With over 11 years of tire making experience, Delinte tires is a brand committed to the American market

Delinte Tires is a mid-tier Chinese tire brand, part of the larger Qingdao Sentry Tire Co. headquartered in Qingdao, China. Sentry was established in 2008 amidst one of the worse financial recessions of all time and first started making tires for the domestic and global market in 2009, establishing three lines of tires from mid-tier, luxury, to premium starting with Landsail, Delinte, and Sentury tires.

Delinte tires, like the other two Sentry brands, are found in hundreds of tires shops around the United States including Walmart and can be purchased over the internet on Amazon and eBay including dedicated online tire shops like TireRack and SimpleTire.com

Delinte Tires has two factories, one in China and the other in Thailand. Sentry’s Qingdao, Shandong, China plant is their main tire plant capable of producing 15 million passenger, light, truck and UHP tires. They also produce radial truck, and earth moving tires. According to Modern Tire Dealer, Sentry says 40 percent of their production is headed to the United States, a clear sign they’re committed to success in North America and are not fly-by-night.

Their Bangkok, Thailand plant can make around 12-million car and light truck tires a year. This Thailand plant, as of 2017, is also producing tires for the United States.

Sentry had plans to build a similarly sized tire plant in Georgia, like their Thailand plant, but shaky US-China trade relations shuttered any construction on US soil since the Chinese government will not grant Sentry an IPO, critical for Sentry’s funding.

Literally born from Jets

Since Sentry is the parent company of Delinte, I was surprised to learn that Sentry also makes tires for the Boeing 737, one of the world’s most popular passenger jet aircrafts. How many tire companies can say they make tire for jets? Not many.

With strict manufacturing guidelines, a severe testing protocol, and a quality control check that goes above and beyond normal car tires, few tire makers make passenger jet-spec tires. As such, the aircraft tire market is described as an oligopoly, a market dominated by a few key manufacturers.

According to Sentry,

Sentury successfully acquired aircraft tire technology through seven years of continuous investment into R&D. Its perseverance paid off when those aircraft tires passed relevant commercial aircraft tire tests. In 2014, Sentury obtained the Certificate Technical Standard Order Approval (CTSOA Certificate) issued by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC). In 2016, it successfully installed and tested aircraft tires suitable for Boeing 737 aircraft.

It’s safe to say that a tire company that can make a jet tire will also make a decent car tire.

Delinte Tire lineup

Delinte Tires’s portfolio covers crossover, light truck, performance, touring and SUVs.

  • Crossover – DH2, DH7
  • Light Truck – Bandit M/T DX9, Bandit A/T DX10, Bandit H/T DX11, Bandit R/T DX12
  • Performance – D7,
  • SUV – DH2, Bandit M/T DX9, DS8, Bandit A/T DX10
  • Touring – DH2, DH7

Delinte Tire are for a younger demographic with choices specifically for the weekend off-roader and high-performance stance cars that require aggressive fitment.

Last yea, Delinte rebranded towards a younger audience. Their Bandit lineup of tires has key technology like 3-ply sidewall puncture guard, F-Rated 12PLY, and Multi level tread design giving these off-road tires the competitive, technological edge on a budget.

Delinte’s DS8 comes in a whopping 82-sizes. Subbed the “Staggared collective” this tire was made specifically for high-performance cars like the Dodge Challenger, Charger, Ford Mustang, and Chrysler 300 that have big horsepower and wider tires out back compared to the fronts. “Many high-performance, domestic and European vehicles, come with a staggered setup direct from the factory.”

Are Delinte Tires any good?

Rating: 7 out of 10.

After researching the company, reading tons of reviews, and learning about their commitment to the U.S. market, I give Delinte 7 out of 10 stars, overall.

Delinte tires are good tires.

Delinte gets such a high rating because of the amount of tire you get for the price. Take for example the DS8 235/35/19, the size you need for your Dodge Challenger SXT AWD. Priced at $104 a piece on Simple Tire and similarly on other sites, it’s literally the lowest-priced offering at that size.

Yet, the reviews speak for themselves.

Reviewer Don Vise had this size DS8 on his truck and writes,

Haven’t had these long enough to give a full review but so far they are much quieter and handle very well compared to the 6 yr old Michelin’s that they replaced. Michelin’s only had 15,000 mile but were weather checked and needed replacement. This truck is only used periodically.

Nabil Alanbar gives one of the more honest reviews,

So far so good. A fair bit more roll in these tires than the Conti DWS08 they replaced, but considering the price difference, it’s hard to complain. They are also not quite as good on wet surfaces. Don’t get me wrong, they are fine for 99% of the weather out there, but when it gets really crazy, they don’t quite stack up. I have not yet had a chance to test them in snow. Of course, I live in Vermont, so I should have a chance by mid-October.

Anyway, considering the price, it would be silly of me to complain, so I won’t. They are perfectly adequate tires, for a very reasonable price. I have no complaints. Just don’t expect them to run like more expensive tires, because they AREN’T more expensive tires.

You can read the rest of the reviews here.

Conclusion

Chinese tires get a bad rap simply because of the country of origin, but Delinte is one of those brands making a strong case against that frankly outdated stereotype.

Don’t expect to take Delinte Tires up the Rubicon or set fast lap times on Laguna Seca because these premium budget tires (yah, oxymoron, I know, but you get what I mean) aren’t made for that.

If you’re a weekend off-roader or own a RWD-biased high-performance car, you need to give Delinte Tires a serious look, especially if you’re on a budget, aren’t canyon carving everyday, and just need a good tire.

And if you have a truck, SUV, Crossover, or mini-van that needs a good set of tires, give Delinte a look, too.

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