Mark, I've said this ever since the cupping problem started. Nobody competent at the Nat'l level, including ZISME, paid any attention at all. They were too busy marketing the Zs w/concerts by Sheryl Crowe and others all over the U.S. to pay attention to any of their customers. He wouldn't even post here eventually because we had complaints and he couldn't or wouldn't deal with them. Nothing happens to address our problems unless we start a huge "ROW" about them.

Nissan NA CS gives us tires, the same shitty tires that contribute to the problem, continue to be supplied to us, but the shock/spring mismatch does not exist to them, regardless of how many owners report the same problem over and over again. Evidence doesn't matter, they don't care or management(oxymoron) directs them to do nothing. Nissan needs to re-establish the ties between themselves, their dealers and their customers. What we are seeing is a textbook case of Crisis Management, their plans aren't being understood by their dealers, except a few, and they can't get their technical side in synch with their CS side.

Having worked in Government in a State dominated by rural legislators means that policy can, and does, change with the wind and NNA exhibits all of the symptoms. Understaffed and undertrained as well, it reflects in what little help we get.

 

All,
In the search for other sources diagnosing tire wear I found a good site with alignment basics.
http://www.discounttire.com/dtc/broc...kAlignment.jsp

Anyway... as many of us have suggested, and according to these guys... Heel-Toe wear pattern is caused by Caster

Another site explaining what happens in a heel-toe wear scenario

http://www.trucktires.com/library/pu...Issue2/ra7.htm


This is my vote for adjustable suspension! How could Nissan design a "Sports" car without adjustable Camber or Caster? Maybe Renault was shipping cases of wine to the engineers?

 

No adjustment on the critical aspects of camber, caster and spindly, ineffective struts(creating a situation similar to worn ones, bouncy, bouncy) equal poor suspension execution, rather than design. Independent suspension on the cheap, with lousy soft tread tires, easily deformed bushings, no adjustment on camber/caster, alignment out of whack to start with, and a poorly informed dealer network.

We need:
1. better tires-I paid for my own
2. better bushings-big labor cost
3. better struts-the Konis go on, I pay again; and
4. camber/caster kits. You better get us these, Nissan and you can keep your S-Tune, looney toon, raggedy-*** NISMO until you rot.

Gosh, I feel better. They won't do it, the kits I mean, because Customer Service is a lost art at NNA.

Boomer

 

Not saying I have any answers or that these guys are wrong but in reference to discounttire.com and their theory on exessive castor causing heel and toe wear they are the only ones saying it. Just about every other site with information relating to irregular tread wear patterns suggests that one would not expect improper castor to cause any particular wear problem.

On a related note, I find that my third set of tires is now cupping. This set was put on after the application of Nissan's new improved toe specs as performed by a Nissan dealer that, according to Nissan, is incapable of doing a front end alignment and has obsolete equipment. Interestingly this set is feathering on both edges.

Nissan needs to stop jerking us around with this alignment garbage and replace the shocks and springs because they are incapable of controlling the front wheels. Instead we are getting "The Z is very sensative to alignment and you stupid Americans just can't do it right".

I made another observation recently after taking my Z in to complain about the feathering, bouncing and shifting. After jumping down my throat and telling me that I need to buy an Altima because I can't handle a sports car and that the bouncing problem doesn't exist and the transmission is fine and my tires aren't feathered, the service advisor agreed to drive the car on a strech of road that normally results in bouncing all over the place at just about any speed. It's a concrete bridge. To my shock the car didn't flinch, not even in the right lane that would ordinarily have my head bouncing off the roof? It took me a few minutes to reach the conclusion that the difference was the weight I had in the car. I had just picked up a goped for my son that was in the back (yes it fits) and the advisor and I were in the front. Normally I am alone when I cross the bridge. I've related this information to Nissan who will soon be releasing TSB000879-63 entitled "bouncing uncontrollably" wherein Nissan recommends that anyone experiencing this problem should "drive with a couple of really fat people in the car at of the times."

