As far as I know 6b is the latest. There may or may not be an other one in the works. There have been quite a few rumors to that effect. The "meat" of the document, including the specs, is all on one page as follows:

 

I felt my rear tire, and it was rather smooth from tread block to tread block. So, I don't think I'll experience any rumbling back there. Did you feel yours to see it you got the same wear?

 

In my local Saturday paper - the automotive section did a review on the '04 Roadster - in the last paragraph he speaks about the tire problems with the coupe:

"Incidentally, Nissan is investigating alignment problems that a number of 350Z coupe owners are reporting that cause their front tires to wear down their inside treads after only 5,000 miles of use. Spokesman Steve Parrett said they have "learned that in certain models, they may experience uneven wear on the front tires which can increase road noise," and are "working diligently to solve this manner as quickly and conveniently as possible."


See attached link for the rest of the article:

http://jacksonville.com/autos/stories/031404.shtml

Just a FYI - you see little bits of info on the feathering.

 

Wow I did not really read this whole thread but I can tell that everyone’s story is similar.

I am really scared now...I don't know if I want to buy the Z...

I am now one of those you speak of...waiting for Nissan to resolve the problem or buy from another Manufacture...

So sad...


Would a camber kit be a solution? I notice the Z has very bad negative camber in the back.

 

I did feel the inside of the back tires and they are bumpy not smooth like my new front tires. So is this warranted under the same TSB or not?

 

It should be warranted, but technically, it doesn't fall under the same "tire roar while braking" TSB. I think the dealership will end up checking rear alignment and doing a tire swap in your rears as they do in the front. You're definitely in the minority. Just out of curiosity, do you accelerate hard most of the time or use a lot of engine braking? I thing the wear I get in my fronts is mostly due to braking, and suspect that my tires would have gone bad much earlier if I had mostly city driving. But, with 90% of my driving occurs on freeways.

 

Hi, Lady Z. My Koni struts are wending their way to 350 EVO as I post this. My replacement tires are still OK, but my alignment will be updated after he puts the struts on. I think the original 0.01 optimal is to be the working setting for me, since mine are set now at 0.0 w/o any abnormal wear at 6800 miles, maybe a hint of toeout on the left front. I still think the tires and the spindly struts are 90% of the problem, especially the tires. That toe dancing you describe is great for max performance, not so good for everyday wear. If everyone who bought a Z wanted a track car, the 040s would be great. I wish you continued good luck on the 03s.

 

I failed to read all 84 pages of this thread, so hopefully this isn't duplicate information. (Not to mention that it comes from a NNA rep, so take it with a grain of salt...)

I had NNA on the phone to see if an alignment was part of the fix for the lane change (pull right) TSB #03046. We got on the topic of feathering, and he said that nissan was working on engineering a fix. No date was provided of course.

It was interesting to note that he acknowledged that the issue is consistent accross the '03s, but seems to be fixed with the '04s. Of course, it may just be a matter of time.

Any chance anyone else has heard that there is trully a solution in the works? (Fully knowing, that I may get flamed for even entertaining the idea that NNA is actively working to resolve the situation. Sympathies go out to everyone who has been bent over by Nissan to date.)

One last tid bit he gave me: make sure you take it in and have it thoroughly inspected before the 12K service. After that, apparently you're screwed, as the life of the tires are 12-15K miles. (Sorry if this is duplicated all over the place.)

Curious to see if anyone is following this behemoth of a thread....

 

Curious to see if anyone is following this behemoth of a thread.... [/B][/QUOTE]

not to take too much wind out of your sail but this was the exact same conversation that i had with a NNA rep and my conversation was dated sometime mid-december 2003, when i had my tires replaced. believe it or not i do believe that nissan is working on this, and will offer something. what i dont believe is that it will be completely free to the owners. also i do not believe that it will be any time soon.

 

not to take too much wind out of your sail but this was the exact same conversation that i had with a NNA rep and my conversation was dated sometime mid-december 2003, when i had my tires replaced. believe it or not i do believe that nissan is working on this, and will offer something. what i dont believe is that it will be completely free to the owners. also i do not believe that it will be any time soon. [/B][/QUOTE]

Well everyone, I hope that I am wrong but hear is what I have been told from a source that has been reliable thusfar. In approximately 2-3 weeks, all owners within a cetain VIN range (unsure of the range) will receive recall notices. The cars recalled will be entitled to receive new front tires (OEM) and a re-alignment with new specs.

