So... my Kuhmo Ecsta's are bald on the insides and ready to pitch. Got about 30k on them... this was the last winter im driving the car so I'm going to look for a good summer tire as soon I'll have a 2nd dd to take the bad weather and torture off the shoulders of my pocket rocket. I went to a 215/45/17 for my s-lite wheels.I've read Dunlop Direzza ZII are the bomb... any others you guys recommend? Looks like tire rack has them for 145.00 a pop

 

We use the Hankook V12 Evo 110 on both GP's and love 'em. Don't be thrown off because they're inexpensive. Excellent in wet or dry and quiet.

 

The Continental DW and DWS tires I hear are about to get discontinued. Maybe you can ****** a set before they are gone. I think I heard May? I love my DWS's

 

The Dunlop's are a great tire but don't forget they only have a tread wear rating of 200, so they aren't going to last very long. They were designed for track and auto x, so might not be the best choice for a daily driver. I just got a set of the BFG Sport Comp 2's for my car. I have not put them on yet but with a tread wear rating of 340 I am hoping to get a couple of seasons out of them. There are lots of good tires to choose from in this category; Yokohama S Drives, Bridgestone RE760, Michelin Pilot Super Sport(the benchmark in this category), Hankook v12. Good luck with your quest!

 

Ive recently installed Cooper Zeon RS3-S. These tires rock on both wet and dry surfaces. I have my RSB set to full stiffness and have yet to break them loose. I also noticed that by upping the size from the stock 205-45-17 to 215-45-17, front end traction has greatly improved. These tires are inexpensive, got mine shipped to my door step, $349.00 from Discount tires Direct. I believe the thread wear is 300-320ish.

 

I am running Falken Pro G4's (I live in SoCal so it's practically summer year round, but I feel more comfortable running all-seasons for the odd coastal storm that runs through here), I find it's probably one of the better all around tires for a hair over $100 per tire...
$30 more per tire and you can toss on pilot super sports as mentioned above if you want a true dedicated summer tire.
Falken Pro G4s tread warranty is 45k miles(pilots are 30k), A's for traction/temp(pilots AA traction A temp) and wear rating of 500 (pilots 300), but being an all season tire it is a bit more aggressive tread pattern than a summer tire.

Also keep in mind that a lot of shops nowadays will give you % off the next purchase if it has a warranty mileage rating and didn't meet that rating. Say a tire is rated for 40k miles, and hit the wear bars at 30k, then 25% of the rated mileage wasn't able to be used so you should see a 25% discount on your next purchase if you go back to the same shop... At least that's how discount tire, sears, and some other places do it
Some Kumho's don't have mileage warranties so you may not be able to save money by going back to the same shop depending on which ecsta's they are, but could be worth checking into.

Also how much more prominent is the inside wear vs. outside? could be time for a suspension refresh as well, as serious inner wear is commonly caused by worn struts.