. They seem bloody good for the price. Best thing is theyre nice and quiet on the road where they spend most of their time. You can actually talk to people while driving. ( previously had maxis MT which were overkill).

This is the 2 types. I have the non Light Truck type in green.
The red one is heavier and stronger.

They come in both types like you mention. When I got mine I went for the lighter one as I'm 90% on seal driving. There is the LT option. I'll see if I can find the chart with them on.

Cheers for the replies folks, and the chart Rumpy! Seen similar and read it as the XL (xtra load) version was even beefier than the LT but looking at the load numbers it’s less? All very confusing for a newb like me. Think it’s a trip to chat to the store in person!
Quite keen to get the 3s while they are available even though they are more expensive than the 4s as all the reviews seem to indicate they are a better tyre.

FP

I got them because the price wasn't too high and the reviews were pretty good. Have done 13k on them and they seem to be lasting well.

On my 3rd set of AT3W. First set were LT (and the tyre with have that on them) the next 2 have been the "standard" ones. As others have said unless you are regularly carrying heavy loads or expect to have rough country and possible side damage ahead you can stick to the standard ones and be happy. The price keeps going up on them though, latest set were $100 per tyre more than the last set.

Bloody good tyres, had a set of at3w, now on a set of at4ws, can’t notice any difference. Highly recommend both.

Got a set of AT3W LT265/70R16 tyres fitted to a MN Triton. Do about 500-650 kms/week. High percentage of sealed road work and gravel roads with a mix of DOC, forest /farm tracks and untracked riverbed/hillside work. Done 43416 kms so far and approaching half worn. Ute always has a bit of gear in back and regularly tows a trailer, 3.57 m3, of wet pine or eucalyptus firewood. Good grip in dry and wet and I push them pretty hard, but of lead foot. Generally run at 40 psi front and rear. Reasonably quiet tyre noise and comfortable on road. In all probability will replace with same.