Tire advice

I am in need of some new tires(and probably will be upgrading the wheels too). The car is a 1988 Dodge Daytona Shelby Z. It comes in around 2800#'s in track day or auto-X form. I am currently running the stock sized 225/50/15 but a recent track day made it a necessity for me to get new tires. Finding a good tire in that size that is NOT a competition tire is pretty friggin hard nowdays, hence my wanting to upgrade the wheels as well. I do any of my auto-x, ect. for fun, not serious competition(the car simply isn't that good, and neither is the driver honestly). I am wanting to go with a 17" tire/wheel combo. As I understand it the Neon SRT-4 wheels are slightly heavy, but they are also inexpensive and available. I'd love to have some better wheels that are wider, but I think budgeting right now is a major factor in that. I'm open to suggestions in that areana as well.

As for the tires, I am looking for a tire in the 215/40/17 or 215/45/17 sizes that will do well for auto-x and road course events for the car. I am trying to cut back on the amount of driving I do with it, so I can sacrifice a bit of tread wear if needed. When I do drive it, it is a lot of highway, so a somewhat quiet experience is nice. I am located in Jacksonville/Daytona Beach, so cold weather is really not much of an issue. Thanks for any input.

The Dunlop Direzza Star Spec (vs. the older non star spec) is quite grippy and quiet. I haven't had much water since I got them but they did great in what we did have.

An added plus is that they run a little wide for their rated size.

Yep. I'd recommend the Dunlops as well. You could also go with the Falken RT-615 if you want to spend a little less or the Bridgestone RE01R if you want to spend a little more. However, for Bridgestone money you could also get a set of Nitto NT01s.

(My frame of reference is an SVT Focus that uses 215/45/17.)

I like the Hankook Ventus RS2 Z212s....

But that's just me. :)

Any opinions on the Kumho MX?

as long as the discussion is about tires I have a 2003 F350 diesel that I use to haul my trailers around with. I run 18 wheels w/ 35 12.5's and Nitto all terrains that are about gone. And since diesel is frikin $5 a gallon I would like to get some tires that have the least amount of rolling resistance for better mileage but still can hold the load of the trailer. Any ideas?