Hello all, this my first post , been lurking up till now.
I have 2000 miles on a lighting blue 07 MC, sunroofs and 15 in wheels with contintal tires. Bought it off the lot at Long Beach Mini. Great car good milage and a lot of fun to drive, quite a change from the Dodge 4x4 pickup that it replaced.
The only thing that I would complain about is the tire noise, I have not had the car on a rack yet so I don't know what is in the wheel wells (other than the wheel). From just looking from the side it seems like there is a fiber liner, I was thinking that it could be removed and maybe something as simple as undercoating could be applied to the inner wheel well. I have done this on other cars and it would cut the noise by 1/2 at least.
I searched on this site but no one else seems to have tried it, is this out of fashion or just not the way it is done now.
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Carson

 

Aloha and welcome to NAM.

For road noise including tire noise, you can-
Add sound deadening material to the insides of your interior: Floor, doors, panels, boot area like dynamat or similar.
Add undercoating- yourself via spray on cans or comercially (adds weight too).
Drown it out with a loud stereo upgrade
Drown it out with a loud cold air intake for the Cooper S and an even louder aftermarket exhaust system (with header no cat if needed).

Or you can get different tires that ride quietly.
205/55-15 or 195/60-15 will work fine with stock 15" wheels.
All Season tires will wear longer and be comfortable for road use.

Talk to Alex@tirerack.com if interested in more info.

 

You could change to all-season tires. They run a bit quieter.

 

From what I have read about the tires (contipremiumcontact2) they are listed as a quiet tire.
I will contact alex and see what he says.
As for the undercoating , I wonder why there is no mention online of anyone who has tried it ? I don't think that it would add as much weight as some of the insulation jobs that I have seen on this site.
Does any one know what the purpose of the fiber liner in the wheel wells, is it a noise reducer from the factory ???
Thanks minihune and driverphil for your posts.
Carson

 

Got the email back from Alex (tirerack), he said for what I wanted he would reccomend Michelin Primacy MXV4, Anyone out there tried that tire?
Is undercoating a bad word here on NAM
Carson

 

Check your warrenty book or owners manual, somehere in there after market undercoating voids the body rust thru warrenty. I two have wondered about the fiber fenderwells, I have runflat 16"s and don't care for them, noise or ride, will be changing them after some more wear. Let me know what you end up with and if the noise decreases.... Mike

 

Thanks Mike I will look in the manual.
I can see how it would trap water if applied wrong, however I have used it before and did not have a problem.
I am in the same situation as you are with the tires and would like to get a little more use out of them.
Carson