Anyone else getting feathering on their 03/04 sedan?
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 6,573
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From: Kansas City
Anyone else getting feathering on their 03/04 sedan?
I've got a mild feathering problem with my 03 G35 sedan (Z springs front, coupe springs rear). The feathering issue didn't rear it's head until I got the OEM EL42 (215/55R17) replaced with Avon M550s and did an alignment (never got aligned after 1.5 years of driving on Z springs). The only thing that was out with the alignment was toe which was approximately +0.05 on each side (ie positive toe). Within 4K miles of the new tires and alignment, I was getting some tire roar and noise that wasn't there. I attributed the additional noise to the stickier and wider contact patch of the 215/55R17 M550. To my surprise during a tire rotation at 5K miles, the front inner portions of the tires were feathered. Nothing hugely dramatic, but I could definitely feel it. I swapped the tires front to rear and the noise went away. Now I'm at 4K miles and the noise is back again. Luckily the rear camber is such that it's ground down the feathered edges on the back tires.
After some research, directional tires like the M550 have a tendency to feather, especially on a multi-link suspension like the G's. It also turns out that Nissan has had the same feathering issues not only on the 350Z/G coupe, but also on the 300ZX and the Q45. The recommended course of action is as follows:
1) Rotate the tires every 3-3.75K miles
2) Pull toe in to max (-0.16 total on the G/Z)
3) Stay away from directional tires
4) Ideally, find a tire that uses a connected inner tread block. Bridgestone actually redesigned the OEM Z rubber with a new tread block design to combat the feathering.
5) Consider sourcing out the 05+ "revised" springs and struts from the Z. The higher dampening struts may be the key to reducing the feathering.
After some research, directional tires like the M550 have a tendency to feather, especially on a multi-link suspension like the G's. It also turns out that Nissan has had the same feathering issues not only on the 350Z/G coupe, but also on the 300ZX and the Q45. The recommended course of action is as follows:
1) Rotate the tires every 3-3.75K miles
2) Pull toe in to max (-0.16 total on the G/Z)
3) Stay away from directional tires
4) Ideally, find a tire that uses a connected inner tread block. Bridgestone actually redesigned the OEM Z rubber with a new tread block design to combat the feathering.
5) Consider sourcing out the 05+ "revised" springs and struts from the Z. The higher dampening struts may be the key to reducing the feathering.
I had it after I installed 05 z suspension, but I never got the car aligned. So after I installed the nismo suspension I got an alignment and rotated the feathered tires to the rear. Like you said, the camber in the rear knocks down the feather edges. I just rotated the tires again and noticed very very little feathering. I still have road noise which I contribute to the tires. Friday I will take the car and have the tires reverse mounted.
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