# 350 Z Eating Front Tires



## nickludlow (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi,

I purchased a 2003 Z in Sept 2005. The car had 20K miles and new tires. I have 27K miles on it now...but my front tires are badly cupped. Has anyone else suffered from the same issue?


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## GMTURBO (Jan 16, 2006)

nickludlow said:


> Hi,
> 
> I purchased a 2003 Z in Sept 2005. The car had 20K miles and new tires. I have 27K miles on it now...but my front tires are badly cupped. Has anyone else suffered from the same issue?


There was an issue with the early Z cars - I think the issue was more feathering but not cupping.

Here's a quote from another site.

The tire feathering problem seems to affect 03's and early 04's exclusivly (or nearly so), as production switched to another location for the 04.5 (unofficial) model year and some running changes were incorporated..

Changes were made from 04.5 on to alleviate the problem and they have been, by and large, successful, primarily involving a different alignment at the factory.

Also even the 03's can be addressed realitively easy, if you have truly competent help.

The early cars came form the factory slightly mislaigned which was a big part of this problem ( the rest from aggressive sports car camber, combined with soft tires and customers unrealistic expectation in Tire longevity on a sports car)


Once the alignment is set to the number specified by the TSB, which is -.20 toe then the problem disaears in nearly all cases I have been aware of.

key is, it has to be a <competent> alignment shop.
A lot of those computereized alignment racks get operated in a way ( green light = good, but an entire range of specs can make it green) were good results are not guarnteed.

Based on conversations w/ multiple highly qualified Nissan techs if you have avery good aligment rack you can solve this problem in a single visit.

Also Nissan came out wiht an new R040 tires for teh Z which is reinforced on the inside and make teh tire much less sensitive to less-than-perfect alignment.

I would not hesitate to buy an 03, becauyse i am confident with the help of my local quality Nissan dealer ( R Nissan) any problems that come up can always be fixed readily.

Tire feathering in my mind has been made ahuge boogeyman, but it really isnt such.

There are even a couple lawsuits out which I am sure will go nowhere as there is nothing wrong with the cars.


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## R34MAN (Jan 10, 2006)

I too have a 2003 Z and I have been going through tires like toilet paper. I did however receive several recall notices in the mail in regards to it. After taking the car back to the dealer they aligned the front end and replaced my front two tires. Shortly after that I went ahead and bought a nice set of 19" rims and tires and to my disapointment, watched the front tires wear right down to the cords. I just got it back from the dealer again and they refused to replace the tires again due to the fact that they are so expensive and they basically told me that I should not have waited so long to bring it back to them. To be honest, I couldn't see the damage that was being done to them considering how low to the ground that the car is. And as far as fixing the problem goes, there are several companies that make the corrective parts for it. Kinetix is a small company that I talked to about this and they guarantee that the parts that they have for it take the problem away. I am considering selling my Z as I have already spent over $1,200 on front tires alone in the last year. Good luck with it.


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## nickludlow (Jan 17, 2006)

I have contacted my local Nissan dealer and advised them of my issue. They asked for the vin # of the Z, I gave it to them. After a few mins they told me that Nissan had already replaced the tires on my Z and therefor I don't qualify for replacement tires as the replacement campaign only allows for one set of tires to be replaced. I have contacted a lemon law layer and asked for help.

I will never buy another Nissan again and will do my best to discourage anyone I know from buying a Nissan. Nissan produced defective cars for two years and should be held accountable.






R34MAN said:


> I too have a 2003 Z and I have been going through tires like toilet paper. I did however receive several recall notices in the mail in regards to it. After taking the car back to the dealer they aligned the front end and replaced my front two tires. Shortly after that I went ahead and bought a nice set of 19" rims and tires and to my disapointment, watched the front tires wear right down to the cords. I just got it back from the dealer again and they refused to replace the tires again due to the fact that they are so expensive and they basically told me that I should not have waited so long to bring it back to them. To be honest, I couldn't see the damage that was being done to them considering how low to the ground that the car is. And as far as fixing the problem goes, there are several companies that make the corrective parts for it. Kinetix is a small company that I talked to about this and they guarantee that the parts that they have for it take the problem away. I am considering selling my Z as I have already spent over $1,200 on front tires alone in the last year. Good luck with it.


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## R34MAN (Jan 10, 2006)

I feel for you when it comes to the front tire issue. They gave me the excuse that I stated before about me waiting too long to address it. I can't believe that they said that you were only allowed one set of replacement tires. If they did NOT fix it right the first time, they should replace the tires again and fix it right the second time around. I would advise you to call Nissan North America and file a complaint. I have done this in the past and received a very fast return call from one of their representatives who wanted to do whatever they could to cure the problem that I had at the time. I honestly think that it boils down to your dealership not wanting to be responsible for the tires themselves. Not to worry though, as I think that once Nissan hears your complaint they will demand that the dealer that you originally took it to for repairs, will have to fix it once and for all. I wish you luck with it.


