Hi Colin,

That's a shame Terry has also not has any satisfaction yet.

I'll see what I can find out about how widespread the issue is. My dealer is a joint Nissan/Infiniti store so the service manager was well aware of the 350Z issue. In fairness to him I don't want to repeat here on the board exactly what he said to me today but your spidey senses are likely right. I also am curious to know what the specs were before they did my most recent alignment to fix the problem. BTW this new alignment was sublet out to another store they own here - a Toyota dealer since the Infiniti alignment machine was on the fritz for several days they had my car.

Funny thing is before I bought my car I asked the sales manager whom I, know if the G had the same feathering issue as the Z and he wasn't aware of any with the Infiniti. That was a consideration when I bought this baby.

My car has about 14k on it and I expect the rear tires to give me at least another 7-8k or so. The fronts will not only due to the abnormal premature wear (feathering) but would otherwise look to do the same or better. In my mind it's not right that a new car with 12k on it that was realigned at 700km to correct a slight pull to the right should have the kind of identical tire wear on both fronts it now has less than 12k later. If the vehicle required more regular alignments to maintain proper specs owners should have been informed. And not have to pay for this inherent design quirk with premature inside front wearing tires and the cost of "flipping" the tires. The fact 350Z cars had this tire problem that was acknowldeged and through goodwill compensated by Nissan, shows the problem exists. It is disappointing to hear Infinti owners are not being treated as well.

 

It's really unfortunate that some have to suffer though this issue.
I really feel for the guy that has waited years to finally be able to afford a nice car.
Then has to deal with something like this.....

I for one will be very interested to see what changes are made to the suspension, when the "new" '07 comes out.

 

No-win situation for Nissan. Dial back the aggressiveness of the alignment and suspension geometry and people will complain the car doesn't handle well.

 

....or hire some people from places like Porsche, Mazda or Honda who can build aggresive suspensions that don't prematurely wear out tires.

 

Yep, how true.

You can be sure there will be changes in '07.

 

Thanks for all the input guys........

I think the answer for now, at least with Terry's Coupe, is to back off the alignment settings to a non-aggressive state to give at least moderate tire life, unfortunately at the sacrifice of some handling.

The distressing part of my brother's problem is that whatever is wrong with the suspension seems to be worsening, and the prospect of buying new rubber every year is not sitting well, as you can imagine.

Do let us know, Deane, how your trip to the dealer goes next week.

C.

 

The worsening part is the worst sounding part... I don't have enough kms to comment on that yet.
We'll be sure to let everyone know if my chat unveils anything new. Like I said I don't really think it will result in anything at all but we'll certainly try.

 

Umm, interesting thread. Maybe now I need to pay closer attention to my tires which I have not. My 04 coupe with 11k and the tires look fine with no probs. I was under the impression that it was only a Z problem, but reading the thread makes me think maybe it's spreading over into the G community....

Many of the Z peeps went through with hell with Nissan and the tire roaring / feathering problems till a CLASS ACTION SUIT was initiated which finally got Nissan's attention...... Hello, can you hear me now!!! Prior to the class action suit all the complaining they did like some of you folks have been doing went on deaf ears.

Being that the Z community have 'been there and done that' pertaining to this problem I would suggest that anyone who wants to delve into this further to go over to the my350z.com message board and do a search on feathering and or tire roar. There are a ton of posts there on the subject. You will see some peeps that were happy with the outcome and some that were not...... draw your own conclusions. IMO, too little too late. That was my take on it as an observer who didn't have a dawg in the fight.

I hope that those who are experiencing this problem get it to a satisfied resolution.

Sorry for the intrusion from the yankee below....
Colin can spank me....LOL

 

lol, Neil, your input is always welcome, my friend. TNX.

It seems that Nissan won't budge much until they're threatened....
Right now it would help to determine how widespread the issue is, and go from there.
Thanks for the suggestion to visit My350Z. It'll be interesting to read what Z owner's take was on their 'resolution'.

Take care bro, and thanks
Colin

 

LOL, NP Colin. Gotta take care of you man, it's a tough job but someone has to do it......LOL
Who luvs ya baby !!!!

On a more serious note, here are some threads to get ya started.

http://www.my350z.com/forum/showthre...ght=feathering

http://www.my350z.com/forum/showthre...ght=feathering

.... and here's what came out of all the garbage from Nissan for all the peeps in pain.... read it and weep boyz.

FRONT-END ALIGNMENT WARRANTY EXTENDED ON 2003 AND 2004 NISSAN 350Z MODELS

LOS ANGELES, CA. (August 8, 2005) – Evoking emotion, passion, and excitement are key principles behind every Nissan product. For more than 30 years, the Z has been a testament to this philosophy. And thanks to many Z owners around the world, they have carried on its rich tradition and legacy and have made the Z one of the finest performance cars on the road today.

As part of its commitment to continuous improvement and customer satisfaction, Nissan North America (NNA) has announced plans to extend the warranty relating to the front-end alignment on all 2003 and 2004 350Z models.

In late April of 2004, owners of 2003 350Z vehicles were notified regarding the Front Wheel Alignment Warranty Extension. The Warranty Extension was in response to customer concerns about an irregular wear pattern which was occurring on the inner edge of the front tires. The wear pattern caused a noise described as "tire roar" or "tire growl". Customers with 2004 350Z cars were not included under the Warranty Extension at that time as any vehicles which exhibited similar issues would be covered under the vehicle’s original New Vehicle Limited Warranty.

Nissan closely monitored this situation and investigated customer comments received via letters, emails and the internet, in addition to the company’s own research. Based on this information, Nissan recognized that while the incidence of this noise was significantly reduced, for some customers the situation was not fully resolved, and that some 2004 350Z owners were also experiencing the same situation. After a thorough assessment, Nissan identified that, in addition to correcting the front-end alignment, a new tire with a slightly modified tread pattern, more resistant to “heel-toe” wear together with correct alignment, virtually eliminated the incident. Vehicles equipped with these tires have experienced virtually no incidents of tire noise.

To demonstrate its commitment to customer satisfaction, Nissan is extending the warranty for front-end alignment due to tire noise until 36 months from the in-service date or October 31, 2005 (whichever is later) and unlimited mileage for 2003 350Z models, and to 36 months and unlimited mileage on 2004 350Z models. The warranty extension ensures all owners will receive an effective repair, including in some circumstances replacement of their front tires with the new tire design, if they experience tire noise during the extended warranty period. Customer notifications will be sent out beginning today.

“Z owners are very loyal owners and they love their cars,” said Jed Connelly, senior vice president, sales and marketing, NNA. “We listened to what our Z owners had to say and looked into the matter. Extending the warranty not only demonstrates our confidence in the 350Z, but also our commitment to customer satisfaction.”

 

Thanks Neil. That's some great reading for all.

I'd love to see that EXTENDED WARRANTY HEADING for the G's one day.
C.

 

Well played.

 

Thanks very much O NO. That is helpful information and the links save a lot of time. I was much the same as far as watching the tires. I wrongly figured Nissan had the problem corrected before I bought.
Live and learn I guess.
BTW our Yankee friends are welcome here anytime especially when they are patient enough to listen to our whining and then actually offer some help.

 

Touche.