It is 2/3/04. Are we any closer to getting the tire feathering issue resolved for good?

 

I/We are waiting for the report the team of engineers will file in a few weeks. They say its an alignment problem. I say if your OE tires are cupping, they will do so again, unless you get different tires and an alignment, IMO. I wouldn't take them for free, the ones that are seem to have the problem re-occur more often than with different tires. Only my observation, I can't say I'm right.

 

I'm not sure what's going on - I took my Z in for the cupping TSB, the dealer found the alignment to be way off - since then, my front tire cupping seems to have at least slowed down - but my rears tires are wearing really fast - oem RE040 were worn out past the wear bars at 11,500 miles - I replaced all four with S03 pole positions, I now have 18,000 (6500 since new) and the rears are really wearing out fast (again) - car tracks great and doesn't pull but new tires every 10,000 miles??? I've read where others have gotten 20,000 miles out of their RE040's? Mine were never abused, ie: big smokey burouts, but I don't drive like an old man either - -

Steve

 

I just hope there is some long term fix for this. It could make the cost of owning very expensive.

 

I thought I had escaped the dreaded feathering but I now find I have it at 6,000 miles and not just on the inside edges but both edges. My dealer swore they double-checked the alignment when I bought my Z in July.

I have read countless threads and posts about this problem and remained confused as to the real culprit(s). Most say it is alignment/toe-in, some add it's also the soft OE tires, and some say it's the suspension design and we should get the Nismo S-tune or some other suspension upgrade.

I would love to know once and for all what is causing the feathering and get it corrected. For now I'm going to a reputable independent alignment shop and get it checked.

 

I, and many others, have used an independent shop to check and/or adjust our alignment. If your dealer can't get yours right, I suggest others do the same as we have. Don't just assume they'll get it right, go elsewhere.

 

Most of the symptoms i've read were alignment issues.. particularly the TOE being out of spec. Some report its the suspension design and a S-tune upgrade fixed it. (not everybody)

i thought i wasn't affected by this feathering issue also. but at around 6800 miles (7100 currently) my tires began to get noisy. I checked them today and the front inside tread is showing signs of abnormal wear. currently, the noise is getting worse and at a much faster rate. I'm past my one year, so does that mean the dealer won't fix it or give me tires? What should I do? would they at least check the alignment?

 

You're past the 12 months, but not the mileage(12,000). You may get a side-to-side rotation and if it doesn't work, unlikely to, you should get new tires for the front. I would argue the mileage should be the determining factor, not the time. If they try the 12 month excuse, hit them with the mileage argument, I think you'll win. Most dealers are not unreasonable and they've seen this problem a lot.

 

I'm @ 21K. backs are fine. Front TSB done @ 19K. I'll be getting free tires soon from my sponsor (It's a show car as well as daily driver). I consider myself one of the lucky ones.

 

I think it's a combination of lack of camber adjustment in the front end due to cost constraints and a soft cheap OEM tire. Obviously the sports car design does not allow for rotation either. But all things considered, I dont think we should have a wear issue until say 30K.

 

My dealer did the TSB @ 19K, no questions asked. It worked. My set is on track for 25-30K total life I would guess.

 

Ya. I thought it would be over the top for me @ 19K to push for new tires, even at only 6 months of ownership. (I'm a high milage driver).

BTW- sorry for hogging the entire thread.

 

I can't wait to if these "engineers" say something soon.

 

ditto. My tires started feathering at 4k

 

Not to sound pessimistic, cause it kills me to do so (I love my Z), but these so called engineers have sure been taking their time. i bought my Z used when it had 11 k on it last Oct. I never had the noise but when i took the car in for my first oil change at 15k the dealer told me my fronts were shot. well in order to have a tire roar you have to have tread and my inner fronts had the belts already showing. nutz!!! well NNA denied everything cause of mileage. you can review my story in the tire feathering thread. my purpose is not to rehash that here. what i am trying to say is that i stayed determined with the dealer that i was going to get new tires mainly due to the fact that the dealer sold me a faulty product (no way the dealer could deny that that the problem wasnt noticeable when i bought it). well the dealer did put new fronts and had alignment done at independent place. the reason why the dealer paid for the fronts was because of some rumor from NNA of a nationwide recall in january. in fact my dealer's original answer for me was to drive it carefully for a few weeks untill january and the recall (can you believe that s**t, the belts were showing). well that was 12/19/03 exactly and here we are in february and still nothing. can you imagine if i had been passive and just waited for the so called recall. sorry for the length. but once i get started on this watch out!!

 

Yeah....I am feeling you man. Sometimes Nissan does what is right. For example, Nissan changed the amp in the Bose system. What this means to me is enough people complained about sound quality and change, while insignifcant to a few, was made. They confessed it was a crappy product and replaced it with a less crappy product. The feathering issue impacts far more people and has a much more detrimental effect in the form of safety. I don't like to wait...I got rid of my Bose system. Something tells me though that this feathering problem will be fixed or at least formally addressed in the next few months. That is the best we can hope for. Otherwise I will spearhead an effort to form a class-action lawsuit. We can do it. There is enough.

 

I am the person who spoke to the Customer Relations rep and asked her when the report from the Engineers who came from Japan would be available. Several owners who had their cars and tires inspected by them were told it was an alignment problem, not enough toein, and recommended the alignment be set at 0.02. That setting is the maximum toein the Z is supposed to get. A TSB was issued on 12/19/03 to use the new setting, there were actually 2 TSBs issued. The first one ended with 006a, then was amended shortly thereafter in another TSB ending in 006b. 006b's language outlines the problem and tells the dealers the toein setting to use. The TSB 006b was posted in the tire feathering thread, but my dealer couldn't access it on the Tech site all Nissan dealers are supposed to use. This was a week or two ago.

After that, I went to my ASE Certified suspension tech I've worked with for over 15 years. He looked at my tires and said they were fine. My toe setting was 0.0 and the alignment was set the day after I took off the OE tires, 01/10/03 at 1600 miles. I have no cupping/feathering tire wear after 6400 miles. If Nissan has formally issued the Dec.19, 2003 TSB 006b, my dealer hasn't seen it. I don't know how many or how few other dealers have seen the TSB. The Japanese engineers came in November and I was told by an NNA rep a report would be issued in 60 days. It may be delayed, it may not be issued, or it was rescinded. Nothing about this issue has been handled in a consistent manner by Nissan. My best guess is we will have something resembling a solution to our tire problems, and Nissan will take as long as they like to implement it. You are new to this mess, I guess? and haven't dealt with Nissan for long. Welcome.

 

I'm done with the Z. I won my BBB hearing and now I'm waiting for Nissan to cut the check. I don't see any resolutions coming forth for current owners and I forsee too many negatives like low resale value and having to buy tires after 7-10k miles of use.

 

*Clap*

 

If you have had many of the problems I've read here, then you need to do what you think best for you. I haven't had as bad a time as many have and I have a plan to solve my issues. I think I can, based upon what I've learned about the Z in my readings of 100s of posts. Yeah, I've read them all and I believe I can fix it, if Nissan won't. Good luck to you.