kernel recompiling: any hints??

Dear all, I have SUSE 9.0 installed on my computer, and now I would like to recompile my kernel to latest version (2.6.6) from the existing version (2.4.21-99). I have downloaded the kernel package from www.kernel.org, but does anyone have some hints & co. in order to do so in the best and painless way ? And, moreover, what do you think about the usage of SUSE packages for kernel recompiling: are they better or not ?? Thanx to all L