Sooo went Auto-Xing this past weekend **Thrashed Nitto INVO content**

[bsrpilot44]

Sooo went Auto-Xing this past weekend, and totally destroyed my Nitto Invos.

My Review:

-Extremely soft sidewall=squishy performance
-Very sensitive to pressure....had to lower the rears a little bit in order to keep the rear planted during hard braking.
-Great DD/Occasional Canyon Run tire, but not suited(once again sidewall=too soft) for a “balls-out” auto-x/track day.

So now I ask thee dear AudiZine what shall be my next tire. I'm looking at going with the Bridgestone Re01-R, but I'm a bit skeptical as they are only a 89W load rating with no XL load rating. Do you think I'll be ok...or what?
If no what can you guys recc. to me that is comparable in a 245/35/19. Thanks in advance guys!
-B
P.S.: Here are some shots of my thrashed INVOS

[Quattro]

pretty crazy, 1 auto-x event and this happens WOW

good thing i cant afford these tires!

[ZEUSROTTY]

falkens are great...

[FourRingRider]

yeah thats why i stopped autox'ing a few years back... it costs me hundreds, nearly a thousand bucks every time I participated... just can't justify spending a grand on tires everytime, and possibly brakes...

[Louis J.]

I've been autoxing for a number of years and frankly, there is no reason for your tires to get that trashed in one session, regardless of how soft the sidewalls of your tires might be. From the look of the wear on the shoulder, it looks like you might've been running low tire pressures and over-driving/plowing the car. Even if the pavement was extremely rough, your tires shouldn't look that trashed.

I'm not criticizing, I'm trying to help by pointing out that you have to find the tire pressure sweetspot for your car and keep it there by adjusting pressure between runs. I'm not sure what you mean by "sensitive to pressure" but if you mean that it picks up pressure quickly, that means the tire heats up quickly and that's a good think in autox. Also, if you're loosing traction you're scrubbing speed. Whether tracking or autoxing, you have to be slow and smooth first if you want to go fast.

As for tires, I use Falken Azenis 615s. They're as sticky as you're going to get for a street-legal tire and they're cheap at ~$600 for a set. All the top SCCA guys on stock class run them. Problem is that they only make them up to size 18. 19s are not ideal for autox or track.

[a4nik8er]

those tires had 5-6k miles and a track day and another auto-x and at least 3-4 canyon runs, the sidewall just got chewed out (prematurely)

[itsjeo]

damn.. looks like someone deflated those tires a bit too much.. does it even help to deflate when autox-ing?

[Cargo8]

mich ps2
bridgestone - ones with teh curly flame like design (not great in teh wet)

[2PUTT]

this is why i recommend a separate set for track/autox events. a lot of people i know use the Falken RT 615 which is ~$135/tire. you can also look into the Dunlop Direzza Star Spec.

[Audi05s4]

KDWs are sick tires

[ZEUSROTTY]

damn.. looks like someone deflated those tires a bit too much.. does it even help to deflate when autox-ing?

thats what im thinking... What pressures were you running?

[ZEUSROTTY]

this is why i recommend a separate set for track/autox events. a lot of people i know use the Falken RT 615 which is ~$135/tire. you can also look into the Dunlop Direzza Star Spec.

I just took my falkens off after a full summer of driving, and 5 track days... Still had tread on them.... Proper air pressures keep your tires from wearing badly...

[helli217]

Listen to this advice: Do not waste any more of your money on tires with less than a 95 LR. XL is all you should put on this car if you autcross, enjoy driving aggressively or generally care about handling at all. Learn from my mistake.
I searched on the forums about the same thing you asked here. About whether load rating will matter or what load rating is the minimum...etc. I found plenty of opinions saying that it didn't matter....91 was good enough....blahblah. I bought Yokohama S drives, 235/35/19 91Y. My buddy has these on his IS350, and they are great. Crisp, stiff enough, tons of grip, etc. I took off my stockers with WORN OUT Dunlop Sportmaxxes and put these on. My handling went out the window. On quick transitions I can feel the ass of the car sway, turn in sucks, the sidewalls literally crumble under the weight, and my steering feels way disconnected compared to the other tires. Needless to say grip is way down. Even sitting still, the front tires with 41 PSI in them look as if they are low in pressure.
So, the crap handling you experienced wasn't that those tires suck, it's that the load rating is too low. This would also explain the quick wear you mentioned(I couldn't see the pics here at work).
BUY XL TIRES.

