The Delta Grand Prix Tour RS is classified as a Grand Touring tire – so what’s the difference between Grand Touring and ordinary all-season tires? Quick question with a quick answer: Grand Touring tires are designed for year-round traction along with an emphasis on ride comfort and low noise. We’re here to tell you that the Grand Prix Tour RS from Delta is a tire you can count on in both of those respects.

This is a tire that’s designed to handle well, deliver traction in wet or dry conditions, and offer a ride that’s supple and silent, at an affordable price. So what is it about the tire that makes it such a great value and a standout performer? Let’s go in for a closer look with this Delta Grand Prix Tour RS review:

Features and Benefits

Here are a few of the strong points with the Delta Grand Prix Tour RS:

• Low rolling resistance helps cut fuel consumption over the life of the tire
• Solid center rib improves straight-line stability, road manners, driver feedback, and steering response
• Tread pitch is randomized and computer-tuned to help neutralize certain frequencies and resonances to keep road noise low
• Circumferential grooves pump water through and behind the tire’s contact patch to resist the hydroplaning effect on wet roads
• Full-depth sipes multiply traction with hundreds of extra hair-thin slits that serve as biting edges to cut through standing water, snow, slush
• The shoulder is reinforced to resist the stresses of cornering, keeping more rubber in contact with the road for dependable handling
• The contact patch is redesigned and optimized for a broad, flat footprint that encourages even wear, good braking performance
• Backed by a 60,000 mile limited manufacturer tread life warranty
• Affordable price

Pros and Cons

So, is this Delta tire the right choice for your ride and budget? Before you decide, let’s take a look at the tire’s pros and cons.

PROS:

• Quiet and forgiving ride quality
• Handling is predictable and competent
• Confident traction in dry weather
• Generous warranty coverage

CONS:

• Should not be used in moderate to severe winter weather conditions
• Fuel efficiency could be better
• Some drivers have reported issues with wet weather performance and tread wear

SimpleTire’s view on Delta Grand Prix Tour RS tires

Below a certain price point, you’re bound to have to make some sacrifices when it comes to all-season or Grand Touring tires. Not so with the Delta Grand Prix Tour RS – the Grand Prix Tour RS is a tire that offers the kind of performance and value you’d expect from tires that cost far more. Let’s start with the ride quality, which in true Grand Touring fashion absorbs bumps and road irregularities with ease and transmits little of the pavement’s roughness and vibrations to the passenger compartment.

The solid center rib means that this tire offers great driver feedback and responds to steering input directly without ever feeling jumpy or overly sensitive. Braking performance and cornering are consistent and precise (our SimpleScore system assigns a numerical value of 8.0 for handling), with a shoulder that lets a driver push this tire just about up to the limit with safety and confidence. Treadwear is excellent too, with a 60,000 mile warranty that far exceeds what you’d expect for many tires in this price range (SimpleScore of 8.0 for longevity). The Delta Grand Prix Tour RS doesn’t easily lose its composure on rough or irregular pavement, doesn’t try to track itself down grooved pavement, and offers good feedback for the driver, with excellent straight-line stability at highway speed.

The combination of lateral grooves, angled grooves, sipes, and circumferential grooves help deliver consistent year-round traction on wet or dry pavement (SimpleScore for traction: 7.8) and the low rolling resistance of the Grand Prix Tour RS’s tread compound makes a definite difference in fuel economy, especially when spread out over the life of the tire. No, the Delta Grand Prix Tour RS doesn’t do well in harsh winter weather (most all-season and Grand Touring tires don’t, to be fair). What it does do well, though, is offer long wear, low rolling resistance, decent handling properties, a supple ride, and consistent traction at a surprising price.

Vehicles the Delta Grand Prix Tour RS is a good replacement tire for

• Chevrolet Impala
• Chrysler Pacifica
• Dodge Journey
• Ford Flex
• Honda Accord
• Kia Rio
• Mazda3
• Nissan Rogue
• Subaru Legacy
• Toyota Avalon
• Volkswagen Tiguan