If you are using AY2, then some alternatives are
GT Radial Champiro HPY
Michelin Pilot Super Sport
Conti Sport Contact

2) RE002 is a step down below AD08R, bridgestone's equivalent to Yokohama's would be the RE11A, which thanks to BS (lol abbreviation...) malaysia, they do not officially bring it in and you will need to grey import (which means no warranty for defects)
overall very good review although due to the treading design, bad camber/toe settings may have uneven wear, so have to pay extra attention to it i guess.
personally never used so can't comment further.

3) the grip isn't really that legendary imho, it is still a notch below semi slicks and even the achilles 123 (which is cheaper by quite a notch btw)
in fact, for the R, the wet grip is much improved, to the point it's among the top amongst the competition, while the dry traction on the other hand leaves much to be desired (not that it is actually bad)
refer: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=172
personally, i'm guessing that whole "moderate wet grip" thing is from friends who may or may not have used the tires, right? use it yourself, and you be your own judge is my advice

for the treadwear, yes it IS on the low side, however which performance tire/semi slick isn't? they are all around/under 200, achilles is on the exception when it comes to economics with their 260 (iinm) treadwear 123 which i've used once (but just could not stand the noise at all, and the wet grip shrinks my balls way too much)

atm my ad08r used since august, about 5k km or more, and the wear isn't as bad as some people put it. of course, my car is a 60whp 3 speeder auto, not a lot of power to wear the tires down, so "your mileage may vary"
if anything, my rear which the cambers that i cannot adjust, the inner side of the tire is so new that it still retains its nips/hair markings

for actual user review/feedback, there's the discussion thread dedicated to ad08r here: https://forum.lowyat.net/topic/2761909

For the achilles (eg: ATR sport, or even the 123 semi slick), there isn't much catch, while i personally never used myself, all round reviews/feedback is that they are dirt cheap for the performance it offers. but year it will be noisy as they never bothered refining the nvh area, and probably a bit uncomfortable.
considering it's price, people generally replace their atr sport around 50% since the performance will degrade a lot beyond that wear level. they usually don't mind much because even at 50% they already used at least 20-30k km+, and the tires are cheap to begin with

Thats why I put HPY in first place. All people I know who use HPY are all VERY HaPpY.  They say 80% performance of CSC at 50% of the price.

take a look at the Nankang NS-2R

its newly released... and also sick cheap for that class of tires.. perhaps cheap enough that u could probably afford to change it again at 15k km if it wears out that early la..

i saw the 195/50/15 120 threadwear version in sunway and ask....was given a reply "below 300"... thats cheap for a tire of that class..even my 595rsr is more expensive and that a class down from the NS-2R.

but yeah... estimated about 250/pc for 15" 180 threadwear version

u can check racing art klang or acanta autotech sg besi... these tires are out in quite a few places already... check and see if theyre available in ur size and whether or not its cheap

friend recently bought it in 195/50/15 180 threadwear version and first feedback is stiff sidewalls.

HPY only for 17inch rim and above?

u din mention ur tire size

nankang ns2r around rm3xx ur size
ad08r rm6xx/pcs

yes he is

Hi bro touge-tattack..im searching for 225/45 r17 also..what about nexen 8000?gy a2also im considering.hehe..nexen 8000 n gt hpy also have good review but price is cheaper.