New pic, tire/brake pad reviews
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Super Member
Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 524
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From: Los Angeles
2013 FIAT Abarth 500
New pic, tire/brake pad reviews
It's been a while since I took a pic -- lovely day a couple of weeks ago so I drove downtown and snapped this shot. Rear of the car is a little blurry, and it's from my EVO 4G. I'll probably reshoot at a better angle with less clutter.
Better pic up close:
Nitto Invos vs. Hankook Ventus V12 EVO Review
I always see people asking for comparisons between these two tires and haven't found too information, even on other forums. So here goes: it basically comes down to what you're looking for. I started out on the Invos a couple years ago mostly because lots of Vette owners were turning to Invos as alternatives to Michelin PSS. Now, obviously these are just a fraction of the price of PSS so I'm sure there's a significant difference between the two; that, and I've never owned PSS so I can't make that comparison. What I can tell you is that the Invos performed pretty well for what you pay for; great traction (but I have a 320 so take that with a grain of salt), exceptional stiffness when taking turns, and the tread pattern is truly unique. The downsides: tramline like crazy on ruts, harsh ride, tread pattern is too aggressive for a cab (lots of vibration and feedback over inconsistencies in the road) and one of the fronts I received couldn't balance out correctly.
Finally, I had enough of the harshness and even though the Invos performed well and only went through about 40-50% of the treadlife, I switched out to Hankooks since I read from many reviews that even though the V12s didn't excel in any one field, they were pretty comfortable even with low profile. Plus, they had a more conventional tread pattern which would probably alleviate a lot of the weird handling characteristics the Invos displayed. The V12s are pretty much what I expected; not amazing at anything in particular, but overall a very good tire, especially given the price. My tire shop was able to get them for $670 out the door, plus $80 back in the form of a gift card from Hankook -- you'd be hard pressed to beat that. What the Hankooks trade-off in performance, make up for comfort which was what I was after. Taking turns, you'll definitely notice the sidewalls are a lot squishier and doesn't instill much confidence in taking cloverleaf ramps at 40-50mph like I used to be able to with the Invos. However, tramlining has decreased a ton and there's a huge gain in comfort coming from the Invos. Hitting bumps doesn't make me feel like my teeth are going to fall out, though the car definitely gives tons of feedback simply due to the lowering and plus sizing on the wheels. Both the Invos and V12s were relatively quiet, but tire noise doesn't bother me too much. I have heard as V12s wear down, they get noisier so I'll be on the lookout for that. I've also heard that pumping up the PSI on the tires can help with gaining more stiffness, but I'm sure you'll sacrifice comfort.
All in all, if you're after a generally good-performing tire that's comfortable, go with the the Hankooks. If you're trying to squeeze out every bit of performance of your car as you can and aren't baller enough for PSS, get the Invos. My opinion? Start out with the V12s since they're cheaper, and go from there to see if they fit your needs or if you demand more from tire performance. If I was in an AMG I'd probably go with the Invos; in a 320, the V12s will do just fine. 430 owners can probably go either way depending on what matters the most to you. Also be mindful if you have a cab as that will definitely make a difference in how the car reacts to the tire (i.e. if you get Invos, prepare for lots of rattling and groaning from the top).
Akebono Euro Ceramic Brake Pads
OEM front pads were starting to squeal a bit during braking, so I knew it was time for a replacement. The edges of my rotors were also getting lips so figured might as well pick-up new disks. I just ordered OEM rotors all around, along with Akebono EUR853 (front pads) and EUR873 (rear pads). Please double check those part numbers off the Akebono website as I don't know if they changed with the facelift or not. I was really tired of cleaning my wheels every two weeks (I'm sure you can sympathize with how many spokes I have), so I was looking forward to not having any brake dust. Had a shop put the pads and rotors on and so far it's been a huge difference than with the OEM pads in more ways that one. First off, yes...zero brake dust. I drove 200 miles up in NorCal, another 1,000 round-trip to SoCal plus a little traveling down there, and I still have barely any dust on my wheels...it's amazing! There's some very small deposits on the wheels, but they wipe right off when I swipe my finger so I'm pretty sure a dousing of the hose will get all of the dust off; even then, a light cleaning will be a lot better than having to use elbow grease to get caked on brake dust from the OEMs off.
