Review of Nitto Invo tires

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.

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10 Comments to "Review of Nitto Invo tires"

  1. Eric's Gravatar Eric
    December 14, 2010 - 12:55 am | Permalink

    I’ll look into these as my next tire. How do you think these compare to Michelen PS2’s or Pirelli Pzero’s.

  2. Haider's Gravatar Haider
    December 1, 2016 - 8:39 am | Permalink

    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.

  3. fahad's Gravatar fahad
    January 4, 2017 - 6:51 pm | Permalink

    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 ?

  4. fhad's Gravatar fhad
    January 5, 2017 - 5:10 pm | Permalink

    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 ?

  5. fahad's Gravatar fahad
    January 5, 2017 - 5:11 pm | Permalink

    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 ?

  6. Michael's Gravatar Michael
    April 28, 2018 - 12:48 pm | Permalink

    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

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