Strife350z

iTrader: (4)

Ok, I've spoken to some people at Nissan Canada, and asked them about the tire feathering (excessive tire noise) problem. I mentioned the North American TSB issued (which my car's build-date happens to fall under) which addresses the tire problem and the rep told me that my car doesnt' apply at all... since firstly, Canadian vins are different and secondly, Canadian Z's are built in a different plant...

But I thought I read somewhere that ALL Z's in North America are built in the same plant from japan(???)

So is Nissan Canada feeding me BS? Has or is anyone with a Canadian Z experiencing tire feathering problems? What is the fix?

PLEASE HELP

Canadian350Z

Hey Strife,

Nissan Canada is full of BS! I had my car aligned and tires swapped under the TSB a while back. I may even have a line on a new set of tires!! I will let the group know if I'm successful in getting a new set.

Your problem may lie in your production date. From what I understand the cars with the most problems are from the first few runs in JAPAN (all cars are made in Japan). The problem arose from winching the cars down too tight, throwing off the alignment...

What is your production date? It's on the sticker on the driver side door jam...

Cheers!

Strife350z

iTrader: (4)

Canadian350z: Thanks for the reply! My production date, is 10/02, vin number is 70xx... is that good news or bad news?

... which is surprising since I bought the car in 03/03 (here's the story if you're interested: I talked the dealer into shipping me a car from montreal in order to prevent the long waiting list... by doing that I managed to get the car in 04/03 instead of 07/03 as most of the other dealerships were quoting)

Anyway, I did all the tricks people have talked about in this forum, like running my hand across the wheel in a counter-clockwise direction, and I haven't noticed anything. Road noise is louder than it the day i bought her... but I'm really not sure if i'm just paranoid, or if i'm really hearing the tire feathering problem.

My biggest concern is something that zthdr reminded me of: IF i do indeed have the tire feathering problem, I only have 1 year from the day I purchased the car to have it fixed... which is ridiculous, since I'm putting winter tires on her in a few weeks... and i'm only at 6000 km's right now... so IF i do have an alignment problem, I probably won't notice really loud symptoms until next spring - by which time my 1 year would be up

Will the dealer check my tire feathering problem/alignment for free, even if i'm not exhibiting tire noise (according to the service people)?

tiggerpooh

hey wayne......i think we got the car around the same time.......i got mine in may........but let me check the production date to be sure....

i have around 12000 in her now......i'm not sure if i know the problem u guys are talking about....it does have noise but i've always thought that it was normal cuz i dont believe it got louder......how can i check if i have this problem??

Canadian350Z

Hey Strife,

Best bet is to call your dealer and ask about the "Tire Noise When Braking" Technical service bulletin. This is the one that addresses the problem. It calls for a tire rotation and alignment.

I can't find my old TSB files or I'd send you a copy. Keep us in the loop!

Cheers!

Boske

My Z was built Feb 03

I have 6500km on it and the service manager confirmed that both fronts had feathering, one much more noticable than the other. My car doesn't pull to either side but I will be getting an alignment job.

An alignment is free within the first year or 10K km from Canadian Nissan dealers he told me.

My dealer doesn't claim to know anything about the various TSBs. Stereo or front end.

Strife350z

iTrader: (4)

Canadian350z: Will do! Thanks for your input and everyone else's

I will be going to the dealer within the next 2 weeks to have this checked out, I can't help but think my Z is having some alignment issues... when I drive slowly, the road noise is louder than my girlfriend's civic...

The service rep I spoke to also told me there's a "fix" for the Canadian bose systems too ... Hopefully this "fix" is better than their last one... There's a thread in the audio/video forum about this latest amp replacement and I'm optimistic (realistically so of course - i'm not expecting a huge increase in quality)

Strife350z

iTrader: (4)

Update:

ok I brought my car in for service today and it turns out I have a feathering problem (i knew i wasn't paranoid when my car started sounding like a freight train when slowing down).

I'm having the alignment and tire swapping done.

For those who have had this service performed - when they swapped your tires, did they scratch your rims? I've heard horror stories from the tire feathering thread about people who've had their rims disfigured by this process...

post350Z

does anyone know at what km the feathering issue makes itself apparent?

