Nissan 350Z

jrsimpleman · March 2005

I know, Habitat is probably note even on this site anymore, but I've seen this a few places and thought I would post my thoughts here

To help you understand the "Musclecar man," it is how everyone else says, it's a preference. Although to help with the understanding, it's actually very simple. If you have ever felt a rush of power, or surge of enthusiasm, which you are unable to control, then you know how they feel. For instance, sit in a 1970 Boss 429, 1971 440 Cuda, or 1967 Shelby GT 500 (i know, old unique cars, but this is where you no doubtingly will feel what the "Msuclecar man" feels). These cars idle and it's like music, where as when they hear a V6 (it's more like a buzz or a hum in comparison). Then when they Rev the motor of a true V8, it rocks that whole car and you can feel it vibrate in your feet, that is what we look for. Then finally, when you lay into, and there is so much torque that the frame bends a 4200lb car and the car can burn off a set of tires in about 1 minute that's it. It doesn't have to do 0 to 60 in 3.5 sec, but it will compete with a majority of the cars and he knows what he has, but in the end... it's the feel and rush you get from the V8... There's nothing like it in the world, it's something about raw power that makes life a little more tolerable. Oh and no I don't own a muscle car, my dad does (1968 428 Cobra Jet); I actually own a 2004 350Z R (Black, APS TT, APS exhaust, APS Plenum, and pushing about 435 HP). Yes, I beat him in all aspects on the road, but there is so many days I just go to his house and switch, to take the Stang and just feel and hear the engine.

lothario · March 2005

I experienced feathering and roaring and my tires replaced 3 times. The third time it was prorated since they didn't want me to come in again. The first two times were free of course. My suggestion to anyone thinking about buying this car is to WAIT until they finally resolve this issue. I beleive it is the structural design of the suspension causing this. Also, alignments do not work. The car also drifts to the right within seconds after letting the steering wheel go on a smooth straight street. Customer service has been extremely poor not because of the dealer, but NISSAN itself. SO PROSECTIVE BUYERS, JUST WAIT UNTIL THIS IS FIXED, IF EVER, BEFORE BUYING. IF YOU CAN'T WAIT, THEN BUY A DIFFERENT CAR.

jrsimpleman · March 2005

Actually, I have seen it fixed, and stay fixed. On my Z personally, I have yet to experience the issue, and I I pray I do not have to. But, a friend of mine was reading on a forum, and I stated it before on here, that you should try to have your car "mechanically aligned," not a computer alignment. I do not know why, but it's worked for him, and others from what I have heard. Although, I have heard of people saying it hasen't worked, but you know... If I had the issue I would sure as hell at least try it.
Just my $0.02

rally_rules · March 2005

guys, came across this thread looking for some info about diffs people are using. nothing here on that issue but came across your tyre wear issue. manufacturers are in a spot here, particularly ones trying to get cornering performance. to go 'round corners fast there is no substitute for a bit of camber. but.... camber causes wear if you don't drive hard often enough. my evo6.5, setup for tarmac rally, used tyres at an alarming rate, and by the time my 350 is ready to rally, i'd say it will too. it's all a bit of a trade off.

qbrozen · March 2005

While I do agree with you, I dare say that, in this instance, putting on decent tires from the factory would help cornering much more than engineering the alignment in this way. Just doesn't jive with me that they can claim its aligned this way to help cornering, but they put on these absolutely horrible tires.

fish8 · March 2005

What other cars do you know of that are "engineered" in this manner that sacrafices tire wear (feathering) for increased cornering. Doesn't sound like a good argument to me. Porsche designs all their cars for superior handleing and they don't have these wear issues.

qbrozen · March 2005

I don't. You'd have to ask rally_rules. Looks like he says his Evo was the same way. So I guess that's one.

