Cawdor

It is time to replace the rear tires on my 2007 S2000. I'm looking for tires that will outlast the RE050s (about 17,000 miles). I'd like a tire that will last for at least 25,000 miles (got over 25,000 with Goodyear GS-D3s on a Miata). I'm willing to sacrifice some performance for longer life, but traction in the wet is important. It rarely freezes here, so an all-weather tire is not necessary.

I've done searches here and at Tire Rack. What would you recommend?

JonBoy

You'll have to go with a seriously comprimised tire (in terms of response and grip) to get 25K out of a set of rear tires on an S2000. To get 17K out of a set means you either do a lot of highway driving or else drive very mildly.

The F1 GS-D3 is pretty much my favorite overall tire and it will typically get another 25% of tread life compared to most tires in its class, it seems. Pricey, though, and you can get other tires that are cheaper but perform nearly as well with almost as good tread life and still come out ahead. You'll spend $200 for a 245-40-17 F1 GS-D3 vs $130 for a Kumho Ecsta SPT of the same size, which means you can get 2/3 the tread life in the Ecsta SPT and still come out even.

Honestly, a set of Falken, Kumho, or even Cooper tires will cost you less and (for a similar cost per mile ratio) give you very similar performance all around.

One guy I know took his RX-8 to Nationals (auto-x) and recorded over 1.0g on a set of Ecsta SPT (his wet weather tire). That's impressive on a street car, despite it having a harder suspension and such...

Jim@tirerack

You could try the Sumitomo HTRZ III but 17K out of rear tires is actually pretty good. You may get 20K+ on the rear but not much more. The RE050 on a Miata would get 25K. The alignment settings on the S2K are just going to wear rear tires.
If I can help let me know.