Sadly I have reached a state of forlornification having run out of local Nissan Dealers and lost all confidence in Nissan Motor Corporation who, through their inaction, inability, unwillingness and/or failure to communicate with their customers or their dealers, has turned what should have been a great experience into a plague. I now find myself waiting for the existing tires to ripen just a bit more so that there can be no ambiquity regarding the cupping before attempting to make them take this car and...

 

My car has 16000 miles and just like you, I had to take it in to get the tires replaced. I was told initially that they would take care of replacing them. The service advisor called later and said they wouldnt replace the tires but would rotate them (fronts only) and adjust the alignment. This was per the service bulletin. He says they will wear even. By the time they wear even, which wont ever happen, they will need to be replaced and I will have dealt with this for half the life of my car up to that point. Now the car pulls to the right a little and the steering is so sensitive, its almost irritating. Ive got a number of issues with the car right now; stereo, grease on the windows, brakes. I filed a complaint with Nissan and asked that I be able to get the work done at a different dealer since the one I purchased the car from wouldnt help me.

 

Do the 2004 350Z's have the same problem?

 

I've got a couple of thoughts/questions/concerns:

1) There is an official posting of the TSB (NTB03-006A) the 'Nissan Publication' site that we can print out and bring to the dealerships in addition to the Autoweek article.

http://www.nissan-techinfo.com/nissa...5.asp?mscssid=

BUT ... this does not solve the problem

2) I would assume that the cupping/feathering of the front tires poses a safety issue?

3) What is the likelihood this TSB will turn into a recall? I remember the z32's had fuel injector recalls, and it was like a $1000.00 fix that Nissan sported.

4) What should the lifetime of the tires be? Does this vary from the stock 17" and 18" tires?

5) Do the Roadster models have the same problem?

6) Does the tire rumble noise get progressively louder as the tires get more mileage on them or does it plateau at some point?

7) Almost all new car models have problems, especially within the first couple years of production (I especially remember seeing a lot of Nissan Xterra's at the dealership when they first debuted) ... what is it going to take to have OUR problem taken care of? Is this one of the reasons the car was in limited production for 2003?

 

I have written to Autoweek and thanked them for taking an interest in this problem. There is nothing like the power of the press. Some of you might think this will hurt the value of the car and it might. I have decided I do not care about re-sale value, I care about Nissan helping us.

 

Pedal Pusher:
I agree with you in terms of using the power of the press. I think other than pouring our own money into fixing Nissan's (Our problem) the only way to get anything done will be to pressure Nissan to do the right thing by us and work through the press.
AUTOMOBILE recently had their one year test on the Z and with 25,000 miles never mentioned they had any feathering problem. I emailed them and asked if the problem existed on their car since many of us Z owners were experiencing it. I am still waiting for an answer.
I think we keep the pressure on Nissan anyway we can. The resale values, based on this thread, are already going below standards.

 

2. I don't think it's been linked to any saftey issues yet, but thats not to say it won't be.

3. Possible

4. Shouldn't vary. Goes mainly on on tread rating and driving habits. OEM tires are very soft compound. With normal driving you should get at least 15K miles out of them. I had over 18K on mine w/ some hard driving thrown in. They still had tread left.

5. Not sure, but I would assume so.

6. It does plateau, but its a loud one.

7. Keep bugging Nissan. I wouldn't call it limited production, 20-30K units for a two seater is about all you're gonna sell.

 

tires are rated 25,000 miles, as stated very very loud althe way up to 65 mph, I did the tsb out of my pocket because i was over 12,000 miles and i still have the problem.

Warrenty should be void - its a defect!!

to become a safety issue people are going to have to be severely injuried or die. kind of like what it takes to get a stop light in an intersction. After 3 death or more we will put a stop light in in order to keep people from dying!!! My tread is so bad i have absolutly no traction in rain and snow. so i found out this weekend!. Now i have to spend 800 bux for all weather tires but mainly because my tires wore to nothing in 15,000 miles.

