Has anyone had tire problems with 04 Z cars?

 

Here is my version:

Watched this thread develop, as well as the feathering on my front tires. Called NNA to report complaint and took the car to the dealership to have TSB done. Tires were horrible, feathering on inside and outside so swapping did nothing, but alignment was in spec. Dealer messed up rims swapping tires they did not need to swap. Was told "I doubt Nissan will replace the tires, we just never see that happen." Called NNA back and let them have it. Spoke with Manager at dealership where I have purchased over 5 new Nissans and some other vehicles to let them know how upset I was about the service and the rims. Called NNA again to give them an earful. Talked to a Bridgestone dealer who said "There is no way that is due to a faulty tire." Finally after a lot of bitching and keeping on everyone involved, my tires are being replaced as well as my rims. I guess it pays to be smartly aggressive when tackling this situation to show them that the car is what is causing this issue and that the tires need to be replaced. The one thing that worries me most is that the alignment was in spec and this still happened. I am hoping that with some suspension mods and a different tread pattern such as Toyo T1-S that this will not continue.

 

this tire feathering issue seems to be outta control, i sure hope they fixed this in the 2004 model...it appears that the problem and the way nissan is handling it is sure a deal breaker. too bad, i was looking forward to buying an 04 Z too...sigh.

 

My tire feathering problem was fixed by my dealer, or by non-OEM tires (I don't know which). Had the feathering at around 5,000 miles. Dealer did an alignment (which was out of speck) and the problem has not come back. I now have 20K miles and still not tire feathering (fingers crossed). However, I might add that I switched to Toyo tires after the 1st 5K with stock tires and also installed the Nismo suspension. The Toyo's are much better tires than RE0-40's in my opinion.

 

Just got my Z back from aligning the fronts as well as getting new tires for the front. the sound has completely gone away, but I have only had it out for about 500 miles... took it in at 11k noticed the cupping around 10.5k. The noise was so unbearable that when I got my new tires on I couldnt believe that i didn't hear anything anymore... was like i was in a new car. Pray that my baby doesn't cup again. Will keep you guys posted on what's up...

 

I believe it, an alignment and different tires have kept the cupping away for 5500 miles and I will change to after market struts as soon as they come out. This should keep my car away from the tire wear, or at least mitigate it to a reasonable level for a sports car that is driven hard, but not abused(no racing, street strip or track). The OE tires and the spring/strut mismatch have been the culprits in the car from the start, IMO. I HAVEN'T HEARD A LOT OF PROBLEMS FROM THE OWNERS WHO CHANGED TIRES AND WHEELS ALMOST IMMEDIATELY AFTER DELIVERY. Should be an indicator of something there, don't you think?

 

18"? What do run for sizes (rim, tire)?

 

I hear ya outlawz, I have been watching this thread for a while now as well as the Transmission problem thread (outlawz you may want to check that one out too, amazing how many transmission been replaced, in some cases 3 times in one vehicle with less than 10,000 miles) I plan to purchase a '04 in November, silver base model then order the orange leather seat covers from Katzkin, believe it or not I already have $1000 bucks on a set of Volk "19 GT-7's and owe another $1100 bucks without tires, so in saying that you guy's must know that I'm pretty apprehensive about the 350z...I'm now thinking about purchasing the G35 coup base....you get so much more at less that 30,000. But I will keep a close watch on this thread I just can't give up on the z so easily

 

I am run ning the tire sizes that were recommended by Nismo for the S-Tune suspension and Nismo wheels. The sizes are 245/40/18 front and 275/40/18 rear.

 

I'm taking my Touring to the dealer tomorrow. I'm now at 10,000 miles and the sawtoothing is back. I had the TSB performed at 4300 miles (swap & alignment) and the noise was back around 8500 or so miles. In speaking with my service writer to setup this appointment I told him it was back and wanted to talk about getting replacment tires. He said he'll inspect tomorrow and after confirming the problem he'll do the leg work with NNA. As others have posted it seems that Nissan Dealer's attitudes have changed regarding this problem. Not sure if that means a "fix" is in the works or if they're realizing that they've pi$$ed off enough customers with their previous approach. If the Service Writer has anything interesting to say I'll post.

However, I think anything short of changing up the suspension (shock/springs) is only a temporary fix.

Has EZChief disappeared? I'm interested in knowing how his tires are doing with the work he was doing with Hunter.

 

Hello??????????? When are you all going to wake up???? There is NO FIX.
NNA is just putting tires on your cars until the Warranty runs out or the time limit in you state to file the Lemon Law expires. We are on our third set of front tires in 12,000 miles.

