# 2003 350Z Alignment Service Notice



## pstallings (May 28, 2004)

I've been having pretty noticeable tire growl on my '03 350Z and was pleased to see that Nissan has identified the cause. They sent out a notice about toe-out problems that would cause this noise.

They say they will rotate the front tires left to right and do an alignment.

My question is, is swapping the front tires acceptable? I know they have a preferred/required direction of rotation. I can only assume Nissan is going to mount them with the outside walls on the inside. Is this really acceptable? Will it effect the tires or the handling to be mounted this way?

Any insight appreciated,

Paul


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## Spongerider (Nov 18, 2002)

pstallings said:


> I've been having pretty noticeable tire growl on my '03 350Z and was pleased to see that Nissan has identified the cause. They sent out a notice about toe-out problems that would cause this noise.
> 
> They say they will rotate the front tires left to right and do an alignment.
> 
> ...


If your tire has a outside and inside face then it's not acceptable. What you should do is pull one of your tires off and look for thoses marking. If it has thoses marking make a note and tell the dealership.


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## alserpatch (Aug 3, 2003)

Spongerider said:


> If your tire has a outside and inside face then it's not acceptable. What you should do is pull one of your tires off and look for thoses marking. If it has thoses marking make a note and tell the dealership.


 when radial tires run one direction for lets say even as little as 200 miles in one direction the metal wires and rubber stretch in that direction gravity and mass going in that direction takes affect and they strech for that direction. when you revers the direction they will fail when the tire is reversed it will loosen all the cords they loose there integrity . blister, delaminate, blowout, if the dealer does this i would document it with( copys of the work order) so i could contact my lawyer when my front fender is ripped off IF i lived threw the ordeal. old school rides you swapped drection in a x pattern when you roated tire's call goodyear and ask them and see what they say !the dealer may rotate the tires from front to back but i dont see him swapping left to right inless he has a stoopy going on. mark your tires with a peice of chalk befor you go in and see what they do no high speed runs if they go from left to right. OLD SCHOLL BRO BUILD DATE 1964 
:cheers:


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## JeffDinTX (Aug 16, 2005)

*How many miles for symptoms to show?*

We have a 2004 350Z that we bought new 14 months ago as a second car. It only has a little over 3500 miles on it. Roughly how many miles does it take for the tire wear and noise to start? With the current driving habits, the 36 month warranty period could be over before the problem appears. In the official Nissan statement it used the word "some" owners may experience the problem. Is this really the case that only "some" owners see the problem?


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## Zen31ZR (Mar 24, 2004)

alserpatch said:


> when radial tires run one direction for lets say even as little as 200 miles in one direction the metal wires and rubber stretch in that direction gravity and mass going in that direction takes affect and they strech for that direction. when you revers the direction they will fail when the tire is reversed it will loosen all the cords they loose there integrity . blister, delaminate, blowout, if the dealer does this i would document it with( copys of the work order) so i could contact my lawyer when my front fender is ripped off IF i lived threw the ordeal. old school rides you swapped drection in a x pattern when you roated tire's call goodyear and ask them and see what they say !the dealer may rotate the tires from front to back but i dont see him swapping left to right inless he has a stoopy going on. mark your tires with a peice of chalk befor you go in and see what they do no high speed runs if they go from left to right. OLD SCHOLL BRO BUILD DATE 1964
> :cheers:


Even most semi-performance tires are directional these days, so that's probably a non-issue. They should be smart enough to swap the tires around on the wheels so they maintain the proper direction. After all, there's that big arrow over 2 inches long on the sides of these tires......  I'd say they should just swap front to back, at any rate.


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## letsjustchill (Aug 16, 2005)

*tires*

Couple issues on the swapping of the tires. The notice says they will replace the tires you have, or reimburse you for tires you previously purchased. How ever I am not sure how they swap directional tires and turn them around, but it is possible to do without losing the integrity of the tire so I am told. As far as changing rears to the front and front to rears you can not do that, the Z tires that come stock are not only directional but staggered as well. Staggered meaning larger in rear than in fronts (for anyone who didnt know), so you unfortunately couldnt do that. 

Also to answer someone elses question about how long it takes to see about the tire wear, it can be heard within a couple thousand miles. Also another way to tell if you are getting feathering of the tires is to run your hands across your tires. If it feels smooth when you run your hand across one way, and really rough the other, you may be getting the first signs of feathering.


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## rps180 (Aug 20, 2005)

Yes, it is really the case as only some owners will see the problem. Considering how many 350z's were sold here, I have only seen this problem twice in the past 4~5 months. And, this growl is very noticeable.


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## Bluehydro8 (Apr 1, 2005)

Are there any other recalls and defects affecting the 350z we should know about?


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