It is, however, the argument I've heard for our Zs being set this way. Like I said, I have a hard time buying that reason when they sacrifice cornering by putting on crappy tires.

dbauer · March 2005

S2000's tires wear out in a very short time as well. 10k miles is a point most plan for replacement.

lothario · March 2005

You guys are forgetting about the roar that comes with this feathering. Trust me, it is extremely annoying and aggravating! The stock tires wereBridgestone Potenza RE40s. Like i said, WAIT UNTIL THIS FIX BEFORE DECIDING TO BUY THIS CAR. Will save you alot of headaches!!

lothario · March 2005

I have to turn the radio volume really high to drown out this noise/roar from the tires!!!

rally_rules · April 2005

I promise I won't have any more to say after this... Really, what sort of car do you guys want? Complain enough and Nissan will fix it alright, they'll loose the camber, the taught springs and shocks and put tiny sway-bars on. They'll take off the nice (but stiff and harsh) aluminium wishbones and arms too. What you'll get is another hairdressers car! If that's what you want, go buy a Lexus! You want 50,000 out of your tyres? Go buy a Hyundai. Manufacturers should be applauded for making cars that rail against the "sanitization " of modern cars. Me? I'll have the noise, the tyre wear,, the harshness and the nervous tip in of not running much front toe. The last thing we need is another dumb slush-box on the market! Maybe you should suggest to an Evo owner that Mitsubishi should take the tyre roar and harshness out of the Evo (I'd make sure you were in running shoes first..)

fish8 · April 2005

I think your completely missing the point!!! If, as you suggest, Nissan manufactured the Z to handle as if on rails and the tire wear is just a by-product then why would Nissan buy back my fathers Z if it was built to Spec?

Bottom line is the car was engineered incorrectly which causes premature tire wear. If the car did not have tire wear issues Nissan would of NEVER bought his car back.......it's just not good business.

letsgobucks · April 2005

Well after long nights of research, several hours of "friendly talks" at the dealerships, it pains me to say I am going to pass on the Z-Touring. Such a shame because it is such a thing of beauty, and quite honestly a much smoother ride than I expected. Main reasons why I am passing on this car:

1) WAY too many people complaining about the tires. I asked the dealer about the tire problem and he said, "Nissan fixed this with the 2005 models". Well not according to a lot of what I have read on here (and other boards). In addition, I took one out for a spin this week, and noticed a smell like burning rubber. Keep in mind I didn't "peel out" or push the car over 65, thus I concluded the tires are as bad as advertised.

2) I am not fortunate enough to keep this as a "summer car" and garage it in the winter. I read many reviews of people highly suggesting to garage this car in the winter and to not even bother. My counter to that was to invest in some snow tires, but to invest at least 1k on snow tires, without knowing how much benefit they would actually provide, on a leased car to boot, just didn't seem like good business sense to me. Not that Columbus Ohio is in the snow belt, but it does not sound like this car likes adverse weather, and it's a sports car so really I should expect this. Like someone said earlier, if you want a nice comfy plush ride then get a Buick (I would prefer a Chrysler 300 myself).

Anyway, congrats to those who either live in warm climate year round, or who can afford to garage this car in the winter. For those still looking and trying to get some pricing deals, this was the "final" offer I walked away from.

2005-Z Touring MSRP $38,800
12,000 miles, 42 Mos, $4500 out of pocket (includes taxes since Ohio now
collects taxes up front on a lease), $436 a month....

Personally I think I could have gotten them to come down $500 to $4000 out of pocket, but no point in wasting their time since my mind was made up.

lothario · April 2005

letsgobucks,
you made the right decision. i applaud you. unless they completely fix this issue, do not buy this vehicle yet. there are other sports cars out there also. they will not fix this issue unless a dramatic drop off in sales occurs. you did the right thing.

gschultz3 · April 2005

I am shipping my 2004 350Z touring coupe ( 2004.5) to Buffalo from Florida this week. It has 19" wheels with Toyo tires and hasn't seen 3000 miles in 9 months. I haven't noticed any problems with the tires but I still have the original 17" wheels and tires. I don't have any plans to drive it in the snow. I understand your concern but it does not seem everyone has the feathering problems?

germancarfreak · April 2005

I don't care what anybody says, even though german cars are the best, this car is freekin sweeeeeeeeeeet!!!!!!!! :P

letsgobucks · April 2005

Hmmm, Florida TO Buffalo? Isn't it normally the other way around? :-) You are right in that not everyone has problems with their tires, but it looks like for every 10 postings I read, 8 were affected by it, so the odds would not be in my favor. I am not suggesting to anyone they not buy the car, it was the tire reason mixed with the winter conditions here as to why I passed on it. If I lived in warmer weather or had money to burn for buying new tires every 7k miles then I would get the car in a heart beat.

