You are correct, my track time flattened those tires right out, and really showed how soft they were - rolled melted rubber into the gaps. That was post-alignment, mostly they were just plain worn out at 10k. No surprise there - even my Pilot Sports on my G are wearing toward at most a 15-20k replacement (optimistic), although they are wearing very evenly, no issues...someone must be driving the car hard, who knows? ;-)

 

No regrets here, only that Nissan has ditched the Brembos for '05, what a stupid move. They are very good stock, great with a better set of pads.

My Z was an early 2003 (Build date in Sept 2002), my G is an '04 purchased Dec 2003. I loved the Z's ride and many other things. I did not love the tire wear, grease streaks on windows, TSB for the compression rod up front, driver's seat rocking on the rails until I put in the 6-point harness...nasty noise coming out of the tranny going into 3rd gear on downshifts, seemed like the '03 had a problem a month after the first 5-6k miles.

None at all so far with the G. Cross my fingers...and note that even the Pilots are only something like 220-240, they don't wear too long if your driving is 99% non-highway (mine is almost all backroads due to where I live).

Haven't seen much here on the 2004/05's, have these things gotten better, or we just seeing a runout of 2003 problems?

 

Until the warranty is expired, then YOU have to pay for new tires at about $ a pop. That's what happened to me.

Good luck,

Johntek

 

Not sure if you've seen this yet; 2003 Nissan 350Z Front Wheel Alignment Warranty Extension . Hope this helps.

 

Shocked as I am that this is still running, I'm now back at this thread since the Feathering has just returned. I haven't posted here in over a year and the October 2003 front replacement RE040s worked fine for about 13 months and 10k miles. I just had another bi-annual full alignment, less than 60 days ago, just to keep up with things and prevent this from recurring [oh, well...]

At this point, with 21,000 miles, at 27+ months in service, the rears are done and it's time to switch to Kuhmos, go up a bit in size with a lower aspect ratio and be done with these half-a$$ed Bridgestones. Good riddence!

 

Mike952,
I had a 2004 Touring that I purchased in Feb and traded it for a Toyota Sequoia in Aug 04 because of the tire feathering. A guy I work with also had a 2004 and traded it for a Titan because of the tire problem. I am watching the 2005's closely and really want another 350. I like the aniversary but want a red one which is not avail in the aniv model. I spoke with a service manager today about my situation because the salesman had no clue. I asked him if there were any modifications done to the 05 suspension to fix the problem. He said that some "tweaking" had been done. I asked directly, did they change any hardware. He said in a conversation that took forever that they beefed up the mechanism that adjusts and keeps the car in allignment. I asked for something in writing that talked about the modifications and he could not provide it. If the problem is fixed in 05, I am in there. Pleas let me know if you have any feathering with your 05. Thanks.
Bueno
waynebunker@peoplepc.com

 

bunker, my situation was much like yours. I kept my 2004 Enth for one year and 2,750 miles before feathering set in. Since I drove it so little, I had originally intended to keep it till the cows came home, accepting that I might have to change tires every 3 or 4 years. But, the more I thought about it, the more it just pissed me off. I sold it and my old S10 driver and I now drive a 2005 Avalanche (I had a 2002 Avalanche before the Z) and love it.

Nissan's unwillingness to confront the issue with honesty has driven me away. What a shame! It was a pleasure to drive. BTW, I've owned 7 Nissan vehicles, 5 of which were Z's.

With regard to your question, I don't believe Nissan will ever own up to a mechanical fix unless they can relate the fix to something other than feathering. I think they've dug this hole too deep to admit to a fix designed to correct the feathering.

 

Ronny you went from Nissan to GM because you felt that Nissan was "unwilling to confront this tire feathering issue"? WOW, I hope you don't have any problems with your Avalanche or you will find out what the definition of "unwilling to confront an issue is" GM is known for not taking care of issues. Example, the V8 in your Avalanche will start having Piston Slap and GM is going to tell you that it is "normal". I sure hope you are lucky and don't have any issues with your new ride.

 

Actually, Pit, I've had many more GM products than Nissan. I had an Avalanche before the Z. Interestingly, I drove 130 miles today in a Chevy UHaul truck with 187,000 miles on it. It was a seriously abused monster but the engine just kept on ticking.

