My mini sounds like a diesel, I have used the search function and read about the direct injection being the source of the sound. I guess I would just like to hear others say yes mine sounds like a diesel also. Thanks for your input.

 

Yeah, mine chatters like the valves are swapping cylinders when it's fully warmed up and idling. Hums like a well-tuned musical instrument once you get on the gas, though. Everything I've heard and read says it's normal.

 

Yea , with the direct fuel injection system, that is norm, especially in cold climates.

 

Mine too, once it's warm runs great with little sound.

 

Same here.

 

I thought the same thing when I got mine... but you get used to it...

 

Do you have a choice?

 

Yep mine does..I've gotten used to it though.

 

Yes mine chatters as well. Its pretty much every mini out there....at least with our R56s

 

Ha,

These things are whisper quiet,

ever sit on a ducati with an open clutch basket, idling hot in neutral?

 

Read this: http://www.motoringfile.com/2008/02/...issue-exposed/

 

Wow, those videos are scary. Mine just sounds like valve train noise happens the same hot or cold.

 

I had an R56 MC loaner today and the first thing I noticed is that at idle it sounds normal...just like you'd expect from a typical gasoline engine. Why isn't the Cooper loud like the Cooper S at idle?

 

Two words: Direct Injection!

 

I thought both the MC and MCS had DI though and that the MCS just had a turbo.

 

Nope, the MC has port fuel injection with Valvetronic and the MCS has turbo/intercooled DI and variable intake camshaft.

 

Every day I can...man I love my 996! Throw in a set of pipes and you have a bike that most people think is going to fall apart sitting at a stoplight, to me it's music though lol. So getting in the MCS is like getting in a sound proof booth. But yes, mine sounds like a diesel at idle too...my MCS, not my Ducati lol.

 

Yes! Thankfully you can either wait for the R56 replacement with hopefully a BMW solo designed engine. Or buy a used R53! The Tritech was a bulletproof lump and you could tweak the super charger.

 

Regardless, I'd swear my base 2008 MC sounds like a diesel at start up and when idling, but it runs fine and like the others have posted, I'm getting used to it. As long as it runs fine, I can live with that. I remember test-driving the auto MC and really thought, "Dang, this thing is annoyingly noisy". That made my decision for the manual, which seemed significantly quieter.
Greg

 

Grego, the MC is relatively quiet. As I said above, I've got an MCS and today I have an MC and it is pretty much like a normal gasoline car in terms of noise.

 

russr,

Nice color, btw. Maybe relative to the S, the MC is quiet, but the ones I testdrove and purchased (08 MC Mellow Yellow w/white roof) is hardly as quiet as all other gas-engine cars I've been around - as mentioned, they all sound noticeably noisier.
Maybe I just got a noisy one or it's just cantankerous . I'll call it character for now.
Greg

 

GregO, this morning when I started the MC loaner, it was noisier than it generally is at IDLE. This is probably true for a lot of cars though as the OIL is cold and hasn't circulated fully yet. You could always have your dealer check it out to make sure nothing is wrong.

 

When my MC is cold you can hear it clicking away at idle, but after it's warmed up I don't find it unduly noisy. Then again, my last four-cylinder car was a Subaru with the boxer engine so maybe I'm just used to a certain amount of engine noise. Either way, once it quiets down in the morning I think nothing of it.

 

My new S is as quiet as my 02 S was. Guess I'm one of the lucky ones...