Lastly, I got a few emails from people asking how did a 2005 car that I walked away from have 12,000 miles on it aready. I apologize for the confusion, the car had 9 miles on it, not 12,000.. the lease offer allowed 12k miles per year.

qbrozen · April 2005

well, the problem with reading message boards like this is that you will typically see more problems and they will be magnified. Folks are more likely to seek out a place to vent their issues than they will to talk about how good their car is.

The dedicated Z boards on the internet have much more positive feedback about the car than this board here.

dklanecky · April 2005

I agree with gbrozen that the dedicated 350z boards have no where the incidence of reported tire problems that Edmunds Town Hall contains.

Edmunds does a great service involving a lot of people initially in the on line car forums, but most people seem to move away to model specific forums with a lot less restrictions on the free and open communication of resources and problem solving than Edmunds format allows.

Of course, not too many of the competing forums are trying to make a profit either, so you can certainly understand Edmunds Town Hall operational rules are out there to protect the business model.

gschultz3 · April 2005

Another message board mentioned that Edmunds had an unusual number of complaints about the tires. My Z arrived from Florida. I forgot how much I missed driving it ....... it's a blast except for all of the potholes still left over from the winter in Buffalo. Must remember that with 19" wheels there is not much rubber between the road and the wheels!

qbrozen · April 2005

well, to be fair, I wouldn't say its an unusual number of complaints. Maybe an unusually high percentage based on total posts, but even dedicated Z boards have hundreds of complaints about tires, but its a much lower percentage based on total posts. Am I making sense? I just don't want anyone who has had problems think we are trivializing it, that's all.

gschultz3 · April 2005

Hope I never have the problem. I understand !

cazdriver · May 2005

I might need some help. I purchased my 2004 350 Touring Z in 02/04. I already have 25K miles on it. I started noticing humming noise from the front tires during deceleration and braking at around 15K miles. Although, my brother drove my car and noticed the defect much earlier. So, thinking it was the brakes, I had them checked. The Nissan dealer told me nothing was wrong with my brakes. They actually had the tires off the car at that time and did not tell me about my excessive tire wear. I tried to live with the noise but it was getting louder. It is more of a roar now. I just had my car at the dealer today and they told me my front tires were "cupped and feathered" and I was responsible for paying the $930 for two new tires and an alignment. I was aware of the suspension troubles with the '03 350Zs but I thought it was a specific problem to the 2003 models.

Did I wait too long to take action? I want to challenge Nissan and make them pay for what I think is the obvious suspension problem that lots of other 350Z owners are having. I am worried about driving the car with that much tire wear.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

cdnpinhead · May 2005

Yes, there is a tire "issue" with this car.

The part of your post that caught my attention, though, was the $930 quote for two tires & an alignment. Where I come from, an alignment is under $100.

Help me understand why two tires are worth $830.

fish8 · May 2005

Please read back over this Z board (especially in the problems section) and review what people have experienced with the Z tires. It is a major problem with these cars...BTW: Nissan bought back my father's '03 Z for this same tire problem. Also, they replaced his tires every 7K miles. Fight Nissan and they will relent.

miata007 · May 2005

What's worst about this tire feathering probem is the dealers are still trying to make every owner pay for the new tires/alignment despite the fact that this is a well known problem to all 350Z. That's ridiculous!!! Nissan should be completely responsible to this issue util a total solution is made. I am too not buying one at this point until I can be assured the problem is rectified.

007

jlettie1 · June 2005

I was ready to purchase a 2005 350Z. I had heard rumors about the excessive tire wear. I questioned the salesperson about the problem and was told that there is no problem. I checked E-bay and two friends who own a Z and both stated that there is a problem. The tire manufactures will not honor the warranty and is trying to pass the buck to the dealership. I was told that the wear is due to the suspension. Both friends are trying to sell there cars. I immediately cancelled my order. Good luck

qbrozen · June 2005

I still can't get over how powerful this car can be when you hit the gears just right. Just this morning I took off hard from a light, took it to about 6K RPMS in first, then pushed it hard into 2nd ... getting the tires to spin a bit at that point turns me into a giddy schoolgirl everytime.

graphicguy · June 2005

I think it's hard to know where to place the blame. On the one hand, you've got some people stating that the suspension geometry is to blame. On the other, you've got some saying it's the OEM tires to blame.

What I do know, "Z" rated tires aren't going to give the same mileage as Mom's Michelins on her Camry.