After waiting for this information for quite some time, I expressed my disappointment in Nissan and warned my source to expect many pissed off Z owners walking through his door. I have resigned myself to the conclusion that this, my third Nissan, will be my last.

I hope that my source is wrong and that something more substantial is on the way ... but I'm not holding my breath.

 

Based on my experience today...

In Canada, they specificaly don't swap the front tires. No explanation why not though.

 

My Bad...

 

Well, most of my driving is through city driving with light freeway driving. I don't accelarate hard but I do on occasion when I feel like getting on her and I don't use engine braking. Now, if I bring this problem in before the 12K mile mark and of course they have to do the tire swap first. What happens when I go over the 12K mile mark and the problem is worse will they replace my tires or do I have to pay for it?

 

So will a camber kit correct the problem????????????

 

The reason why we don't have roaring in our rear tire is because that tire experiences scrubing in both directions from both acceleration and decceleration, thereby negating the feathering effects. If you are feathering your rear tires, then either you're driving with your rear brakes on or your rear brakes aren't braking as much as they should be. Check which edge of the tread block you're wearing out (leading or trailing). The leading edge is the edge that faces forward, and trailing faces toward the back of the car.

If your leading edge is scrubbing, then your rear brakes are probably doing too much braking or is constantly braking somehow. On the other hand, if your trailing edge is scrubbing, then your rear brakes aren't being used much, and all the scrubbing is due to acceleration.

Now the front tires will only see braking, and with such a soft compound tire (and possibly poorly designed), it will always scrub off the leading edge of each tread block. Then comes the noise.

Because a few members of this forum still get feathering with other brands or models of tires, the culprit is not only the tires, but also the suspension design.

As for your warranty, I believe that if you bring in the car for problems before the warranty is over, then they must fix it. If the same problem reoccurs after the warranty is over then Nissan must still fix it. Based on some of the posts I've read, some dealerships will honor this policy, while others are downright sleezing their way out of it. At some point, the dealerships have to give up because they can't run a business without getting paid for all the efforts they put into it. So, all fingers are pointed at NNA, which isn't a surprise to anyone.

Bring your car in and have them do something about the noise from your rears (alignment) AND have them check your rear brakes too because something is going on there.

 

Took mine in today to get the TSB done, 4482 miles. The service advisor said they would first check for feathering, then if they found feathering they would do the left/right tire exchange and realign the car. I left it off at 10:00 AM and they promised it at 2:00 PM. Went back at 2:00 to pick it up and the service advisor told me that my tires were feathered too bad to rotate and that they had ordered me new tires and they would be in next week. When the tires arrive they will call me and set-up a time to install the new tires and do an alignment. At this point I really can't complain. It looks like I will have new front tires before I have 5000 miles on the Z along with the Nissan recommended alignment. That gives me 7000 miles to see if I have further feathering problems and to have Nissan correct if needed. From a warranty standpoint, given the fact that I needed new front tires before 5000 miles if I have any further problem before the 12000 mile mark, Nissan should be on the hook to continue to fix my front tires for as long as I own the car

 

PB:
They noticed my tires were wearing badly at 1400 and 5000 and replaced them at 9400. Make sure you cover yourself. This problem is not self healing

 

Lew, I use to live in Marietta off the 120 loop on Rockcrest Dr., real pretty area and the roads are great. I owned a 1990 300ZX when I lived there. I figure I will stay on them and hope for the best. Worst case down the line I will do some mod's and run the harder Michelins. Love this car it is the best Z yet.

 

The way I see it new tires means NNA is on the hook for another 12,000 miles. New tires new 12,000 mile/1 year warranty.

 

I am. I've followed the problem since the first report that was posted here in late fall 2002. My fix was change tires, get a 4 wheel alignment and keep an eye on any wear. I am putting on Koni adjustable struts in early April which will give me the rebound control the Z now lacks.

Keep your OE tires for the track and buy street tires with some reasonable tread wear rating. The OE tires have 140 UTOG(WEAR RATING), most street tires have a rating of over 200. mine are rated 400 UTOG. While ratings vary among brands, its not always precise, but I can assure you 400 vs. 140 IS BIG! 140 rated tires are worn out at 12-15,000 miles, anything else is gravy.

So, get a good 4 wheel alignment, lose the tires and monitor your tires closely, I'm doing it every 3-4000 miles after the new struts are on an if a wear pattern starts, on the inside or outside(rare, like mine), change your alignment to avoid excessive toeout(inside wear) or excessive toein(outside wear) and watch your tire pressure like a hawk. Excessive wear on both tire shoulders =underinflation; excessive wear in the middle of the tires=overinflation.