I had a set of Nitto Invo tires put on my 350Z daily driver early this year, replacing the factory Bridgestone Potenza RE050A’s. I drove them through the spring, fall, and the beginning of winter, under pretty much every condition a tire like this would see. I’m happy to report that these are probably the best all around high-performance summer tire that I have driven on to date.
When I first started shopping for new tires, I wasn’t looking for a summer tire that would give the highest overall grip due to the trade-offs that brings. What I was looking for was a tire that was quite, comfortable, and had a good life span without giving up too much performance. My research lead me to Nitto, who advertised this tire as exactly what I was looking for. Their price was on par with a lot of other tires for my application, so I decided to give them a try.
I expected this tire to have a little softer sidewall than a typical high-performance summer tire, and it did. This softness was quite welcome on the long commutes I was driving at the time, but it did give up a little of the steering sharpness and added some body roll. I think that most people would find the amount lost negligible for everyday driving, and I feel this is a good compromise.
A lot of tires in this category advertise that they are quiet. Unfortunately, quiet is a subjective term similar to something like “male enhancement”. But, I was impressed with the Invo’s noise level; especially in my Z which is notorious for transmitting any tread sounds from the rear tires into the cockpit. These tires don’t produce anything more then a slight hum.
I also like the tread design of these tires, not from a looks standpoint (though, I do think they look really cool) but from a functionality perspective. A lot of tires have large tread blocks that are right on the outside edge of the tread. The problem I found with this is that under extremely hard cornering, these side blocks get torn up. The Invo’s outside edge has a tread which smoothly transitions into the tires sidewall and doesn’t provide the type of surface which can be easily torn off. These are the tires I ran at the Autobahn Country Club for an open track day, and I was impressed at how this part of the tire held up. This tread design also performs well in the rain, but that should be expected from a summer-only tire.
Like I said in the paragraph above, I did take these tires racing and pushed them as far as they would go. They definitely allowed for more slop in the handling, but I was able to counter a lot of this by adding more air pressure. I normally run abut 36 psi, but I found that around 38-40 psi helped out on the track. Like any fully treaded tire that’s raced on, the edges of the tread blocks did get a little feathering by the end of the day. But, it wasn’t bad and I saw no signs of chunking or anything really negative.
The Final Verdict:
I think these are some of the best, if not the best high performance street tires currently available. If your looking for a tire that will put you on the podium in your street tire race class, this is not the tire for you. But, if your looking for a sport tire for everyday use that has a great balance of performance and comfort, and can handle a track day; this is definitely your tire.
I’ll look into these as my next tire. How do you think these compare to Michelen PS2’s or Pirelli Pzero’s.
Both the Michelin and Pirelli make great tires, and you cant go wrong with choosing them. I don’t have any first hand experience with both of these tires specifically, and the last Michelin sport tires I ran on were the MX’s from some years ago, but that was a very good tire.
I believe the PS2’s are the OEM fitment on your 335i when equipped with the sport package. Some manufactures tune their suspensions to their OE tires, so you would have that piece of mind if you got them. But, I have found that the differences between sport tires is not enough that you would notice some superior tune with a specific tire, or that sport tires are just close enough where the OE tune just doesn’t really matter. Bottom line, don’t worry about this at all.
I took a look at the user reviews on Tire Rack to see what people were saying about them. You always have to take those reviews with a grain of salt because the people reviewing them are probably not professionals and may not know what to look for or how this type of tire is expected to perform. Tire Rack also tested this tire themselves and this is what they had to say about them:
* What We Liked: Crisp handling on the road and around the track
* What We’d Improve: Ride comfort and wet traction
* Conclusion: A benchmark that is starting to show its age
* Latest Test Rank: 3rd
* Previous Test Rank: 1st (June ’09), 2nd (October ’07), 2nd (August ’07), 1st (June ’04)
I’m always skeptical of reviews from the company selling the product, but a lot of the customer reviews were inline with that Tire Rack was saying. From this I could assume the following: The PS2 is more inline with a traditional sport tire in that it is more focused on performance and feel than comfort.
The price of the PS2’s is staggering when compared to the Nitto’s, and I think there are other tires out there which can deliver there level of performance for cheaper.
The P-Zero’s are an all-out performance tire, here’s what Tire Rack had to say.
* What We Liked: Excellent traction in both dry and wet conditions
* What We’d Improve: A moderate reduction in tread pattern noise
* Conclusion: Excellent dry and wet performance, but sacrifices some road comfort
* Latest Test Rank: 4th
* Previous Test Rank: 1st (August ’07)
I believe the P-Zero is a dedicated performance tire that is going to ride hard, be noisy but stick like glue in the dry. I think they would be a great tire for a weekend car, but I don’t think I would want these on my daily driver.
I read so many comments like yours where you attribute “sloppy” handling on new tyres to sidewall flex.
Is it really a case of sidewall flex, or that the grip is superior with the new tyres causing more body roll? Higher grip = more roll on the same suspension.
More grip, however is rarely a bad thing.
Maybe these Nittos really are a brilliant set of tyres! They certainly look fantastic.
Its very easy to tell when the tires have soft sidewalls. One of the traits that is lost is how fast the tire responds to turning inputs. Tires with a soft sidewall actually take more steering input to start turning the car. On the race track, its very noticeable. Another aspect of soft sidwalls is a more comfortable ride. Race tires tend to ride like a brick, while snow tires – which have very soft sidewalls, are like driving on pillows…
Michelin tyres have very soft sidewalls, they also have one of the best steering response.
i want to try it on my charger RT 14
but i hear some people said those tire will make some noise and make car shake
“if you go straight it is go left or right
is it true ?
someone told if i put 4 tires i will have nose and the car will shake i have to but two tires on rear only
is it true ?
someone told if i put 4 tires i will have nose and the car will shake i have to but two tires on rear only
is it true ?
Your question is very unclear, but I think I know what you are asking. And the answer is that it depends on the car. But if its just an every day street car that’s 2wd and you are putting the new tires on the same axle (both on the front or both on the back) then you should have no issues. Just make sure the tires are the same size as the ones they are replacing.
Greetings John
First of all, congratulations on this great site that you run – the information I found in your articles was very helpfull, to say the least.
I have a question regarding everyday use tyres.
I drive a 92 audi 100 with 15” original rims and 195/65 tyres (Currently Vredestein Sportrack 5).
I do about 12k miles per year – mostly on the highway at avarage speeds around 100 mph. My driving style is ”normal” apart for turns – which I usually take more aggresivily than other drivers that I have seen (thus I do care for a good grip).
My question is about Tyre replacement mileage/age , what is your general opinion ? This autumn the tyres are going to have 25k miles on them and I have read in many reviews about tyres loosing their grip and behaving in a strange manner (especially) after the 25k mark.
The DOT is of 2016 however, I start to get scared of the idea of anything going wrong while driving at 110+ mph. Let me know what you think and how often you usually change your tyres.
Best regards,
Michael