that doesn't excuse the fact that I'm going to have either replace my tires every 10,000 miles or get alignments every couple months ..

out of over 15 cars ive owned I have never had this problem .. and as the warranty states 12,000 miles .. I had this problem begin around 6K miles which is way before the 12K limit

so just because the previous owner let the car sit for a year and I am 5 months out of "12 months" NISSAN gets to ignore the issue

and if "whichever comes first" or the 12K miles rule is to cover there A$$ because of a known flaw in the car then all I have to say is

this is my first nissan .. and possibly my last

 

You can file a compliant with NTSB.

 

Heavy tire wear is a fact of life for sports cars. High camber, etc. will cause strange wear and short life.

If the problem began ast 6K miles, that when you should have brought the car in.

The 12K mile rule has been in place for all Nissans for many years now. It's nothing new for the Z as a CYA.

You probably should have done a little more research before buying the Z. We've pretty much come to accept the "you have to pay to play" manta for these and any other high performance sports cars.

 

.. even if I took the car in the day I purchased it with 3,000 miles they would of told me the same answer .. I bought the car exactly 12 months after the original owner did

so right now I'm five months out

anyways .. I filed a complaint and got a phone call today saying there transferring it to a "regional" person and I will get a call tomorrow regarding the issue

so I guess I'll wait and see .. my Tein S-Tech springs come tomorrow also, to tomorrow is going to be a fun day .. might have to bust out a can of black spray paint to hide them

 

Just an update, it's been about 6 months and 5 thousand miles since I upgraded my suspenson and tires and I have no visable sign of tire feathering.

My suspension set up is gf210 with d-spec shocks and SPC rear campber arms. The allignment shop was able to get my car into specs.

Hopefully the new suspension fixed the problem. I had pictures of what tire feathering did to my tires in the previous post.

 

Well, I just spent the last 12 hrs reading this thread straight through from the start. It is discouraging to see that after 7 years there is no straight answer/fix. I am mostly disappointed in myself for not noticing this issue prior to purchasing my first Z a couple weeks ago. I have been doing extensive research on potential cars I was ready to buy, and found a great deal on a 2003 model that I quickly jumped on.

The last few weeks I have been the happiest I have been in years, driving around in this car felt amazing. It brought back feelings I haven't felt since I last owned a MR2 Turbo. Now, I read this thread with some disappointment. I expected to have more than normal wear on rear tires with the car if I drove it aggressively, but nothing as bad as I am reading.

I plan to be driving ~2,500 (hwy) miles a month, and that means the cost of tires will add up quite fast and substantially. After being in this car there is really no other car I could see owning, at least not in this price bracket, and I hate to give up my newly rediscovered passion. For now, I guess I will just "pay to play" and purchase a lifetime alignment package from one of the chain Firestone shops. If there were more definitive results for changes after-market suspension may have, I'd certainly consider this route since the cost will quickly be offset by tires.

Hopefully, my newly discovered gas gauge issue doesn't drive me off the deep end.
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I was just looking at the different tire specifications on Tire Rack, and I will certainly try a much higher tread rated tire once my current set (previous owner had installed about 3k miles ago) develops issues or wears out. Since most of my driving will be highway miles it makes little to no sense to stick with a really "soft" summer tire.

 

Don’t be discouraged. I did the feather thing for 73,000 miles, and found it a minor annoyance. Instead of tossing away dollars for a fix, I just swapped tires. All-season tires with one swap will get you 30,000 plus miles.

 

Thanks for the reassurance! I would have no qualms about getting 30k miles out of a set of tires, even if that is a set a year with my driving .

 

Check these tires: https://my350z.com/forum/wheels-and-...l-seasons.html

 

Hmm, those do look nice. I am glad now I held off on the 370z and used my down payment for the 350z, I neglected to budget many of the extra expenses associated with a sporty car... my Protege just needs a key and gas to drive .

 

Prior to purchasing my 2004 G35 Coupe new in 2003, the service manager had told me that there existed 2 issues with the G35s, Tires and brakes. I was already aware of the feathering problem and took the $35,000 plunge anyway. For me, I am able to live with it due to the minimum amount of driving I do (less than 8,000 per year). My best advice for you would be this. Try to get Asymmetrical tires for easier swapping left to right and usually less noise. Also, knowing that these cars eat tires, don't spend a bundle, but try to find decent tires for a decent price. Our cars are still a great bang for the buck. All cars have something to complain about. Good luck.

 

I get close to 30k on falkin ziex tires. I have the oem 17s and run 245/45/17 up front and 255/45/17 in the back. I never had alignment problems until 66k miles and I tore through a set of my front tires on the insides in 18k miles (still not as bad as the horror stories I heard about tires only lasting 6k). After I replaced those fronts I got an alginment which cost me $70 and I haven't had a problem since. If you are really really worried about your new Z I would call a few NTB's, sears, or firestones and ask if they have a lifetime alignment plan. They run $120-160 but if you use it more than 2 times it will save you money.

 

I have been reading the past few pages of threads, and I have not noticed anyone discuss removeing the toe from the front alignment. I have have my 350ZR since it had 11 miles on. I ran on my Potenzas (luckily got rid f them( for almost 30,000 miles before I finally figured out what might be causing the massive feathering issue.

I took the car into my shop, who uses a Hunter alignment system. I had them zero out the toe and camber (Nissan factory specs are +/- 0.5). I have been running Kumhos now forthe past 2 years and have had no signs of feathering out of the car. This may a single case of success, but IMO would be much cheaper to try this out before buying into a new suspension, add on toe kits, etc. Just my $0.02.

 

I have a 2004.5 roadster with 66,000KM(41,000 miles) on it & changed my tires for the first time today. The fronts had EXTREMELY bad feathering, to the point where I was near running through the sidewall.

6 years & 66,000KM isn't that bad for tires. All this told me was I need to go for an alignment every year when I take my car out for the summer & my tires should last even longer!

 

Figure 40,000 miles for front tires. Swap at 20,000 miles. Outside goes on the inside - inside goes on the outside. This will extend tire life.

 

Zero front toe for a sports car? Do a little suspension 101 studying particularly the relationship between toe and handling.

 

I hopefully will not jinx myself by making this statement, but I just wanted to update that I have now put about 14k miles on the car since I purchased it in January (~2k miles on the tires at time of purchase). I haven't notice any feathering just yet, but I am also doing 98% hwy driving and only really get on the brakes about twice a day.

 

How do you guys feel about the following alignment specs?

Camber:
-1.25 front
-1.25 rear

Caster:
+8.0 front
---- rear

Toe-in (total):
1/16" front
1/8" rear


These are the specs I usually use on most of my cars. It's basically the "sportiest" setting while maintaining the least tire wear. Good for street use, and maybe some canyon runs....Will this be ok in regards to tire feathering on my 04 Z ?

 

I have now been able to hear the faint roar that I believe to be "feathering".

 

Photos appreciated.