Favorite tire is dead.

[exeres11]

Found out today, according to several local tire shops, that my favorite tires are no longer made. I was looking for a set of Delta Chaparral A/P 31x10.50x15’s. I’ve had two sets of them in the past and have been amazed at their overall performance. Granted, I wasn’t out there rock crawling or trying to make it through mud up to the mirrors but occasionally I ventured into areas where I needed all terrain capacities and the chaparral’s did outstanding. Their road noise was minimal if not nonexistent. They seemed to last forever and the price was fantastic. I guess those days are gone and I guess that was a rant of sorts.
So now I need to decide on another type / brand of tire. I would like to have all the same characteristics of the chaparral but I know some of those criteria will not be met. So with that being said I need some opinions thrown out here.

What tire would you go with in an 85% street and 15% trail situation?

I know a lot of people may say the BFG A/T’s but they are a little out of my budget, which is my critical deciding factor. I need them to be as close to $100 a pop or under if possible. It does not have to be a name brand tire.
Road noise is also of great concern because my commute is my relaxing time. I don’t want to feel like I’m driving a dump truck.
Fire away with some opinions.

Thanks,

 

[toypaseo]

Pic for reference:

 

[exeres11]

yeah... that was it...

 

[MrShorty]

When I look at an off brand tire, I locate the DOT code and get the first two characters from it and look up the manufacturer (I posted a thread with a DOT decoder and a link to the NTSB's look up page sometime in this forum). Then, if I like the tire, I can look for other tires (including off brands) by that manufacturer. If I don't like the tire, I'll know to avoid that manufacturer. Do you still have the tires, so you can look up the code?

 

[exeres11]

No, those tires where on a explorer I sold a while back. I do know they where made by Delta. So you're saying look for another tire made by Delta?

 

[techieman33]

He was sting to find out which parent company makes the tires. Delta is just a generic brand that one of the big manufacturers uses to sell cheap tires. I did a little google searching for you and found out Cooper made those tires. So if you look at cooper tires or one of their generic brands you might find something you like.

 

[TheEnforcer98]

We carry Sigma Stampede's at my work (NTB), they are made by Cooper and look pretty much identical to that.

 

[exeres11]

Ok, I get it now.
Wow, thanks for the help! I'm going to check those out!

 

[Dan Whitaker]

Pic for reference:

That tread patern looks very close to the Hancook Dynapro tires I had put on my wife's Tracker back in Jan this year.

 

[exeres11]

Hey everybody, I’ve been shopping around looking at all kinds of tires. Luckily I’m not in a big hurry on getting a set because I don’t even have the truck in my possession yet. I really like the General Grabber A/T2’s but I’m going to keep looking.

I’ve almost decided to go with the 30x9.50 rather than the 31x10.50.

What do you think about the size differences? Pros vs. cons?

 

[Anime]

The Delta tire site still shows the Chaparral AP as a current tire. Maybe the local shop just can't get it, but it still comes up around the internet so it doesn't seem to be discontinued. You can call Delta/DelNat tire corporation at 901-775-5002 or send them an email at marketing@delnat.com and get an answer straight from them on whether or not the Chaparral AP is still in production. They seem to also be the manufacturer for Pro Comp tires, so I doubt they are out of business or discontinuing anything, unless maybe they are phasing out the Delta brand tires in favor of ramping up production of Pro Comps.

My personal tire of choice for 75% on road/25% off-road driving is the Michelin LTX M/S. It comes in 30 x 9.5 and 31 x 10.50 in a TRUE Light Truck casing, and is one of, if not THE smoothest riding and longest lasting light truck tires you can get. They ARE slightly over $100/ea, BUT the thing about these is they will last twice as long as the tires that are just under $100. I had 80,000 miles on my last set, and they were only halfway worn down. I sold the set of 4 for $100, and also got a $70 instant rebate from Michelin, which took care of the initial extra cost of the tires, making them about the same cost as the sub-$100 tires. I know all that is a little complicated for tires, but I feel it's worth it for the Michelins.

Otherwise there are still plenty of inexpensive tires. General Tire, well known as a good inexpensive brand, has a new A/T tread that is a knockoff of the old BFG A/T design, and should be in that price range. Firestone regularly has sales and prices their 30 x 9.50Destination AT, a well-reviewed all-terrain tire, much less than the 235.75R15 or 31 x 10.50 size. Cooper Tire has A/T's and are usually a pretty good deal too.

With summer now here, there are bound to be some rebate/discount/sale offers from the various tire manufacturers, so keep an eye out for deals and you might wind up with some really good tires for a surprising price.

You also might consider shopping around for new tire take-offs, plenty of people who bought new tires/wheels get rid of the factory stuff for cheap, and you could get a set of wheels AND Michelin OEM tires (usually the Cross Terrain SUV, a really good street tire that can handle some dirt roads and inclement weather) for less than a new set of tires.

One last suggestion, if the tires are discontinued, theres a good chance they are on clearance somewhere. A tire shop with the right distributor that still has some in their warehouse would likely be more than happy to get a set to a tire shop for you. You may have to ask the local tire guy to make some calls and ask around, or even deal with a larger shop in the nearest major city that deals with Cooper/Deltas distributors directly, and might be more likely to have some old stock.

 

[tweakedlogic]

I just got off the phone with them. I they make those hear in Memphis. They are in fact discontinued.
The Procomp A/Ts are still made, but on back order.