The bad: the sharp bite from OEM pads is gone. And when breaking these pads in it's downright scary especially with new rotors -- you will definitely need to give yourself plenty of stopping space to avoid slamming into the rear of cars ahead of you. A note: do NOT bed these in like you would with Porterfield, Hawk or any of those other performance pads; all you need to do is simply avoid hard stops as much as possible on these pads for the first 500 miles or so to allow the pad material to mate to the rotor. As time goes on, stopping power comes back but it's still nowhere like it used to be with OEMs. I found that depressing the brake pedal halfway with OEMs allowed tons of engagement and provided plenty of bite. Now, I have to depress the pedal halfway to get decent engagement and a little past halfway to get good pad bite to make a moderate stop. I've had zero squeaking from the Akebonos so far.
All in all, it's up to you whether or not you want to sacrifice brake dust for some performance. For those with wheels with tons of spokes, or if you're too damn lazy and don't find yourself pushing your car hard that often, Akebonos are a great alternative. However, if you're a performance and speed addict you'll probably want to stick with OEM or look at Hawk or Porterfield.
Hope ya'll enjoyed my ranting. I'm still in love with my 208 as much as the first day I drove it.
Better pic up close:
Nitto Invos vs. Hankook Ventus V12 EVO Review
I always see people asking for comparisons between these two tires and haven't found too information, even on other forums. So here goes: it basically comes down to what you're looking for. I started out on the Invos a couple years ago mostly because lots of Vette owners were turning to Invos as alternatives to Michelin PSS. Now, obviously these are just a fraction of the price of PSS so I'm sure there's a significant difference between the two; that, and I've never owned PSS so I can't make that comparison. What I can tell you is that the Invos performed pretty well for what you pay for; great traction (but I have a 320 so take that with a grain of salt), exceptional stiffness when taking turns, and the tread pattern is truly unique. The downsides: tramline like crazy on ruts, harsh ride, tread pattern is too aggressive for a cab (lots of vibration and feedback over inconsistencies in the road) and one of the fronts I received couldn't balance out correctly.
Finally, I had enough of the harshness and even though the Invos performed well and only went through about 40-50% of the treadlife, I switched out to Hankooks since I read from many reviews that even though the V12s didn't excel in any one field, they were pretty comfortable even with low profile. Plus, they had a more conventional tread pattern which would probably alleviate a lot of the weird handling characteristics the Invos displayed. The V12s are pretty much what I expected; not amazing at anything in particular, but overall a very good tire, especially given the price. My tire shop was able to get them for $670 out the door, plus $80 back in the form of a gift card from Hankook -- you'd be hard pressed to beat that. What the Hankooks trade-off in performance, make up for comfort which was what I was after. Taking turns, you'll definitely notice the sidewalls are a lot squishier and doesn't instill much confidence in taking cloverleaf ramps at 40-50mph like I used to be able to with the Invos. However, tramlining has decreased a ton and there's a huge gain in comfort coming from the Invos. Hitting bumps doesn't make me feel like my teeth are going to fall out, though the car definitely gives tons of feedback simply due to the lowering and plus sizing on the wheels. Both the Invos and V12s were relatively quiet, but tire noise doesn't bother me too much. I have heard as V12s wear down, they get noisier so I'll be on the lookout for that. I've also heard that pumping up the PSI on the tires can help with gaining more stiffness, but I'm sure you'll sacrifice comfort.
All in all, if you're after a generally good-performing tire that's comfortable, go with the the Hankooks. If you're trying to squeeze out every bit of performance of your car as you can and aren't baller enough for PSS, get the Invos. My opinion? Start out with the V12s since they're cheaper, and go from there to see if they fit your needs or if you demand more from tire performance. If I was in an AMG I'd probably go with the Invos; in a 320, the V12s will do just fine. 430 owners can probably go either way depending on what matters the most to you. Also be mindful if you have a cab as that will definitely make a difference in how the car reacts to the tire (i.e. if you get Invos, prepare for lots of rattling and groaning from the top).