[Phillyb7s4]

I have four almost brand new goodyear eagle f1 gs-d3 245/25/19. Pm me if you have any interest.

Charlie

[mitbackwards]

got confused... i was like dude brandon you went through another set from this weekend??...but then i saw the date

[MOFSTEEL]

Listen to this advice: Do not waste any more of your money on tires with less than a 95 LR. XL is all you should put on this car if you autcross, enjoy driving aggressively or generally care about handling at all. Learn from my mistake.
I searched on the forums about the same thing you asked here. About whether load rating will matter or what load rating is the minimum...etc. I found plenty of opinions saying that it didn't matter....91 was good enough....blahblah. I bought Yokohama S drives, 235/35/19 91Y. My buddy has these on his IS350, and they are great. Crisp, stiff enough, tons of grip, etc. I took off my stockers with WORN OUT Dunlop Sportmaxxes and put these on. My handling went out the window. On quick transitions I can feel the ass of the car sway, turn in sucks, the sidewalls literally crumble under the weight, and my steering feels way disconnected compared to the other tires. Needless to say grip is way down. Even sitting still, the front tires with 41 PSI in them look as if they are low in pressure.
So, the crap handling you experienced wasn't that those tires suck, it's that the load rating is too low. This would also explain the quick wear you mentioned(I couldn't see the pics here at work).
BUY XL TIRES.

Nice bump from a year ago NOOB!!!

[noznab]

Don't bother trying to autox on BFGoodrich TA KDW 2's either. My set was torn to shreds after a morning of auto x'ing in my R32

[ZEUSROTTY]

That looks like an underinflated tire to me... I've done a whole season of track days on mine with no issues, and they probably have 2 more track days left.

[sakimano]

the S4 isn't really a dainty switchable car...I think I'd save my track days for BIG tracks like VIR or Mosport...not parking lots.

[ZEUSROTTY]

How old is this thread? Jeez.

[Kevin7]

I don't think Invos are intended to be a track tire; that's what the NT05s are for.

[earhythmic]

Listen to this advice: Do not waste any more of your money on tires with less than a 95 LR. XL is all you should put on this car if you autcross, enjoy driving aggressively or generally care about handling at all. Learn from my mistake.
I searched on the forums about the same thing you asked here. About whether load rating will matter or what load rating is the minimum...etc. I found plenty of opinions saying that it didn't matter....91 was good enough....blahblah. I bought Yokohama S drives, 235/35/19 91Y. My buddy has these on his IS350, and they are great. Crisp, stiff enough, tons of grip, etc. I took off my stockers with WORN OUT Dunlop Sportmaxxes and put these on. My handling went out the window. On quick transitions I can feel the ass of the car sway, turn in sucks, the sidewalls literally crumble under the weight, and my steering feels way disconnected compared to the other tires. Needless to say grip is way down. Even sitting still, the front tires with 41 PSI in them look as if they are low in pressure.
So, the crap handling you experienced wasn't that those tires suck, it's that the load rating is too low. This would also explain the quick wear you mentioned(I couldn't see the pics here at work).
BUY XL TIRES.

haha well this noob is helping me out a little bit. I just got some S Drives a few months ago for my DD use but I'm experiencing exactly what you're describing here. Sidewalls feel soft, and even when I'm just sitting in the car parked and reach over to the glove box I can feel the car kinda bouncing side to side. Can't imagine that's good for any sort of spirited canyon run at all! I know they're XL rated tires, but still experiencing this. Next time I'm just going straight for the PS2s

[bsrpilot44]

I don't think Invos are intended to be a track tire; that's what the NT05s are for.

