Fox Z

I read a lot of this informative thread but can't find a definitive answer. Hoping someone can help.

Bought the car new in October 2007. I took it in today hoping that it wasn't what I was suspecting it would be. My dealer is telling me that I need to rotate L-R and get an alignment to save what I can of the tire tread. He says I missed the 12 month window to have it covered under warranty.

Is he correct regarding the warranty?

Is his suggestion the best course of action to get as much out of the tire as possible?

I know many have suggested a different tire and possibly dropping....will look at these options for my next set.

Sorry, no pictures.

Thanks.

Road Warrior

iTrader: (16)

unfortunately i think he is right about the warranty...it has to be within the first 12 months of purchase date.

Fox Z

Thanks. That's a bummer. Any thoughts on his suggestions for rotating L-R and aligning to correct the problem?

davidv

iTrader: (2)

Without photos I cannot guess what, if anything, is wrong with the tires.

jlimquest

iTrader: (2)

I just did the L-R rotation for my front tires & it did eliminate the tire growl which was very annoying. I have 19" Volk GTC's w/ Toyo.

LVZ053

iTrader: (2)

Been reading this thread for awhile now. Here is my life story on Feathering.

I bought new tires 3 years ago and never really noticed the Tire Feathering until I came on this site, then I started noticing the tire roar when I break. From what I have read there really is not a permanent fix for this issue. The last images are the picture of the feathering, you can see the signature zigzag pattern. I also attached the alignment specs when the tire was feathering, you can see the toe is way out.

Fast forwarded to today. I have 19 inch tires now and I hate for this issue to happen again. I bought the rear SPC toe and camber kit to try and fix this issue. The middle image is my current set up and alignment specs.
I am dropped on GF210 and D-specs.

My question is would the tire feathering happen again with the kit in place?
Do I have to do an by yearly rotate and alignment?

davidv

iTrader: (2)

WOW! The photo speaks for itself. What I intend to do with new front tires is estimate the tread life (say 30,000 miles). Then swap tires at half that (or 15,000 miles). I know that is not a fix.

SteveZ

iTrader: (3)

Yes, if you had 12 months bumper to bumper and 3/36 standard warranty. Replacing the tires at any point is not under warranty, unless they are clearly defective, although some dealers back in 2003 did this if the tires were 12 months old or less and OEM. There is however a TSB on the swap, and this swap should be done for you no cost, as should be the alignment. Depends how much they value your goodwill.

Yes. Swapping on the rims L-R will help extend the remaining life of the tires, on average though it won't be another 12 months, unless you only drive about 6k miles a year. It's a band-aid fix but will extend the tires you have.

You can see the difference on my '03 post-swap L to R here, notice how much deeper the inner tread (used to be outer tread) and how badly cupped and worn the former inner tread looks. You can also probably tell from the overall look of the tire they don't have that many miles on them, maybe 5-6k. By 11-12k miles they were done as were the rears, but that included some track time and hard driving with little to no highway.





On the rest I've posted all I know, if you search my user id on this thread you will find everything I posted over a very long period. Btw I sold my Z for many reasons but mostly due to need for a 2+2, kids changed schools and I had to drive them both for several years, not possible in my Z.

Good luck, sorry to hear this appears to have carried through every MY to date for at least some percentage of cars.

Also, don't go to a really hard tire (350+ wear rating) like an A/S as some have done. You just delay the problem and then suffer poor ride and handling 12 months a year.

CK9887

I'm going tomorow to get my front tires swapped left to right and also I'm gonna get the car aligned to see if it helps. Do I just need a front alignment or a 4 wheel alignment?
It's only the front tires, right?

inanabhay

changed my tires to Nankangs and had alignment done

after about 15000Kms, alignment still good, no visible signs of feathering (as opposed to stock tires, which had feathering problem)

Fox Z

Finally got a few pics to upload. Not sure if the wear comes through very well in the pics. Still have not decided what course of action to take. Did get L-R rotate and alignment from Nissan (FWIW). Tires have almost 12k miles on them.

Talked to Forged in Atlanta. Said I need front and rear camber kits (rear too?) at a minimum, new springs too. Have read that others recommend control arms.

Thanks.

CK9887

So do I just need a front end alignment or all 4. It's just the front right?

CK9887

Well, I just had a 4 wheel alignment done and the front tires swapped L to R. The guy said my alignment was pretty out of whack. The tire noise and growl did quiet down alot. I still have a little noise but I think it's just road noise because it's no longer a loud growl when slowing down.
Is $79.99 a fair price for a 4 wheel alignment?

davidv

iTrader: (2)

I do not see the typical feathering pattern. If you drive though some white dust or sand, then take some photos, the feathering will stand out.

davidv

iTrader: (2)

Above photos: swap + alignment + 5,240 miles. I marked several of the high blocks with an “H.” Unfortunately tire is as noisy today as it was before the swap. Conclusion: A swap will not “fix” a damaged tire.

Adrians07Z

got a quick question ..

I got a 2007 w/ 11,000 miles .. noticed the feathering about 6K miles ago but now its gotten bad ..

took it to the dealer and they wont do anything b/c its out of the 12 month / 12K miles warranty on TIME

I want to file a complaint with nissan .. what is NNA or where can I file a complaint ..

can I send them an email, or do I have to call them?

Road Warrior

iTrader: (16)

register on the site nissan north america http://www.nissanusa.com/ and go from there

Adrians07Z

Thanks

I sent them a good long message / complaint .. I'll see what happens

if anyone wants the email address .. this is what came up on the "confirmation email"

nnaconsumeraffairs@nissan-usa.com

dont know if its just me .. but I dont see why I should have put front tires on a brand new $30,000 car every 10,000 miles

Fox Z

I am going to contact them as well - thanks. I will be interested to hear what they say back to you.

DavesZ#3

iTrader: (26)

Don't count on getting satisfaction out of NNA. Alignment is an "adjustment" and is normally only covered 12 mo/12K miles. The warranty manual is pretty explicit...

Unless you had an '03/04 model that is well known to have the feathering problem, you probably won't get any special consideration from NNA.