I agree with you 100%.

I ordered Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Tires (coming in tomorrow).
I will also adjust the tire pressure to the minimum recommended cold pressure. I will report back on any improvement.

I may also try putting a 100 lb. plate (wrapped up) on top of the spare tire and see what happens.

If this doesn't do the trick, I will find a suspension solution when one is offered. I'm sure there will be numerous aftermarket parts in the next couple of months.

If anyone has heard of a tested suspension solution, please do let us know. Thanks guys and gals...

 

I just put 400 miles on my new A/Ss, marked improvement, still some bounce, but 0 crashing. The day after they were installed, I checked the cold tire pressure and found it at 30psi.

Its too low, the ride is better at 35psi cold, if you drop it down,it bounces as much as the 040s, but softly. Try it at 35psi for a couple of days, if you don't like it, then change. I drove on some of the worst roads I had complained about earlier and the ride is better. Be sure and check the tire pressure the next day after installation, I found it at 30psi after a very cold night.

Boomer-my opinion, use it or lose it, I don't care.

 

Thanks Boomer. Will post my observations when the tires are installed.

 

I recently changed my OEM tires to Michelin Pilot Sport A/S tires. What a big difference.

The specs:

Original Potenza RE040 - TreadWear: 140 Traction: A

New Pilot Sport A/S - TreadWear: 400 Traction AA

The Michelins will last almost three times longer and have a higher traction rating.

Dry Traction, WetTraction, Hydro Resistance, Snow Traction, Cornering Stability, Steering Response, Ride Comfort, Noise Comfort and Tread Wear are all superior to the Potenza.

The pounding, road noise and harshness in the Z is noticeably improved. The bouncing is less, but still present. But the ride is definitely better.

The tires are a DREAM in the rain. The traction in snow is far superior. Excellent tires. Coming from the TOTAL CRAP Potenza's, it's well worth the investment.

I have no idea why Nissan selected these tires. They SUCK BIG TIME and are just plain dangerous, especially in colder climates when the rubber turns rock hard.

Change your tires as soon as feasible (or when they wear out, which shouldn't be too long...)

Info on Michilen Pilot Sport A/S:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....ot+Sport+A%2FS

Info on Potenza RE040:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....num=25WR7RE040

 

Did you know that hydrogen is VERY explosive. Quote from some other web site:

"Am I the only one here to whom the name Hindenberg (a dirigible, blimp, zepplin filled with hydrogen that exploded; they never used hydogen again) has meaning? Hydrogen has going for it as a fuel very high specific energy, (it is the lightest of all elements)combustion product is almost exclusively water. Going against it; It is aggressive chemically, storage in the gaseous state is very temperature sensitive (that old Boyles-Charles conundrum) and relatively small concentrations in a free atmosphere are violently explosive. There have been numerous experimental uses of it as a fuel, even some very spectacular applications (anyone remember the Saturn V Lunar rocket or the X-15 high altitude research rocketcraft?) but I would be a little leery of sitting in the cab of my truck with a tankful right behind me! "

Oxygen is also very flamable, BUT we do not put oxygen in our tires, we put in AIR !! Air is a mixture of oxygen (only 20%), nitrogen (78%), and small amount of others.

If you get a blow out on the highway, and your rim hits the road and sparks, the whole thing could explode !!

I would avoid this idea, tire pressure stability is not worth the risk.

 

What about helium?

 

strangebew,

Oxygen in itself is not explosive. There must be something else that will burn within the oxygen rich environment. That's why sparks in a very poorly designed electrical system caused the fire on Apollo I. You light a match in pure oxygen, the match will burn very quickly, but the gas itself will not detonate.

It's a common misconception and I'm just here to try and spread the truth.

-Mike

 

Actually, I didn't say that oxygen is explosive. I said it was flammable. But, technically you are right, oxygen doesn't burn in and of itself, things in it's presence burn hotter and more violently, and under the right conditions, explosively. And there is plenty of stuff around the bottom of a car that can burn in the presence of oxygen and a spark, specifically the tires.

