Car and truck manufacturers love to brag that today's vehicles handle better than ever -- steer more precisely, stop quicker and are more stable in turns -- thanks to computer-designed suspensions and other technological advances.

But a large part of the improvements can be traced to today's tires.

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Changes in material compounds, tire construction and tread patterns have revolutionized the rubber that meets the road on virtually every vehicle.

Along with those advances came higher prices -- sometimes as high as $1,000 for four fresh tires -- meaning the first and biggest maintenance charge a new vehicle buyer will likely encounter is tire replacement, not transmission repair or an engine overhaul.

And on top of the tire price, there's all those add-ons that tire stores love -- everything from new valve stems and wheel balancing to front-end alignment and road-hazard warranties.

"The days when getting new tires was a matter of buying four for $99 are pretty much gone," says Matt Edmonds, vice president of marketing for The Tire Rack, a national Internet and direct retailer of tires that also does more tire testing than any other retailer.

"Tires are a very integral part of today's vehicles. It's the only part that touches the road. To replace the tires on a car with ones that are different than what came from the manufacturer can impact the way the car steers and stops.

"It's like buying cheap shoes. They may look OK, but they just won't feel very good on your feet."

Before you shop, know your tires
To understand the issue with tires, it's important to understand the make up of modern tires.

Tires overall have been made with lower profiles -- the amount of rubber you see when you look at the side of the tire, from the wheel rim to the tread -- for better response.

The rubber compound also tends to be softer than the tires on our parents' cars, and tread patterns often are computer-designed to work best on one side of the car or another.

Then there are the so-called "summertime" tires, the all-weather tires and the true-winter tires, as well as the newer run-flat tires that can go for dozens of miles even with a hole in the sidewall.

In general, summertime tires are designed for maximum handling with limited road noise in dry and rainy weather. All-weather tires have more grip in wet- and limited-snow conditions, with the trade-off often being a slight degradation in maximum handling on dry pavement and perhaps more road noise than summertime tires.

Winter tires, as the name implies, are best suited to handle snowy conditions and generally are not good for use in warmer weather.

Truck and sport utility vehicle owners face additional choices, ranging from a general heavy-duty tire to one suited for muddy, off-road travel. As a general rule of thumb, the more aggressive the tread pattern -- meaning larger, deeper blocks on the tread -- the better the traction off-road, accompanied by more noise on dry pavement.

How long should tires last?
While all new-car buyers once could expect to go at least 40,000 miles on the original tires, many buyers today are finding the original tires are worn out after as little as 20,000 miles.

Initial buyers of Nissan's 350Z sports car, for example, complained that the tires were used up after as little as 10,000 miles. Nissan made changes to the suspension settings in response to complaints, but it's clear that with the combination of performance tires and a suspension geared for maximum handling, it's unlikely 350Z buyers can expect to get 40,000 miles out of their tires.

To some degree or another, this conundrum plays out with almost any car, truck or SUV with sporting pretensions.

Since even basic economy models like Chevrolet's Cobalt are available in a Super Sport performance configuration, it's important for cost-conscious buyers to pay attention to the tires already on the vehicle being bought.

Suppose, for example, you're shopping for the Chrysler 300 sedan. In its base form, it comes with "touring" tires -- another term for summertime tires -- in the size 225/60/18, which means moderately low profile tires on 18-inch wheels. (For an explanation of tire coding see Sidewalls tell it all.)

Prices: where rubber meets wallet
When it is time to replace those tires, they're likely to cost $400 to $700 per set, depending on brand.

But if you buy the same car with the optional low profile 245/45 tires mounted on 20-inch wheels, a replacement set could cost $1,000 to $1,500.

If you drive that same car in a cold-weather climate, you may also have to buy winter tires, so you might face the expense of two entirely separate sets of tires at that price. On the plus side, while you're driving on winter tires you're not using up those summer tires, so theoretically, they'll last longer.

Of course it's possible to downgrade the tires on your car, but the trade-offs are significant.