yes i am going to be a new remark to this section. i am very new at this and have owned a used 2003 350 for two months. the tires were shot on the front from the feathering because they were never checked when it came to ohio from texas with over 15,000 miles on it. after some bitching, i had new tires put on the front, cause the back are fine. i did not write this to simply tell a story. reason is that through talking to nissanusa and my case manager that i got involved with, there is some decent talk/rumor of a recall in january. the reason why i say this is because my dealer (who wasnt the original dealer) wanted to be sure that they would get re-imbursed for the tires, and word has it that the recall is going to be another alignment but also switching from the potenza softies to a harder compound tire. has anyone else heard about this. without holding himself to it, the case manager stated he was aware that "something is in the works". plus if you read some fine print, cars of this nature are recommended to have alignments every 6-8 mos.

 

So Nissan paid to have your front tires replaced at 15,000 miles (after the 12,500 warranty period)? Nissan refused to do this for me because I reported the problem after 12,500. Do you mind telling me the name of your case manager?

 

nissan themselves did not put new tires on the car. in fact when i went for the goodwill requestition, which is what they do after a warranty, it was denied by both the computer and after talking to someone at nissan, so in that respect, the case manager did nothing. since i had only owned the car from the dealer for two months i made a huge stink about them selling me a car that was defective from the start. i bought it with 11.5 thousand on it and i dared them to try and tell me that signs of the threading was not there, and that there was no reasin why the original tsb wasnt performed then. final point here is that after some armtwisting and polite name calling, the dealer paid for the tires. they did this because of pure customer service and this supposed recall that might be coming out in january, which is what the case manageer expressed by saying that he was "aware of something in the works". then the dealer will get reimbursed for the tires from nissan, again if it happens. if the recall does not happen then nissan will not do anything. thats why we as buyers have to get on nna and push for the recall. sorry if my original story was unclear of this.

 

My tires are showing more severe sawtoothing at both outside and inside tread blocks. The noise levels are not too bad yet, but my friend's '04 with 7000 miles (1500 more than mine) is getting noisy; significantly noisier than mine.

I've been keeping an eye (and ear) on it, and am pretty sure that I'll be taking in my car at around 7k-9k to take care of the inevitable roaring. So for those of you who are think they're in the clear with the '04's, that's not the case. Rest assured that Nissan did not make significant alignment and suspension changes to the '04 because I got the same problem (and so does my friend).

I remember that I had very similar tire wearing issues on my motorcycle several years ago. The front tires wore in a sawtooth pattern (heel to toe along the tires circumference and along the center). I replaced the front tire at around 9k miles because it affected the bike's stability significantly. I replaced it with another brand that is also a more performance oriented and softer compound. It has been 12k on those 'new' front tires, and I have no signs of abnormal wear, though they are about to hit the wear indicators.

The bike's suspension set up has never been altered from the day I bought it. The only parameters that changed are my weight (+5 lbs), tire design, and the alignment of the rear tire may have been slightly changed when I replaced the rear tire. I guess my point is that for my motorcycle, it was not a suspension problem, and it was a poor tire design and/or bad rear tire alignment. Rake on a bike is fixed so that's similar to a car's caster. Camber varies all the time on a motorcycle but I don't consider it an alignment parameter since it never changed from the last tire to the current tire. The rear alignment only has a 'toe' adjustment effect.

Also, has anyone heard from EZCHIEF? How's he doing on his alignment research? I remember he was very involved with this thread a while back, and he had 'the expert' on a hunter machine do some precision alignment on his car. Was he successful?

 

I am still here. Aggie 350 and I met up at Bankston Nissan a few weeks ago to have our (my) car inspected by the Nissan Techs. Sorry Aggie, I couldn't resist. Anyway, I had my tires replaced, on my dime, some 4000 miles ago because my rear tire was at wear indicator. I put on Kumho Ecsta MX's and had the alignment done by independent shop referred by Discount Tire in Frisco.

So far all is going well on my tires. I plan to go in to the shop and have another alignment done in a few months. Check my specs and see if they have moved from last time.

My Kumho review:

Treads are agressive looking with broad shoulder.
I believe from memory a 220 rating.
Just slightly louder then the OEM REO40's but a heck of a lot more sticky. My slip light does not come on nearly as much as before. Hook up is very good on launch. However my last launch on Monday had a bit of tire hop. Overall I am very pleased with the tire. Cost is very reasonable compared to OEM and the Pilots.

