I decided to take the Invos autocrossing today. Nice course with average times of 43 seconds. A fully raceprepped supercharged MX5 had the best time at 36.9 seconds The slowest was 49.2.

There were some cars that were stock (as is mine, from a performance end anyway). 4 M3s including a new one, a new Ferrari California, a 911 Carrera, a Boxter S, a 370z, numerous Mustangs (including a new Cobra), a Camaro, two Corvette Z06s (one blew up on the course), a Mini EV (eerily silent, he turned a best time of 45 seconds) two Honda S2000 and various and sundry Honda Civics. There also must have been a dozen Miata's in many stages of race prep.

I overheard a couple of "...all show and no go..." comments when I pulled up and opened the vertical doors.

Before we ran one Miata driver came up to me and said "...in a tight autocross course horsepower doesn't matter, its all about handling..." After we turned in the best times for a completely stock setup including the Invo street tires (the M3s and Corvettes were 1.5 to 2.5 seconds back, the rest weren't even close) the same Miata driver said '...what do you expect? That thing is pumping out close to 400HP..." I corrected him by saying only 330 HP with a wide grin.

Some of the race prepped Miata's had better times but none were stock and all had racing rubber.

Love this car and the Invos...

 

I got them mounted today. I will have to get some pics tomorrow and post em up. I only put about 5 miles on it, but man they are quiet and they ride nice. I didn't notice any extra side wall flex, but I did air them up a bit. So far a great tire! They look BadA$$ too!

I went ahead and aired them up to 40psi as SRT SIX had mentioned. The one thing I did notice was the front tires were within about a 1/4" of the nut on the upper A-arm. I am wondering if that is too close?? I don't have spacers on the front and I went with one size wider (235/40/18) from factory. I wonder if I need 5mm or 10mm spacers on the front now? I did not notice any rubbing on my short drive, which is good.

-SRT SIX, when I mentioned the tires smelling bad they were still sitting in my garage taped up waiting to be mounted. No rubbing. They did not smell like normal new tires. It was a bit funky. But now that they have been sitting in the garage 5 days the odor is gone. I guess they just needed some time to air out!

That is it for now guys. Stand by for pics tomorrow.
Later,
KrzyFast

 

I've gone through two set's in less than a year! It is a great tire and holds the pavment well and engineered to be quiet! They just wear out around 7000 miles with my dirving style.

 

Dude! 7K miles on a set of tires. That's impressive....You are definitely driving the car the way it was meant to be driven!

 

No kidding - I guess they don't call you "the Crazy Cajun" for nothing!

 

Both of these runs were without NOS, the bottle was empty and sitting in the shop.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNHXteCT2p4 Tony from Eurocharged at the wheel, He turned off the traction control.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAAO_K3bCis&feature=channel The traction control was kicking in up to 110mph (I forgot to turn it off) Hey my first time driving it after the mods.

 

Here are some pics of the SRT with the Invos installed.
I have to put 10mm spacers on the front. I knew it might be tight, but didn't think I would have a problem....well the front tires are not rubbing on the A-arm nut but the tires are less than .22inches away from it.
My wooden ruller (.22 inches) would not fit between the tire and the nut.

I have not lowered the car, but I guess the springs have settled a bit.
Anyway, now I am waiting on my spacers to come in....the 10mm spacers were a pain to find in stock! So for anyone wanting to upsize the fronts, they either need spacers or go with a 235/35 and NOT a 235/40 front tire. it pisses me off the Chrysler went cheap and raided the MB parts bin too much and maxed out the design rather than build in some room to modify in the future.

All in all though the tires look great, anyway here are the pics.

edit: I can't get the pics to attach, so go to my gallery. I will have them there.

 

had my 255/35/19 vredestein installed today they look great will have my fronts by the end of the week will post pics then

 

Once you've had all four for a while, let me know what you think of them.

I'm pretty sure my next tires will be these or the Nittos.

BTW - has anybody tried both?

 

Will do.
I got the spacers put on today. They push the tires out nice and give me the clearance on the front for peace of mind.

I put 40 miles on it. Nice smooth and quiet - good grip too.

I will keep you and everyone else updated.

Cheers,
KrzyFast

 

Well I've got about five hundred miles on them now and still very pleased!

Someone mentioned something about a funky smell......well I can tell yaa ,they (the fronts only) smell very funky.It's not a rubber smell nor some animal I ran over? Maybe something they used in the mold release?
Bill,

 

I got the Invos about a week ago, and they are awesome! So much of a quieter and smoother ride now. They look sharp to boot! I paid right at $800 through NTB, including complete tire protection plan. So far I am really impressed, and everyone loves them, including Meowch

 

lmao don't you love it when insecure sh*t talkers come up and tell you something then you show them up and then they come back with another excuse lol.

last year i had a ricer in a cobalt come up to me at the track and tell me my car was boring and was an automatic then he ran a mid 15 second run lmao. Yeah i bet his exotic mid-15 second cobalt is much more exciting than my 12 second srt6.

Good job at the track, sounds like you had a lot of fun!

 

I'm coming from contis and want either the Nittos or the PS2s. What differences am I going to experience?

 

I've heard good things about the PS2's, but if you get the Invo's, you'll have more money for other fun stuff, and they are a great tire. My only complaint was the treadwear; they only lasted 12K miles.

For my next set, I'm going to get Invo's or Vredenstein Sensatata's.

 

Just an update on the Invos, (currently 12000 miles on them) they were absolutely quite as a mouse until around 8000 miles with just an ever so slight feathering on the fronts, rotated and there silent again !

 

I have only put about 3K miles on mine so far and they are doing great. I aired them up to approx. 40psi as discussed previously. They are smooth, quiet, handle well and look very cool! I would/will purchase them again when it is time.

Cheers,
KrzyFast

 

My nitto invos didn't last at all!!

6000 miles and there is no tread left.

However, they were awesome tires, so I think that's what I'm getting again. So they are recommended by me! Now if I can just control my right foot on this pair.... nah.

 

Just another Invo update after 21,000 miles, just had them road force balanced and rotated in preparation for the dragon. still quite as a mouse. expect to get another 5-10,000 miles out of them !
daily driver, mostly highway,
@ 35 psi,
Bill,

 

Great to hear Bill!

Cheers.