Hey Philip... I started off autocrossing in 2000 with a 2000 Cougar v6 sport. It took me about 2 years to burn off the factory rubber so that I could justify new tires. So, in 2002 I switch to Azenis RT-215's in 205/55-16. Comparatively they were phenomenal (though at this point, it's not saying much). After about 2-3 events, I finally found the limits of the tires.
I liked the tires so much that when I purchased my Contour in 2003, I had the dealer swap tires. The Contour came (used) with BFG KDW's on the front and some Michellin sport tires on the rear. I had the Cougar for another month before the lease expired... and I tore it up during that time. There was no comparison... those BFG's quickly surrendered when I pushed them.
Those RT-215's lasted about 16 months. After reading many comments on this board about how 205/55-16's were too narrow (and some sarcastic remarks that 215/50-16's were the factory size), I opted for Kumho MX 225/50-16's. They didn't feel as "sporty"... I think the ride was slightly less rough. At the autocrosses, it took me a couple events to play with the tire pressure to get them to handle as well as I could get them to. After that, my PAX was a consistent 30 points LESS than with the narrower RT-215's. The MX's lasted me about 18 months, and I switched back to the RT-215's... I was (almost) instantly back to where I was before (910-930 PAX). The only benefit I saw from the MX's was a slightly longer tread life.
My RT-215's have about 2 more months left in them. Once they're done, I'm switching to RT-615's. I spent 1/2 a day reading up on the Hankooks... and my understanding is that they handle well (almost as good as the Azenis's) in the turns, but not as good in straightline acceleration (due to the huge water channels. Since it doesn't rain much here, I was happy with the RT-215 tread pattern... but I'll see how the RT-615's do.
Oh... my suspension is factory SVT springs and bars, with BAT struts (previous owner). Also, all the tires above were daily driven and saw 1 event / month.
