I have 215/40/17 Paradas and they're great in the dry, but in the wet, well, just stay home. They're one of the best cornering and grip tires that I've had. And a cool feature about them is that you can do FULL rotations instead of just front/back.
About the nitto drag radials. I got a set of the NT555R's when they first came out and those were by far the fastest tires to go bald! My driving didn't change and my alignment is dead on like w/all my other tires, but they just burnt down HELLA quick!