Friend with 03 z has had his tires replace by Nissan about every 10k miles. At 30k the dealer installed the new tread tires and set the alignment to the updated spec. This dealer has been servicing his car since March 03. On the last 3.5k service he was told he needed rear tires. The dealer did not note that the front tires are severly cupped on the inside. I noticed the noise as my 05 with 8k is much less noisey.

He has 40k miles on the car and is reluctant to complain to Nissan. I think Nissan should be responsible for failing to fix the problem.

I should mention that, if my memory holds, his previous noise was the result of tire feathering, now it is cupping with randum 2" to 3" cups on the inside treads

 

ya nissan needs to adjust the tires or whatever...he should complain cause it re-occurs too often

lol my parents change the tires on their saab 95 every 20k miles..... 10k is half that and 3.5 is less that 1/5

i'd say its a problem.....unless he raced those 3.5k miles

 

I thought cupping was a symptom of improper balance or worn shocks. Not exactly the same as the feathering problem which was a result of front toe-in.

He can try but I doubt that Nissan will do anything about it. The TSB covered feathering. Other tire problems would be considered the result of normal wear and tear.

 

I did not pursue the causes of cupping because it's both sides and earlier discussions often referred to the tire damage as cupping. I also notice that the tread with the cupping is hotter to the touch. This guy used to race and was on indy pit crews. Can't believe he would miss these defects, but he did miss the noise until I mentioned it.

 

There are several potential reasons for cupping.

Cupping can be caused by an unbalanced tire condition, faulty wheel bearings, loose parts, fatigued springs or weak shock absorbers. Check the condition of the shock by forcefully bouncing the front end of the car several times and releasing it on the down stroke. Failure of the vehicle to settle after two strokes suggests worn shocks or struts.

Reference: http://www.partsamerica.com/Maintena...reProblem.aspx

 

This problem is actually caused by improper camber. It's not really cupping or feathering. There is no real fix yet.

 

I would expect camber to wear the tires evenly on the inside and not in chunks.