DISCLAIMER: This is NOT an attempt to start a rumor!

Brief backgroud.


Dec 02 - I purchased Vin 6616 6sp Touring

February 2003 - Ask for Tire check at 1500 miles. Service writer says, what are you talking about. There's no problem.

April 2003 - Change Server writer. He knows about the problem. Peforms TSB at 4500 miles.

June 2003 - Go to closer dealer to get oil change. Ask them to check the tires, but also inform them that TSB has already been performed. They tell me no problem.

October 8, 2003 - Back to original dealer at 9000 miles for problem again. Dealer will get authorization for replacement.


So I finally talk to the Service Writer today. New tires have been authorized and will be here next week. I ask him if he has any faith in this working.

He tells me, that Bridgestone has changed the compound of the tire. His quote, "They look the same, but the side markings have changed".

He says he'll do a 4 wheel alignment put the new tires on, and the problem should be fixed.

I find it difficult to belive that Bridgestone has changed the compound on these tires. My only guess, if this is a truthful statement, is a change in the UTOG rating (i.e. Harder compound) which would explain the marking change.

Thoughts? Has anyone heard the same thing? I tend to think this is another dealer BS line. Would Bridgestone publish any of this information?

 

Faxed 11am MST to all #'s, however I could not get through to:
617-374-9697 (wrong #?)
619-450-3332 (automated error message)

P.S. I hope you are right on the compound.... I have finally gotten approval for new RE040's (I could not get NNA approval for S03's).... maybe bridgestone changed the compound to match the S03's since they inexplicably sucked so bad... maybe that's why they were hard to get for a while... Here's to hoping

 

It's not a tire issue as people have tried different brand of tires and still get the feathering issue.

My dealer is lying to me saying they haven't seen any Z's with feathering. Ugh. looks like I'll be going to another dealer for my services.

 

New Number for the Nissan Design Center in San Diego.


ATTN: Bruce Campbell, Associate Director of Design
Nissan Design America Inc.
9800 Campus Point Drive, San Diego, CA 92121 U.S.A.
Phone: 858--457-4400
Fax: 858-450-3332

It is working. I have called Nissan in Gardena to follow up on my fax and they said that it has been recieved and forwarded to the names on the list.

Thank you all for the help!

Ian

 

I wonder if they really will get the fax to the right people. I hope we hear something from them soon. This is killing me!!!!

 

On Monday, I plan to follow up with a call to Jed Connelly, Senior Vice President NNA to see if he did receive the fax. You can call him at:
310-532-3111

Jed Connelly is the senior vice president of sales and marketing for Nissan North America Inc. (NNA). Connelly oversees all marketing and sales functions for the Nissan and Infiniti divisions, including direction of the planning and implementation of all sales and marketing strategies. As senior vice president, Connelly is a member of the North American Management Committee (MC-NA), the key decision making body for Nissan in North America, and a member of the US Management Committee.

 

I had frustration sending my faxes out - my work computer running WinDuhs bailed on me, and that's where I fax from. I will still do from home, bummed I didn't I get the same time for maybe better impact.

Try, try again

 

Haven't heard or seen this but the tire has been manufactured with different speed ratings, so a higher wear rating would not be a big surprise. 140 is pretty low...

Unless the 040 has some unique bad mojo , it just delays the wear, like putting a Pilot Sport or another tire >200.

If true, what difference would it make other than the interval you still would be buying new tires is not acceptable?

Thanks for the info, it's good to hear what the dealer/service network is telling people

 

Just wondering on the Z what everyone would consider the acceptable interval for tire replacement?

 

Heres an email reply i got from wabc-tv7 investigateive team, I actually sent him a letter of what we were doing and here is what he replyed with.

What is the tire cupping problem? I don't know what that is??
Does the
Highway Transportation and Safety Adm. know about this. They have a
website
to check whether others have had similar problems.

Jim Hoffer, WABC-TV

Please send your 2 cents

WABC-TV.The.Investigators@abc.com

 

I would be happy if I get 15,000 miles on my tires so I will replace them once every year and a half. This is with %60 normal driving, %30 light-medium hard driving, and %10 aggressive driving.

20,000 miles would make my life though.

 

Got car 2-2003, I have feathering (minor) and have 21,000 miles on tires with half tread wear. Tires don't make as much low speed noise as wear continues.

 

I just checked Bridgestone-Firestone's site. The 040 17's for the Z no longer have a UTOG rating. It could have happened and their database hasn't been updated to reflect the change. ?

 

very little highway driving, rough pavement texture backroads, lots of twists and turns - 20-25k would reasonable for 200+ rated tire.

for everyone it's different - my mix is more like 80/20 "not highway/highway" due to the area I live in (NW CT)

 

Does your estimate include the tires not cupping at those mileage intervals? I think it should, IMO. How about tires w/400 ratings?

 

I picked up my car this morning at the dealer. They installed 2 new front RE040's. The car was pulling to the right as soon as I pulled off the lot. They didn't scratch my wheels so at least I am happy about that. I'll be taking it to a different dealership to have the right compression rod replaced and hopefully this will fix the pulling to the right issue.

I will be adding my name to the list in the letter and faxing it to all of the numbers.

 

I just called Jed Connelly, Senior Vice President NNA and left a message.

Nissan North America, Inc.
18501 South Figueroa St., Gardena, CA 90248, U.S.A.
Phone: 310-771-3111
Fax: 310-771-3343

Told his secretary that I was following up on a fax that I sent him and asked for him to respond to the letter.

If you would like to do the same, the number is above. You can leave a message with his secretary or ask for his voice mail.

Thank you to all who have helped with this effort to get this issue with our tires addressed and resolved!!!

 

Second time my tires have been replaced. I now have SO 3's on the car and they too are feathering at 3,000 miles. It is not a tire issue! It is a 350z issue!

 

kawataworks,

My vin # for the tire issue is t100627.

Thanks

 

I'm hoping I don't jinx myself with my statements here, but I had the Tire Feathering problem and had my front tires replaced awhile back. I only put about 4k miles on them until I decided to get new rims and thus purchased larger front and rear Nitto tires. I now have 6k miles on all four of the larger tires and I monitor the tread for feathering on a regular basis and to this point have not seen any signs of it starting. Now, I have read the comments about it not being the tires and I don't question that at this point, but what I do wonder is that whether going with a larger set of front tires is having an effect on reducing feathering? For the recond, I am running 245/40/18 F and 275/40/18 R (Nitto's). Thoughts?

Scott