ktm

Even if I made "ok" money, I would say that the Z is a budget sports car. Oh, and to all of those putting words in my mouth, I never said cheap. Cheap and budget are NOT the same thing. Please get that through your heads.

The Z is compared to a Vette ($50k), M3 ($50k+), Boxster ($50k), etc. Can you see a similarity here? They are $20k OVER the price of a Z. Most trucks cost over $30k. Most new cars (Volvo, Saab, Audi, Mercedes, BMW, Lexus come to mind) cost between $25k to $35k. I am sorry, but mid 20k is the average price of a higher end vehicle.

Do NOT compare a Honda Civic to an Infinity. They are in two completely different classes. You can compare a Honda Accord V6 to an Infinity.

In the end, it is a budget sports car. See, the term budget is used because it is compared to cars that cost nearly $20k more! The performance, comfort, styling, etc. you get for your $30k is impressive. I have had a number of people ask me what I paid for my car. When I told them they were utterly shocked. Many people, those who are not into cars like most of us here, thought that the Z was at least a $45k to $50k car. Sure, they may be ignorant or uninformed, but it helps to illustrate the point.

I am not too happy with the tire feathering issue, but Nissan has taken steps to correct the problem.

slaponte

iTrader: (2)

Dude, your actual statement just one page ago was "I am sorry, but $30,000 is CHEAP for ANY car. ". Note the use of words CHEAP and ANY car...

MikeNT256

This thread has gone to hell.

Back to the subject.

Tire Feathering blows. Its expensive, its inconvenient, and can take time out of one's schedule to fix. Nissan needs to get this situation fixed.

Due to the fact that they are selling like hotcakes, Nissan isn't really going to focus a ton of interest on the problem. Profiting isn't necessarily a bad thing. Lawsuits however, are. Only time will tell.

The End.

ktm

Doh! My mistake then. I do not baby sit this thead. Looks like I was caught.

Still, my argument stands.

MikeNT256

Don't even worry, I wasn't calling anyone out. No worries. Just simply stating that we've went from complaining about the Z and its feather issue, to judging the car's worth at its price, its gone all over the place and the issue doesn't really require 6 pages of "Mine feathers too, oh me too, yeah mine feathered". I thought i'd help by saying -- they all feather, Nissan has yet to fix the problem, done deal.

slaponte

iTrader: (2)

Well I think this goes exactly to the point : feathering IS a problem, is the car not worth the purchase due to it? Do I spend 30K+ on a car with this kind of problem?

Going back to the topic/question : I would still buy the Z but I do think Nissan owes us owners a permanent fix.

lunartick13

The feathering issue has gone round and round, give it rest. If you realy love the car like I do, take a chance, buying a new Z speially an 04 or 05 chances are you will not have a feathering problem.That is my opinion!!!

Z-Stalker

Some people here, like myself are somewhat new to the forums. I've spent hours reading other tire feathering threads, some of them are over 3000 posts.

I'm on this thread because I'm thinking exactly like the thread starter. I'm not interested in bashing the car because of the problem I just want to learn more about this issue before I put my money down.

Currently what I know is this -

- A lot of cars have the problem.
- NNA has not stated anything was changed in the suspension in 2004, 2004.5 or that they will in 2005.
- Some here think it will be fixed in 2005 w/ a recall
- Some here think NNA will correct the suspension and not do a recall.
- The TSB fix is not a sufficient correction for the problem IMO (and many others).
- The TSB fix and new alignment specs change the handling of the car. This is to be expected but possibly not to the degree people are complaining about
- How your dealership treats you is relative to the ease of getting the problem fixed, and to what degree.
- Having to rotate and change tires so often increases chances of scratching a rim. Few people seem to have luck with NNA replacing rims when they are damaged.
- This problem is a lot more then just an extra expense that you should not have to make.

I've spent the past 2 years researching what sports car I want to buy. This forum (and this thread) have helped me substantially.

Today I spent my time researching aftermarket suspension components on this site and am now comfortable enough to probably make the purchase in early 2005. I am dissapointed however that I have to possibly drop additional money into a new car to get it to my level of satisfaction. I'm not a fastidious person, I just expect a certain level of performance and satisfaction in my purchases.

Z-Stalker

slaponte

iTrader: (2)

Z-Stalker, I can't swear to this but I have never read of somebody going to the Nismo upgrade suspension having feathering. So that is a possible route. An advantage is that you keep the factory warranty alive and you have a sporty version suspension, so not bad.

If this was a possible solution, it would be great if Nissan offered a discount for current users to move up to the Nismo suspension. As an alternative.

About the TSBs, same appreciation. The first change to the alignment specs made my car more loose. These tires have lasted longer. I am afraid the next ones will last even longer, but at Toe 0 and Camber almost 0 the car will be totally loose at speed... concerned. I plan to stay with a little bit of camber.