 

Got this comment off tire rack by a 350Z owner. Can you run these sizes on stock wheels with no problems? Is the 225/45/18 the same diameter as the 245/40/18???

"Vehicle: 2003 Nissan 350Z Touring
Location: Roseville, CA
Driving Style: Average
Miles driven on tires: 1,500 Driving Condition: Combined Highway/City
Reviewer's Overall Ratings: 9.29 out of 10
Review Submitted 2003-05-21

Just upgraded my wheels to 245/40/18 fronts and 275/40/18 rears. I replaced the OE tires (Bridgestone) with the Kuhmo Ecsta MXs. I immediately noticed a much smoother ride with these new tires. Bumps feel less dramatic with this tire. Also, traction and cornering is improved greatly. These tires are a great value, I was ready to get the BF Goodrich G-Forces when a friend talked me into these (saved about $380) on the set. I am very happy with these tires and recommend them highly. "

 

The answer is no. These size tires are the sizes recommended by Nismo to be mounted on 18 x 8.5" front and 18 x 9.5" rear wheels. In fact, these are the exact tire sizes I am running with the Goodyears. The stock wheels are 18 x 8-8.5" in size depending on style you have. The 225/45/18 is also larger in circumference than the 245/40/18.

 

Boomer, how are you doing with the Michies A/S Pilots? Strangely the wear on my 040's since 7000 miles (and the side-to-side swap), now at 11k, nowhere near as bad. Barely noticeable, like every 3rd block or so (still inner side).

Wish I had fixed the "pull-to-the-right" problem TSB not so close to the alignment, done right after the "side-2-side" swap. Too many changes at once to even draw any conclusions other than the outer tire may have been softer last year than the now well-worn tread. Driving is identical for roads and speeds, etc.

Another thing - I noticed the 17" stock G35 wheels on the base now come with a Goodyear tire in the same sizes as my Z, don't know the exact model (RSA?) More agressive looking tread, did not have a chance to look up their rating on the tire...the Pilots (Summer) now are on the '04 "Sport Coupe 6MT"...

Steve

 

need some help guys. when i finally replace the oem bridestones can i go to a 45 series tire front and rear vice a 50 series i have a 03 touring automatic with the 17" wheels. had my front tires replaced by the dealer at 9500 miles. help please

 

Navy,

Yes you can go to a 45. My Kumho's are 45 series. 245/45/17 and 255/45/17. Circumference is slightly smaller so at 100 MPH I am going 99.65 MPH. The diameter was less then .2-.25" difference. These are on the OEM rims, too. No TCS problems. I see you are in ABQ so go to Discount tire and they can give you a printout of the specs and rotation compared to OEM's. Good luck.

 

Actually, I can't see any wear at 7880+ miles. That gives me 6200 miles on the A/Ss which seem to wearing evenly, if at all, and I've had had 2 alignments. The first at 1600 miles, when I discovered the bare beginnings of abnormal wear on the OE tires that I detested. My wear was on the outside edge of the tread, not the inside. My first alignment was free, I had it done the next day on the new tires, and several months later when an SUV spit a 2x4 about 4' long into the tires at about 75mph. I couldn't feel anything, but I paid for an alignment and underbody inspection the next day, no change in alignment, nor damage was found by my dealer. I'm still planning to change the struts unless Nissan steps forward on warranty issues and gives me some compelling reason not to do so. I think they need to provide camber/caster adjustment on their dime, not mine, but different tires and proper alignment specs may be enough, but I remain unconvinced so far.

The G35 Sedan 5AT with the extra cost Sports Suspension has Goodyear RSA all seasons tires, while the 6MTs have summer Michelin Sports, which has been true since they first came out. The Goodyear all seasons are much cheaper than the Michelin A/Ss. The Goodyears were OE on our 99 Maxima SE.

 

First off.....91 pages.........Dang!

Second off, I'm taking my 19K front tires with very little ware and good amount of feathering in to be rotated per the TSB. Anyone have an educated guess as to the miliage i'll get out of them? I'm not even going to think about pushing the dealer to replace them at 19K. I do hope the TSB will help with the road noise.

Have had the car 6mo.
Had 4K on it when I got it. (dealer demo)
Roaring started to get bad 6 weeks ago.

Thanks.

 

haven't check this thread in awhile, here is my update. VIN#165, got it on 9/1/2002. I had the feathering problem on my original set of tires, changed them out around 12,000miles with S03 (free), then it lasted another 10,500miles.. no feathering problem what so ever... I had to replace them since it was getting bald... I have been checking on the S03 every so often, never saw the feathering again... I think it was corrected with the correct toe-in alignment...

