The OEM wheel and tire setup (left) had a lot of offset and were tucked into the body of the truck. The new ALPHAequipt Command wheels are half an inch wider with 21mm less offset placing the wheel just over an inch (27mm) wider per side than stock. Compound that with the Falken WildPeak A/T3W having a 2-inch wider tread width, and the new setup increased our track-width over 2 inches while giving our truck a much more aggressive stance.
TESTING
Once on the road, the wider track width and much wider treadwidth of the Falken WildPeak A/T3W greatly improved turn-in steering response over the stock setup. This was quite surprising because I expected a tire that is more off-road focused with a big soft sidewall to have a lot of deflection, tread squirm, and feel numb and ‘mushy’. But I was wrong. The steering was actually sharper and the truck was far more responsive and better handling due to what feels like a stiffer sidewall.
Out on the highway, I was surprised with how quiet the tires were. There was no humming or drone from the tires and if I had to criticize it at all, there was a very faint, low-pitched noise floor that you really had to listen for that was barely noticeable as different over stock. This quickly faded away completely as wind noise picked up with speed. The tires are essentially quiet and do a great job at soaking up and damping the pitter-patter noise and harshness of road joints and impacts from potholes. The overall ride quality was very similar to stock but with the ability to soften harsh impacts better and surprisingly better handling.
In parking lots, we were pleased that there was zero rubbing from lock to lock with the wider tread width and offsets.
On icy roads, the WildPeak A/T3W performed very well. The tire bit into the icy, steep driveway in 2-wheel-drive without drama, which was a struggle with the old tires when the truck was in 4X4 mode.
On snow-covered roads and out in the fields, the WildPeak A/T3W had a lot of grip, bite, and control. We had zero issue traversing many unpaved roads without drama where the old tires were constantly spinning and causing the entire truck to drift out of the groove. It’s night and day how much more capable these Falkens are in low grip conditions.
Overall, we are very happy with the new looks and capabilities of the ALPHAequipt Command wheels and Falken WildPeak A/T3W tires. Our Silverado now has a much tougher stance and appearance, and the performance to back it up both on the street with improved handling response and manners, and especially off-road which is extremely important for safety and keeping us out of ditches when out in the country on ice and snow. This tire is extremely well-rounded with a good, quiet ride quality and very high limits that would only be surpassed by accepting significant compromises in noise and on-road handling manners. In the way the Michelin PS4S and Continental ExtremeContact SPORT are fantastic and versatile performance tires for street and sportscars alike, I would say the Falken WildPeak A/T3W is similarly as successful at performing so well in many different aspects for trucks and SUVs.
