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205/45 and 215/40 are going to give you a much closer total overal diameter than 215/45. What's your current tire size?
I don't know about the 550, however claiming "It's a Yoko so it can't be too bad" isn't a good thing....many manufacturers may make among the best tires but they also may make among the worst.
For example the AVS dB is supposed to be pretty bad, it's advertised as being super quiet, however once it wears a little unevenly it sounds like an airliner taking off.
I'm pretty happy so far with my AVS ES100. I've got about 5k miles or so on them.
For Hawaii, I'd go with a good summer tire that's good with rain. Probably directional will be your best bet. I'm not sure which ones are the best for rain, but here's the tires I'd consider:
Michelin Pilot Sport
Yokohama AVS ES100
Yokohama Parada Spec 2
Continental ContiSportContact or ContiSportContact 2
I'm not sure if these are all available in the sizes you want, but they probably are.
As far as tread life, a tire lasting 3 years will really depend on what kind you get and how you drive. You can compare treadwear ratings for an idea of how long they'll last, but generally performance tires don't last as long. A note of warning on performance tires, though, they don't grip that well when they're cold, they grip best when hot. Your initial wet traction may actually be worse with performance tires until they heat up, so if you make really short trips in heavy rain, they may not be best for you.
Edit: On Tirerack, I ordered from them and was very pleased with everything. I had the tires drop shipped directly to the installer, they arrived at the installer 2 days after placing my order and the recommended installer did a good job. I'd definitely order from them again. Of course in Hawaii you may have to pay more and wait longer for shipping.....but so far I'm impressed with the overall experience.
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