I need a new set of tires for my 70 Dart. I use it as a daily driver. It's got a 225 just stock (as far as I can tell). I'm looking to get a decent set, and I'm just curious to know if it makes any difference in what brand/model I get. I live in California and don't drive in snow or anything like that. It's my first time buying tires, I feel like such a kid. Oh wait, I am hahaha.
Thanks in advance for the help.

www.tirerack.com is a great place to learn a bunch about tires. once you know some info then you can go to a tire dealer and see what they have to sell. between the two of them you should be okay.

I highly recommend The Tire Rack, as long as you don't mind the minor PITA of having them shipped and then installed. I've got a local shop that'll mount and balance tires I bring in for $12 each, and you can have the tires drop-shipped to whatever location you want. Tire Rack has every specification you'd want for a tire, including diameters, tread ratings, and owner reviews, all of which are very helpful. Their customer service is also excellent. Guess I'm a "regular customer" — I've been buying all of my tires from them for 10 years...

VM

Ditto on The Tire Rack. They have a great information base with tests and customer reviews. On a specific brand I've got to say that my current favorite is Kumho. The Kumhos I've bought, HP4 716, KH11 and ASX have been exceptional value for the money and rival the premium brands like Michelin for performance.

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"Former Owner" of '65 Barracuda, 225, Auto, MP 2bbl intake, MP cam, Dutra Duals. Presently Moparless.

I am just about to mount a new set of tires on this year's project --- a 64 Valiant convert. I have the tiny 14 by 4.5 rims on the car, and I want to keep them. I was thinking about Firestone Indy 500, 185R14. Comments? Tirerack's site says they are ok for my narrow rims. Would prefer some whitewalls though.

StradSixer,

Yes, there is a huge difference that a set of tires can make. I've run one of my other cars with Firestone Firehawks and then with Kumho Victoracer V700's in the same size, and the difference in behavior was unbelievable - the Kumhos were much stickier. They also gave much less audible warning before they started sliding, rode much more harshly, and probably wouldn't last nearly as long as normal street tires. In other words, not something you'd want except for a truly hardcore handler. Granted, that was comparing street tires with barely legal race tires, but even with comparisons between true street tires as opposed to street versus race tires there can be vast differences. Tire Rack probably has some of the best recommendations.

Slantophile, those tires are not much wider than the stock ones. There shouldn't be any problem with them.

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"Mad Scientist" Matt Cramer
'66 Dart - turbocharged 225
My blog - Mad Scientist Matt's Lair