Simultaneous improvements of seemingly contradictory tire properties, e.g. rolling resistance, wet grip, service life and winter performance are the major request from the automotive industry especially for original equipement (OE) passenger car tires. In the beginning of the nineties, these demands could be met using tread compounds with special polymer and high loadings of silica with silanes as coupling agents instead of carbon black. It was found out that the use of special S-SBR polymers together with highly dispersible (HD) silicas leads to the best improvement of rolling resistance and wet traction without any compromise in treadwear. The development of HD silicas for tires requires detailed knowledge about the different process steps of the silica production and the influence of each process step on the silica properties, e. g. structure of the silica. Different methods were developed to investigate silicas with different surface areas and structures and to compare conventional, semi HD and new HD silicas with different surface areas and structures. The high potential of HD silicas in passenger car tires is discussed.