Dealing with road noise & absence of a spare wheel

[BobB]

Hello all

I have enjoyed studying this forum since October whilst awaiting the delivery of my ‘07 Build Date Coupe which I am told is undergoing customs clearance on a wharf in Fremantle.

I may not be able to live with the tyre noise as most of my driving is over coarse-chip surfaces, and my understanding is that there is a severe deficiency of sound insulation material in MX-5s. So unfortunately I will probably have to add to the car’s weight by adding some serious sound deadening mats to the boot area and under the carpets. Oh well… I can always go on a diet to compensate but I don’t have too much spare flab to shed . I will also need to paint the under-wheel arches with thick sound deadening compound.

Another concern I have is the absence of a spare wheel. My research reveals that in order to cover most bases I should carry with the standard issue compressor, the following items: Bottle of Slime which, if used, will allow repair of the tyre as Slime is water soluble and appears to be widely respected (unlike the Mazda standard issue goo which if used means a replacement tyre, irrespective of the state of tyre damage); Slime Tyre Plug Kit and blade; a packet of valve cores (recommended if Slime s used); and pliers to extract the offending object.

Also…a list of Michelin suppliers, although they nor Mazda will probably have a OEM tyre in stock

Do any members have personal experience dealing with punctures and road noise in the MX-5?

[SuperMazdaKart]

don't forget RAA membership for free towing

[BobB]

Yep - I still have my RAC membership. I kept it because as far as I can tell Mazda don't seem to have break-down assistance during the warranty period - unlike most manufacturers these days.

[Fatty]

geez, road noise is not THAT ofensive is it ?

anyway, before ruining your car's balance and handling by bulking it down with sound deadenning material, try a set of yokohama c-drives. i've found that since fitting these to my car, road noise is substantially decreased. it really has made an incredible difference.

remember tho, the mx5 is not a luxury cruiser where you are cocooned from the outside environment. there will always be noises of some sort getting into your cabin. if this bothers you, well maybe you have chosen the wrong car . these cars are great fun and the noise of the engine etc just adds to the fun, in my opinion.

[manga_blue]

I second what Fatty says about the C-Drives - soft, compliant, grippy wet and dry and amazingly quiet. Don't make them in 205/45x17 though.

[BobB]

I bought 4 Yokohama C-drives a few months ago for my former Saab 9-5 for the road noise issue but I was unconvinced that they were better than the OEM Michelins fitted to the Saab.

I also bought 4 Goodyear Excellence for the BA Fairmont Ghia and they are very quiet but at the time they were not available in the correct size for the Saab.

In answer to Fatty, excessive road noise is offensive to me because it should never be part of the driving experience – it’s not mechanical and it is never deliberately introduced by manufacturers to be part of a car’s ambiance. A good engine and exhaust note can be part of the aura of driving this type of car and these notes (which very often manufacturers spend much time perfecting) should not be masked by excessive road noise.

Also, it may be nice sometimes to hear the Bose above the roar from the road.

[mickfred]

what is RAA or RAC??

[BobB]

Talk about eastern states centric .

RAA & RAC are the motoring associations of SA & WA respectively, providing breakdown service. They are the equivalent of NRMA, RACV, RACT, AANT and dare we say RACQ .

[RRdstr]

Mmmmm . . .

We are a diverse group . . . but with a common passion . . .

Welcome to the passion . . .

[NMX516]

Road noise - sound deaden the car. Can recommend Dynamat Extreme - very effective and easy to install.

http://www.dynamat.com/

[Moggy]

I love the noise that comes from my car - I usually drive around with the windows down and top up during the day, and the combination of road, engine, exhaust and wind noise (plus the standard issue NA mx rattles ) are so loud you have to shout a little just to chat to your passenger.

It's just so raw - wouldn't have it any other way...

[AJ]

i think bob should have stayed away from a sportscar & bought a Fairlane Ghia instead

[BobB]

I have read about Dynamat on USA forums and it seems to be the bee’s knees but I wasn’t aware that it is available in Australia. The web site doesn’t reveal where the Australian retail outlets are. Where can I get Dynamat in Australia? I know Jaycar provide sound deadening material – probably not Dynamat.

I take delivery of the Coupe next Tuesday pm so I will drive it for a bit to see what the road noise is like before I take action. I test drove the Soft-top, not the coupe but reviews of the Coupe indicate that although the Coupe is quieter than the Soft-top, road noise is amplified from the boot.

I was planning to take the car around to a couple of motor trimmers for their comments as I don’t want to muck up a brand new car when I remove door trims and carpets.

I figure that as I weigh 64kg, about 20kg lighter than the average bloke, I can afford to add a bit of weight to the car .

Ideally there would be a product that absorbs the frequencies of road roar but allows the higher frequencies of the engine and exhaust notes.

But I recognise that anything will be a compromise.

[Charlie Brown]

Bob, wait till you have tried the car. In 16 months of driving I haven't noticed road noise at all but then I do drive with the top down all the time.

Seriously, you sound like you have been on Miata net for a long time. It’s a good reference for many things but after a while you realise that there are a lot of wingers on there (10% or so but a lot in number compared to here) that have come from large soft cars and nothing is going to ride as smooth or as quite as a good old Buick or Cadillac on 70 series tyres. You would have seen the great out cry because their dealers didn’t adjust their tyre pressures from the delivery pressure. That they couldn’t check themselves such a basic item is beyond my comprehension.

The OEM Michelins are a great tyre. Run them at the correct pressure (29psi) and you wont have a problem. Mazda had their engineers and Michelin’s design the suspension to suit this tyre. I have unfortunately just swapped brands and I think it has been an expensive mistake. More on that in two weeks.

I’m glad you made your comment on the C-Drives. They are after all, a tyre designed for family sedans, on which they do well, but they are not a performance tyre, as their pricing indicates.

You should also join the MX-5 Club of WA. Call and have a chat with Simon the Vice President. Great bloke who circum-navigated Australia last year in his SE MX-5.

As for worrying about tyre problems. I’ve travelled from Sydney to Brisbane, down to Melbourne. Been on many Club runs and over coarse gravel forestry roads and done over 31,000 kilometres and had no problems.

Oh and welcome to the fantastic world of the MX-5.

[BobB]

Thanks CB, I will take your advice re trying out the car for a time before I do anything drastic.

I must admit, as you suspected, I was influenced by the comments on Miata.net.

Now, what about the puncture issue? Anyone with experiences using goo rather than a tyre puncture kit with plugs? I have purchased both, just to be sure. I suspect though that I would, if possible, keep topping up the air with the compressor and limp to a tyre repair place.