To be honest, it didn't take much for me to decide on the change because it was apparent that I was going to get very little use out of the Z, unlike my previous Z's. I put 2,700 miles on it in the first 12 months, and it was apparent that wasn't going to change a lot. That's just poor money management.

In my opinion, Nissan has cut and run on the feathering issue. They have taken what they think is the cheapest way out. Even after over two years of experience with the issue, my dealer's canned response was classic ********. I played dumb just to see where it would go. It went everywhere but the real source of the problem. I just didn't want to put up with that ******** for the next several years; I'm not young, you know.

I have spent a lot of hours on the GM forums and have read a lot about the piston slap. I believe they've lengthened the piston skirts to resolve it. Both my two previous 5.3's didn't have it. I've got my fingers crossed. One thing about piston slap, you can't deny it's there.

 

I understand that's why some folks went the way of the G35 - to get almost the same ride without all the customer service hassles.

I've just turned 4K miles on my '03 Z and awaiting my tires to begin showing signs. I had the car into the dealer at 1K miles for an alignment check after the TSB. Everything looked fine - no adjustments. Dealer picked up the tab for that. Since the RE40's are extremely low wear rated tires I wouldn't expect too many miles anyway. I've had the same -camber wear on other cars with similar set up and high performance tires (although the RE40's are way overpriced for the tire you get)...........I still feel like this Z is great bang for the buck.

 

daequitz, don't get me wrong. The Z is a pleasure to drive. For the price, it's a piece of work; that's good work.

Actually, before I bailed out, I seriously looked at a G35. Frankly, it's another great car; very Z-like. But, would have been in pretty much the same situation as with the Z; just not getting my money's worth out of it. I came to that realization before I put up my money.

I do everything in the Avalanche. It just made more sense. I should thank Nissan for forcing the decision on me.

Still wish I had the Z for sunny days. Wish I was rich.

 

Ronny I think your right that GM fixed the Piston slap in the 2004 and 2005. Enjoy your ride By the way you can now tell everyone that you drive a "Sport Luxury Utility Truck" (****) Personally I've ridden a few of them in my life time. Enjoyed everyone of them.

 

Never knew a **** I didn't enjoy. At least, for a while.

 

Ronny, Completely understand. I couldn't do without my truck.

 

Tks for your comments, hearing is Jan. 13/05. I was going to go the tech. route, but after what you indicated I think it might be best to use nissans own lies to win. Can't beleive that anyone would think that (Nissan) would redesign there suspension for the Europeon market (450 cars 1st yr) and then implement this change for Japan and US market! Enough!!!!

 

I have not ever heard of the tires being on back order. When I called in to book my service appointment I told them I wanted to have the TSB performed on my car and that it needed tires. I would suggest contacting another dealer and see if they have tires available before you waste you time taking it in.

 

Well guys I'm outa luck. I previously contact Khron and Moss to look into what they could do against Nissan, and the result... nada...


So basically Nissan wins. I guess I better get use to hearing that tire roar...

 

You could always buy a new Porsche sporters S for around $15K more (it's slower, and uglier) but it is a Porsche and you might get 5K more in tire wear with the Porsche Of course you can buy a lot of tires for $15K.

 

I have a 2004 Base 350Z and this tire issue started to surface around 9000 miles. I've had a HORRIBLE experience trying to get this fixed, and as of right now both Nissan and my dealership flat out told me that they can't help me.

It's a real shame too. I called 1-800-Nissan1 and spoke with an extremely rude fellow named Aaron. I was polite the entire time, yet he had a hostile tone to his voice from the start. When I told him that the tires are so bad that I'm even afraid I might get in an accident, he said, and I quote, "Are you trying to give me an empty threat?". He also went on to say that my complaints weren't valid and that whatever I try to do in terms of complaints will always be re-directed to him (in other words he's telling me that there's no way Nissan will help as long as he's working)

It's just been an absolutely horrible experience with Nissan. I used to have such respect for the brand and what it stood for, but after dealing with this issue I'm going back to BMW. They've always had good service.

Does anyone know how I can contact someone higher up in Consumer Affairs? I'd like to write a formal letter complaining about the service I've received. If anyone has a mailing address or email I can send a letter that'd be great. I'm looking at a supervisor level or something higher. I don't want to deal with the service reps anymore. Thanks in advance for the help.

 

Good luck, but I have a 2004 350Z and the feathering issue is alive and well. It doesn't seem anything has changed since the '03 models