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## skcusloa (Jan 23, 2006)

Yeah, just go a step above them and they'll fix it.

I work as a tech and I HATE the warranty. They warranty everything. I've replaced gauge clusters because someone punched them, I've replaced steer wheels because they were dirty.


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## SonsofWisdom (Mar 29, 2004)

skcusloa said:


> Yeah, just go a step above them and they'll fix it.
> 
> I work as a tech and I HATE the warranty. They warranty everything. I've replaced gauge clusters because someone punched them, I've replaced steer wheels because they were dirty.



OH DAMN man I knooooow what you mean...warranty time pays shit too...less than half what it should pay. warranty suchs for techs..not sure how nissan warranty pays but toyota's SUCKS!!! well on most things



As to the tires ...sounds like an alignment issue NOT a tire issue...so chill out a bit....nissan makes good cars...just cause your new Z has an alignment issue and the dealership is a bunch of idiots doesn't mean all the cars are bad, I don't get why they replaced tires if they feathered...that's alignment...high road force or runout are problems with tire manufacturing, not feathering or cupping. 

As to rims...rims can change the alignment angles...need to make sure the alignment is still on...after any change to suspension or rims.

Do you know if the checked alignment at all or just put on tires? Talk to the service manager...let 'em know they put on tires...and that's a misdiagnosis...it needs an alignment...if it's had one...and it's been less than a year since that alignment (well for toyota the work is warranty for a year) then they SHOULD have to correct it...just relax and think...you can get this fixed but not if you're hot headed...cause then even the service manager won't care..

You can do the lemon law...but in order for that (in Tx anyway) it has to go in for the same problem 3x's...and each time it has to have work done...or something replaced...and if that work does not fix it then it applies for the law...and a used car I don't think applies only brand new


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## Beltane70 (Jul 17, 2002)

> I will never buy another Nissan again and will do my best to discourage anyone I know from buying a Nissan. Nissan produced defective cars for two years and should be held accountable.


This is one of the reasons why you should never buy a car during its first one or two model years.

I wouldn't rule out Nissan just because one dealership wouldn't help you out. There's two Nissan dealerships near me and their costumer service quality is as different as night and day. Since most dealerships are independently owned, there's a vast different in how well they provide service.

The two Nissans, both Sentras, that I've owned have been very tough cars and have survived everything that I put them through. The second of the two I still own, and after 200,000 miles, it still runs quite well. It still has the original clutch and the most major repair so far has been the replacement of the CV shafts just yesterday.


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## trackmjt (Jan 16, 2006)

You shouldn't rule out nissan because of those problems. I just bought an 04 350z with 30k miles that never had the problem fixed and I thought I was going to get stuck with paying to have it fixed. The service guy at the dealer somehow got it covered under warrenty and I didn't have to pay a dime.


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## spdracerUT (Jun 11, 2002)

Whenever I get my car aligned, I WATCH them do it and have them align it to my specs.


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## law (Feb 8, 2006)

skcusloa said:


> Yeah, just go a step above them and they'll fix it.
> 
> I work as a tech and I HATE the warranty. They warranty everything. I've replaced gauge clusters because someone punched them, I've replaced steer wheels because they were dirty.


your not alone there. I'm a nissan tech as well, Its not realy the warrenty but the service manager who wants CSI to stay at a good level so they give things away even when its the customers fault. But on the other side of this if you deny the claim the customer runs and cries to nissan and you fix it anyway.. 



> nickludlow I have contacted my local Nissan dealer and advised them of my issue. They asked for the vin # of the Z, I gave it to them. After a few mins they told me that Nissan had already replaced the tires on my Z and therefor I don't qualify for replacement tires as the replacement campaign only allows for one set of tires to be replaced. I have contacted a lemon law layer and asked for help.


Your car had the tires changed and you didnt know this?
Lemon please!!!!!!!


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## Outkast (Jan 29, 2006)

nickludlow said:


> I have contacted my local Nissan dealer and advised them of my issue. They asked for the vin # of the Z, I gave it to them. After a few mins they told me that Nissan had already replaced the tires on my Z and therefor I don't qualify for replacement tires as the replacement campaign only allows for one set of tires to be replaced. I have contacted a lemon law layer and asked for help.
> 
> I will never buy another Nissan again and will do my best to discourage anyone I know from buying a Nissan. Nissan produced defective cars for two years and should be held accountable.


But did they do the correction to the alignment too?? I never get to do the alignments after I put tires on but I believe it's suppose to be -20 degrees camber. But I can't be for sure till I have the TSB in front of me.


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## Vega (Oct 3, 2003)

Anyone find that the - 20 camber is working? Or does this still not solve the problem?

best tires? and how long should they last?


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## omicron (Dec 22, 2005)

I recently replaced my front tires on a 2003 Enthusiast with Goodyear Eagle ResponsEdge and I am liking them alot. Much better than the OEM Potenzas. Haven't had a chance to see the wear, but can't be worse than the soft Bridgestones.


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