I hope that I'm wrong but after reading some of these posts it sounds like the tire feathering " fix " is more like an attempt to mask the problem rather than actually fix it. This includes the ' 05s. Hmmm ... ?



Post Edited (Jan 3, 4:37pm)



don't believe the hype, the bottom lines is that there is no problem with the suspension, there is no problem with the tires....
the problem is because nissan made the 03's with "x" amount of toe.
Nissan realised "x" amount of toe was wrong....but it was way late ...not only had they produced many cars they had also put out into cyber space . drum roll please.........the alignment specs with "x" amount of toe!!!
oh hell, you know what that means , every alignment shop across the us of a had put spec "x" in their alignment machine...now ask yourself this question... self, how many of those half ass shops cared or bothered to put in the new spec? Right , not many.. besides it was to there advantage.
then over the next year tires feathering left and right, duh.....nissan figured this, THATS WHY YOU 03 OWNERS KEEP GETTING NEW TIRES.
You say but my 04 has feathering? Whatever so did mine but after i got new tires AND a before and after readout of the alignment (the magic spec between .08 and .11) ta da 4000 miles later no problem.
to sum it up people, GET A BEFORE AND AFTER READOUT , MAKE SURE IT IS WITHIN SPEC.

NNA runs this site!!!



No offense, but I'm an 03 owner, #197, and I've had 4 alignments and 3 sets of tires, each time with "New" specs, and yes my before and after specs were different.

I honestly feel that there is more to the problem than just an alignment, and we've heard many theories, some are even quite plausible. Aluminum flexing, soft bushings, alignments, oh and my all time favorite... the tires are the problem.

I'm not the only one that feels like Nissan either just really doesn't give a dam or doesn't have a clue. I still find either hard to beleive, but after 2+ years of a run-around, I simply have learned to accept it as an inherent fault in the suspension design. Could be worse(wheels falling off for example), but I enjoy driving the car waay too much to go through the whole lemon law or even take the car in constantly for "new" alignment specs.

I'm actually more surprised at the after-market community for not coming up with a "true" fix for the issue. I mean, we get plenty of grounding kits, intake pinwheels and wings big enough to make our cars cruise at 10k feet. But I'd like to see some hard insight into what truly needs to be done.

People say well I've got 3k, 5k, 7k, miles without feathering because I did this or that. Let me know if you have no signs of feathering at 10k, 15k, or even 20k. If your tires are bald yet evenly bald that's when I wanna know what magic you possess.

Just my 2cents.
Vission



Cheers vission1!

I agree with you 100%.

-Zanioed '03 Le Mans Sunset Touring Coupe w/ Nav.





>1z4u2c : z32d00d, Checking the before and after alignment specs from a
>machine that is not calibrated is kinda like kissing your sister, whats the
>point?
>take it to another shop!

Letsee.. all shops not calibrated, thus misaligning all the cars they do, or 1z4u2c's theory is wrong.. I'm going to have to go with the latter.



((Author: z32d00d
Letsee.. all shops not calibrated, thus misaligning all the cars they do, or 1z4u2c's theory is wrong.. I'm going to have to go with the latter.))

Just the shop(s) you keep taking your car to. You know nissan made thousands of 03's and 04's, i would guess there's about 5 of you on this site that KEEP complaining.
Be proactive and take your car to a reputable shop.
You may have a camber problem on your front end , you should look into what it's supposed to be set at...btw i know it's not adjustable but would be interesting to see iff it's off.
oh and for you other wannabees......(read my sig)

NNA runs this site!!!



After market tires are not a magic cure. I had Eagle F1's installed on my '03 at my expense about two months ago. Had alignment checked immediately after and it was to spec.

With just under 3000 miles on the F1's I can feel the heal-toe pattern developing on the inner edge of the tires. The only real difference seems to be a high pitched whine when driving on smooth pavement instead of the monster truck roar you get with the Bridgestones.

My conclusion, there is a very real geometry problem with the front suspension. I suspect the camber significantly decreases (gets more negative) during even moderate cornering and braking. The more aggressive driving you do, the sooner the wear will become evident.

I also believe Nissan knows the cause but has done nothing to resolve it due to the costs involved in redesigning and retro-fitting the suspension. The problem will likely remain until the first major revision of the 350z. (2007? 2008?)

