kyle jones

I'm with Want-A-Z on this one.

Tires, performance or otherwise, that are rated to last 20 - 40K miles (or more) should do exactly that. If the suspension design (and lack of ability to adjust it properly as with other, less expensive cars) is going to eat up a new set of tires every 5-15K miles, then I simply can't afford the cost and the time that I'd have to devote to coping with this.

In short, this issue is a Deal-Buster and I'm debating calling my dealer this week and canceling my order.

It would really sadden me if I do cancel my order since the Z is one of the very few new cars I've seen on the road in the past 25 years or more that I really liked design-wise - and could afford!!

Intrepid

I plan on replacing my tires as soon as I get my Z with Michelin Pilot Sport A/S. Could this be a tire related issue?

SKiDaZZLe

that is my position. i have PP S03's with 2400 miles on them. i have abolutely NO scalloping on the insides of my treads.

i also run slightly higher tire pressures than stock recommendation.

i think the RE040 is the worst tire for a high performance car with an aggressive suspension setup. the sidewalls are too soft for the setup on the car. the S03's i have are waaaay stiffer and also the have a completely different contact patch (way larger). this is how the tires on the Z should be.

another possible point to support this "shitty tire" theory as the problem is: the Z was originally designed for michelin pilotsports (which are on par with PolePositions) as opposed to the 040's we got stuck with.

i do not fault the suspension setup of the Z... i will need more proof the problem is with the engineering as opposed to the accounting... think about it.

m

nosuchsol

I'd like to hear more info from people with non-stock tires. =)

SCC states:
The 350Z front suspension is an exquisite web of forged aluminum--state of the double wishbone art. A conventional double wishbone suspension connects the spindle/hub/brake/wheel assembly to the car with two arms. The shorter upper arm swings through a smaller arc than the lower arm, so as the suspension is compressed, the upper arm pulls the top of the wheel inward, increasing negative camber. This camber curve is the single biggest advantage of a double wishbone. When the suspension compresses in a corner, the added camber can compensate for body roll and keep the tire optimally angled relative to the road.

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However, as the above post states it doesn't sound like a suspension problem AND I would love to see more non-OE tire stories. =)

sage

Hey SKiDaZZLe,

Any way we could get you to drive a couple more thousand miles over the next week or so? I'm really interested in seeing how the pilotsports hold up for you. Please keep us updated.

I would have no problems if it turns out to be just a crappy OEM tire problem. I am planning on switching them out anyway somewhere between 3,000 - 5,000 miles. I want to get used to the Z 1st before I really start to push it and will use those 1st several thousand miles to do that.

If its just the tires then it won't be an issue for me. Figure Nissan had to scrimp somewhere and the tires is about as good a place as any. But if its not the tires, then Nissan better come up with a fix cause I'm not sure I would be prepared to replace the tires every 5,000 mikes either.

Got a couple more months before I have to worry about it.

MustGoFastR

iTrader: (13)

If this does turn out to be just a tire issue, is there any way to make the dealer equip the car with different tires at delivery, for those of us who haven't gotten their cars yet?

raceboy

OMG the whining on here!! LOL Want to hear something funny? My car has the opposite problem. Because I have about 700 track miles and maybe another 1000 aggressive canyon miles, I am wearing the outside edge of my front tires faster than the rest of the tire. I am looking for a way to get more negative camber. I mean, look at the car, the front wheels are bolt upright!! Seems to me like you guys are just driving like a bunch of grandmas! j/k

But seriously, you can't have your cake and eat it to. Performance cars will wear tires faster; period. Porsches routinely get only 7000 miles or so out of a set or tires, and my race suspended MR2 Spyder would only get about 5K! It's the nature of the beast. Now from the pics I have seen so far; I really don't see the concern.

There is also still no way the car does not have camber adjustment capability. Simply not true. That would make the car a write off in almost any minor accident. I have never seen a car where toe and camber was not adustable.

Now as far as camber plates, as far as I know they only work on cars that use struts. Our Z's DO NOT USE STRUTS! We use shocks and springs for damping and weight bearing and the "A" arms for locating duty. Our shocks and springs serve no suspension locating duty and are therefor NOT STRUTS. Because we don't use struts, a camber plate will not work as it will not change the angle of the suspension.