This thread was created, by me, before the NT-05's ever existed. LOL

[bsrpilot44]

Listen to this advice: Do not waste any more of your money on tires with less than a 95 LR. XL is all you should put on this car if you autcross, enjoy driving aggressively or generally care about handling at all. Learn from my mistake.
I searched on the forums about the same thing you asked here. About whether load rating will matter or what load rating is the minimum...etc. I found plenty of opinions saying that it didn't matter....91 was good enough....blahblah. I bought Yokohama S drives, 235/35/19 91Y. My buddy has these on his IS350, and they are great. Crisp, stiff enough, tons of grip, etc. I took off my stockers with WORN OUT Dunlop Sportmaxxes and put these on. My handling went out the window. On quick transitions I can feel the ass of the car sway, turn in sucks, the sidewalls literally crumble under the weight, and my steering feels way disconnected compared to the other tires. Needless to say grip is way down. Even sitting still, the front tires with 41 PSI in them look as if they are low in pressure.
So, the crap handling you experienced wasn't that those tires suck, it's that the load rating is too low. This would also explain the quick wear you mentioned(I couldn't see the pics here at work).
BUY XL TIRES.

Although this is technically considered a "necro-bump" I sincerely appreciate your well thought out advice. Since switching the the RE-01R's my auto-xing, tracking, and overall driving experience has been night and day

Thanks again,

Brandon

[ngng]

the star specs were highest rated, next on the list were the hankook v12s (which i will be putting on my track wheels to start). for the price, i'm going to give the v12s a shot.

[turbonick]

This thread was created, by me, before the NT-05's ever existed. LOL

Has anyone ran the NT05's on the track or on the street? I just ordered a set and noticed that the load index is only 93W. Never ran a car as heavy as an S4 avant so I never looked at the load index before. Would a 93 be too low?

[oatzel]

my nt05s should be arriving this week. but they're going to be my street tire. my nt01s are my track tire

[likewater]

Has anyone ran the NT05's on the track or on the street? I just ordered a set and noticed that the load index is only 93W. Never ran a car as heavy as an S4 avant so I never looked at the load index before. Would a 93 be too low?

I have NT05's and love em. Since putting them on, I've only run them hard once through the canyons. But, night and day diff coming from the Yoko S Drives I had. Those were def a weak link.

Can't wait to get this car on the track with the NT05's.

[S4DTM]

Wow...this is an OLD thread! Haha

But while we're on the topic, if you're going to run Nittos on the track, go with the NT-01s, not the 05s. The 05s are made more for street use and the 01s are competition track tires. I have the RE-11s for street and NT-01s for track and the Nittos are amazing on the track! I'd highly recommend the either the Bridgestone Re-11s or Nitto NT-05s for street, and the Nitto NT-01s for the track

[Kevin7]

Curious to hear longevity of NT05s for street usage.

[ZEUSROTTY]

I actually have Nt05s for the street and 01s for the track and I have no complaints...

[guzerone]

Falken AZENSIS RT615, they come in 245/40-18 with a 97 load rating.
I auto-x'ed the heck out of them on very rough pavement, no problems whatsoever. They actually hold up pretty good as everyday street tire, solid sidewall (the 97 load rating helps I guess), very sticky even in the wet as long as it's over 50F.

[helli217]

Nice bump from a year ago NOOB!!!

People like you make me laugh.

Necrobump or not, (which I can assure you was unintentional) I think this information is still pertinent to many. There's alot of people out there installing the wrong tires on these pigs, ending up with shitty handling and wasted money. Was just trying to help others avoid what I ran into.

[turbonick]

People like you make me laugh.

Necrobump or not, (which I can assure you was unintentional) I think this information is still pertinent to many. There's alot of people out there installing the wrong tires on these pigs, ending up with shitty handling and wasted money. Was just trying to help others avoid what I ran into.

I'm glad this thread was brought back. It seems like I'm not the only one. The thread is moving up and getting hits. Old or not a lot of people are always interested in what works and what's a bad investment. Especially what works on our cars specifially.