tire wear issues

[Gfunk]

Alright, so I've put about 8,000 miles on my car and it sounds like it has mud tires on it. I am getting fairly extreme wear on the inside edge of my front tires, cupping, feathering.... whatever you call it.

I went to the dealer at lunch to have him take a look. Both he and his lead tech agreed that these cars "eat tires" and it is something I should learn to live with. I disagree that 8,000 miles is acceptable, I was hoping for at least 20,000 out of the fronts.

Either way they are gonna align it for free and we'll take it from there. At the same time I'm having them look at the noise and seat movement, axle clicking, and fuel filling problem. Lucky me! I still love this car though, even if it will cost me thousands per year in tires.

I talked with Infiniti and they said if there is something out of adjustment (alignment) or broken, they will cover the tires. If not.... I'm gonna get screwed.

I've read about a class action lawsuit on the 350Z but nothing on the G.

Anyone else seeing this extreme wear and what has been done by Infiniti to fix it?

[Jaylin]

If you are seeing a feathering type of wear than the camber is off...unfortunately our cars run a negative camber anyway, but the tires should last around 15-20k depending on your driving habits.

[Gfunk]

so are other people seeing this issue too, but not as early?

[Jaylin]

Yes and no, I rotate my tires everytime I change my oil...I have alittle over 19K on my car and my tires are fine...but other people have had these same problems. Performance tires also wear faster than normal...

[msb3079]

ahhh... camber....


if some of you remember... i recently installed Tien S. Tech springs and needed my camber adjusted.
well, i finally got to the one place on my area that would do the alignment and camber. (everywhere else said it was too low - even tho it was only lowered an inch)
the place i went to is GREAT - it is in Camden, NJ called Schimpf's - they have been there since 1920. because the place is so old all of the racks are flat on the ground and the mechanics work underground (sort of)

but anyway... when i went in this is my camber:

rear: Neg 3.5 both
front: Neg .5 left, Neg 2.0 right

the best they could get the rears was 2.5
the fronts got a lot better when the rears were adjusted plus they did something with the crossmember (?) to get them to 0.

so -- i will need to get a camber kit for the back... however, it does drive better and is visually better for now.

[GZire]

While we do have an aggressive camber, it's not as bad as the Z. The Z guys' feathering/cupping is more of an issue than us.

If your tires are cupped then it is an alignment issue. This being the case I'd ask Infiniti to cover about 50% of new tire costs. I agree you should see about 20k out of the tires unless you are a really nutty driver.

[ckforensic]

Originally Posted by Jaylin

Yes and no, I rotate my tires everytime I change my oil...I have alittle over 19K on my car and my tires are fine...but other people have had these same problems. Performance tires also wear faster than normal...

You rotate your tires everytime you change your oil??? How much does it cost to take the tires off of the rim, remount, and balance them everytime? It's cheaper to just buy new tires 5k miles sooner.

I have 33k miles on my fronts now and I should still be able to make it through the fall before replacing them (40k total miles). My rears were replaced at ~23k.

[Gfunk]

Ok, I admit I am a "spirited" driver.... but not nutty. I tend to take corners a little faster than the average driver, but never to the point of breaking loose or creating noise. Ok, so maybe I have thrown the ass end out a couple times but nothing to crazy.

I'm hoping that this alignment comes back out of whack so I can push for a free set. If not I'll be looking for a slightly more durable tire and give up some performance. I'll be watching the Nitto thread to see what people think.

[accordfreak]

i'm having the same problems. i have about 12k miles right now. The dealer told me the same crap with the agressive camber from the factory. At .5 camber for the front, it shouldn't eat tires THAT fast. I'm going to take my car in for a tire rotation (taking the tires off the rims) It should last me awhile more.

[Kalmairn]

Originally Posted by Jaylin

Yes and no, I rotate my tires everytime I change my oil...

..uh. How on earth do you do this? The G35c's tires are directional and the rears are different from the fronts. You'd have to to remove the tire from the wheel and remount it in the opposite direction - then, you'd only get side-to-side switching.

I've got 9k on my G, I've probably 50% tread left, and that's with some seriously hard driving. I also knew that the tires would wear out quickly before I bought - although not due to Infiniti or the dealership warning me, I just know how sport tires are - so this is not at all unexpected.

Kal.

[errett]

I just put new tires on ours at 30k. Fronts were still in good shape but LOUD and the rears were gone. I switched to the Bridgestone Potenza S-03 Pole Position. Cost about the same as the Michelin, so we shall see how they turn out.

[lovechild1970]

Originally Posted by Kalmairn

..uh. How on earth do you do this? The G35c's tires are directional and the rears are different from the fronts. You'd have to to remove the tire from the wheel and remount it in the opposite direction - then, you'd only get side-to-side switching.

Kal.

Would that be worth anything? Would it hurt performance anyway?

[Kalmairn]

Originally Posted by lovechild1970

Would that be worth anything? Would it hurt performance anyway?

Ehm, there's the risk of damage to the sidewalls. You'd possibly save cash, particularly if your tires are badly worn on the inside or outside (but not both) and still have good center tread.

Kal.