One very important thing to consider is having the right tire setup for the job. You can kill a set of "long life" touring tires (shoulder is gone to the belt) in an afternoon of auto-x.... Having the highest UTQG rated tire is not always the best option.

Given my "life is an auto-x" driving style at times I've adopted this philosophy for tire selection. If you drive in a manner that kills tires and have a tight budget, go best "bang for the buck" tire. Don't go cheapest, don't go top gun tires...find what is the best bang for the buck tire. Second, get something that can be rotated as many ways as possible. This means that asymetrical treads and directional treads can work against you. The michelin Pilot XGT V4 (NOT the H4) is a top notch tire that can be rotated as many ways as possible yet is still a respectable performer even against some rather handling biased tires. Third, play with inflation pressures... If you are killing the outer shoulder of the fronts increase the pressure some. If you are killing the center of the rears drop rear pressure a bit. I would say use min specs as those listed on your gas cap door and max specs as those listed as max cold psi as listed on the tire sidewall. Of course, make sure the alignment and suspension check out before ANY of this applies.

Do your research on tires, sizes that are compadible with your vehicle setup, etc before you talk to Luke/Tirerack. Then when you are ready call him and discuss your thoughts, budget, and position with him. That's should put you in the best position possible....

As far as my tire picks (in order): Michelin Pilot XGT V4 (skip the H4, it sucks in comparison), RE 950, AVS DB....but again, do your own research and talk to Luke

Hope this helps,
Lee

PS next time your car is being aligned, ask the tech if he can take it towards (or fully to) factory "sportline" specs. This should help some of the aggressive treadwear issues.