I have already put on my snows. The car had 5000 km on it when I put the snows on and I did not notice any excessive noise. In fact the tire noise is definitely louder now with the snows on. I have the same concern as Strife that the problem might not become obvious until after the fix period. I have a later vin (over 14XXX) and I had understood that Z's with later vins did not experience this problem? Anyone with a later vin experience tire feathering?

lowbeeZ

I am at 12000Km and my VIN is 140xx. I have detected no tire feathering so far with the RE040. I had my snows put on last week and for whatever reasons: whether it is
(1) the size of the snows (225/55/17)
(2) traction of these tires on cool dry pavement (dunlop winter sport M3)
(3) or the front and rear rotational difference (2.7%)

My car felt better, road (tire) noise is a bit better but not drastic; therefore, I did not conclude that I had a tire feathering problem with the RE040, ride is a lot better (probably becasue these are 225/55/17) and traction is a lot better (the ESP slip light does not comes on as often - may be due to the f/r rotational difference or may be due to better tire compound for the cold - don't really know.

post350Z

that's good to hear that you had not experienced any feathering at 12000 k. Are you concerned that the problem might show up later when you are out of the 1 year fix period allowance? As I mentionned earlier I am worried about this but not sure what steps I can take to avoid it. By the time I switch the snows off and the summers back on, neither set of tires will have sufficient mileage to indicate a feathering problem. Is there another way to determine if feathering is occurring? My alignment seems perfect.

tiggerpooh

so for the guys with this tire feathering issue............what should i look for to see if i have this problem??.....i've taken my summer tires off so what exactly am i looking for/looking at in the tires?????

lowbeeZ

I think Strife350z described it perfectly, to quote him "sounding like a freight train when slowing down" is what you are looking for. If you have it, the noise it make is very obvious.

Strife350z

iTrader: (4)

Yup lowbeeZ is right, if you have the problem, you can't miss it... try this if you're worried:

go up to about 80 km/hr, at this point, you shouldn't hear any noise... but then start slowing down, don't slam the breaks or anything, but slow from 80 to 10 km/hr over about 30 seconds... watch your speedo... as your speed goes BELOW 40 km/hr, you'll begin to hear this:

"VRRRRRRRRRMMMMMMMMMRRRrrrrrrmmmmmmrrrrmmmmm..mm.mm.mm.nnnnn nnnnnnnn........"

that's the best I can describe it... it's like when a freight train or big tractor-trailer slows down next to you on the highway... might seem goofy but if you make the noise I spelt out above, you'll know what I mean

Strife350z

iTrader: (4)

Oh btw, there's one more test you can try. When you park the car, turn your wheels all the way to one side, until you feel the turn-stop. Get out of the car and look for a mushy/sponge-like pattern of wear on the INSIDE of the tire... should look a little something like this:
______
| | |#|
| | |#|
| | |#|=> (this way towards the engine bay)
| | |#|
| | |#|
=====
^
(pavement)

At first, when I started noticing the noise, I tried this experiment and didn't see anything, that's why I assumed I was just paranoid about it... but when I did this last weekend, I noticed that parts of the inside tread-ring were starting to look perferrated (like a sponge).

I suspect that if you have the tire feathering problem, you'll notice the noise I described above FIRST before you'll notice the spongy tread... at least that's what happened to me... but it's worth trying this out

lowbeeZ

Strife350z,

I thought you are having the tire feathering TSB done, any driving impression ?

Did you ask the dealer what they are doing to the alignment ? Toe-in / Toe-out ? More or less camber/castor ?

I am paranoid that having the alignment adjusted was just a dirty quick fix for the tire feathering problem and it might affect handling of the car such as steering response, understeer, etc.

Boske

So, during my 6K oil change, I asked them to check the tires. The mechanic noted feathering and the service manager confirmed it.

I was told that Nissan gave 1 free alignment and that we should start there. Though the car didn't pull and seemed fine, I brought it back. Prior to the alignment, the dealer seemed to have become more experienced and he told me that we should do the alignment and see if the pull described by the TSB appears. If so they we would do the TSB, when the parts are avaliable. The catch is that I would have to pay for the first alignment, with the hope that Nissan will pick up the tab later.

I did the alignment (8.5K km) and now the car pulls as described in the TSB. So I have to bring it back when the parts are back in stock and go throught the TSB.

I thought it a bit strange that a car under 10k would require two alignments and that Nissan does not see either as Warranty repairs.

Also, the dealer noted that he has done 3 cars so far and Nissan has been sticking to the 1 free alignment policy.

I will keep you posted.

fairladyz33

after I lowered my car, the tire wear is even more obvious, recently, my front tires started to make this distinct noise, like is not rolling flat....so i got it checked out and my mechanic showed my how the tread are not consistant, uneven wear!! man it sux, gotta live with the annoy noise until I buy new tires (also rims =P)

Wotnot

coming from my front tires when I brake. The noise is very loud indeed. I am taking my car in asap to have a look. Thanks for the information guys.....I'll keep you "posted" on my luck.

Boske

Let us know if you end up with new tires. I am calling my dealer today to let him know that I am expecting new tires along with the TSb work, when that happens.