Ghost
12-30-2006, 10:15 AM
Here's what I know. My car developed feathering on the inside edges of both front tires around 4500 miles, the point at which the feathering became audible and annoying. They continued to get progressively worse until I could no longer stand listening to them and swapped them out at 7100 miles.
I started by filing a formal complaint with NNA on Dec. 18 regarding the feathering issue. On Dec. 23, I was contacted by NNA and informed that feathering is a KNOWN issue with Nissan Tech (thanks to several of you demanding new tires) and that I should make an appointment with my dealer so that they can speak with them and correct the problem. As previously stated, my dealer could not get through to Nissan Tech, but did make corrections to the toe-in (the ONLY thing that can be adjusted on the Z33) and remarked that, "it was WAY out of spec." This troubles me a bit because I had previously had my alignment checked and corrected on my dime by an independent shop based on the specs directly from the Z33 Service Manual. I was also *told* that a TSB is forthcoming with regards to excessive toe-in on some cars. My hunch, and this is purely speculative, is that perhaps the spec for the FSU (Front Suspension Unit) included in the first pressing of the Z33 Service Manual both in print and on CD is in fact NOT correct.
If you've had your front tires replaced under warranty (and they looked as bad as mine) and you DID NOT have significant corrections made to your toe-in, I honestly believe that you are NOT IN THE CLEAR and that your tires will feather once again within a few thousand miles. For an idependent shop to adjust toe to factory specs and for my dealer to say, "it's WAY out of spec" just doesn't jive and I feel that a bit of info is being held back to supress a mass of free alignments to be performed by the dealer network.
****update*****
I have since purchased a set of front A-arms, and rear camber arms from SPC to correct this problem myself. I have also purchases a set of Tanabe GF210 lowering springs. They will lower the car 1" in the front and 1.2" in the rear. They are also 30% stiffer than the oem springs. As soon as I get done with Lara's MSP rebuild (AGAIN) I will post pics of the installation.
Ghost
I started by filing a formal complaint with NNA on Dec. 18 regarding the feathering issue. On Dec. 23, I was contacted by NNA and informed that feathering is a KNOWN issue with Nissan Tech (thanks to several of you demanding new tires) and that I should make an appointment with my dealer so that they can speak with them and correct the problem. As previously stated, my dealer could not get through to Nissan Tech, but did make corrections to the toe-in (the ONLY thing that can be adjusted on the Z33) and remarked that, "it was WAY out of spec." This troubles me a bit because I had previously had my alignment checked and corrected on my dime by an independent shop based on the specs directly from the Z33 Service Manual. I was also *told* that a TSB is forthcoming with regards to excessive toe-in on some cars. My hunch, and this is purely speculative, is that perhaps the spec for the FSU (Front Suspension Unit) included in the first pressing of the Z33 Service Manual both in print and on CD is in fact NOT correct.
If you've had your front tires replaced under warranty (and they looked as bad as mine) and you DID NOT have significant corrections made to your toe-in, I honestly believe that you are NOT IN THE CLEAR and that your tires will feather once again within a few thousand miles. For an idependent shop to adjust toe to factory specs and for my dealer to say, "it's WAY out of spec" just doesn't jive and I feel that a bit of info is being held back to supress a mass of free alignments to be performed by the dealer network.
****update*****
I have since purchased a set of front A-arms, and rear camber arms from SPC to correct this problem myself. I have also purchases a set of Tanabe GF210 lowering springs. They will lower the car 1" in the front and 1.2" in the rear. They are also 30% stiffer than the oem springs. As soon as I get done with Lara's MSP rebuild (AGAIN) I will post pics of the installation.
Ghost