Tire warranties are separate from the bumper-to-bumper warranties given by Nissan.

I can see this being a hassle trying to use the tire manufacturer's warranty and them saying it's a Nissan issue. I can see Nissan stating that it's a tire manufacturer issue.

All that said, I've driven many cars with Z rated tires. None of them lasted longer than 25K miles. Most gave up the ghost well before that.

miata007 · June 2005

graphicguy,
We all understand that performance tires give up mileage in exchange for hi traction. But does it sound reasonable for a tire to have this feathering problem/noise at 6000 mi?

007

qbrozen · June 2005

I really need to upgrade my tires ASAP. These stock tires have horrible traction. Launching at 3K RPMs produces nothing but wheelspin. Whereas this is fun, its not very productive.

graphicguy · June 2005

miata....I do think that 6,000 miles can be considered premature wear if they are feathering and it is something more than just unusual. That said, what do the tire manufacturers say? Are they covering them under the tire warranty? If not, why not?

I've had Z rated tires wear out with as little as 12,000 miles on them, however. This was a while ago, but they actually only carried a 10,000 mile warranty at the time, so I was SOL. This was a while ago, though. I don't know if the tire warranties have gotten any better since then.

Does your car handle or ride any differntly....enough to make you suspect that there's something wrong with the suspension?

I have heard of the issues with premature tire wear with the 350Z, but I thought they had been sorted out by Nissan.

starchecker1 · June 2005

Unfortunately the tire wear issue is not solved. Interestingly it seems some people don't have it. However, those that do, nothing seems to solve it regardless of tire manufacturer. New alignment numbers and rotated tires just delay the problem from reoccuring for a few thousand miles.

I personally wouldn't complain if I could get at least 15,000 miles out of the front tires, the rear ones seem to last longer. But only replacing front tires once per year at $400 isn't a big deal, but when you have to replace them at 6 - 8K that gets annoying and expensive.

There are intermittant reports of people putting on upgraded suspension and new rims and tires that report the problem going away, but for everyone who does all that and claims to have cured the problem, there is another who did the same thing and still had the problem.

Those that do the "Nissan fix" almost always have the problem come right back.

Again some feathering is fine, my tires started feathering almost immediately, I hear that is normal in sports cars, but when it gets to bad that the tires whine and roar at different speeds, that's serious feathering and very annoying.

Sorry for the long post, but I have kept my eye on the boards for the last 6 months and every now and then new people come along who don't quite understand the situation and think the problem has been solved, but this post represents about everything I have concluded from all the posts I have read. Hope this helps.

scanty · June 2005

It's a high horsepower rear wheel drive sports car, yet people are having problems with the front tires! Lots of folks with sports cars have been on a schedule of replacing rear tires twice for every time the front tires are done. But to have the opposite problem? Something is wrong.

Sounds like there is fundamental flaw in the suspension geometry, or spring rates, etc. and it's probably not going to get fixed for good until Nissan revises the design.

graphicguy · June 2005

star....sorry for your inconvenience. The 350Z is a fine car.

But, it does sound like a geometry issue as others have mentioned. It seems like it's a problem with the front suspension geometry, too. That's something that's not easily fixed until the 350Z is up for a redesign.

By comparison, my departed RX8 had almost 20K miles on it when it was totalled. I was thinking at the time that the tires would have to be replaced in another 5K (probably less) miles. I rotated them religiously every 3K miles, though. Never saw any feathering, though.

As stated earlier, 6K-8K miles out of tires means something's "out of whack".

I'm sure the tire manufacturer (what tires does the Z come with?) is putting pressure on Nissan since they're probably getting quite a few warranty claims, too. What does the tire manufacturer say when you try to make a warranty claim for the feathering issue?

qbrozen · June 2005

I've read plenty of reports from folks on Z-dedicated boards who have NOT had the feathering return after tire replacement and an alignment.

Yes, I've also read plenty from those who have had the problem return, but there is no way I can back up the statement "However, those that do, nothing seems to solve it regardless of tire manufacturer. New alignment numbers and rotated tires just delay the problem from reoccuring for a few thousand miles."

qbrozen · June 2005

I'm pretty sure there is no warranty on these from the tire manufacturer. Kinda makes you wonder why, doesn't it?

