Newbie Tire Question

Here's the deal. I don't know much about cars. I'll be getting a Mustang as a gift in the summer. It's a 94' Mustang with the V6. It's got nothing in it. Manual EVERYTHING! This is ok since I don't like fixing electronics. It is a five speed. I don't need a bigger engine since I'll be getting married soon and apparently there are more important things than power, according to the woman. The one thing I want to change on it is the rims. They are ugly. In fact, they are the three spoke hub caps. And the previous owner lost two of them. I have already chosen the Ford Racing SVT 2003 Cobra wheels. I know nothing about tires. What companies should I stick with. I normally drive in the suburbs although I want to be able to have a little fun in the curvy country roads every once in a while. What kind of tire should I go for? What brands should I steer away from? How much should I spend on a decent tire. Keep in mind, I will not be drag racing, but I want good performance. Thanks for the future input.

Go to www.tirerack.com and look around that site. Very good info for you.

ok assume you dont know much let me give you the shpeel.

ok tires have a bunch of numbers and letters on them

for example my car has P225/55R16 tires on them
the 225 means 225 MM tire width, the 55 means 55% aspect ratio, and the R means radial tire, the 16 means 16 inches of Rim diameter, the wheels outside diameter should remain the same, i believe its 25.7 inches.

you want to stick with the stock overall tire height to avoid complications with the speedometer and engine computer.

This can be accomplished by selecting a tire that has the same overall height as the stock tires, but matches the rim diameter (bead seat to bead seat) of the new wheels. any competent wheel/tire shop can help you make that selection. i go through discount tire co..

as for brand of tires, there are many to choose from. i think a lot of guys who arent' terribly concerned with performance but still want a nice grippy tire go with goodyear (this is heresy... feel free to tell me i'm wrong.) some better, more performance-oriented and more expensive brands are yokohama, toyo, kumho, mickey thompson(dunno if they make anything but drag tires, but oh well), etc.

bottom line is, a competent tire shop salesperson will help you make the correct selection for what you're trying to do.