The road noise is killing me. Do you guys have any solution?

 

Get rid of the run flats!

 

Turn the radio up!

 

My R60 is quieter than my R56. Run flats do add some noise and handling anomalies. I'm with gregc "turn the radio up!" and drive it like you stole it!

 

Picking the right tire to replace the run flats with can make a world of difference in road noise. I couldn't believe how much quieter mine was after dumping the 18" run flats.

 

Thanks guys and I need to think about that option since I have 3K miles.

 

I swapped the runflats in my Clubman with Kuhmo Ecsta 4 tires. I have to admit, they were quiet, performed well, and are much more compliant. Since I traded for the CM, I'm back to run flats. I think the CM ride is naturally a bit softer than te Clubman and so far I don't find the tires offensive.

 

Buy the tires you want and sell the RF's on Craigslist.

 

Drive a 1st Gen MINI for a week. You'll be amazed at how quiet the Countryman is by comparison! :-)

 

Which tire did you pick and any chance of pictures?

 

Countryman is soooo much more quiet than my wife's R56. What kind of tires do you have? I have the Goodyear stock summer tires and they're not noisy at all.

 

If you hate the noise now, just wait till the runflats wear down.

 

You could also try adding some DynaMat inside the door panels, under the rear wheel wells, maybe inside the boot. That should help, but would take some time.

 

I was reading a post about using dynomat on r56's and am considering doing the same thing. I'll be sure to post if I do.

 

I threw on a set of khumo 4x's. The difference in road noise is staggering. I highly recommend it

 

Thanks. I might need to follow this suggestion when I receive my new CM.

 

I posted in the "what did you do.....today" section but I decided to try some rustoleum professional grade undercoating in an aerosol can. I finished the rear wheel wells last night and was impressed by a 2 db reduction in road noise at both 45 and 65 mph. I am waiting for the front wheel wells to finish drying as I type this. I am hoping for more significant reduction in sound but it may not be so easily achieved since there really is no front part of the fender well so I could only spray from the strut tower to the rear.

 

I gained another 1db by spraying the fronts. I was a little disappointed by the results and think I will dynomat the doors and b pillars now. My numbers thus far are listed below. I took some measurements from my partner's convertible as well as a loaner for the sake of comparison.


Sound levels

2012 Mini Cooper S with sunroof
45mph- 74db. *65mph-76db.*

2012 Mini Cooper Convertible.*
45mph- 74db. *65mph-77db

2012 Mini Countryman S 18" non-run flats*
45mph- 74db. *65mph-79db

Rear wheels sprayed
45mph- 72db. *65mph-77db

Rear and Front sprayed
45mph- 71db. *65mph-76db

 

Just did a round-trip run from DC to Hershey, PA on Zaftig's stock tires. All highway, but lots of variation on road surfaces and speed. All I can say is; it's a good thing I have the HK radio and a handy volume control. By way of comparison, we also made a run to Blue Bell, PA in the 2011 BMW 535i, also with stock tires. It was almost as bad.

Sealy - Who thinks there might be a common thread here.

 

I run my RF at 40 PSI, noise gone and I get on average 29-34MPG.

Before you make any opinion on getting rid of your RFs, check out the videos on youtube. There is a reason the Germans (BMW) have put RFs on all their cars, it's safer than regular tires, also safer than using donuts (half tire spares).

I had a flat for two days, I drive between austin and san antonio (couldn't make time to get it swapped out).. Countryman ran heaver and I pushed it past the 50mile recommended limit, but two days and over 200 miles on a flat - no damage to rim.. no blown tire, no changing on the side of the highway..

Only negative was the hefty $425 from MINI of San Antonio to replace (no one else had my tire), but future solved this by buying a full set of brand new rims/wheels on ebay for $1k (heck of deal). So if I get flat in the future, I'll buy the wheel on the internets for $220 (confirmed price), have it mounted for $25 (confirmed discount tire).

 

What size wheels/rims? I'm getting my countryman s with the 18"s in a week - anybody here have recommendations for PSI for those babys?