Once upon a time, buying new tires seemed as simple as buying new sneakers. In either case, you had to answer only one question. With the sneakers, it was "High-tops or low?" With tires, it was "Regular or snow?"

Now, when you walk into a shoe store, you face a host of different choices for different activities-walking, running, basketball, tennis, aerobics, cross-training and more. Each type of shoe has characteristics optimized for the demands of its particular sport, and each involves compromises. For instance, a running shoe may provide great heel cushioning for straight-ahead, mile-after-mile pavement pounding, but not the side-to-side stability you need on a tennis or basketball court.

The same goes for tires. Some are built for the quiet, comfortable ride you want in a family sedan. Others are designed for the responsive handling and agile cornering you expect with a sports car. The kind of tires you choose really depends on the kind of vehicle you drive and how you drive it.

Rubber with Personality

Automotive experts generally consider four broad characteristics when they analyze a tire: tread wear (durability), responsiveness, comfort and traction. Together, these qualities define a tire's personality. Often, a particular tire's composition and construction will maximize one or two of these qualities at the expense of others.

Think of plain-vanilla all-season radials at one end of the spectrum. "In general, all-season radials focus on tread wear and ride comfort," says Bob Toth, marketing manager at Goodyear. "On a base four-door full-size sedan, say, they'll last a long time and give you a smooth ride with very little road noise."

At the other end of the spectrum are so-called "performance" tires, which maximize traction and responsiveness. They'll give a sports car great grip on corners during lively driving. And, working with a sports car's relatively stiff suspension, they'll help keep the vehicle sure-footed during quick steering maneuvers. But, compared with all-season radials, performance tires are pretty noisy and wear faster. They also provide a ride that's noticeably less smooth than the one you would enjoy from an all-season radial.

So-called "touring tires" fall somewhere in the middle. Think of them as the "cross-trainers" of the automotive world-almost as quiet and long-lived as an all-season radial, and nearly as nimble as a performance tire.

"We call our touring line 'performance tires with manners,'" says Toth. "That pretty well describes their attributes."

Foul Weather Woes

Besides ride comfort and long wear, however, all-season radials have one big advantage over performance and touring tires: They grip better in snow. Obviously, they're called "all-season" for a reason. "The plasticity of the compounds used in performance and touring tires are affected by cold," says Toth. "They don't bite very well in snow." In a harsh, snowy winter, replacing touring or performance tires with snow tires will help you stay on track and dig through the white stuff.

Then there's rain. You'll find tires of every type with tread patterns optimized for wet-weather traction.

"Water doesn't compress very well," notes Toth. "When it gets between the rubber and the pavement, hydroplaning results. Now, any car will hydroplane when you're going fast enough and the water is deep enough. But rain tires use a tread pattern that channels water away and allows greater interface between the rubber and the road, essentially raising the speed at which hydroplaning will occur."

Many all-season, touring and performance tires now take advantage of this technology, and their sales literature will say so, loud and clear.

Quality Counts

The federal government requires manufacturers to grade all tires (except snow tires) for quality in three areas: traction (straight-ahead stopping ability on wet pavement), temperature (ability to dissipate heat, which can lead to tire failure) and tread wear. You'll find these ratings embossed on the sidewall of every tire.

Grades for the first two areas are simple and straightforward. Traction and temperature ratings range from "A" (the best) through "C" (acceptable). Even C-rated tires meet the government's minimum standards for safety.

On the other hand, interpreting a tire's tread wear rating can get tricky. Without independent confirmation, tire makers test the tread life on a government-specified track and assign a number grade, relative to a reference tire. A score of 100 indicates the baseline, or reference tire's tread life. You could expect a tire scoring 200 to wear twice as long as the reference tire, one scoring 300 to wear three times as long, and so forth.

However, most experts recommend using the tread wear rating only to compare tires from the same manufacturer. Why? Because two different manufacturers can choose two different reference tires, both of which fall within the same broad government guidelines. And, since all tread wear scores are relative, the baselines for two manufacturers may differ considerably. Besides, no independent agency verifies the scores.

Dan Zielinski of the Rubber Manufacturers Association, the trade group representing tire makers, recommends considering the warranty along with the government-mandated tread wear grade as a good indication of the tire's life expectancy. And, when buying replacement tires, look for traction and temperature grades that meet or exceed the ones on your old tires.

"As tires become more and more sophisticated and specific to certain applications, it becomes more important than ever to discuss your options with the dealer," says Zielinski. "That way, you can be sure to get the right tire for your particular vehicle."