Nitto Invo - A Great 'Streetable' Performance Tire

[tim330i]

<a href="http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=308031" ><img src="http://www.Bimmerfest.com/images/Nitto_Invo_main.jpg" style="BORDER-COLOR: #000000;" height="200" align="left" hspace="7" vspace="7" /></a>
Nitto Invo - A Great 'Streetable' Performance Tire

The automotive world is a giant compromise. Automakers juggle buyers needs, with pricing and build quality. Small cars that have cargo room and SUVs that get good gas mileage. Those are the average auto compromises. The enthusiast is constantly balancing the need for performance with daily driveability. Sure those memory, heated lumbar, massaging seats are great, but at 100 pounds each they sure make a dent in the performance column. But then who wants to commute in racing shells? A V10 is awesome to show off to your friends, but $100 fill ups every 200 miles is not so awesome.

When it comes to tires the challenge is road noise, road going characteristics, longevity and grip. Performance tires deliver in the grip department but suffer in road noise and what I'll call streetability (more on that later). The latest tires from Nitto, the Invo, seems to solve this balancing act. The Invo offers great grip on the street or track and amazing street characteristics.

My 2001 E46 330i was in need of a new set of tires and with all the news about the new tires I figured they were worth a try. As I was getting a new set of tires, my aged and beat up (my fault) CSL replicas needed replacement. But I love the look of the <a href="http://www.velocitymotoring.com/links/wheels_vb3.htm" target="_blank" >Velocity Motoring CSL style wheels</a>, so much that I simply order up another set from them (read about how I started the CSL wheel craze <a href="http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=596482" target="_blank" >here</a>). I got my wheels and tires mounted and balanced by the great guys at <a href="http://www.bavarianperformancegroup.com/" target="_blank" >Bavarian Performance Group</a>. If you're in the Boston area I really can't say enough about the service BPG provides. They're just north of Boston off 93 in Winchester and support the local enthusiasts and racers.

On the first spin around with the Invos the road noise, or lack of road noise was immediately apparently. It took me a couple days to really realize just how much of a difference it was. Making calls and talking to people is so much nicer, especially on the highway. I also noticed that the Invos don't seem to <a href="http://www.tirerack.com/a.jsp?a=BN4&url=/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=47" target="_blank" >tramline</a> on road ruts, which around here is basically all roads.

My first thought was that in exchange for the reduction in noise I was going to get tires that didn't have what I wanted in the grip department, but I was wrong. Around town the grip levels were at least what I was expecting and then at the track they were even better! At the track it took me a session and some advice to get my tire pressures right, but once I got that dialed in the tires were excellent. I got great braking feedback feel and noise and tons of feedback on the corners with slightly less squeal than I was expecting. With the great feedback there was a couple times when I keep my foot in with confidence when I know I would have backed off with a less responsive and grippy tire.

With a track day and a good number of street miles on the Invos I have to say that I'm a fan. The combination of great handling, road noise, street-ability and track-ability add up to an all around excellent tire. If you're in the market for a new set of tires check out the new Nitto Invos, I don't think you'll be disappointed!

For more technical details, sizing, and the official website see this thread -
http://bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=278018

For other enthusiasts reviews see these threads -
http://bimmerfest.com/forums/showpost.php?p=3251661&postcount=3
http://bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=290983
http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=591945

Pictures -
http://www.bimmerfest.com/photos/data/500/thumbs/IMG_0153.jpg (http://www.bimmerfest.com/photos/showphoto.php/photo/12452) http://www.bimmerfest.com/photos/data/500/thumbs/IMG_0154.jpg (http://www.bimmerfest.com/photos/showphoto.php/photo/12453) http://www.bimmerfest.com/photos/data/500/thumbs/nitto_invo_frontwide.jpg (http://www.bimmerfest.com/photos/showphoto.php/photo/12454)

[wanderingpig]

i second the nitto invos. after a good review by a fellow member, i ordered mine online. paid $115 per tire, free shipping, and no tax :D what more can you ask for?

had them mounted for exactly a week now, and i'm loving them. the grip is superb, and not very noisy at all. great performance in the rain too.

+1 for nitto invos!


btw the website i got mine from was:

savontires.com

free shipping, no tax! (they have other stuff besides invos too, but why would you want anything else? :P)

[SmokedE46]

how would u say they compare to something like a Yokohama Advan sport or a TOYO proxie tr1? i saw these in a magazine when i was in switzerland and they looked like they were a good buy... something to keep in mind for the future.

