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.
. these cars are great fun and the noise of the engine etc just adds to the fun, in my opinion.
