I had Sumitomo HTR ZIII tires on my Mk5 Rabbit. They were $82 each for 225/45/17. They grip incredibly well, quiet and comfortable and were good in the wet. Couldn't recommend them enough.
I have it on pretty solid authority that Sumitomo htr z3's are essentially Michelin pilot sports as far as grip goes with 75% of the tread life magic, for roughly half the price.
Something I can personally recommend is the Hankook Ventus v12 Evo2. Great tire and around the same price as the firehawks. Going to perform a little better than the firehawk but not supposed to last as long. TireRack has the Hankooks listed as a "Max" summer tire with a life at ~20k miles(Firehawks tire life supposed to be around 30k). I've put just under 15k miles on them with 2 auto cross days and wouldn't be surprised if they lasted longer than 20k. Got them for $460 mounted and balanced, out the door.
Ventus V12 EVO2 is the sleeper tire in this category. A few buddies run them, they are a lot like the PSS, in that they are a summer performance tire with consideration to tire life. But at an even lower cost.
I have RS3's on my S2000 and have for a while now. Fantastic dry grip when they're warmed up but then wet grip is abysmal...I actively avoid driving that car in the rain partially because of that.
In addition to Star Specs, Hankook RS3s are a good and cheap track tire. They withstand heat well.
I just had a set of OEM Hankook Optimos last ~65000 miles. Replaced them with a set of Hankook Ventus S1 Noble2's and all is good so far.
Only have used the Ventus V12 Evo/2 on my Boxster, have been pleased with them.
I had the V12s on my Subaru - were great until I had to stop in the snow. I have the V12s on my S2000 - tried to move it into the garage last year after it had started to snow and had a very difficult time getting traction.
Don't worry, the 3.6L driver will end up in the ditch because his hankook tires exploded.
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