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4. Rubber Compound

The rubber compound used to manufacture the tyre is probably the most important factor in determining a tyre's traction and treadwear characteristics. Generally, the quality ("softness") of the rubber is proportional to the amount of traction you will get and the speed rating of the tyre, and inversely proportional to the treadlife of the tyre. Therefore the higher the speed rating of a tyre, the better the grippyness of the tyre is likely to be. Also, the way the tyre is marketed is an indicator - the "ultra-sport" will usually have a grippier compound than the "sport" or the "comfort" tyres from the same manufacturer. The compound also plays a part in the behavior of a tyre in little ways, for example, some tyres will screech and wail when approaching the limits of traction, whereas others might just let out the faintest chirp and then begin to slide.

5. Overall Quality Of The Tyre

Things to consider are :

• Reputation of manufacturer - Ask around, read reviews, do research or just go with a well known and trusted manufacturer. It does make a difference as they have more modern facilities, better quality standards and newer equipment at their manufacturing plants.

• Warranty - Read the fine print. There always is fine print.

• Date of Manufacture - Every tyre is stamped with a four digit DOT code on its sidewall which denotes the week (first 2 digits) and year (last 2 digits) of manufacture (eg. 2104 = 21st week of 2004). The fresher the tyre you buy, the better. Try not to buy tyres that are older than 6 months, and definitely nothing older than a year.

• Added Technologies - Each manufacturer has different little technologies and tricks that they apply to their tyres, and named something unique and cute; don't pay too much attention to these unless it is actually something revolutionary.

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