Hey all. I realize I write long posts and some don't like all the reading, for you the cliff notes are:

My last set of front tires had wear down the upper sidewall on the outside, from the contact patch to maybe half an inch down. On the inside edge of the contact patch, both tires have a thin strip perhaps a quarter to half inch wide of less worn tire with a mild but obvious step on the inside edge of the contact patch. It looks like feathering, but its only 1 stip on the inside edge of the contact patch. Whats wrong, does it matter, and how do I fix it with a preference for better handling at the autoX.

Picture it attached, I know it sucks, left is outside, right is inside.

For those who want the full story:

I have a question about alignment. I autoX my nearly stock g35 coupe 6MT maybe 3 times a year. I had hankook V12s on the car for the last 2 years only during the summer. I put appox 20k miles on the tires before the rears were ready to be replaced. I just put on Bridgestone Potenza RE-11s all around, stock sizes for factory 19 rims.

My last alignment was at a nissan dealer, where I asked them to align to factory specs for my car.

When I took the tires off recently, I noticed wear down the upper sidewall on the outside, from the contact patch to maybe half an inch down. On the inside edge of the contact patch, both tires have a thin strip perhaps a quarter to half inch wide of less worn tire with a mild but obvious step on the inside edge of the contact patch. It looks like feathering, but its only 1 stip on the inside edge of the contact patch. Again, this only affected the front 2 tires. If this isn't clear, I'll try to draw a picture, I don't have the tires anymore.

My questions hinge on whether or not this is normal for a factory aligned car or not.

If it is normal, would I see better handling (especially at the autoX) if I get my camber more zeroed with the goal of having even tread wear? Would there be any negative effects such as reduced stability or more noise?

If this is not normal, is there any reason to leave it this way, or am I just in dire need of an aliment?

Unecesary speculation: Could nissan have inverted my camber setting, like using +1 instead of -1? Whats the best way to measure camber in my back yard/garage? What is the factory camber setting for 07 g35 coupe 6MT?

 

If you search around you'll see that this happens to all G35's unless you put on an aftermarket camber kit that is adjustable. Nissan/Infiniti use an aggressive camber setup on the front tires which results in premature feathering on the inner edge of both front tires. The fact that you also have it on your outer wall could just be a result of the aggressive cornering from occasional auto-x use.

It's perfectly normal, and I wouldn't worry too much about it. It's part of the G35 ownership that we just get used to. I personally would like to have an aftermarket camber kit on my car so it didn't do that, but the cost is pretty expensive and I don't drive my car enough to justify it.

 

My guess: you need new bushings. I'd get poly transverse link and compression rod bushings. I have only put 3k on my new tires but I replaced all the stuff I mentioned above and have seen little to uneven wear. Before I did this it was very unevenly worn.

 

I have read before about this wear, but I guess I just needed someone to nicely point out that I was seeing it in real life! Thanks so much.

I'll go aftermarket for sure once I save up for some more pressing issues. I'm thinking BC Coilovers, SPC camber kit, and I guess Hotchkis Sways.

 

From all accounts that I've ever read or heard of in person from friends with modded G35's, a nice anti-roll/sway bar upgrade is one of the more noticeable changes that you can do on a G35, and is probably the best bang-for-the-buck improvement over stock that you can do. You'll definitely benefit from this at Auto-X too, since power upgrades are not going to make a huge difference in your times.... although any upgrades will bump you up from Stock class to the more competitive Street Touring class, if not higher.

 

Our Infinities have some wear in the inside quarters due to their OE alignment settings. You didn't mention how many miles you had on the tires you replaced, 20K or more? Find an independent brake/alignment shop in your area that understands alignment and how to do it right, every neighborhood has at least one! When you lower your coupe go with SPL camber kit, they offer the most adjustment. Sways are nice especially when you install with adjustable endlinks to really tighten the suspension down....SPL makes those too!
Gary

 

The tires had probably 18k on them before the rears wore out and that's when I had them replaced. Hard to find a really decent shop in upstate ny, but I will search. Thanks for the recommendations for SPL. Heard great things about them. I'm going on a strict, bring food from home diet starting tomorrow so I can save up faster. I'm not looking to slam it to the flo, but a little more aggressive with some really decent coilovers is exactly what I want. Any feedback on the BC coils?