But Kolinar is not putting oxygen in his tires, he's putting hydrogen in. So let's not blur the issue for Kolinar. In my statement:

"If you get a blow out on the highway, and your rim hits the road and sparks, the whole thing could explode !! "

I was talking about the hydrogen that Kolinar was using in his tires. That actually COULD explode. Not a good idea !!

 

True, true. Talk about a rocket car....

 

Use nitrogen to inflate your tires. It is not flammable, has no moisture in it, and you can get a tank and regulator from your local BOC gas supplier for just a few dollars. For those of you who will track your car you will find added benefits too. The tire pressures and temps will raise more slowly and more uniformly.

 

has anyone tried adjustable dampners?
i've found the car has a ton of rebound. you can eliminate most rebound on aftermarket shocks. i believe this would be the solution to the problem. tires would help also but not as much as a new set of dampners.

 

I think that is what several of us are waiting on. That would be the cheaper way out. Problem is I haven't seen a lot of stuff specifically engineered (or tested on) the Z.

I'm assuming within a couple of months if not sooner some of the bigger named performance suspension companies will have stuff.

 

well i'm getting the JIC's this coming month and they allow for rebound dampning. i will also be doing the camber plates and i'm waiting to hear back from ingals about their kit for camber. the car will be lowered first and have new sways. then tires then the hood and SC.

 

Race teams fill their tires with Nitrogen because its more stable. I know cause I've aired up many tires for teams i've worked for. My Z seems to ride better with a full fuel tank. I have the 17" wheels by the way.

 

Who is making the adjustable camber plates. I know the rear has a lot of negative camber. The Acura NSX had these same tire problems on the first year of production. They were interested in good skid pad results. They had soft tires and loads of negative camber. They changed tires and camber on later models. Lets hope Nissan will help all of us who want to put miles on these cars. It should be a good car to travel in, but I do not want to stop at each town and get new tires.

 

Good point on the NSX and my MR2T had some of the same problems w/negative camber. The only problem is what if you dial out most of the good handling? At 50,000 miles, I had worn out the inside tread on my rear tires twice, both times I was given new tires by Toyota.

I could not get them to replace them at 3rd time, so I went to an independent alignment shop and had them put on camber adjustable kits and had them set the camber at 1/2 degree of negative camber in the rear, instead of 2 full degrees. I still had tread on the fronts, so they were left alone not adjusted for camber. I had new all season tires put on and they lasted 50,000 miles, but I lost the razor sharp handling I had before the change in camber on the rear.

My point is, we need to be careful about changing the camber too much or we will lose the handling. I have seen the settings on toein and noticed the 3, #2 being considered optimal. The feathering we have gotten on the 040s seems to be a toe problem, right?

Has anyone reported abnormal wear on the insides of the rear? I haven't seen any reports, all I have seen is feathering on the fronts, are the rears feathering too? It seems to me, at the moment, toe alignment is off so we are getting abnormal front wear on the crappy 040s which we would expect only 12-15,000 miles from under optimal conditions.

I just put a set of Michelin A/Ss which I will expect to get between 35-45,000 miles on driving fast and somewhat agressive, no drag racing, autox or tracking them. Will I need to adjust the camber on any of my tires given my usage of them? I ask this because the handling feels great right now and I don't want to lose this by installing something, anything before I know its needed.

What are your thoughts on the issue?

Boomer--wondering.

 

Boomer.....I think we are all wondering. You are right on the concerns of changing the camber and losing some of the handling. Some negative camber must be retained. Acura took some of theirs out. I do not know the numbers. I thought the tire wear has been reported on the front and rear.

 

I just posted a thread asking about rear feathering. Hopefully we'll find out. Good topic, btw.

 

Perhaps this might solve the problem. However, it's expensive at $1,600.00

HKS Hipermax LS Coil Overs Reduce Bounce
https://my350z.com/forum/showthread....ght=guys+think