Greetings. when i get the car up to speed, the front left side tire makes a horrible noise, almost like its been dragged on the road surface, so naturally i had a full balance, alignment done. but still the noise is there, i can vaguely feel a light vibration on the steering also. i had my wheels checked to see if they were bent or dented, but it was all good. I test fitted a friends set of tires/ wheels but it still reacts the same way. could this be because i have a slight mushrooming on my left strut or some other suspension issue?
also, the other tires look normal but the one in question is "dotty".
tires are 17" bridgestone Potenza non-rf. thanks!

 

Sounds like it might be a bad wheel bearing, or dragging brake, etc.
I'm betting the wheel bearings ate toast....a new hub (bearings preinstalled) will fix it. There are several post describing a bad wheel bearing, the sounds, and what to look for when wiggling the rim while up on jackstands.
One thing to look at...is the top of the strutmount cracked? There is a bearing there....

 

Did you do a road force balance?

 

He stated it made the same noise with his friends tires/rims...
So we can safely say it is suspension or otherwise on the CAR, and not a tire issue unless the actual tire is wobbling from a bad alignment...leading to the vibration and the noise...if it was due to tread, desgin, balance, or a failed belt, or even a bad rim, the sound would not have happened with his buddy's rims/tires.
car has been alignment, tires and rums ruled out...so time to look at the suspension and bearings.

 

Zip, Could be anything including lots of things you did not mention.

I would still try road force (cheap) before tearing everthing apart (expensive).

Which car do you have, what year and how many miles?

 

ok, to rectify, the top RIGHT strut mount is only slighty mushroomed, but the top left has a crack on the side of the strut tower, dont have any pics at the moment. i took it to my MINI dealership yesterday and they said they could not do anything about the strut being cracked, i should just take it to the panelbeaters, get it welded and come back so they can sell me a bushing for the strut. i also asked them if they can fit a supercharger pulley , and they said theyve never done one before! im taking it to my local mechanic after work to see what he has to say. yes, it has been road force balanced,
tires are 205/45/17, car is an 04 MCS.

 

what are the road force readings at each wheel?

Also, to test for looseness of the suspension, jack up the car and try to move the wheel to see if it has play.

 

Might be a little late here but check your cv joints...easy to check to see if they are loose. Mine was doing weird things at highway speeds (mostly under acceleration) and thats what it ended up being

good luck
mike