We have been fighting with this tire problem on my wife's car for 8 months.
If NNA could repair the problem it would have been done months ago, but NNA's answer is to put an all weather Michelin piolit sport All season tire with a 400 tread wear rating on the car. The 17in Michelin pilot sport A/S sucks on a performance car. It is a tire for an Audi Quattro for winter driving. The car came with a summer performance tire with a tread wear of 140. For those who do not understand tread wear ratings the higher the number the harder the tire. Yes, it will make the fronts last much longer than the OE Bridgestones,but the problem is still there it is only masked by a harder tire.
The car handles and drive completely different with the harder tires. The road noise on the highway is much loader than when the Bridgestone's were new. Yes the tire is V rated but speed rating and handling are two different things. The turn is horrible and it will spin the tires with only light step on the gas. The Z is no longer fun to drive with these tires, I do not have the confidence to take off ramps at any speed and I cant step on the gas and feel the rush of acceleration with out doing a Jon Force burn out. It is not the same car with the all season tires that my wife and I purchased 10 months ago. We would not have purchased the Z if it drove like it does now when it was new.

Boomer if you are happy that great but I did not buy a $34,000 performance car with great handling and acceleration to have and go and put an all weather tire on it just to get more than 4000 miles out of a set of front tires.

IMO the Michelins are not the answer.

 

My tire geathering was fixed. Had is start at about 5,000 miles and has not returned after 20K of hard driving. I would recommend going to a competent dealer that knows what they are doing.

 

Alex
Thanks for your input. The local dealer has been FANTASTIC. No problems with them.
This last repair attempt was by NNA throught the local dealer with NNA's new specs for the alignment.

If the car was fixed then why not put the OE Bridgestone back on the car?

 

Guys,

I am still here. I posted a month or so ago that my replacement tires did not feather after 6,000 miles. My rear tires were wearing down so I had to make a choice and get two or four tires. After looking long and hard, I decided to go with four new tires and to get my alignment checked at an independent alignment shop. I got four Kumho Ecsta MX's after looking on Tire Rack. Treadwear rating of 220 I think. I got 245/45/17 and 255/45/17 to get as close to OEM diameter and circumference as possible. These are slightly smaller tires. To compare at 100 MPH I would be doing 99.65 MPH. (Try arguing with a cop that one).

My opinion on the Kumhos is they stick great after heating up. No power slides on quick lefts. Has cut down the understeer considerably. They are slighly louder then the OEM's. Check the big shoulder blocks on Tire Rack to see. Overall, I am quite pleased with them.

I will be going to my alignment shop to check my specs this weekend. Will post up next week.

Since the feathering was non apparent on the new fronts and being in need of new rears, I made the choice to get out of Bridgestones all together. I wil monitor my Kumho's for the problem.

 

Alex
Correct me if I am wrong but your car has a modified Nismo suspention? My car is stock. You cant compare the two cars if they are not equal.

 

I agree the Michelins don't have as crisp a turnin, but I'll trade that any day over the harshness of the 040s ride. The new issue of Road and Track mentions a couple of editors have stopped driving their long term test car because the ride is so harsh and the road noise is more than they care to experience. They have used the 040s exclusively.

Road noise in the cockpit seems to be a characteristic of the car, regardless of tire selection in this case. I don't mind and my A/Ss don't do a burnout everytime I stomp on the gas either, but I don't give the car full throttle sitting still, its always on a roll and I have a 5AT. On a dusty road with the car on a roll with the 040s, I broke traction several times, so my experience is the polar opposite of yours. Go figure.

Why didn't you ask for the Pilot Sport summer tires? They have a 220 wear rating and are supposedly the tires the car was tested with in the U.S. They are a lot better summer tire than the 040s,and don't cost much more. I bought the A/Ss in order to drive anywhere if there isn't a foot or snow on the roadway, I've never used chains and I don't expect my cars to be snowplows or SUVs.

 

I had the origional OEM tires on after my feathering problem was fixed for a while, and then once I was confident that I did not have the problem any more, I upgraded to Toyo TS-1's because in my opinion this is a better tire. I still have my OEM Bridgestones sitting in my garage, they may come in handy one of these days for some track abuse.

 

I agree, but my feathering has stopped before I put in the Nismo suspension. I don't know if it will come back? But I have been ok for the past 15K miles on the same set of tires.

 

Boomer
We have 17in tires on our car. The pilot sports are not made in the 17in size. Only the All season comes in 17 in. We did not have a choice.It is what NNA decided to put on our car.
Mark

 

Sorry, I thought you had 18s. My car was delivered with the 040s by mistake. I thought my salesman had the information I had e-mailed him on what I wanted, which were the A/Ss. Turns out nobody gets the e-mails at the dealership, not even the Sales Manager, my salesman who has sold me 3 Nissans now.

When I found out we were getting the 040s during our preorder waiting period, I hit the ceiling, the Tire Rack's Customer Service Surveys gave the 040s the worst reviews in their whole stock. I found out how bad when the temp went below 50 degrees here, they were hard as rocks and slick as glass and Nissan switched to them before delivering our cars.

I can understand you don't like the A/Ss if you really push the car hard in turns, but at least you won't be doing 360s when the temp drops in your area, if it does. You could sell the A/Ss and go to a 245/45 255/45 or 40 in some other 17" summer tire, like some owners have done. Your dealer might have a problem with that, if the cupping comes back quickly, but its your damn car after all, isn't it? Boomer