These are the Potenzas, right? For some reason, I'm drawing a blank on what specifically came with my car. I'm pretty sure they are Potenzas. RE040?? Anyone?

Well, if it IS the tires I'm referring to, TireRack states there is no treadlife warranty and the uniform wearing warranty is only for the first 1/32". What a joke.

qbrozen · June 2005

Oh, ya know, I guess I should retract my jab at Bridgestone for not having a warranty on those tires. I just checked a bunch of performance summer tires and NONE of them offer a warranty.

And, actually, even the All-season tires offered by Avon have no wear warranty.

Guess that's the nature of the beast when it comes to sportscar tires.

farscape · June 2005

I was at a Nissan dealership May 29th and May 30th and was told by two different salesmen that Nissan will not be building a 2006 350Z in order to increase the interest in the car. I've looked online all week trying to find news about this and have not seen any. I originally thought it was a tactic to move this one Z-car they've had on the lot for over a month but it was odd for it to be said by two different people. Is this true? I'll gladly provide the dealership and sales persons names if its allowed on this forum.

starchecker1 · June 2005

If it is true what may be the real reason they are holding off on the 06 is to give them time to redesign the suspension. They don't want to put out another 36,000 cars that could give them problems down the road. If it really is just to renew interest in the car, that would be cool too, there are already too many of them on the road where I live now.

For the reason they stated I don't know if any other manufacturer has done such a thing. Usually they just pull the car and that's the end of it. I hope they aren't planning on retiring the design for good.

nissan350z · June 2005

Even if Nissan does cancel the 350Z after this model I am sure the G35 will continue to live on.

graphicguy · June 2005

That's the silliest thing I've heard. It's their "halo car" and always sells well. There's no reason I can think of for them to cancel it. I'd consider this a poor rumor.

farscape · June 2005

I agree. But the two different sales persons were pitching it to me.

ajs1969 · June 2005

Hi all,

I am thinking of buying a used 350Z. Have sadly heard about the tire feathering problem. My question is it specific to certain models of the Z or does it affect all types...track, touring, enthusiast etc...?

Thanks

graphicguy · June 2005

Sounds like salesperson BS to me. If I were you, I'd ask them their source for making such statements. If that's true, Nissan would have at least sent some sort of memo to the dealers stating that they don't plan on offering '06s "to generate more demand for '05s". I'd ask both of them to let you see the memo or some sort of proof of their claim.

More likely, they are trying to get you to buy something off their lot as an '05 instead of waiting for an '06. The old ploy of "get one now, becasue tomorrow it'll be gone never to return" is something that is used all the time. Only this time they "tweaked" it a little.

Although, I wouldn't do business with these types of folks, I'd hold thier feet to the fire to prove their claim just to see how they "wiggle" out of it.

qbrozen · June 2005

It has already been reported (most notably in Autoweek), that the '06 Z will have interior updates. So I will take that to mean that there WILL be an '06 for sale.

Definitely sounds like salesman BS.

qbrozen · June 2005

Nope. No specific reasons via model, wheel size, region, whatever.

Big questions you need to ask yourself are what model year you want to buy and will this be your only car? There seem to be a greater number of '03s affected than '04s and even fewer '05s. Of course, there are theories that this is due to a greater number of '03 owners who have high enough miles to discover the problem. But, YMMV.

This is probably a poor choice as a person's only mode of transportation. Poor poor weather traction and, if you develop the tire feathering problem, frequent replacement of front tires would become troublesome.

nissan350z · June 2005

From what I know not all 03-05 have tire problems. Mine is a 2004 that I got new and don't any tire problem yet. If Nissan sells close to 30k Zs a year not all of them have feathering. There are many that don't have tire problems. So you just have to take your chance.

farscape · June 2005

I thought the Traction Control and Vehicle Dynamic Control options would be helpful in poor weather. They sound like great ideas i see in alot more cars now.

Does anyone know if an automatic transmission and vehicle dynamic control can be ordered as an option on 350zs other than the anniversary trim level?

qbrozen · June 2005

Unfortunately, they really do nothing in this case. Basically, the car has to have SOME traction for those things to work, and, at least with the stock tires, there is zero traction to be had.

VDC is standard on the Performance, Touring, Track, and Anniversary models. Out of those, however, an automatic can only be had in the Touring and Anniversary models.

Nissan 350Z

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