This is not right, we didn't buy a ferarri!

 

Interesting that Automobile has not responded. Yes the press is powerful but when they are funded by the very people whose products they are evaluating then who is the beneficiary of this power?

You guys aren't serious about the resale values are you? Buying any car, unless you plan on putting it up on blocks for 20 or 30 years, is a losing proposition. This is particularly true today with an endless supply of slightly used cars on the market and the "disposable" nature of the cars that are produced. In any case it is Nissan that is destroying any value that this car does have by not fixing it.

 

From the AutoWeek articleDoesn't quite have the ring of truth, does it? Where does AutoWeek (corporate biotches) get off making a judgment like this?

 

I have noticed the tire rumble/roar become quite prevalent on my 350Z. I guess up until reading this thread I thought it was a normal characteristic for the car. I even remember thinking that the road noise was a little more than what I would have expected when the vehicle was brand new. I just figured it was because it has 18" rims and a stiff suspension. I basically just ignored it and turned the radio up, after analyzing my front tires (unmistakable feathering tread wear pattern on inside of both front tires) and driving to work this morning with the radio off, I realize that this IS a major problem and it is affecting US negatively in many ways (resale value, tire costs, traction, performance, etc...). I don't think anyone would have expected this sort of problem from a supposedly high-quality Nissan (Renault) vehicle. We don't have to put up with our cars sounding like they have truck tires on them. Nissan owes it to all the first year owners to resolve this problem once and for all. I will be calling NNA, Local State Attorney and all six of the major Nissan dealerships in the Phoenix metro area until this issue is resolved.

 

According to the service chart, exactly when should the tires be rotated (swapped)? I am at ~9,800mi right now and don't go back in untlil 11,250mi I believe. I don't believe they rotated the tires for me @ 7,500mi. But if the lifetime of the tires is 15,000mi-20,000mi and they can only be rotated (swapped) once ... I would assume this would be done at the halfway point of their lifetime.

 

I have a 2004 Enth w/5000 miles on it. I wouldn't say I have the roaring noise, but I check my tire's shoulder blocks every thousand miles.

They indeed feel uneven at the toe and heel of both the inside and outside shoulders blocks. It's more pronounced on the inside shoulder though. I basically run my hand along the circumference, and there is a distinct difference in texture with respect to the direction I run my hand accross the tread blocks. I figure if it's already showing unusual wearing characteristics, it will inevitably worsen to the condition that roaring noise ensues.

Great....

I've been the bearer of bad news for a few other folks with '04's because I recently had my trannie replaced. I think many of the '04's will have the same major problems as the '03's, but aren't showing up on 'repair' forum yet because they haven't accumulated enough mileage yet.

 

There is no tire rotation on the Z.

 

Just received a call from the dealership where my car was being looked at by the Nissan Engineers from Japan and as I expected it sounds like nothing was done. My service advisor proceeded to tell me that they couldn't align my car because my wheels and tires were not in factory specs and thus the alignment machine wouldn't work. Interestingly enough, I have had my car with these wheels and tires aligned twice in the last 3 months by another dealership in town just fine (I watched them do it). Her next response was that all dealerships are independtly owned...true, but in this case both of the dealerships in question are owned by the same company. Sorry for the rant and I know today's visit was Nissan's deal and not the dealership, but as usual, another day at the dealership is wasted. So my car is unchanged and in all likelihood will begin the feathering process soon enough, geez...thanks Nissan...world class product and service.
*rant off*

 

Where may I ask did you get this rating from? Ultra Performance tires usually have NO milage rating, only a rating for the tire compound. RE040 are a 140, the S03's are a 220...

 

Just spoke with NNA

https://my350z.com/forum/showthread....596#post566596