[sativaxprt]

I just went over to the TOYO T1R's on my E60 535i w/sport pkg, I used these same tires on my SR20 powered S14 and loved them. they have a real smooth ride and are very quiet on the road. It takes a lil bit to warm them up but once they are up to temp they give you the perfect amount of grip for aggressive driving, and when the do decide to break loose they behave very well! I paid $750 for a full set, much better then $2,000 for the damn Dunlop runflats!

[SmokedE46]

i think im gonna go back to my tr1s, the yokohamas r nice and all but i think the toyos r better.

[cjwheeling]

I wish you had posted this a week earlier. I just bought some tires for my car the day before you posted this.

[SystemR]

interesting, i had gotten some not so positive feedback on the invos.

Ending up going with the Dunlop Z1 Star Specs

[Newbie528]

Its the WORSE freaking tire I've ever used. I did Tons of research on tires for almost a year. I'm also a very active and senior member @ Corvette Forum, which is a forum of very highly skilled drivers and cars. I recently got these Invo tires for the Corvette. My initial reaction was... Wow, they're very quiet, very little noise.. handling was decent. But in about 2 months all that changed. I hardly drive the Corvette, I has about 500 miles in 3 months. The tires are NOISY as HELL now. Handling is barely acceptable, they loose traction from the very get go if I step on the gas (Maybe cuz its a Corvette). They don't last much. Looks like their life would be no more that 10-12K miles, which is rediculous for street tires. What's worse is the fact they're known to be the quietest (non-noisy) tires, BUT they ARE NOISY as Hell. A few other guys on the Corvette forum feel the same and are absolutely disgusted with these tires. Its a waste of time and money...

If you wana try them on your Bimmers, go ahead, if you wana drive it like a station wagon. Maybe you'd learn from your own experience... Personally, I know I wouldn't. Then again, I expect Quality and I'm a spritied type of a driver, maybe you're not. I'd get some American made tires next time.:thumbup:

[mawana]

Its the WORSE freaking tire I've ever used. I did Tons of research on tires for almost a year. I'm also a very active and senior member @ Corvette Forum, which is a forum of very highly skilled drivers and cars. I recently got these Invo tires for the Corvette. My initial reaction was... Wow, they're very quiet, very little noise.. handling was decent. But in about 2 months all that changed. I hardly drive the Corvette, I has about 500 miles in 3 months. The tires are NOISY as HELL now. Handling is barely acceptable, they loose traction from the very get go if I step on the gas (Maybe cuz its a Corvette). They don't last much. Looks like their life would be no more that 10-12K miles, which is rediculous for street tires. What's worse is the fact they're known to be the quietest (non-noisy) tires, BUT they ARE NOISY as Hell. A few other guys on the Corvette forum feel the same and are absolutely disgusted with these tires. Its a waste of time and money...

If you wana try them on your Bimmers, go ahead, if you wana drive it like a station wagon. Maybe you'd learn from your own experience... Personally, I know I wouldn't. Then again, I expect Quality and I'm a spritied type of a driver, maybe you're not. I'd get some American made tires next time.:thumbup:

Not surprising! We read all sorts of strange things from newbies... :dunno:

[Newbie528]

Not surprising! We read all sorts of strange things from newbies... :dunno:

:rofl:.... Newbie is my name on THIS forum, cuz I just bought a BMW as a Daily Driver car for myself. It's obvious you didn't pay attention to what I had written. I had clearly written that those tires are not good enough for High Perf. cars - maybe ok for station wagons.

Check me out on the Corvetteforum.com I go by the name Vette_Fan and have about 5,000 posts there, and am a Senior Member. It's been over 15 years since I've been involved in High Perf. cars, so I'm not REALLY a newbie to cars. If anything, I know more about HIGH Performance cars than you can imagine! Besides, I own a 500 RWHP Corvette. It'll eat up anything you own or know of. You know what RWHP means, don't you?

As for the Nitto INVO tires, that's what I have on my Corvette. I've got about 4,000 miles on them by now. And my views are based on my EXPERIENCE (and also the experience from some of my Z06 Corvette buddies), not something I READ in a magazine.... :rolleyes: But if you wana use INVO tires for your lil' Wagon, go right ahead. See, my standards for High Performance may be different that your standards. Care to share what numbers you get on Dyno on your Bimmer, that would clear up a lot of things...

P.S: "Knowledge works best when your mind is open to learning".