Mis information here, neither tire is close to terrifying in the wet, and the Dunlop is GREAT in the rain EVEN WITH STANDING WATER, personal experience and that of others concurs. In the same class as the KDW-2 but better are : Continental DW, and Michelin PSS. DW is the best tire in the rain I have ever seen, and has a better ride, the PSS is better in the dry and has better steering response. DW is also a lot cheaper and still very grippy in the dry, but do give up a little of steering response to some competitors

 

I ran through two full sets of Star Specs (in AP1 stock sizes) over 12,000 miles and found that they had a pronounced tendency to hydroplane. YMMV, etc.

 

The real issue here is to match as closely as possible. For where you are at and the mileage you drive I would actually look at an all season tire. You mention tread life and the KDW2 is not going to give you any longer mileage. They are also very noisy. With the KDW2 you will be replacing tires every 4 to 5 months. In the colder weather that is coming they will be horrible.
If I can help let me know.