After taking a test drive in a 2010 S model, I noticed some road noise while on the freeway. I also heard from a friend that this gets worse the longer distance you drive(don't know what that means exactly). Does the road noise get worse with age?

Any input on this subject is appreciated.

 

Well, as certain tires wear they do get louder. I also suppose that as rubber bushings in the suspension age, they get harder and thus transmit more NVH into the cabin.

Despite my sound proofing measures, I still use circumaural hearing protectors on long highway trips. Anytime you get out of a high sound environment and things seem quieter, hearing damage has occurred. With the hearing protectors, external sounds post-egress are louder or normal. So no hearing damage.

 

I haven't noticed any more road noise than any of my other cars. I made a long trip in it and noticed no changes.

Dave

 

I have road noise after all it's a MINI, but it stays the same no matter how long I drive and the pavement type and condition.

 

Agree with others - I have no increased road noise with now about 16, 500 miles.

 

turn on the volume or wear ear plugs!

 

I think that Cornhusker nabe nailed it -- road noise is heavily tire dependent. Certain tires are naturally noisier than others. Tread wear rate and pattern contributes to it over time. A set of rear tires that haven't been rotated in a while will wear asymmetrically due to the natural negative camber, and the tread pattern on some tires may induce cupping on the inner half. Excessive toe-in will exacerbate the issue. Now if you then rotate them to the front, they will sound like you have off-road jeep mud-busters mounted.

Invest wisely in your tires, rotate them frequently, and keep things in alignment -- you'll enjoy minimal noise intrusion. In my case, my Megan cat-back pretty much dominates any noises coming from the road...

 

I think it is all subjective. I know there is road noise but it does not bother me at all. Though when I had my Flaken 452s they were significantly quieter then my current BFGoodrich T/A KDW 2s. It might be size too, my Falkens were 215s and my BFGs are 205s. To me its function over form everyday of the week. I would rather be able to drive like a race car driver and deal with the loss in comfort.

 

I drive everywhere with the windows down...

Seriously though, ALL cars have road noise, but I have less road noise in the MINI than the Mazda 3 I traded in for it. I haven't noticed any more than in either of may parents cars and significantly less than in my sisters (its a Hyundai with a HUGE exhuast that makes it sound like its constantly breaking wind).

Alignment does make a big difference, as does making sure all the wheels and tires are in good shape (no bends, bulges, tracking straight, etc).

Does anyone know if the hard side walls on the run-flats do anything to increase road noise?

 

The Dunlop run flats that came with the car and the F1's were both very loud as the tires aged. Could have dragged cinder blocks across concrete and it would have sounded the same.

 

There is a huge difference in road noise between runflats and non-runflats. I have taken runflats off several different cars and replaced them. In many cases it makes the difference between being an acceptable car to drive on the highway and not acceptable. And, yes, runflats do make more noise as they age.

 

Well, we'll see, I'm not going to replace my runflats, they don't seem noisy to me, and I'll run them 'till there's no tread left.

Dave