The road noise is so loud I can't stand it, can't talk on the phone, can't talk to passengers, I bought some Dynamat and wanted to put in under the carpet, are there directions on how to get the carpet up? How to remove the gas pedal, do I need to take out the seats? Would it help it I put it in the under the hood? I am going to do the doors but that part I think I can figure out. Yes, I know it is my tires. Should I just stick it everywhere I can? I have a 2010 JCW.

 

This forum is meant for the R60 Countryman. I think you might want to post this to the hatch / JWC. The CM I test drove was actually very quiet, and I haven't heard of any complaints about road noise with the CM.

 

I did, well actually I posted in the "How To" section but someone named Drew reposted it here, I wrote to him right away to question his thought process but he has not gotten back to me, it is embarrassing to be here when I am not supposed to be.

 

I am not saying that lack of insulation causes the noise, but tires can be a huge factor. When I swapped tires the interior noises (while coasting...lol) went down by half. I thought I had a bad bearing it rumbled so much. Now, no noise at all.

Just a thought.

 

Huge factor for sure, but right now changing them is not an option, I have run flats, I'm a girl and I don't change tires 'cause it is dangerous to do so here. I just want to pull up the carpeting but there is so much plastic stuff I dont' know how to remove (secret bolts?) - I wish someone would just say how it's done. If you go to your car and look inside you will see that is not easy, they must be a trick to it getting it up and out and back into the plastic sides.

 

Sorry I can't answer your question about the carpet--but-- offer a tongue in cheek suggestion. Cut off the resonator or install an after market exhaust system. It will be so loud you won't hear the road noise.
You may want to post again in R56 general and see what happens. There are lots of folks on the forum who will be able to answer your question.

 

Could try a set of thick rubber floor mats.

I agree with HRM though. Not sure what runflats you have, but a friend of mine likes the Runflat Pirelli Eufori's and at 3/4 to 1/2 life they are so loud we can barely converse....

Could try a set of Conti Runflats. They are quiet, grippy and wear well. Are also the least expensive brand of RF's available.

And dynomat is HEAVY.....adding weight is somewhat counterproductive in many ways as to the MINI as a whole but if you must, start with the doors, fenders and then the firewall.

 

Dangerous to change tires..?

If you go to the "how to" section, there is a thread with videos on how to pull most of the dash apart. After you watch that, most of the inside of the car comes apart in the same way. It's really really really easy to break clips on the interior panels so be careful.

 

To take the carpet up you have to take all the plastic off. Sides, sills, seats. Carpet comes out last and goes in first. I just saw one apart last month due to sunroof/rain event.

Most of the noise is not coming from under the floor though. It is wheel wells, hatch, sides. Granted, they may be under carpet, but it isn't the part under your feet. There isn't anything to make noise there.

 

A good way to start eliminating road noise is to remove the wheel well liners and put a sound deadening material on the back side and reinstall them. If for some reason you wanted to remove the added weight you could simply buy new liners or remove the sound deadening material (general pretty sticky stuff). This is where a lot of your road noise is coming from and does not have a lot of insulation at least on a R53. I know that the R56 liners are a bit different so I am not sure if this still applies.
Steve

 

To the O.P. You've got to be kidding What you are proposing would involve a tremendous amount of work and probably yield minimal results.

Give more thought to changing to non runflats which might be quieter, but not by much. Other than that: you shouldn't be talking on the phone while driving anyway and when talking to passengers, speak up. And if your car is REALLY that loud, talk to your dealer. You may have a problem.

 

Like others have said, I would start by getting rid of the runflats to reduce the road noise. I'm planning on getting Coninential DWS's because many have said they are very quiet. Also, you can get a small air compressor at Walmart for $20 and that should get you to a place to have a flat repaired if you should have one. I've driven for 36 years and haven't changed a flat tire on the road since 1980.

 

To fully dynomat the interior of a car is $$$.
The dynomatt iself is pretty privy per squarefoot....
Then to remove most of the interior....$$ or time....then reinstall...
tires...cheaper...easier....and fixes the issue.
Read up on sound deading....
Dynomatt and other sheet or sprayed on stuff is pretty specfic in application..
Some are better at mass loading....stoping sound from getting made from a item vibrating....
Some better at preventing sound from getting transmitted.....some have a metal layer (like some dynomatt) that helps to reflect sound from the radio back to the inside of the car...
Other products absorb sound.....
Just slapping $$$ and labour intenstive dyno matt everywhere (and heavy)will not get you results you want....you need a bit of a plan.
bet you might have more than a tire issue...an exaust leak pehaps or a loud aftermarket exaust and headset.....and worn tires...all needed fixes (except the exaust/header), but in that case you can make some $$ and trade it back to stock.....

 

Then you already understand the problem. Most tires become noisier with mileage and it seems to happen more rapidly with runflats. Maybe you just need new tires. In any case, some models of tires are noisier than others. Even some non-runflats are noisy. Choose carefully.

She'll have to elaborate but I took it to mean that she drives through areas where she doesn't feel safe to stop and change a tire.

