Nitto Tire America Corp. has broadened its high-performance tire range with the launch of the Invo ultra-high performance line and the debut of a competition-only line of drag race slicks.
Nitto, a subsidiary of Japan's Toyo Tire & Rubber Co. Ltd., said the asymmetrical tread-patterned Invo line ``offers the perfect balance between art and engineering.''
The non-directional tread design features twin water-dispersion grooves and lateral slits that provide wet traction and silica-reinforced tread blocks for lateral and longitudinal grip in dry conditions, the company said.
The Invo will be available by mid-2006 in eight sizes, ranging from 225/45 ZR17 91W to 345/25 ZR20 100Y.
Cypress-based Nitto also said it is gearing up production of the NT 1320 drag slick so that customers will have a choice of five sizes by the first quarter of 2006-25.0, 26.0 and 32.0x14.5-15, 33.0x16.0-15, and 33.0x17.0-15-and eight more soon thereafter.
The NT 1320 complements Nitto's NT-555R Extreme Drag Radial Tire line, which although designed primarily for competition drag racing, offers users limited use (6/32nds inch tread depth) on the street as well as at the track, Nitto said.
Nitto's marketing scheme for the NT 1320 includes the launch of the Nitto 1320 Challenge, a free online game that allows users to drag race against hundreds of thousands of other online racers. It's available at a separate Web site, www.nitto1320.com.