SKiDaZZLe

so, then factory service manual used by every dealership is wrong about something like camber and toe adjustment!?!?

go ahead and tell me how you adjust them on the Z... according to the manual... the only way to fix out of range values is with new parts.

again, i am not crying about this... tires are consumables just like gas and oil... i have NEVER had a set of tires with more than 5-6K miles on them.

you have to pay to play... and i got lots of money to play.

m

check this out:

Boomer

I think it is a tire issue, just like the damn "bounce" complaints, we have a tire that is unsuited to the suspension. I know that sounds odd, but when you read some of Tire Rack's Owner surveys, you get a lot of complaints about the tires uneven wear qualities and a warning to constantly check the tire pressure. One person said it wasn't uncommon to check the pressure and find one tire with 5psi less than another a day or two after filling them up the previous day. If you are driving a sports car, you are putting a lot of pressure on the tires and underinflation or overinflation can cause abnormal tire wear very quickly. I don't think the tires are up to the chassis and we are seeing the problems after a few 1000 miles. Nissan needs to address this now.

Boomer

kyle jones

Perhaps your right Boomer.

I just finished reading the reviews for the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S and the Bridgestone RE040. The RE040 seems to be overly soft and develops uneven tire wear on a number of very different cars.

On the other hand, the Michelin seems to wear much better than the RE040. Reading the reviews leads me to believe that the trade-off is that the Michelin isn't quite as good in terms of handling. I'm purchasing this car to be my daily commuter, and since I'm not intending on going racing (on, or off track) I would prefer the extra treadlife over the improved handling and grip.

I suspect that I'll be doing good to get ~8-12K miles out of the RE040's, afterwhich I'll likely switch to the Michelin's and see a much improved tread life (so I'm hoping).

raceboy

Hard to believe there is no built in adjustment capability. I guess that will need to be left up to the aftermarket. There are a couple of ways you could go to achieve this; short upper control arm, but that would still be a fixed camber setting with no further adjustment possible. I guess what makes it hard is the split lower controll arm so if you wanted an adjustable setup the adjustent would have to be on the top control arm. I don't have a suspension pic in front of me but they could use a non concentric bushing that would change the effective length of the upper control arm as you rotated it. Oh well.

Lowering the car will increase my negative camber in the front. A softer front anti roll bar will help the front of the car roll more in a corner compressing the suspension and again increasing negative camber.

raceboy

BTW, what are the stock front and rear camber setting since you have the manual ski? For optimum handling you usually want the rear to have about .5 degrees more negative camber than the fronts.

roberto350z

well, if the camber can be adjusted with a different control arm, then it CAN be adjusted...from a recall point of view.

John

iTrader: (17)

Having one degree negative camber in the Z is not going to eat away at your tires significantly. I agree with Raceboy, you all must be driving very conservatively. This is a sports car remember, which is designed to be driven as such. Consequently, things like tires will wear down faster...

However, Raceboy, there is no camber adjustment available on our cars yet. In fact, many cars out there have no built-in camber adjustment (Hondas for example).

TXSTYLE

iTrader: (1)

Well, ths is yet another "distressing" issue. I will monitor the treadwear on my TOYOS and keep you all posted... But I have a feeling this is much deeper than the tires.

g35or350z

I previously had a '89 supra and it had no alignment problems or uneven tire wear for 190,000 miles and I drove that thing hard. It drove straight without ever having an alignment adjustment.

My bro-in-law warned me when I was pre-ordering back in June about multiple alignment issues he had with his '90 Z. I am beginning to think his warnings were correct. I dont think this is a tire issue. If it was a tire issue, the rear tires would be affected similarly.

If I have to change the tires every 5000 miles, I too will cancel my order. The loud tire noise from bad tires is also VERY annoying.

droideka

If I had done a single mile of track time, I would have absolutely no right to complain. I chunked a set of RE730s on my CL-S in 8K miles and I drive a lot more aggressively in the Z, but I only get in around 10% aggressive driving time due to traffic and congestion.

Rush-hour commuter miles should NOT wear tires like this.

g35or350z

Does the G35C ahve the same suspension setup? If so, I might as well stick with the Z and just live with the issue.

ChinaClipper

iTrader: (2)

The G35C suspension has identical suspension arms, links and bushings. The shocks and sway bars are different and tuned to give a 'softer' ride.

raceboy

The G35 also has less negative camber.