How many of you DO NOT HAVE Tire Feathering?
Registered User
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 106
Likes: 0
From: Boston, MA
Originally Posted by sprmario
I have an '04.5 and I specifically made sure that I got one made at the plant where the G35 is made vs. where all the 03s and early '04s were made. I only have 8k miles but no sign of odd wear yet.
At the very least the '04s seem to last longer before the feathering sets in. Having read a ton about the issue before buying my car, I know that a lot of people w/ '03s had feathering pop up in 3k to 5k miles even.
When I looked at the car I knew this could be a problem but even if I have to replace the tires every 15k miles I think the Z is a great value compared to any other car I could have gotten.
At the very least the '04s seem to last longer before the feathering sets in. Having read a ton about the issue before buying my car, I know that a lot of people w/ '03s had feathering pop up in 3k to 5k miles even.
When I looked at the car I knew this could be a problem but even if I have to replace the tires every 15k miles I think the Z is a great value compared to any other car I could have gotten.
Thanks
Registered User
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 231
Likes: 0
From: Miami, FL
Yeah, I think so... I forget which way it is now... but I did a lot of research on it before purchasing. I wanted to avoid wherever the '03s were being built. There was a press release where they announced that some of the production was being moved to a different plant, where the infinities G35's were being built. I believe the original fab is in Opama or something like that which is the T, and the other is Tamaguchi or Taguchi or something like that which is indicated by the M.
In theory they are all identical, but in practice there might be a difference in tolerances in how certain parts are put together. Pretty much any production process is going to have acceptable tolerances according the the specifications of given pieces and they can be charted and followed statistically.
They have obviously improved on this problem. A lot of the early '03 guys were getting feathering very very fast, while the '04 owners are getting it much later on, and it seems to be in less owners than the '03s. Since I knew that all the '03s were made at one plant... it doesn't hurt to totally avoid that manufacturing facility in my purchase.
honestly the salesman thought I was crazy when I turned down an identical vehicle because of the VIN number on it. When i signed the papers, my purchase was completely contingent in getting a specific VIN # that was on its way to their dealership. Given this was teh one major issue w/ the car that I was worried about, I figured I should do as much as possible to mitigate the risk, and it didn't hurt me to wait an extra 2 weeks to get my car.
Maybe it helped, maybe it didn't, but so far so good at 8k miles... we'll see where i am in another 4 to 7k miles. At least I feel I did my proper due diligence.
In theory they are all identical, but in practice there might be a difference in tolerances in how certain parts are put together. Pretty much any production process is going to have acceptable tolerances according the the specifications of given pieces and they can be charted and followed statistically.
They have obviously improved on this problem. A lot of the early '03 guys were getting feathering very very fast, while the '04 owners are getting it much later on, and it seems to be in less owners than the '03s. Since I knew that all the '03s were made at one plant... it doesn't hurt to totally avoid that manufacturing facility in my purchase.
honestly the salesman thought I was crazy when I turned down an identical vehicle because of the VIN number on it. When i signed the papers, my purchase was completely contingent in getting a specific VIN # that was on its way to their dealership. Given this was teh one major issue w/ the car that I was worried about, I figured I should do as much as possible to mitigate the risk, and it didn't hurt me to wait an extra 2 weeks to get my car.
Maybe it helped, maybe it didn't, but so far so good at 8k miles... we'll see where i am in another 4 to 7k miles. At least I feel I did my proper due diligence.
Registered User
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 19
Likes: 0
From: FL
I don't think the whole "feathering" thing is as bad as everyone makes it out to be. Before we bought our Zs we were worried too because of all the horror stories we saw online. But I think that a lot of people who complain don't understand that sports car tires aren't meant to last 30,000 miles. Granted, if your tires start wearing out at 3,000, that's a problem. But if you drive the car hard and they start wearing out at 10,000 that's understandable.
We did meet someone with an '03 that had the wear issues at 3,000 miles and had his tires replaced by Nissan. He wore out that set in another 3,000 miles, and then replaced his factory wheels and tires with aftermarket 19s. Oddly enough, he hasn't had any more problems. Very strange...
We did meet someone with an '03 that had the wear issues at 3,000 miles and had his tires replaced by Nissan. He wore out that set in another 3,000 miles, and then replaced his factory wheels and tires with aftermarket 19s. Oddly enough, he hasn't had any more problems. Very strange...
Registered User
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 106
Likes: 0
From: Boston, MA
Originally Posted by sprmario
Yeah, I think so... I forget which way it is now... but I did a lot of research on it before purchasing. I wanted to avoid wherever the '03s were being built. There was a press release where they announced that some of the production was being moved to a different plant, where the infinities G35's were being built. I believe the original fab is in Opama or something like that which is the T, and the other is Tamaguchi or Taguchi or something like that which is indicated by the M.
In theory they are all identical, but in practice there might be a difference in tolerances in how certain parts are put together. Pretty much any production process is going to have acceptable tolerances according the the specifications of given pieces and they can be charted and followed statistically.
They have obviously improved on this problem. A lot of the early '03 guys were getting feathering very very fast, while the '04 owners are getting it much later on, and it seems to be in less owners than the '03s. Since I knew that all the '03s were made at one plant... it doesn't hurt to totally avoid that manufacturing facility in my purchase.
honestly the salesman thought I was crazy when I turned down an identical vehicle because of the VIN number on it. When i signed the papers, my purchase was completely contingent in getting a specific VIN # that was on its way to their dealership. Given this was teh one major issue w/ the car that I was worried about, I figured I should do as much as possible to mitigate the risk, and it didn't hurt me to wait an extra 2 weeks to get my car.
Maybe it helped, maybe it didn't, but so far so good at 8k miles... we'll see where i am in another 4 to 7k miles. At least I feel I did my proper due diligence.
In theory they are all identical, but in practice there might be a difference in tolerances in how certain parts are put together. Pretty much any production process is going to have acceptable tolerances according the the specifications of given pieces and they can be charted and followed statistically.
They have obviously improved on this problem. A lot of the early '03 guys were getting feathering very very fast, while the '04 owners are getting it much later on, and it seems to be in less owners than the '03s. Since I knew that all the '03s were made at one plant... it doesn't hurt to totally avoid that manufacturing facility in my purchase.
honestly the salesman thought I was crazy when I turned down an identical vehicle because of the VIN number on it. When i signed the papers, my purchase was completely contingent in getting a specific VIN # that was on its way to their dealership. Given this was teh one major issue w/ the car that I was worried about, I figured I should do as much as possible to mitigate the risk, and it didn't hurt me to wait an extra 2 weeks to get my car.
Maybe it helped, maybe it didn't, but so far so good at 8k miles... we'll see where i am in another 4 to 7k miles. At least I feel I did my proper due diligence.
2004 (made sept 03), had 5K on 17" OEM rims/tires with zero feathering. currently have the 18" LMGT-4 with KUMHO MX on for almost 12K with no sign of feathering at all. no alignment has been done at all
Registered User
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 4
Likes: 0
From: North Cackilack
my gf has a completely stock 03 350z base model. She just had to have her front tires replaced because the inside edges had the bands showing. Then, the tire place told her they were unable to bring her alignment into spec? After reading this thread I understand there is no recall, but what does Nissan do to fix the alignment? Is that what the TSB covers? Are there any new parts? or do they just fiddle with the alignment settings?
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
Tonyz_2004_350z
South East Marketplace
1
Oct 4, 2015 12:53 PM
