2005 Enthusiast
Build date Dec. 2004
17" OEM wheels on stock Bridestone Potenza RE040
4100 miles

At 4K miles, this is what my tires look like. Please excuse the quality of these pictures to capture the pattern of the wear, but refer more on the descriptions.

I have an appointment with Town North Nissan in Austin to take a look at my car next Thursday, and if they find something out of the ordinary from what I am describing, they will fix it (possible re-alignment) for free. I know I could wait longer and have it be more prominent, but I want document that when new, my car was aligned to factory specs. Since I have only seen pictures of feathering and the wear on my tires are just starting out, I would like your opinions on if this is feathering from those that have experienced it.

I am basing my judgement that I have feathering off of
http://www.lasercannon.com/Newz/feathering.htm

I would also like to mention that I somewhat drive agressively and that I've recently seen my friend's E36 M3 with the same type of wear (he also drives agressively). Is it just the driving habits? Please let me know if you think I'm over-reacting. Thanks all.

 

I'm not positive since I have an 05 with no signs of feathering, but I'm pretty sure it occurs on the inside edge of the tire, not the outside where you indicated. Also from what others have said, you will know if you're tires are feathered because of a loud noise when you come to a stop.

 

yup you got feathering. LOL just kidding still think it too soon to know yet, but doesn't hurt to get it checked out.

 

This feathering "issue" hype is getting out of hand.

If feathering is a concern add more positive camber and swap some better more longer lasting tires. You will sacrifice handling with the addition of adding camber. That is if it can be corrected to good enough spec.

Face it...These sports cars come with negative camber from the factory with some shitty tires that wear very quickly.

 

Based on the pictures, it looks like you pointing out problems on the outer edge of the tire. The feathering problem with the Zs occurs on the inside edge. Can you answer yes to the following questions?

1) When braking from 35+ MPH, do you hear a roaring noise from the front end?

2) At low speeds (<25 MPH) do you hear a roar from the front end?

3) If you run your fingers along the surface of the INSIDE tread blocks, do you feel the edges in one direction but not in the other direction?

If you can answer "yes" to those questions, then you have feathering.

 

It could be underinflation as much as anything else.

 

Hey,
My 04 Enth with 9K had the problem, go to the inside tread edge and run your hand backwards over the tire, if you feel ridges or bumps you have it. 4K may be a bit too soon to notice. The dealer fixed mine with a smile on his face...........

 

Happily, I can say NO to all those questions. The INSIDE tread is fine. I have also researched extensively on this issue and know the symptoms but my original intent was to stop right now if I already see it starting. But you and the others are right, I oversaw that it is the INSIDE tread and not outside.

Charliemike - If you mean they are underinflated, probably not. I'm at 35psi cold heating up to 40 psi in hot weather for all 4 tires.

Thanks to those that have put the situation in a better perspective for me. I think I'll see what happens in the next 5-10K miles. Also, I really don't care about these tires, but I plan to change rims/tires the next round and just want to spare the new tires the suffering.

 

Honestly, that just looks like the $hitty compound Bridgestone uses in their tires. I would venture to say that every Z with factory tires looks like that. Switch to a stickier tire for your next set.

 

I have an 04.5 7000+miles and everything appears fine. I noticed the same
slight rising in the tread as you did and I think it's just the nature of the tire. I ran my hand on my other cars tires and it felt the same.

 

Feathering is the abnormal uneven wear of the inside or outside tread. Since you have it on the out side I suspect you have excessive toe-in. Get your alignment checked and please let us know the before and after numbers.

 

I just checked my 05 with 3.5k miles. It's hard to see but I can see the uneveness of the block edges as in your pictures. After close examination I can also see simular wear on the inside though even more difficult to see than on the outside. I then examined wife's Volvo 90xc. It also has the same wear pattern on the blocks, but in some of the center groves. I suspect that this wear is the result of heavy braking or agressive driving.

If I can go 10k miles without noise, I will rotate the tires and consider it an issue not worth my time to investigate further.