r/overlanding • u/Own_Sheepherder5681 • 3d ago
Yokohama Geolandar G018 vs. Falken Wildpeak AT4W
I'm narrowing down my next tires for my 2025 Outback Wilderness (225/65R17) and am torn between the Yokohama Geolandar A/T4 G018 (SL) and Falken Wildpeak A/T4W (XL).
My use case is 95% highway, 5% genuine (light) off-roading: beaches full of driftwood, rutted two-tracks, forest trails, etc. No rock crawling. I have full underbody skid plates and frequently explore fairly remote trails, so durability and puncture resistance matter.
My dilemma:
- G018: ~29 lb. Seems like an excellent balance of on-road refinement and off-road capability. Evolution of the stock G015s that came on by OBW.
- AT4W: ~35 lb, heavier XL construction, aggressive tread, and a stellar reputation among off-roaders. Possibly tougher and better off-road, but at the cost of weight, ride quality, and potentially MPG.
Question: Has anyone compared these directly? Is the AT4W noticeably tougher or more capable off-road? And how much on-road comfort, noise, and efficiency am I sacrificing?
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u/EverydayHoser 3d ago
Geolander is a road-focused AT much better suited to your use case. AT4W is tougher, harsher, heavier, and will result in worse fuel mileage
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u/Prudent_Candidate566 2d ago
I have G015s on our 2020 Outback.
We’ve done Stony Pass and lots of other similar roads/trails in SW CO without a flat, aired down to 20 psi. Tires are way more capable than you’d think. The approach angle and flat belly of the Outback will always be the limiting factor off-road.
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u/Shmokesshweed 3d ago
Highly recommend you consider the Toyo Open Country AT III. More aggressive than the Geolander without the weight of the AT4W.
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u/Own_Sheepherder5681 3d ago
Nice - will research them!
Have you used them? Are they loud?1
u/Shmokesshweed 3d ago
Ran them on my AWD Maverick for 30k before I sold it. Fantastic balance between traction, noise, and MPGs. Will likely get them for my Ranger soon.
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u/ImFerr 2d ago
I just put a 1 year old set of those on, got an amazing deal on them and I had Geolanders (G013?) that were at 80k miles and 8 years lol. I love them, the yokos were LT and these are P which I was a little hesitant on but with the off-roading I do, the money saved was worth it plus they are way quieter and ride nicer. This is on a 100 series Land Cruiser.
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u/The_World_Is_A_Slum 3d ago
Which part are you trying to improve, the 5% or the 95?
Either way, I’d be more comfortable alone in the woods with LT tires than any P-metric, but they are less pleasant for daily driving, more so on something lighter like a Subaru.
The Yokohamas are nice on the pavement, you may want to split the difference and try the Falken Wildpeak Trail. We have them on the wife’s Subaru, they’re unnoticeable on pavement and have been fine on anything we’ve encountered (and had the clearance for).
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u/Own_Sheepherder5681 3d ago
Tradeoff problem. That 5% isn't just gravel or improved dirt roads- its rough two tracks and crawling over lots of driftwood in remote beaches- while not rock crawling, its not nothing.
But the car is also my daily driver- I don't want a super load hum or terribly road manners.
So trying to find an AT tire that is tougher than "crossover" tires (like the wildpeak trail) while still having decent road manners- which my research points to the G018 or the Wildpeak AT4W.
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u/The_World_Is_A_Slum 2d ago
That’s kind of what I’m getting at. Realistically, maybe 2% of my mileage is off pavement, and I don’t need an aggressive or heavy tire for most of that. However, on every trip, I’m glad that I have aggressive E-rated tires because they allow me to safely get to where I’m trying to go without getting stuck or cutting down a tire, so the tradeoff is worth it. It’s not like I can drive 400 miles, swap a set of tires, ride around for a few days, then swap again and drive home. That’s just not practical.
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u/518Off-Road 2d ago
You’d be much better off comparing the Falken Rubitreks vs the Yokohamas for your use case. The AT4W is going to be overkill for what you’re looking to do. The Rubitreks offer much more benefit to people who mostly stick to the road, but still need the offroad performance every now and then. I’ve had people with Rubitreks follow me through some pretty nasty stuff without issue.
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u/thegreatdivorce Back Country Adventurer 2d ago
This is maybe marginally useful, but I had the G015 LT for about 50k miles, and have the AT4W now. The G015 were solid tires, more capable off-road than their mild looks and road focus would imply. I was never really thrilled with their snow performance, but besides that good. Wet traction also went to absolute crap about 10k miles before I’d consider them “worn out” based on the tread wear.
Anyway, the AT4W so far are shockingly quiet, and road manners are great. If you’re wanting to improve the off-road edge case, go for the AT4W, the bonus being you don’t sacrifice much in terms of on-road behavior. I also personally think the Yokos are over priced by at least 10-15%.
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u/Ocean_Runner 2d ago
If you can find them in the correct size for you I really rate the Geolandar X-AT that I have on my Defender.
Not noisy on the road and really good grip in the wet, together with better offroad bite than the G018 when required.
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u/bitconor 2d ago
If that’s your use case then go with whichever you think look the best. Any technicality of one being better than the other is just weeds to get lost in, any of those tires will be just fine for you. I’ve settled on the toyos, I like them more than the at3 or k2s but realistically they all got me the same places just fine anything I had to worry about at any point would have been a worry with any of them. If your use case was like 75%+ off road then you probly know what you want and have a reason for it. Otherwise for guys like us just get what you think looks best because you’ll notice that more than any marginal performance difference.
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u/Sibender 1d ago
Just be aware that the geolanders are street tires, not off-road tires. I blew out the sidewalls in two geolanders in about 500 miles of trail driving. Even on forest service graded roads I would be cautious.
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u/TheCarcissist 1d ago
Are the wildpeak AT trails an option? I ran those on my forester and absolutely loved them, especially in the snow
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u/PeakQuirky84 1d ago
Don’t know why everyone loves the AT4W so much. It’s objectively not good in snow and ice if you ever encounter that.
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u/PartTime_Crusader 3d ago
I had the wildpeaks on my old (non-wilderness) Subaru and went for the geolanders on my current wilderness Subaru when my OEM needed replacing. My use profile is similar to yours. I've been happy with them so far. My primary rationale is I've got a bunch of crap on my roof that is already eating some gas mileage, I didn't want to further compromise it with heavier tires, and I put the stock geolanders heavily through their paces the first few years I had the car, with good results.
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u/wb77 2d ago
Wildpeak is a weird choice for 95% highway