Fiddling with the alignment may help extend the life of the tires, but will never eliminate the abnormal wear. Current and future owners must accept that the problem exists and decide what to do about it. For me, the 350z goes away within a year and I will never own another Nissan.



Author: tx350z
Date: Jan 5, 2:38pm

After market tires are not a magic cure. I had Eagle F1's installed on my '03 at my expense about two months ago. Had alignment checked immediately after and it was to spec.

With just under 3000 miles on the F1's I can feel the heal-toe pattern developing on the inner edge of the tires. The only real difference seems to be a high pitched whine when driving on smooth pavement instead of the monster truck roar you get with the Bridgestones.

My conclusion, there is a very real geometry problem with the front suspension. I suspect the camber significantly decreases (gets more negative) during even moderate cornering and braking. The more aggressive driving you do, the sooner the wear will become evident.

I also believe Nissan knows the cause but has done nothing to resolve it due to the costs involved in redesigning and retro-fitting the suspension. The problem will likely remain until the first major revision of the 350z. (2007? 2008?)

Fiddling with the alignment may help extend the life of the tires, but will never eliminate the abnormal wear. Current and future owners must accept that the problem exists and decide what to do about it. For me, the 350z goes away within a year and I will never own another Nissan.

//////////////////////

Well stated.





Could be because the other 34,995 have dumped their Z's replaced them with something well-built and reliable.



Sorry to hear that some of you are unhappy. sptbiz your kinda on the are on the right track however. All Z cars I have ever owned needed some fiddling. They are just so sexy though. The girls love them and they are a blast to drive don't you think?

MAKE NO MISTAKE THIS IS A Zism.

My '04 had feathering at 5K. Alignment was out. (-0.6mm total toe) Now the specs are in and no more feathering (1.6mm total toe). Camber/Caster spec were not changed they were perfect. Set back went from .35deg to -.03 degree during the adjustment. That is good too. This makes total sense to me. 2.2mm toe might not mean much to most people but if you think about the suspension and when it does on acceleration and braking you definately want that positive toe in. Most car have toe set postitive in this way. A negative or toed out condition causes the wear on the inside tread.

Alignment started at 15:14 and ended 16:09 almost an hour to do all four wheels correctly once on the rack. That is what you would expect from someone that knows what they are doing.

Think about this, if you have too much toe in the outside will wear too fast as well. It is a balance. You can tune this a little to your driving style as well. If you are racing all the time you might want a little more toe in. If you cruise on the freeway a little less toe in scuffing can get you a tad better gas mileage and less outside treadwear. These only gain you very small improvements on the road. But on the track a overly positive toe can help on hard acceleration if you are expriencing a little shimmy down the straight. You want to keep everything under control and straight down a track you know. Too much toe in tire wear and slower times due to scuffing of the tire. It is all about balance.

This will be a never ending story for the Z. Frankly, it seems to be a problem on all Z's I have ever owned. '81, (2ea) 84's, 86. On the '81-86 Z's rear tires you are lucky to get 10K out of a set they wear so badly on the inside of the tire. You can adjust it a little but if you go to a 235-60-16 tire on the stock rim it changes the geometry to everything flatten out and you get 35K out of a performance tire. I learned this lesson fast. I too could not afford to buy tires every 10K. Sometimes you just have to play around with a sports car. You have to know exactly how to set up a Z suspension. They are different from other cars out there and they are sensitive to the adjustments.

Man if the tire feathering is all I have to deal with on this car for the next 200K like my 1984 300zxt that I am still driving it's going to be a sweet ride for a while. I'm sure I'll figure it out even if I have to buy a set of nice wheels and tires. Oh darn !!!! I can also see how the tires with connected blocks on the outsides or solid tread like the old Yokohama 008 would do really well. 008 were made for this specific reason too bad they don't make them anymore. More meat in the turns on the track too.

It could be worst .... like defective engines that other cars have.
Try to get one of those replaced for free. Tick, tick, tick .... "no that normal." ha !!

I do feel for you folks that are not getting the service from your dealer though.
Just go to another dealer. One that actually wants your money next time around.

Anyways, I hope this helps someone.

Enjoy the ride ....

"Racing is life. Anything that happens before or after is just waiting"
Quote - Steve McQueen


'04 350Z Silverstone 6spd
Previous owner of 240, 280, and 300 Z's