OZ alloys are really light. clearly you are downsizing to get better handling and ride comfort, so something light is a must. just dont put cheap £40 tyres on, or you'll still slide about.
I had heavy 17" wolfrace matrix with budget tyres (package deal efforts), and swapped for 16" Oz Superturismo GT (although superleggara would be just as nice, i knew Tom and someone else had those, so went for the newer/nicer superturismo GT, althogh the non-GT is almost the same)
Tyre-wise i chose Michelin Pilot Exalto 2's at £80 a corner. i've not suffered slippage in any weather yet, and they went on about Christmas, so the weather was pretty crap. The recommended tyre-size is 195/45/16, and thats been great for me, although if my car wasn't so low i'd have put 195/50/60 on for more comfort. there was a tiny risk that at near full lock or more if i hit a pothole, that they'd touch the inner liner. We tried to replicate that situation up on a ramp (which feels alot higher when you are stood on one bouncing a car!), and it didn't touch as far as we could see, but it was only a couple of mm out, so i swapped them for the 195/45
Also, i reckon that if your 17's are decent, and tyres are good, then you should get about £350 for them.
Buzz (formerly LightWarrior)
The champion of the Bravo 1.4
