I knew Nissan USA was useless!

 

Hate to pop your bubble CTBZR! But my 04 track has the dreaded tire problem. They did an aliment at 5800 miles plus replaced my trans! At 7355 they did another aliment and replaced my tires. Oh ya their 18's. Everyone has an opinion but i agree there is a problem that needs to be adressed by Nissan. It's all about money. Just my 2 cents worth.

 

If any one wants more info on this refer to the tsb NTB04-043 which explains what Nissan will do. I wish I could host it but it is in a paper form.

 

Anyone know if the new stub axle and lower control arm for the 05 model was introduced to stop feathering?


Paul

 

btw Nissan customer service is moving to India

 

Enough of the bull....What needs to be done to fix the problem? If Nissan isn't going to fix the issue what really needs to be repaired or replaced? Does anybody know? No BS just the facts.

 

As we all know, Nissan doesn't take our 2004 model's tire feathering problem seriously. Why? Simply because we have not complainted enough. What I'm thinking is we should set a date, and call Nissan to complaint just about the tire feathering. If hundreds of us call to complain about just one specific problem, I'm sure they will take us more seriously. What do you guys think??

 

If Nissan thinks it is an issue with the brand tire, why dont they simply change to another brand like the G35 has on them? It does not take any engineering to change the brand of OEM tires.

 

Now that's a great idea!

 

This will work, no BS:

Buy the same size wheels and tires for all 4 corners
Buy alignment kits to set the alignment less aggressive
Get alignments often
Have a proper rotate and balance done often

 

But then King tut you void the warranty on vdc and abs.

kewlii I like your idea!

 

Just curious as to the total price for your suspension work? Did you do the work yourself? Where would I go to have this kind of work done?

Thanks.

P.S. Just fought and got my second set of front tires (19,700 miles - first full set given at 8,600 The service rep tried to tell me the roar was back but the tires were okay. I spoke directly to the technician who looked at the tires and he told me that the tires were feathered. She looked dumbfounded when I told her the technician told me the tires were feathered - she said "He didn't tell ME that!!" Yeah right!! They will try to get over on you if you let them. The more you know when you walk in there the more they dislike you. This is my third Nissan in 23 years - had a 1987 Z - no problems whatsoever - sorry I got rid of it!

I do love the car and I am thinking about changing the suspension. There is no other car out there that I would rather be driving.

 

Just my $0.02:

The tires on my '88 Supra are feathered, just like the ones on everyone's Z. They don't make any noise, because they're not total POS Bridgestones. Plus, they don't turn to marbles when it gets under 50F. The car has at least as much camber as the Z. Very soon I'll be buying some 17x9s and putting Dunlops on my car. I'm sure Nissan got those tires really cheap, 'cause they're crap. I got my car aligned shortly after I bought it at a shop that cares and has an excellent machine. Front toe was fine; one rear wheel was toed slightly off making the thrust angle off. The dealer didn't do anything after I complained besides move the steering wheel center.

There's no way I'm ever buying a Bridgestone product. Worst tires I've ever experienced.

If I had known that caster and camber are not adjustable on this car before I bought it, I may not have bought it. That's just plain stupid design.

I have an '04 and it sounds like a tank. I don't want replacement tires, I want good tires. Nissan won't give me those...

Asterix

 

ZHappy a little over 3k

 

Yes I did the work myself. Understand I did this for autocross not for the tire problem. It jsut happen to fix the problem. 350evo upper arms in the front, Stillen toe and camber arms, Stillen sways, Eibach springs and Koni yellow shocks. It adds up quickly!
But the car handles and rides better than new.

 

I had my front tires replaced recently at 7800 miles on a 2004 Base model. There was noticable "scalloping", at least that is what the service manager called it. I was told they will replace one time only....

As for the comment: "Welcome to the world of performance sports cars!"...... My S2000 did not have this problem running SO2's, which I think is an even softer compound. I do understand that all performance cars will have their quirks, it is just that this one is so annoying.

Nissan has got a problem on these cars. It is NOT the consumers fault.

New tires every 7-8K miles????????????? COME ON!!! Noone can seriously say this is normal wear!

NNA: I do like my Z but WE EXPECT BETTER!!!

 

Guys,

This topic has been beaten to death. There are 3 main views on it.

The Optimist - The car is perfect, eating tires is normal and intentional. Suspension changes will stop feathering. Different tires will stop feathering.

The Realist - Nissan screwed us. They obviously didn't engineer the car properly, and I've been left to deal with it. I can probably afford the tires, but have to wonder if it is worth the headache. Although I enjoy my Z, I won't ever buy another Nissan.

The Pessimist - Nissan sucks. But every other company sucks too...and buying a new car sucks. So I might as well stick with my car (which sucks b/c of feathering).

Bottom line, different people will have different views. The one thing that is constant: this car requires costly tires on a more rapid basis than 99% of other cars out there, and there is no clear-cut way to circumvent this problem. You can call it wear induced by negative camber, scalloping, feathering, waxing the dolphin, whatever the hell you want...but it's annoying and it should have been prevented IMO.

NzZ

 

Excellent post, NzZ. I agree 100%. Consumers shouldn't have to deal with defective products. Nissan has to step up and fix the problem instead of these "bandaid" fixes.

 

I definitely fall under the Realist. But, I am an active realist making sure that the next potential Z buyer is well informed. I hope to dissuade half a dozone buyers per year, and somewhat even out the score with Nissan.

On the Optimist side, I'd have to say that the insurance rate for the Z is much better than its counterparts, particulartly the S2000. I would have to pay about $490/year more for an S2000 for identical coverage and deductibles. Plus, I can go car camping w/ the Z...2-man tent, 2 sleeping bags, cooler, stove, etc... I can actually fit all that crap in the back!

 

So what should they have done to properly engineer the car?