Time (almost) for new tires. What to get for street/track dual purpose?

[steved0x]

I'm in North FL right now so we don't get much cold, but we do get a lot of rain.

Right now I've got the Sumitomo HTR Z III in the stock front 205/50/17 (almost down to the wear bars, maybe 3/32) and rear 255/40/17 (a decent amount left; I don't have the number). I've been happy with them, but then again I probably just don't know enough to tell the difference, as they are all I have ever had on it, and it has been 25+ years since I had a "sports" car (A Fiat X1/9 and a Corolla Hatchback, I think it was an AE86 but who can remember. The guy I bought it from replaced it with a Porsche 944 variant with the eyeball popup headlights, I just remember that it was always in the shop)

My experiences with these tires is around 7,500 miles of driving, including 2 track days at Roebling and an autocross. I am pretty sure I never got to the limit (no squealing or under/oversteer) on the track days, and I did get some understeer at the autocross.

It will be time to get some new tires pretty soon, and I am evaluating my options.

I have heard/read that some tires give a lot of feedback when you do get near the limit, in terms of feel/noise, and if that is the case I would probably prefer that.

I am not at a point where I would be running a second set of wheels for track days, both for $$$ reasons and because my suspension is stock with a street alignment (2000S M030, not ROW)

I am considering going to 225/45/17 in the front, which opens up the door to a greater selection of tires, and I have heard helps with understeer. Although for a beginner is this a good thing? Does this mean I am more liable to hit the limit and oversteer?

Options:

1. New Sumitomo HTR Z III in 205/50/17 for the front for now and re-evaluate when the rears wear out
2. New Sumitomo HTR Z III in 225/45/17 for the front for now and re-evaluate when the rears wear out
3. 4 new tires of??? Hankook RS3? Ventues V12 evo? Nitto NT05? S-Drive? S-04 Pole Position is priced competitively and is getting good reviews in the other thread

I don't want to spend the same money twice by buying the wrong tires and then needing to upgrade before they wear out. But I don't want to waste money using up expensive tires that I may not be able to tell the difference on. (And do you wear out tires faster if you are new to track days and driving wrong?) I plan on doing 6-8 track days a year (3-4 weekends) and a few autocrosses.

Anybody got any hot tips for me? Is it worth it to get a second set of wheels to drive the track even with a stock suspension and a street alignment? or is that for more advanced folks.

Thanks!

Steve