Delta National "Private "Brand" Radials... anybody using 'em?

[Gunslinger]

From what I've read many well known tire makers have farmed out their low line tires to Asia. Essentially the labor costs are the same as a cheap tire as a top grade tire, outside the cost of better materials, so the cheap tires come from the land of cheap labor. Different lines of tires may come from any number of Asian tire factories, so I can understand the general answer of "somewhere in Asia".

Some Asian tires are excellent, but they're mostly the upper line tires to begin with. With the exception of Goodyear and Cooper (maybe some smaller makers), American tire makers are owned by offshore corporations (Bridgestone owns Firestone for example). My own suspicion (with no real evidence), is that the foreign tire makers save their best tire technology and processes for their own name not for their American subsidiary. Otherwise, why would American made tires cost more and not be considered as good in many tests? You can't tell me American companies can't make tires equal to or better than the imports. I don't believe their corporate owners are giving them the budget and R&D to make tires that eclipse their own brand. My opinion and my rant...sorry.

In general, there's nothing wrong with private label tires as they're made by the big boys. I used to sell private label tires back in the 1970's (made for us by Kelly Springfield which is a Goodyear subsidiary). For example, most of the Pep Boys brand tires are made for them by Cooper. Check and compare tire ratings on the sidewall, compare what you're getting for the money and if the tire meets your needs. Tires aren't like motor oils...if you don't like the oil you put in your car this time, next oil change get a different oil. Not much expense. Tires represent a long term investment...make sure you buy what meets your needs from the beginning.

To me, tires are like brakes...even the best is barely good enough.

[riversidevw]

Well said, gunslinger!

My question regarding a product with tempting specifications but obscure origins wasn't intended as a blanket condemnation of private brand tires or a xenophobic rant against Asian products.

Yes, the tire industry reflects a world of multinational corporations. I currently have some highly rated Yokohama products on my Hawks... all manufactured in the US (Yoko acquired the old Mohawk company here years ago). I would recommend them highly, but Yokohama has pretty much eliminated their 75 series tires in the past year.

I also agree that overseas companies tend to reserve their latest technology for their own premium product lines. Continental AG makes the General UHP Z-rated tire in several of their European and Brazilian plants. They are very attractive, capable and affordable performance tires. Again, I have them and like them on a family VW, but they don't boast the advanced features of the new Conti Extreme DWS.

And yes, there are some smaller, highly reputable tire makers out there. I'm a fan of the Dutch-made Vredestein Sprint Classic line. They are mostly aimed at older European models, but I have a set on the '58 Prez. Their 205/70R14's are superb on a mid-70's Mercedes SLC coupe, so good that I'm tempted to use the 15" version on my newly acquired '63 Avanti. 205/70's would seem a bit small in overall diameter, though.

My post that opened this thread yesterday seems to have slipped away into oblivion.

[HookedonStudies]

Aside from the global economics involved in the tire industry (and most other industries as well), what's happening here is that new car models over the last 20 years or so have been equipped with larger diameter, lower profile, wider width tires. The reasoning behind this, from the car manufacturer standpoint, is aesthetics and tighter handling (perhaps subjective attributes). As a result, most vehicles that came new with 15" tires are quickly approaching 20 years of age and they are disappearing from daily use in large numbers. So, because there are fewer and fewer vehicles on the road that require a 15" tire, the mainstream manufacturers have moved away from most 15" sizes. Some smaller manufacturers and private labelers have taken up some of the slack, but we are not far off from the time when a replacement tire for a postwar Studebaker becomes a specialty item that is only made or sold by niche market folks (Coker etc.).

As this situation runs its course, you will not see the latest greatest features on these tire sizes. For example, low rolling resistance is a new buzzword, and whatever becomes the "sidewall treatment dejour" will not apply to the old standbys.

Our little corner of the old car hobby is not being picked on, or singled out to be punished. Its the same thing that happened to the Model T guys at some point.

[Gunslinger]

Hooked...you hit it squarely. Eventually all tires for obsolete applications will be discontinued by the major tire makers and the small, specialty makers will be the prime source for them. That's just business...the big makers want fast moving, high volume products. It provides their cash flow and profit...that doesn't happen with slow moving products that sit in a warehouse. I understand that. When a need arises, someone steps in to service the market...that's where the specialty makers come into play.

Even now, the bigger makers that produce tires for vintage muscle cars don't make them full time. BF Goodrich makes and sells the Radial T/A...a quintessential and very popular muscle car tire. They don't make it full time...they make runs on them only at certain times of the year. Some sizes seem to be regularly backordered due to this. The market for them is fairly small but active, hence the demand. At some point that demand will dwindle and BFG will have to make a decision on production...like they do all of their product line.

Back in the '70s when I was selling tires and radial construction tires were becoming widely available, the buzzword for them was "low rolling resistance"...nothing is really new...just being recycled.

It's just the free market speaking.

[aenthal]

But wait a minute, aren't most collector cars using specialty tires already?
My 1952 Land Cruiser has bias wide whites. No mainstream tire store makes bias ply of any size or style.
I was even told (with a straight face by a tire store employee) that bias ply tires were no longer made, anywhere. Of course I knew better and said "thank-you," and walked out, buying my tires at a store a few miles further.
Radials have the problem, for limited mileage collector cars, of shelf life.
I had a radial tire internally self-destruct on my modern car. Tread was fine, but it was five years old.
When I asked the shop that replaced it, why it failed, he described it as dry rot, which might not be technically accurate, but I have had belt separation and other "old age" concerns on radials since radials came about.
They don't last for low mileage cars that are mostly stored. They don't even last through all their tread for daily drivers.
Bias ply do last a decade or so for low mileage cars.
So aren't most of us already in the specialty tire realm, unless we have converted a collector car to off the shelf radials (as one of my vintage cars is, because it drives cross-country).

[Gunslinger]

You're correct, many are already using specialty tires, but many tire sizes that were widely available are entering the market of specialty tires. As the tire makers decide to eliminate them from their product catalog then the specialty makers will pick them up as some have already done. 70 and 60 series tires that were common in the late '60s and '70s are still available, but there are fewer to select from on the market, and aren't being upgraded with more modern tire technology and tread compounds. If you want that, you have to buy 16", 17" or 18" wheels to get tires of the most modern performance standards.

The bias ply narrow tread tires have been the province of the specialty suppliers for quite some time now. They're expensive for what you get...the result of low volume production. To stay in business the profit margins have to be higher than high volume products which can take advantage of economies of scale.