Welcome to the word of frequent (and expensive) rear tire replacement!
The LS1 responds rather nice to intake and exhaust mods, so you usually get to feel your money actually working for you in most cases. IF you can scrounge $8K up sometime in the future, have Lingenfelter strap a S/C to that puppy and scare the living hell out of yourself every time you flex your right ankle...
If you're a gambling man, dump the run-flats for some regular hi-perf Summer tires when it's time to re-shoe the wheels. The Goodyear run-craps are one of the VERY few complaints I've had with mine.
It looks like you've got frosted rims instead of the high-polish aliminums, right?
I'm banking that you know about them, but
www.corvetteforums.com is the best place for info on the C5, bar none.
The hardtop is a true driver's Vette, as it's the lightest of the bunch (sans Z06) and has the most chasis rigidity. If the noise from the trunk bothers you, I know of a number of people who have dropped about a $100 down on a carpeted partition that totally kills the drone that seems to come from the trunk of the hardtops. That's about the only complaint I can remember anyone having about the hardtop.
Enjoy!
Blorton will definitely not fit in with the "typical" Vette crowd. (Thank God, bunch-of-bench-racing-show-and-shine-penii-envying-geezers.)