Akebono Euro Ceramic Brake Pads
OEM front pads were starting to squeal a bit during braking, so I knew it was time for a replacement. The edges of my rotors were also getting lips so figured might as well pick-up new disks. I just ordered OEM rotors all around, along with Akebono EUR853 (front pads) and EUR873 (rear pads). Please double check those part numbers off the Akebono website as I don't know if they changed with the facelift or not. I was really tired of cleaning my wheels every two weeks (I'm sure you can sympathize with how many spokes I have), so I was looking forward to not having any brake dust. Had a shop put the pads and rotors on and so far it's been a huge difference than with the OEM pads in more ways that one. First off, yes...zero brake dust. I drove 200 miles up in NorCal, another 1,000 round-trip to SoCal plus a little traveling down there, and I still have barely any dust on my wheels...it's amazing! There's some very small deposits on the wheels, but they wipe right off when I swipe my finger so I'm pretty sure a dousing of the hose will get all of the dust off; even then, a light cleaning will be a lot better than having to use elbow grease to get caked on brake dust from the OEMs off.
The bad: the sharp bite from OEM pads is gone. And when breaking these pads in it's downright scary especially with new rotors -- you will definitely need to give yourself plenty of stopping space to avoid slamming into the rear of cars ahead of you. A note: do NOT bed these in like you would with Porterfield, Hawk or any of those other performance pads; all you need to do is simply avoid hard stops as much as possible on these pads for the first 500 miles or so to allow the pad material to mate to the rotor. As time goes on, stopping power comes back but it's still nowhere like it used to be with OEMs. I found that depressing the brake pedal halfway with OEMs allowed tons of engagement and provided plenty of bite. Now, I have to depress the pedal halfway to get decent engagement and a little past halfway to get good pad bite to make a moderate stop. I've had zero squeaking from the Akebonos so far.
All in all, it's up to you whether or not you want to sacrifice brake dust for some performance. For those with wheels with tons of spokes, or if you're too damn lazy and don't find yourself pushing your car hard that often, Akebonos are a great alternative. However, if you're a performance and speed addict you'll probably want to stick with OEM or look at Hawk or Porterfield.
Hope ya'll enjoyed my ranting. I'm still in love with my 208 as much as the first day I drove it.
Last edited by mint; Jul 22, 2012 at 05:20 AM.
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 1,305
Likes: 50
From: Yokohama, Japan
2000 CLK 320
Great write up. Wish the PS2s came in my size. I run the Invos with nitrogen vice air, and on 30 series tires it's a smooth ride. I went from Pzero to Invos and I'm loving life every day because I drive hard. I use Japanese break pads, "GiGa" I think, which emits white break dust. It's been 5 years since I got the pads and they are still going strong.
Last edited by Williams707; Jul 22, 2012 at 06:11 AM.
Thread Starter
Super Member
Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 524
Likes: 0
From: Los Angeles
2013 FIAT Abarth 500
I can't remember what Invos cost me back then, but I'm positive they're going to be significantly more than the V12s.
Great write up. Wish the PS2s came in my size. I run the Invos with nitrogen vice air, and on 30 series tires it's a smooth ride. I went from Pzero to Invos and I'm loving life every day because I drive hard. I use Japanese break pads, "GiGa" I think, which emits white break dust. It's been 5 years since I got the pads and they are still going strong.
And 5 years on the same pads?
Your car a garage queen or something?
Junior Member
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 41
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1
Oh shoot my bad bro--I got lost in the review. Found this very helpful and I already looked up some deals for some V12's for my 320! Had some when I first got my car and I must say, they were pretty nice as well. Any suggestions for places to buy tires for good prices? Once again, appreciate the review.
Thread Starter
Super Member
Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 524
Likes: 0
From: Los Angeles
2013 FIAT Abarth 500
Oh shoot my bad bro--I got lost in the review. Found this very helpful and I already looked up some deals for some V12's for my 320! Had some when I first got my car and I must say, they were pretty nice as well. Any suggestions for places to buy tires for good prices? Once again, appreciate the review.
Other than that, I can't recommend any other places. I will say, after ordering online and getting a bad tire I will NEVER buy online again. Strongly recommend going through an actual shop so they can replace the tire on the spot instead of you being hassled to ship back and forth. I've heard good things about Tire Rack and Discount Tire but after my experience, I'm too paranoid to buy anything that costs a significant amount on the 'net.
