I mentioned this in another post somewhere, but Car & driver recently did a big 17" tire test. Requirements were a price tag under $150, 225/45 size, wet ad dry skidpad, wet and dry braking, wet and dry autocross
Winner was the Dunlop Star Sec
2nd was Hankook Ventus V12
3rd Kumho Ecsta XS
4th was Bridgestone Potenza RE760