Its safe to say your not going to get less then 10k miles out of any of the Extreme Summers, including the RE71. What will dictate how much beyond that is all the standard things for any tire, like your air pressure, alignment and driving habits. There is always going to be some trade off in mileage for performance. That will never change. But look at the car you bought. Its sol purpose is to be a fun sharp handing and grip capable car. Not really a DD minded outfit, even though some choose to use it for that. Should have just bought a Miata in that case. Then who cares what tires you put on it.

 

I think the Michelin PSS would be an excellent DD tire with awesome grip and a lot better tread life than the extreme summer tires. In your OP you said you wanted "maximum grip" so just be conscientious of what you're asking for...we're "extremists" around here.

I had the DWs for a long time and even tracked the car on them. They were a great tire for wet conditions, and had decent grip. If it wasn't for the fact I got them for less than $400 for all four I would have gone with something better though. IMO they're the perfect compromise between the re71r and the (*cough*) v12. Just know the PSSs will not have as good dry traction as the RE11s you have now.

Tirerack has the PSSs on a crazy sale right now too. http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....SSXL&tab=Sizes

 

Between the two, I would choose Re71r. The evo's are ok for DD but nothing really impressive about them. The Nitto Invo is another good summer tire with lots of grip and quiet ride. Treadwear is not the best yet comfort and wet traction are some advantages.

 

Do you ever drive much in cooler temps? If not the extreme performance Hankook R-S3 V2 would be a good bang for the buck as they are less inexpensive and last longer than the RE-71R. Just take a little while longer to get warmed up and really like the heat.

The Dunlop ZII SS is also another good grippy that offers more wear than the RE-71R and likes cooler temps (no good max/extreme performance tires for the S2000 like cold/freezing temps).

 

Sounds like suggestions are all PSS or RE-71R. But which one to pick, that is a hard question. Is the wear nearly identical? I am having a hard time deciding. Loved my PSS but would also love to have 255 in the rear with 360HP. I do not track my car, and might do autocross once or twice and thats about it.

 

Its not just about grip, but handling too. How the sidewalls are constructed and how that translates to the cars dynamics. Most max summer tires like the PSS are single ply sidewall constructed tires making the tire deform over road irregularity easy, which makes a more comfortable ride, but at the expense of predictable and safe handling at the limit of what the s2k chassis delivers. If your stiffly sprung with aftermarket suspension, this becomes even more exaggerated. I have had nothing but poor handling results with single ply sidewall tires on this car, some down right scary, so I never recommend them.

I just noticed that right now Tire Rack is offering the new Kuhmo v720 Extreme Summer in a 255/40/17, and its less then $140 each. I would seriously consider running this tire if you want a high level performing tire within spitting distance of the RE71 for a hell of a cheap price tag. Its going to run circles around PSS in every way.

 

Oh nice, I was JUST looking at those haha. Decisions decisions