hey guys, i have been installing and uninstalling my v4 kinetix plenum for several reasons, and everytime i take it off and put it back on, i have to re-adjust the strut bar to allow it to clear the kinetix plenum. but recently i've been experiencing a louder road noise/growl from the front end/tires. could the adjustment of the strut bar cause this? if so how do i go about properly adjusting the strut bar so this will go away? thanks

 

when i had my kinetix, i had to add some washers to drivers side of strut bar to get it to clear on the drivers side.

 

yea, i was able to get it to clear without the use of washers, but after that when i drive im getting more road noise than before. so im wondering if the struts are causing the extra road noise, so now im trying to find out if there is a specific way to adjust the struts.? any ideas? thanks

 

do you think it could be hitting the hood now?

 

thats a very good question....hmmm...gotta find a way to make sure...but the sound it makes doesnt sound like the hood, more like a "whir whir whir whir" coming from the tires...more noticeable once i let off the throttle, and goes away once i step on the throttle, im guessing its because the engine drowns out the whir'ing noise

 

if its hitting your hood, you will start to see wear marks on the stb and hood over time.

 

Tire feathering?

 

nope, not that, mostly not that, because i have about 30k on my car and my tire wearage is normal. lets hope not

 

When I put my Kinetix plenum on I vauguely remember thinking that Nissan must attach the strut bar while the car is raised, thus reducing the amount of body/engine bay compression. I thought this because I had to adjust/shorten the strut bar to get it to fit the first time. It wasn't that the bar had clearance issues after installing the plenum, it was that the bolt/ holes no longer lined up. This would result because now there is a load on the supports in the engine bay from the suspension, compressing the engine bay slightly. I re-installed the bar after jacking the car up allowing the wheels to hang. I haven't heard any extra noise associated with the install, except for the value noise that can now be heard through the plenum.

Hope this helps

 

ok, since im going to do a major maintenance on my car this sunday, i'll reinstall the strut bar while in the air. thanks

 

fawk!! it is tire feathering, i took out my front tire and the inside is really worn down...fawk! now i have to spend more money buying new tires. dispite the extended nissan warranty, i still have to pay a percentage for the same sucky potenza tires.

 

my dealer let me upgrade to S03s. i had to pay the difference. how many miles do you have on your 03? my front tires were replaced under warranty at 20k mi, but that was long ago. you must not drive yours much.

 

i have about 31k on my car, all the miles are steady highway miles, i don't abuse the Z that much, i drive it normally most of the time because im stuck in traffic to and from work, so can't really abuse it. what kind of tires are SO3s? sorry, im not tire savy. and since they were coming from the dealer, shouldnt that be even more than the oem potenzas?

 

S03s are better tires than the potenzas, but i think the potenzas now have more tread on the inside to slow down the feathering. you also get a free alignment under the tsb. since i had the tsb work done, the feathering has not returned.
ps: with 31k, you'll prolly have to pay for like 90% of the cost of the new tires.

 

fawk! thats no point then, it jus like paying full dealer price, and no sales tax. at least i can get the free alignment right?

 

yes, you'll get the free alignment. check the cost you'd pay for the new tires under warranty, and compare that to what you'd pay at one of the discount tire vendors. don't forget balancing and install costs.

 

thanks alot for your help! i'll go to performance nissan this saturday. funny how they didn't bring it up to me when i got my motor replaced, its obviously noticeable...oh well...good thing i found it before it was too late...might've blew on the fwy!! thanks again

 

be sure to read the tsb for tire roar. if you don't know your rights, you won't have any.