I replaced the S03 with Falken Fk-451, also changed out the stock performance 18" wheels to Privat Fahren.... Drove another 300miles and noticed my outside half edge are wearing more then the inside edge, the opposite of original feathering problem... so I took it to the alignment shop again, but this time, more specialize shop that works on drop cars (oh, I also lowered my car with Eibach around 8000miles). They checked the car, and found the toe-in nut was loose? that's what causing the toe-in out of spec, and making the tires wearing out more on the outside..

so they adj. it to the correct spec, and adj. the camber, everything suppose to be fine now... I will know in another few hundred miles....

one more thing, I did the pull-to-the-right-tsb myself just before the final alignment.. it was a pain in the a**!! the compression rod cost me 135.00 plus shipping from Performance Nissan. It was worth it for me since I don't want to swap out my Eibach to stock springs and swap back...

 

Thanks, Ill be sure and go to see Discount tire. I was thinking about the michelin pilot sport a/s or the bf goodrich kds2. Anybody got a preference as to which one is best for the Z.

 

I bought the A/Ss because I like Michelins, but you can't get the stock sizes on 18" wheels. I don't know anything about the bf goodrichs, the A/Ss are expensive, but they have a wear rating of 400 UTOG.

 

Uh, Keith, Navybulldog was looking for 245/24-17F and 255/45-17R tires for his Z, not 18" sizes....

 

CC, I was answering Steve Z's question and Navy bulldog's post with the wheel size came later. I didn't see it, but if he stays with the stock sizes for 17" wheels like I did, they are available in the A/Ss.

 

Thanks, that was what I was asking about, the 17" stock Z rims. BTW, your comments on the RSA confirmed what I suspected, another major cost-cutting move vs. the Michelins on the G35.

But...you won't likely see another post on this topic from me - Monday I p/u an '04 G35 Sport Coupe, termed the lease on my 350Z effective tomorrow. For other reasons, including having now 5 cars with only my wife & myself as drivers, something has to go. By sticking with a Nissan "product" I am able to avoid taking a big hit for early termination, normally that would have been ~$5k.

I'm not picking up a G35 for tires, for many other reasons instead, but again going the lease route to minimize my exposure. Walking away at this point is the least expensive route I have with only 11k miles. Dealer can credit me out better than wholesale for the model if new.

I love the Z, but I'm looking at a lot of work and $$$ for a car with 11k miles:
- Brake job and likely new rotors front, $300-500 and that just gets me stock performance again
- New tires, $800+
- Still have grease streaks on my windows,
- Front Speakers and new head unit ($$$, optional)
- Transmission Noise (may be my imagination) $$$ Warranty only because I paid for extended warranty (~$20/mo.)
- Springs/Shocks $850-$2500
- Driveshaft Noisier than new in reverse
- Sounds like something loose in Reverse
- and the list goes on, none of it a "big deal" for a Dealer to fix on their dime, too much for me - $2500+ not under warranty and then the hassle of dealing with warranty items.

I don't want to bash the car in general, it's great, and I would not call mine a Lemon, either. It's a great car, I'll miss it, would keep both in an ideal world -
- 350Z for the track and weekend
- G35 Sport Coupe for my Daily Driver

I will say the difference in ride quality is striking with the G35 Coupe - holds through the corners, still fun to drive with the 6MT, a great value, and not to dis Nissan dealers, but a lot better treatment in the presales process.

BTW, the G35 Coupe 6MT suspension IS different in '04 than the current Z, still performance-oriented but the bounce is gone. Shocks/Springs are different, so-called "ripple-control" (i.e. different dampening), but the rest is basically the same setup.

I guess I'll find out

Steve

 

Steve, I hope you enjoy the G35. Don't understand your warranty problems. Your Z only has 11K miles on it and everything but the brake job and new tires is covered under warranty. With 11K miles I would try and get free new front tires if it is the feathering tire issue. Also if the rotors need replacement I would also try and get them replaced under warranty. I'm married too and I understand that you used all of these reasons to convince your wife that you needed the G35 But Steve your talkin to car guys now and that BS won't float.

 

PB, I'm afraid while I've been playing w/myself, waiting for the Konis to save my Z, I've also strayed from the purer path. There is a G35 Coupe with all the options I would want at the local Infinity dealer right now.