NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Hi-tech features like electronic stability control and traction control can help keep your car from skidding out of control of wet or snowy pavement. But they can only make the most of the whatever traction your tires have available to them.

On wet or icy roads, that may not be very much traction at all. That's why some experts say that specially designed winter tires are still important. In fact, with improving technology, they may be more important than ever.

"We have found, over that last 10 years, that the winter tires that are available today have a significant level of improvement in performance," said John Rastetter, director of tire information services for the Web site TireRack.com.

Specially designed winter tires can grip about 25 percent better in snow than so-called all-season tires, said Ken Payne, program development manager for Michelin.

Winter tires do come at a cost, though, so you have to decide whether that cost is worth it to you, said Rik Paul, autos editor for Consumer Reports.

If you live in an area with only occasional snow storms, ordinary all-season tires will probably get you where you're going in most conceivable snow conditions, said Paul. You may not get there quickly, though, and it won't be pleasant.

If you live where snow is more than occasional problem or if you have to drive a lot -- snow or no -- winter tires may be worth the approximately $300 investment. With their softer rubber compounds, winter tires tend to last about three seasons, Paul said, so the annual cost is about $100 for the tires alone.

You might also want to mount them on their own set of rims. That makes changing tires easier because the tires won't need to be remounted and balanced. A set of inexpensive rims will add about $150 to the cost.

Back in the day, they used to be called snow tires, but the term "winter tire" has taken over. That's because the tires are designed to deal not just with snow, but with ice and cold temperatures in general.

The tires have deeply rutted treads, which give snow someplace to get packed into so at least some rubber remains exposed to the road. They are also made of softer rubber compounds, designed to stay flexible in sub-freezing temperatures.

Some, like Bridgestone's Blizzak, are made from a material filled with tiny holes at the microscopic level. As a tire rolls over ice, it melts the ice a little, creating a slippery film of water. The tiny holes give the water somewhere to go, allowing the tire to gain purchase on the hard ice underneath.

Still, just the cold temperatures alone can reduce traction by making the rubber stiffer. Stiffer tires can't bend and make contact with the ground as well as softer tires. Of course, when there's no snow on the ground, the more aggressive tread and increased rolling resistance of winter tires mean more road noise and somewhat impede fuel economy and performance.

Driving on dry roads will also significantly reduce the tread life of winter tires, said Payne, since their softer material doesn't hold up well to hard pavement. That could be another reason to have the tires mounted on their own set of rims for quicker switching.

Most experts recommend that winter tires, and therefore the wheels they are mounted on, should be narrower than those used the rest of the year. Tires just can't grip well on snow, so the best way to gain traction is do dig down through the snow to hard asphalt. That's easier with narrower tires.