 

Oh wow I was going to come up with a suggestion but, I can't stop laughing about your comment. You're a girl and can't change a tire but, you are willing to pull up the carpet and put dynamat down which requires a heat gun next to the fact that you have to pull most of the interior out. BWHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

 

To everyone who has written in with ideas, here are some answers in no particular order. I am about to drive 4,000 miles in a span of 3 weeks, at some point I will be talking on the phone - I have bluetooth in the ceiling but the road noise is so loud on the highway at 75mph that people can't really understand me. I love great music but listening to it is difficult with the road noise. Runflat tires are about $250 each, not installed, my bulk box of Dynamat was $117 delivered. I am capable of changing a tire but at 95 degrees, or in the dark, or along a highway with cars going by at high speed, or in a section with a small amount of pull out, or sloped ground, or soft ground it IS dangerous. Plus I will have a small dog and a 13 year old kid with me. You know, to ask a simple question and get great answers is wonderful, I have leaned a lot and to all of you that took the time to answer me I thank you. My question was a short one with out much detail but some of your answers now require me to go into stupid minutia to explain my reasoning. How boring. I guess I will send the Dynamat back and buy new tires. And it's "you're a girl" not "your a girl". As in "you're a jerk".

 

Hi, Ninzerbean.

Echoing some of the posts above, excessive noise may indeed mean that something is amiss. I get a lot of noise on occasion, but only from certain types of road surface. My 2010 MCS is generally not that loud, and conversation, music, and (Bluetooth) phoning are no problem at all.

Having said that, I've had the car out in a few very heavy thunderstorms, and driving through a hard rain can be deafening. I don't know if it's the sunroof, the more upright windshield, or what, but the MINI is the loudest car in the rain I've ever experienced.

Cheers,

Spridget

 

The stock blutooth location is known for being pretty bad....
To dynomatt the interior of a car, you just need to attack removing the carpet one area at a time....the plastic trim as mention will mostly need to get taken off...
You can probably leave the seats in....if you do remove them...do not power up the car till they are plugged in....or a airbag light will be set....pretty $$ to reset at the dealer.
Many locations that need the material are behind several layers of items...moldings, wiring, and assorted other junk.
Generaly, doing a job like this is pretty intutitive....you work on removing one item, then determine what is blocking that step....and remove that part...then do the next part....
a good aftermarket sound install ocation (not a best-buy install joint, but true pro shop) can do it...but you already own the materal...with the curves involved, a thick spray on material made for sound froofing is kinda common..kindalike bedlinrt for a pickup truck, but differant, made for sound....adding a layer of foam under the carpet is next.....
dynomat is popular mostly because of sponsorships and advertising....can work, but depending on application (metal backed extreme to reflect interior sound to prevent deading a radio to matain volume for competitions..) can work....but not simple.
my run flat experance...once the tires were worn over 50% or so got loud...
expensive to replace....
So just got regular tires...and if the flat is in a bad spot, then just desttroy the rim, drive a bit...get to a safe spot....call AAA. still cheaper than a new set of runflats.

 

Would it just be easier for R56 owners to just "relocate" the Blue Tooth Microphone from the passenger side to the Divers side.... WHERE IT SHOULD BE in the first place ?

I honestly can't figure out why it was designed that way, and the designer should be flogged. A MINI techy guy out there could make some serious $$$ with a relocation kit for this problem....I hear this all the time.

Until then, MINI sells a new visor mounted portable blue tooth device from Alpine. It is compact, attractive, and has one button operation. Has a great microphone and sound and can be mounted on the drirvers side of the vehicle.

That may help for now and be a cheaper fix.

Safe Motoring NB !

 

Mine is in the ceiling right in the middle between driver and passenger, it works great except while driving down the highway. What is an R56 anyway, there are a lot of references here I am not familiar with. Thank you.

 

Thanks ZippyNH, I know about the airbags, good info, I'm just giving up and getting new tires for the trip. Thank you for all your good ideas.

 

You'll love new tires compared to the Runflats Don't let the snarky tone of this thread turn you off NAM, people here are usually very nice

R56 refers to the generation of MINI. R56 = Second Gen, 2007-Current.

A breakdown from Wikipedia:

R50: "Mk I" Mini One & Cooper (2001–2006)
R52: "Mk I" Mini Convertible (2004–2008)
R53: "Mk I" Mini Cooper S (2001–2006)
R55: "Mk II" Mini Clubman and D (2007–present)
R56: "Mk II" Mini Hatch/Hardtop range (2006–present)
R57: "Mk II" Mini Convertible (2009–present)
R58: Coupé (not yet launched)[64]
R59: Roadster (not yet launched)
R60: Countryman (2010–present)
R61: Paceman (not yet launched)[

 

Do some research online here in NAM and any other place you can find. You don't want to get new tires that are known to be a loud as the originals.

 

Or our drivers seat is on the wrong side . Clearly it was designed for British configuration, and MINI either completely missed customizing for LHD or didn't think it was worthwhile. It only shifts the microphone about 6 inches which isn't going to make a big difference.

There seem to be more serious problems with the MINI Bluetooth microphone than placement. A lot of people have complained on NAM about difficulty being heard on the microphone, even after repositioning the microphone, or in the convertible where the microphone is on the steering column.

 

Hmmmm, I have had two minis, both JCW, one a 2004, and my present one, a 2010, both had the mic in the ceiling in the middle. The one in the 2004 was so bad that it made me think my new one was great, in comparison it is.

I have read a ton of stuff now about tires, there are lots of compromises to make, thanks to all for your help, I know that when I reply it doesn't always go underneath or on top of the reply I am replying to.

Thank you for the info about the R codes. My R53 had the best stereo ever, this one, another HK is just terrible. New speakers are arriving tomorrow so will be taking off the door panels anyway to install speakers (I did buy a panel tool so as not to break the doohickies) and will put some Dynamat in at the same time. It costs too much to send back!