I appreciat your help
Philip; I have the Dunlop 'star spec' model tires now on my can and do like them as much [or more than] as any 200 tread-wear rated DOT legal tire.
I am very tempted to try the NT-01 model as long as I can procure the appropriate sizes.
Andy/alfab4u; Your experience seems to repeat some of what Phillip said. I have a set of Victo-Racers on another set of wheels for my car. This seems to be a ten year old model that would not surprise many people if was dropped or replaced by another Kumho soon. THese tires are relatively pricy for their longevity but are predictable & reliable. People tend to run these even when there is little or no tread more than many similar tires. And these tires do tend to heat-cycle away from their intended performance envelop relatively soon.
Doug/alfabender; Your recommendation for the RA-1 Toyo makes me wonder - - I was talking to Bruce Colby about tire choices in April 2011. He told me that the RA-1 was quite an incredible tire - at least until it was discontinued from production by Toyo a couple of years ago. Then he told me that he strongly suspects that some other Toyo carcus or construction [maybe the R-888] is now being used in the RA-1 treadpattern. This is sort of a reincarnation of that old reliable tire that he remembers, but the performance [according to him] of the RA-1 in not there any more.
Other than driving skill, tires make the biggest difference in most people's car and can be modified by removing & refastening 20 lug nuts. Tires choices also change every year, and opinions run strong w/ enthusiast drivers. So my ears are open and I will listen to anyone who tells me about racetrack performance - especially their tire experience w/ street legal tires.
So far:
Victoracer, med-high price, limited sizes in 2012, medium wear rate, slightly temperature sensitive, not too pressure sensitive [med tread depth]
Falcon Azenis 215-615, med-low price, more sizes in 2011, high wear rate, specific temperature window, fast to get up to correct operating temp.
Old RA-1, sound like a great all-around racetrack [dot-legal] tire, no longer sold in North America
New RA-1. sounds like a mediocre tire, medium price, with relatively high wear rate. Very shallow tread [no need for shaving]
Nitto-01, med-low price, med-low wear rate, performance on par with similarly wear-rated [dot-legal] tire choices.
Dunlop DZ-1 star spec; med-high price, long-long tread-life, best choice for rain-soaked events, still decent grip for a 200 treadwear rated tire, lots & lots of sizes made for North America [a candidate for shaving]
Toyo r888; not so impressive grip nor longevity, I have not looked in to price.
My car: 2004 S2000/honda
Front 215-225 x 45 x 17
Rear 245-255 x 40 x 17
Thanks again, jeff